Tag Archives: NaNoWriMo

daily writing, excerpts, Greenwich Meridian memoir, history, immigration, local author, Michigan authors, Uncategorized

Nano prep 2 with excerpt

October 22, 2019 emmapalova 1 Comment

Greenwich Meridian: Where East meets West

By Emma Palova

Lowell, MI – Today, during my morning writing session, I ventured into our U.S. naturalization, as well as answering the most important question for a writer.

How has America changed me?

Michigan authors at the Lakeshore Art Festival 2019 in front of the Authors Tent.

I have broadened my horizons from a naïve person with a narrow perspective on the evils of capitalism to a responsible American citizen, who votes and participates in democracy. Rather than complaining about things, I take action to change them, when possible as in the case of my authorpreneurship.

I am proud to be a part of the Michigan Authors movement sweeping the shores from Lake Michigan to Lakes Huron & Superior. See http://michiganauthors.com/

I was naturalized in August of 1999 in a beautiful ceremony at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids along with 96 other people from around the world. I received congratulations from all over Michigan, because the Associated Press syndicated the story about my naturalization written by Kara Henigan for the Ionia Sentinel-Standard. Here is an excerpt from the Ionia Sentinel-Standard Aug. 19, 1999.

Ludek’s naturalization in October of 2018.

Emma Palova of Lowell, was among the new naturalized American citizens. She tells other people’s stories for a living as a writer for the Sentinel-Standard, but on this day, she shared her own tale, a tale of a dream fulfilled.

“The United States has always symbolized freedom for me, coming from an oppressed, communist country,” she said. “And it still does, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”

Citizenship was not a necessity for her livelihood.

“It was my goal and my dream,” she said. “It is kind of a closure.”

My husband Ludek was naturalized last year in October, also at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. Ludek takes his citizenship very seriously, and always asks me about candidates, proposals and follows the debates.

The story about his naturalization appeared in the Lowell Ledger on Oct. 24, 2018.

At his ceremony, magistrate Hon. Ray Kent congratulated the new citizens with these words:

“Write the next great chapter in the history of this country.”

That statement is still ringing in my ears as I write this chapter of the memoir. Ludek has already voted in the last school election. Voting is a privilege. Back in communist Czechoslovakia, we could only vote for one party- the Communist Party. It defeated the purpose of voting at all.

Tomorrow I will dive into the tentacles of the Velvet Revolution in 1989, led by dissident playwright late Vaclav Havel.

book signing, Christmas through Lowell, daily writing, fiction, Greenwich Meridian memoir, historical fiction, immigration, local author, Shifting Sands Short Stories, Shifting Sands: Secrets, Uncategorized, writing

NaNO prep

October 21, 2019 emmapalova Leave a comment

Proud to report that I am in the prep phase for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2019 at full speed. During the month of October , I logged in 12,195 words. My goal is to complete the Greenwich Meridian: Where East meets West in November and follow up with revisions.

It is a memoir about our family immigration saga from former communist Czechoslovakia to the US.

NaNoWriMo is a great tool for any writing project that you may have. First of all, it gives you daily accountability of writing by logging in daily word count. The challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

I had to do a lot of prep work, because I also have author events in November with my new book “Secrets” from the Shifting Sands Short Stories series.

I will be at the Lowell Area Historical Museum during the Christmas through Lowell tour on Nov. 15, 16 & 17 signing my books. So stop by to pick up an autographed book. I will be offering writing and publishing tips, as well.

Locally, my book is available at Springrove Variety in downtown Lowell.

I am extremely excited about this Christmas event. I’ve done it before with my first book “Shifting Sands: Short Stories.” I was at the Red Barn Market with other vendors including my daughter-in-law Maranda, who has “Little Dreamers Sleepovers” party business.

I would still like to get in one more author’s event before the end of this year. And what a year it has been. Watch for my post “Year in Review 2019.”

