Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

We're a week into NaNoWriMo, and if you are participating, I hope it's going well for you! I'm flying right now--I think this is the best outline I've ever had going in, and the payoff is huge. People aren't always doing or saying what I thought they would, or in the way I expected, but I know where I'm going and so far the writing has been pretty easy. I know that there will be some challenging times later in the month, schedule-wise, so I'm stockpiling words for the holiday period. There will also be more challenging sections of the story--the dreaded mid-book sag. But I have a lot of notes about what might go in there, so hope to be able to keep sailing through. For this week, then, I'm singing the praises of preparation, and of community--I got a great start the first day at a local write-in. I'd love to find more writers a little more in my age range, though. I felt like an old lady at the write-in! If you're a NaNer, or even if you aren...

I started last month with t he first two days of this 8-day, 65-mile excursion. Two weeks ago we covered three more days , into the heart of the wilderness--and the thick of the smoke. And last week we saw the end of the smoke at last. Today, we'll finish strong with some great scenery and a last, rainy day to make me happy to be going home. Day 7 After three days of smoke, the promise of the previous afternoon's wind was fulfilled, and I awoke to largely clear skies (see last week's post). I enjoyed the early morning light, but didn't linger over the photography, aware that I had a long day ahead of me. Looking across an inlet to the camping peninsula and Chikamin Peak. It's perhaps only slightly discouraging that one has to start by climbing the 200' back up to the PCT before the day's climb really begins. Views from the trail encourage rest breaks. Spectacle Lake. The Four Brothers to the left, Chikamin Peak flirting with a cloud on the right. The climb...

A writing frenzy, coming right up! But first, it's time to connect with the best on-line writer support system I know of.        Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. T he awesome co-hosts for the November 1 posting   of the IWSG are  PJ Colando ,  Jean Davis , Lisa Buie Collard ,  and  Diedre Knight! Every month, we announce an optional question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. November 1 question: Novembe...

How could I not be drawn to a title like that?! Another report from my on-going perusal of semi-randomly selected non-fiction audio books, especially about women doing cool stuff.   Title: Portrait of the Scientist as a Young Woman Author: Lindy Elkins-Tanton Publication Info: Harper Audio, 2022. 8hrs 40 min. Hardcover 2022 by William Morrow, 272 pages. Source: Publisher's Blurb: Deep in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, three times farther from the sun than the Earth is, orbits a massive asteroid called (16) Psyche. It is one of the largest objects in the belt, potentially containing the equivalent of the world's total economy in metals, though they cannot be brought back to Earth. But (16) Psyche has the potential to unlock something even more valuable: the story of how planets form, and how our planet formed. Soon we will find out, thanks to the extraordinary work of Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Principal Investigator of NASA's $800 million Psyche mission,...

A couple of weeks ago I started with t he first two days of this 8-day, 65-mile excursion. Last week we covered three more days , into the heart of the wilderness--and the thick of the smoke.  Today we pick up with Day 6 .  Naturally, I had hoped to wake up to clear skies. Alas, that was not to be my fate. I began my 3400' descent in smoke as thick or thicker than ever.   As with rainy weather, the smoke forced me to shift my attention to the closer details. I spent some time studying and photographing the texture of this long-dead snag. I was more excited about what I heard and saw a moment later. Ptarmigan. There were several trotting around (don't break your brain hunting; there's only one in the photo). The day's hike spent a lot of time in old burn areas. They can be a little bleak, but were also the only places that there were wildflowers. Fireweed and (I think) yarrow. Eventually I dropped down out of the burn and into Lemah Meadow, or as close as the trail c...

Before I start, a tip of my hat to this day 26 years ago, when I became a parent for the first time. What a long, strange trip it's been!   On to writing--or research.  In the run-up to NaNoWriMo I've been posting about the process of preparing to draft my next novel, #3 in the Seffi Wardwell series (I'll be editing #2 once this is drafted, and hope to publish it by June if all goes well). I've talked a lot, now and in the past, about outlines, plotting vs. pantsing (or plantsing, as I mostly do these days). Today, let's talk about research. What kind of research? I'm too lazy to write historical fiction (I'm very hard on writers of same so would really have to educate myself about a period in hopes of avoiding the kind of mistake I hate to see). I set my cozies in fictional contemporary places. And yet... research is still necessary. For the Seffi Wardwell mysteries I'm finding I need two kinds of research. First is the kind you can do in books and on t...

The life story of the author of the "Little House" books. Title: The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Frontier Landscapes That Inspired The Little House Books Author: Marta McDowell, read by Donna Postel Publication Info: Tantor Audio 2018. 6 1/4 hours. Original hardback 2017 by Timber Press, 390 pages Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: The universal appeal of Laura Ingalls Wilder springs from a life lived in partnership with the land, on farms she and her family settled across the Northeast and Midwest. In this revealing exploration of Wilder's deep connection with the natural world, Marta McDowell follows the wagon trail of the beloved Little House series. You'll learn details about Wilder's life and inspirations, pinpoint the Ingalls and Wilder homestead claims on authentic archival maps, and learn to grow the plants and vegetables featured in the series. Excerpts from Wilder's books, letters, and diaries bring to light her profound appreciat...