For info on NaNo go to: https://www.nanowrimo.org/

editing, inspiration, Uncategorized, writing

Revision time

January 29, 2019 emmapalova 1 Comment

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.”
William Faulkner

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo 50K word marathon, I am revising the manuscript to my second book. Here are the takeaways from a recent webcast on self-editing sponsored by Autocrit.

Autocrit is a self-editing software that leverages algorithms to check manuscripts. It even compares your writing to other well-known writers. That’s the short description of a program that focuses solely on fiction, after the developers have scanned thousands of books to create the algorithms.
“It serves as a gage how many adverbs you have used,” said Kevin.
However, I am like most people and I hate doing the same stuff over. But other than the fun suggestion and revisiting the copy, several highlights shocked me and inspired me.
Ally suggested to write an outline of the first draft; that goes definitely for pansters. This can help reorganize the structure of the plot or subplot.
“Assess what you have,” she said. “Look for gaps in the plot.”
Secondly, introduce the “inciting incident” early on in the manuscript depending on genre.
“Don’t wait until you have written 18,332 words,” Ally said.
And Grant of NaNoWriMo delivered the golden nugget in a quote from William Faulkner:
“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.”
Easier said, than done. First you have to spot them, before the reader does.
“How do you recognize your darlings that can impede your story?” asked Grant.
Darlings are usually something that you are overly attached to in the story line. It can be an extensive backstory without enough action or you are injecting yourself into the book.
“Does this need to be there?” asked Grant.
“How long should you spend editing your manuscript?” a participant asked.
No right answer here. According to experts, some people spend more time editing their manuscript than they spent writing the first draft.
Always have a print copy, that you can take with you away from the computer.
“It changes your mindset,” Ally said.
To be continued as I work through the manuscript, and finish one last story.
Autocrit experts say you can edit chapter by chapter, or story by story.
You can still enter the Autocrit giveaway until Jan. 31 using this link:
http://bit.ly/2S6ZymM
Copyright (c) 2019 Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Day 20 of National Novel Writing Month

November 20, 2018 emmapalova Leave a comment

Daily insights from #nanowrimo with excerpts

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI – Today is the first day, you can validate and claim your winner of NaNoWriMo title, if you have logged in with 50,000 words of any genre of literature.

Today, I alternated between reporting from a township meeting for the Lowell Ledger and fiction writing of short stories. Yes, it can be done. I logged in with 39,358 words in the My Novel yellow box on the dashboard.

Takeaways

The most-valued takeaway from the #nanowrimo creative project is gauging your creative daily output measured by the widget in the dashboard.

The second insight is the fact that you can flip between the two categories of writing: non-fiction and fiction.

Excerpts from “40 Hunks”

Book cover for “Secrets” aka the Face of Gossip.

The list was far from being exact, but Jose knew once they entered the US territory, they would be assigned a permanent work guide. From there on, it was none of his business what’s going to happen with these men. The guides were correction officers borrowed from the regional correctional facilities in the US.

The border patrol in Nogales searched the smelly bus and studied Jose’s driver’s license and that piece of paper.

“How do you know who’s who?” barked a sweating guard with an AK47 across his shoulder, at Jose.

“Vaguely. I know that I have 40 men,” said Jose also sweating.

The guard boarded the bus and walked in the aisle examining each face, holding the piece of governmental paper in his hand. He stopped and looked closely at one man. The men were wide awake now. He leaned over the hulky man taking in his odor.

“Who are you?” he asked with his face distorted in an evil grimace.

Jose walked up to the two men in the back of the bus.

“Hey, amigo,” he said to the guard. “They don’t speak English.”

Sponsor of nanowrimo

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Day 16 of #nanowrimo

November 16, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Daily insights

Staying on target as Christmas through Lowell kicks off the season

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI – I can’t say whether the writing is getting any easier or any harder as I move along toward the 50K goal by the end of November. It is a lot like a roller coaster slowly climbing up the first hill, then dropping down and swerving into a sharp curve, before it climbs up again. It changes quickly its speed.

Have I done anything like this before? That is write daily a certain quota of words to stay on target. The answer is a definite no. Even though, while looking at the #nanowrimo graph and the average words per day written, I realized that I pretty much average six pages a day, regardless. I just didn’t know about it.

The new “Secrets” (c) 2018 Emma Palova anthology was born long before I started writing it on Nov. 1, 2018. But, whithout putting the words down, it’s just that; words and ideas in your head and imagination.

However, getting the words out in front of the public can be a scary deal too.

“The scariest moment is before I start to write,” said horror master Stephen King.

I couldn’t agree more and this is probably the main reason why most wannabe authors procrastinate. We’re all afraid of the result. The only medicine for that is: Write as much as you can every day without thinking about the result; edit later.

That’s my major takeaway from the #nanowrimo project 2018.

Considering that I still have to live ordinary life other than the creative one, I am looking forward to covering this year’s “Christmas through Lowell” tour after taking a break from it for a few years. Stay tuned for the weekend coverage for the Lowell Ledger on newstands on Nov. 21, 2018.

Excerpts from “Secrets in Ink”

Well,the court hearing was set for Friday after Thanksgiving at the district court.

“That’s going to be a hell of a Black Friday,” said AJ. “For you, Luke. I’ll be near a phone if you need help.”

Luke had heard of stories of christening by fire, but this exceeded his expectations.

“I’ve never covered a court story before,” Luke said. “I’ve been to a jury duty, though.”

“That’s good enough. There’s always the first time,” said AJ. “The reporting business isn’t as glorious as you thought, ha? You will always come across issues such as the ‘homos’, you’d rather not talk about. It doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

Luke was nervous when he sat near the front on the left side of the courtroom imagining windows, where they did not exist. He felt the old claustrophobia magnified on himself. There was no escaping from this closed courtroom.

The chiropractor was already seated up front without an attorney. It was the first time, Luke had heard the chiropractor’s name spoken out loud by the judge.

“I don’t like to see you Mr. Brown without representation,” said the judge known for her bias toward men. “You do realize that what you have done is pretty serious.”

Thejudge was also a stand-up comedian, performing her acts for the localcharities. She was known to be on the other side of Mr. Brown’s personalsexuality problem. Men hated her for the sexual gender bias. The judge favoredwomen, no matter what they had done.

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Day 15 marks halfway of #nanowrimo

November 15, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Daily insights from #nanowrimo

It is the opening day of the firearm hunting season in Michigan

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

As Anton P. Chekhov said: “Always incubate a new idea.” I did that for years, while working as a reporter for both weekly and daily newspapers in West Michigan. I went into reporting with the intention of writing books.

I still like reporting being around live people rather than book characters. In the end, there is no difference between the two; any author can attest to that. You draw on inspiration from real life, unless you’re writing about Martians.

As I watch the explosion of new books based on the current White House happenings that beat any soap opera, I must say Mr. Chekhov was right along with another great author: You borrow from others.

There is no such thing as an original idea that hasn’t been worked before. It just depends how you work it around; what kind of a spin you give to a story.

I started the “Secrets in Ink” this morning after meditation. Once I have determined the framework, the story began to unfold itself with the two main characters: AJ and Luke.

However, I still miss my “Silk Nora” from the week-long writing sprint. I am looking forward to publishing the new anthology “Secrets” (c) 2018 Emma Palova with the bulk of the writing done during this creative project.

Excerpts from “Secrets in Ink”

On the cusp of the Internet, most newspapers had credibility, that would be lost later in the binary digit maze and social media of the new millennium. However, most newspapers jumped on the Internet bandwagon late, but earlier than doctor’s practices.

Whether corporate or hometown, they all had in one thing in common; they could be bribed by the advertisers. None of them really had a clean conscious mind.

Behind every 50-point bold headline lied a tragedy: small or big, but always newsworthy in line with the slogan:

“All the news that’s fit to print.”

But not all the news gathered was fit to print.

“Can you handle that story?” a publisher asked. “You’re not going to be biased, right?”

In the decadence of the late 1990s, scandals abounded: nationwide and hometown.

Each story had to pass the test: number one who will it upset the most?

The other motto followed by 100 percent of the newspaper industry continued into the current multimedia news streaming business.

“If it bleeds it leads.”

It may seem cynical at first look, by the time second look comes around, it has validated itself by another tragedy or massacre.

books, daily writing, events, excerpts, fiction, historical fiction, history, immersion, inspiration, Shifting Sands Short Stories, short stories, Uncategorized, writing

Day 14 #nanowrimo

November 14, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Daily insights from the National Novel Writing Month

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI- I stuck to my morning writing routine: yoga, treadmill, meditations and writing until I reached a certain point in the story. That I did at 11 a.m., bringing the historical fiction piece “Silk Nora” (c) 2018 Emma Palova to its finale.

I thematically divide my short stories into the following circles based on my experiences: immigration, retail, newspaper, history and new era. Some are of course hybrids between the two or three circles.

I was first inspired to write “Silk Nora” about a year ago while visiting the Belrockton museum. I have a deep passion for history; I call it my second love after writing. Basically, It took a while for the story to gel, and then a week for me to pen it. I started to write it on Day 7 of the #nanowrimo creative project.

At first, I thought of research as a challenge during the 50K word marathon, but it had proven to be a delight. I came across major charms such as the “cloche” hat of the 1920s, gin rickeys and mint juleps. “picture palaces” or movie theaters, the Ford Model T automobile and theatrical skits rather than plays.

Book cover for “Secrets” aka the Face of Gossip.

parlor,_bedroom_and_bath_by_edward_dillon_film_daily_19203544752169607304398..jpg

Immediately, as I got done, I missed the story, its characters and setting. The experts call it a “character withdrawal.” Goodbye my friends, Nora, Harry, John, Mathilda and Doris.

I logged in with 29,339 words earlier in the day. Where will I go tomorrow with my stories? Wherever they take me.

Excerpts from “Silk Nora”

For a brief moment in time, Nora was able to forget all about that deep sadness in her heart. She waved crazily at the people in the parade. All three women decided to join in the parade with the Red Cross entry led by Doc from the hospital.

“I am glad you found us,” said Doc. “This is a great parade to be in.”

After the parade, there were public picnics in the parks around town. Finally, everybody took time away from ordinary life. Chef Josiah from the “Bel” had prepared their picnic hamper with stuffed eggs, celery stuffed with cream, salted radishes, homemade lemon-limeade, coconut layer cake, cheese sprinkled with paprika, slices of watermelon and chicken.

The “Belding Boys” moved into the bandshell and played jazz.

“You know they are missing a trumpet,” said Doc. “John had to go to the Catawba Sanatorium.”

They were all comfortably seated around the bench enjoying the late summer festivities. Nora stopped eating her stuffed egg and took a sip of the fresh lemonade breathing in the summer air.

“Doctor, is Mathilda going to die?” Nora asked Doc.

Doc paused before he took a bite out of the big sandwich. He had previously taken off his straw hat and set it carefully by his side not wanting to mess up the picnic.

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books, daily writing, excerpts, fiction, historical fiction, immersion, inspiration, passion, Shifting Sands Short Stories, short stories, Uncategorized, writing

Day 13 #nanowrimo

November 13, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Daily insights from the National Novel Writing Month 50K word marathon

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI- Feeling a little bit relieved that I passed the half-way mark in the 50K word creative project yesterday, I checked in with the Nanocoach for the week author Carolina de Robertis.

I love her advise for today: let the world of your novel unfold as you write. It’s already there for you, in the ether, or in some part of your consciousness, wanting to move through you to the page.

I always have to “feel into” whatever I am writing. This “feeling into” corresponds with the five senses plus intuition. Jeff Besos of Amazon said that he will follow his intuition in deciding about the place for the second headquarters of the company.

I find it amazing that the richest man in the world follows his intuition in business decision-making; why wouldn’t I do the same with my stories? So, I followed my intuition from the get go of #nanowrimo on Nov.1 with the choice of anthology “Secrets” (c) 2018 Emma Palova, which is a sequel to Shifting Sands: Short Stories (c) 2017 Emma Palova.

Book cover for “Secrets” aka the Face of Gossip.

I logged in today with 27,417 words with the historical fiction story “Silk Nora” (c) 2018 Emma Palova. I came across some really cool things during my brisk research on the Internet like the 1920s play “Parlor, Bedroom and Bath.”

Excerpts from “Silk Nora”

“Then, we shall celebrate together,” Doris shrieked with joy. “In a saloon.”

Working class taverns were knows as “saloons” with swing doors and bar-rooms proper that offered games such as: Faro, Poker, Brag, Three-card Monte and dice games. Some saloons even included bowling, can-can girls, theatrical skits or plays to face off increasing competition until the prohibition in 1920.

On Nora’s 21^st birthday, the two friends, a single girl and a single matron, went into the local watering through, Frank & Norm’s Tavern. As such, they carved out their own space in the saloons of industrialized America unheard of before the female liberalization.

Even though most customers at the time were men, the tavern had a “Ladies Entrance.” Doris and Nora used it to get in just in time to catch the new theatrical skit “Parlor, Bedroom and Bath.”

The tavern was full of men drinking bourbon. But, the two women knowledgeable of cocktails from big cities, ordered a Mary Pickford with white rum, pineapple juice, Grenadine and a Maraschino cherry.

They happily watched the loud crowd and laughed. This was soon to become their secret; sneaking into Frank & Norm’s through the “Ladies Entrance” and hanging out at the tavern on Saturday nights way past the “Bel’s” curfew at 10 p.m.

“Have you heard from Harry?” Doris usually asked sipping on her Mary Pickford.

“Well, I mostly read his war stories syndicated in the Banner,” said Nora sadly.

“But, certainly, he writes to you or not?” asked Doris.

Nora pulled a letter out of her pocket, folded several times and re-read a million times.

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books, daily writing, events, excerpts, fiction, historical fiction, history, immersion, inspiration, publishing, Shifting Sands Short Stories, short stories, story series, Uncategorized, writing

Day 12 #nanowrimo

November 12, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Half-way point reached with 25,282 words, daily insights

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI – I reached the half-way point of the National Novel Writing Month creative project this morning at 11 a.m. with 25,282 words in the 50K word marathon.

Needless to say that I am excstatic. I average six pages a day or 1,500 words. I am still working on historical fiction story “Silk Nora” (c) 2018 Emma Palova, which becomes a part of the new anthology “Secrets” (c) Emma Palova, a sequel to last year’s Shifting Sands: Short Stories.

I was delighted to find out about the different shoes from the 1920s like T-strap Mary Janes and Oxfords. Who said that research and history are boring? It depends on what you’re looking for.

I have a clear intention of seeing “Secrets” to print. There is a section “Now What?” on the #nanowrimo once you’re done with your 50,000 words. It will be supported in the months of January and February with the #NaNoNowWhat event to move along the revision and publishing process.

I am really looking forward to also chatting with #NaNoCoach Carolina DeRobertis on twitter this week. Not that I can take a breather, but it does feel good to reach the half-way point marked by a 25,000 word badge.

Book cover for “Secrets” aka the Face of Gossip.

Excerpts

Nora was hesitant to speak.

“You want to talk to me, dear?” Doris encouraged her protégé to speak up.

“I know Doris, you’re single and you probably wouldn’t understand me,” whispered shyly Nora.

Doris straightened up in her chair and looked deeply at Nora’s face.

“I may be single, but that doesn’t mean I never had boyfriend,” she said.

The office was functional but pretty just like the rest of the dorms.

“I can’t attend high tea on Sunday,” Nora breathed heavily as got the dreaded words out of her.

Doris walked to Nora and put her hand on her shoulder.

“Look at me, Nora,” she said. “It isn’t a sin not to attend high tea. You know it’s not mandatory.”

“I know, but I don’t want to disappoint you, Doris,” said Nora teary-eyed, “or make you feel bad.”

“Nora, you’re acting up because of nothing, what is really going on with you?” Doris asked.

Nora had been secluding herself ever since that dance with Harry at the Rose Ballroom. She didn’t talk much with any other girls at the dorms or at work.

“You know my friend Harry?” Nora paused to think about her words.

“Yes, the newspaper writer, you danced with him at the ball,” said Doris. “What about him?”

“He asked me out to the movies this Sunday during your high tea,” said Nora sadly.

Doris sat back in her chair behind the desk.

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Veteran’s Day marks Day 11 of #nanowrimo

November 11, 2018 emmapalova 1 Comment

Armistice Day: The World observes 100th anniversary since the end of World War I

The National Novel Writing Month enters its 11th day

By Emma Palova

EW Emma’s Writings

Lowell, MI – I got closer to the half-way mark of the National Novel Writing Month logging in a total of 23, 381 words in the 50K word marathon known as #nanowrimo earlier in the day.

We went out to eat at the Honey Creek Inn last night, and I noticed a white board up front, “Write a note to a veteran.” I thought that was very thoughtful of Don the owner of the Inn.

“Thank you veterans for fighting for our freedom.”

Armistice Day coincides with story plot

The US entered World War I in April of 2017. Strangely enough, I came across that fact during research for my historical piece “Silk Nora” (c) 2018 Emma Palova this morning. I won’t reveal the plot here for obvious reasons, but I also found out that the United Kingdom had a conscription or a draft in 1916. These are some of the moving forces in the story.

I also looked up “high tea” in London’s finest establishments and the tradition entered my story. Not, only did it enter my story, but also my festive repertoire for the upcoming holiday season. Who said that research was boring? It also depends what you’re researching.

Book cover for “Secrets” aka the Face of Gossip.

For the rest of this Sunday, I went about my regular business; church, grocery shopping, and cooking dinner. Well, yes it’s here: the store was getting ready for Christmas even though we haven’t done Thanksgiving yet. I suppose, it’s never too early for Christmas.

It wasn’t too nutty at the store with early shoppers, but the store had loaded up with nuts of all sorts. My favorite ones are Brazilian nuts and Pecans.

Excerpts

All the silk girls at the dormitory loved Doris’ high tea time in the tea room. They moved to the tea room to enjoy all the flavors. Doris had her tea porcelain set shipped from England. The fragile cups and saucers had floral print. The shipment included Ahmad Earl Grey tea with bergamot and the precious Darjeeling, the champagne of teas, from London

Doris modeled the high tea ritual at the “Bel” after the one she had once enjoyed at Claridge’s, London. The three-tiered stand featured colorful macaroons, chocolate cake and fruit tarts on the top; the freshly baked scones, plain, apple and raisin, were always accompanied by strawberry jam with heavy Devonshire cream.

Chef Josiah at the “Bel” took special care in making the sandwiches for the Sunday afternoon high tea. He always placed the finger-sized sandwiches on the bottom of the stand. The Chef didn’t shy away from putting cucumber slices on the dill and smoked salmon sandwiches.

Doris was the true “Tearista” here with her knowledge of teas from around the world such as Jasmine Dragon Pearls, Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, or Hathialli meaning ‘Elephant Road.’

Doris also always took care of the finale of the high tea that changed from Sunday to Sunday. This week it was the lemon meringue cake, expressing Doris’ nostalgia after the past summer.

The girls exchanged meaningful conversation with each other not thinking about the work week ahead of them.

Doris and Josiah also enjoyed a glass of champagne with their tea.

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