Wow, its hard for me to believe that its been a full year since I've posted.  Life has certainly been hectic.  I've spent the year rushing from one task to the next.  It's been a satisfying year in many ways though.  My 7 year old son and I did our first year of k12 virtual online school.  The curriculum is amazing.  And getting to participate in an online at home public school has been the greatest experience.  I love the time spent with him and the flexibility to do what we need to when we need to.  We're already excited for school to start this year.

That project however has impacted my writing schedule.  So it took a while but I finally finished revising and beta rounds on Valkyries Emergence.  And am now working on getting the cover aspect dealt with.  Each step is closer to my dream.  I can't wait.  Meanwhile I've already started the first revision on Flight.  This one I expect will go a whole lot faster.

The farm is still over grown but we have been slowly clearing the jungle.  On a sad note my beautiful furbaby Shadow, the Siberian on the home page, passed away this last fall.  He lived a nice long loving life and fell asleep in the grass in the sun.  But we still miss him.  The hope is that we'll move home this fall or winter and then get a new puppy!  The kids are very excited.

So here I am, starting out with the hope of keeping this updated much more consistently this year.  Midyear newyears resolution maybe :D

Hello from the far reaches of the Olympic Peninsula.  The rain forest is actually a few hours drive from us, but you couldn't tell that from the mud this summer.  It has been a very cold, wet year. 
This is a picture of a six week old cashmere goat.  He and his twin sister are the first babies born to my 6 year old son's goat Dorcus.  She has been an amazing mother.  Raising her twins effortlessly.
The great reclamation project has begun.  The job situation has us living and working three hours away from the farm, and that has taken a toll.  But we are getting back home and starting to get it ready for us to spend more time there again.
I wish I had thought to take before and after pictures of the garden.  One year of neglect (two growing seasons) has caused mother nature to over take us.  A huge blackberry grew up at the corner of our house.  The bush was ten feet tall by twenty feet in diameter.  One year unchecked.  That was all it took.  I expected to find sleeping beauty when we got through it.
It will take a few more trips to bushwack our way through the jungle of the garden to have unimpeaded access to the house.
We did manage to reclaim the lillys and an old rose.  And much to my three year old daughters delight we planted a couple of flowers.  She has been very distressed at not being allowed to pick flowers in the city.  So I got her some black eyed susans.  She won't be able to pick them right away, but the prospect is there and she was very excited.  I'll try and remember to get a couple of pictures of the plantings. 

So, it looks like the height of summer has impacted my writing life.  And the near future looks the same.  Sorry for the unexpected hiatus on The Equilibrium Saga.  Poor Ashton and Silren are going to just have to continue bleeding to death in his mother's garden for a couple more weeks.  I will endeavor to get a few episodes ahead in between the summer activities. 
We have nice weather here in Seattle and I'm taking advantage of it as often as possible.  Since I won't be able to put up story episodes I'll make an effort to post more regular blog posts with pictures of our activities.  We have family from out of state visiting this coming week so there will most definitely be beach pictures.
And if you want something different from Equilibrium to read, I posted the prologue to a book I'm working on in the Hub forums.  Let me know what you think if you feel like it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Siana.

I have the weebly app on my phone and thought I would give it a try. Here's the princess in her new favorite outfit. I'm so glad it isn't pink.
It's a warm but cloudy day which is nice. But I'm not ready for the sun to be gone yet here in Seattle. Though the novelty of thunderstorms the last couple of days has been fun. We get thunder so rarely that my 6 year old hid under the table :)
A very nice end to the weekend. I hope everyone else had a great Sunday.

Summer has landed in Seattle!  Beautiful, sunny, hot (for us 70’s and 80’s is hot, lol).  We are heading into week number two of lovely weather.  And my phone app has it projected out for the next ten days, at least.  So now I need to figure out how to schedule my time to make sure I still get some writing done, while doing all the summery-fun things with the kiddlets that I’m really looking forward to.  A zoo trip is a given, along with a family favorite of picnics J  We have a great park close by that we can run up to for a quick lunch, or dinner, picnic whenever we get the motivation.  But with this stretch of weather before us, I really want to go camping.  We’ll see if I get it on the agenda. 

This past weekend I spent at Westercon.  Four days of awesomeness.  I shared the time with one old friend and two new friends.  Who didn’t feel new at all with how well we all clicked.  I hope we get the opportunity to do it again sometime.  I attended panel after great panel.  Met wonderful people and learned a lot.  But most of all had a great vacation from life.  I think I needed that. 

This week’s episode of Equilibrium was a lot of fun to write.  It didn’t fight me tooth and nail but just flowed out.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.  Tonight’s release of The Equilibrium Saga is Reveille Part 2.

Upon the advice of the fearsome Nightmare, of all things, our heroes flee the tainted gate in search of another.  Can Ashton deal with the knowledge of this gate’s location?  And can he survive the darkness that surrounds it… and something more precious?

 

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself.  Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.  

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1. 

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html 

You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar. 

Thanks for reading,

Siana.

I hope everyone in the US is having a wonderful holiday?  We are going for a family picnic at a local park with friends.  The kids will get to run around while we adults get to visit, then off to another friend’s for a spectacular view of the evenings fireworks over lake Union.

That leads us to the postponement of tonight’s episode.  There is just too much holiday fun today.  So the first installment of Reveille, chapter four of The Equilibrium Saga will be posted tomorrow evening.

After returning home to find a year has passed without him, and having both the normal and paranormal threaten his life, Ashton has finally realized that it is time to discover the full potential of his powers.  But is it too late?  For the darkness threatens his new friends, and chokes off the means of finding the one who can bring his gifts to fruition…

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself.  Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.  

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1. 

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html 

You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar. 

Thanks for reading,

Siana.

It is that time of the week again.  The fourth part of Rip Van Winkle from the Equilibrium Saga is set to come out tonight. And I wonder about this announcement. I use it as a place to talk a little bit about the story, and what has happened, or might happen.  And also (especially for those who find this post on a social network site) to give a link to the beginning of the series.  I reserve the story blog only for the story.  So that sort of post doesn’t work there. My question is… Is it annoying to get a post without the story?

And maybe I just worry too much, lol.

Last week, Ashton unwillingly found himself by the park where he had previously been taken away by the Unicorn, Silren.  In his confusion, he was both confronted by a gargoyle and shot at by an unseen enemy. He would be dead if it wasn’t for his new friend and a detective, who is certain Ash has a connection to the recent murders.  As they flee to take Ash to safety, he has to wonder what exactly his life has been saved for.  And does he want to know the answer?

Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself. Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.   

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1.  

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html  
 
You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar.  

Thanks for reading,
Siana.

Happy Summer Solstice everyone.  (well, everyone on this hemisphere, lol)  We have a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.  Sunny and (almost) 70 degrees.  A great day for a trip to the park with the kids.  Which is the plan for our afternoon.  They get to run around and play, while I sit in the grass with my outlines.  Couldn’t ask for a better way to celebrate the new season.  How did you all enjoy the day?  I hope everyone’s weather has been as nice as ours.

It is Wednesday again. And time for the next installment of the Equilibrium Saga.  Part three of Rip Van Winkle will be released tonight.  7 pm PST.  Last week we left Ashton standing on a street corner, staring at the park near his old work.  With no idea about how he came to be there.  Last he knew he was in the middle of an argument with his mom.  In her kitchen!

New allies and old are drawing near.  And the first ominous signs of the coming war filter into the worlds.  Darkness is spreading.  Will Ashton’s light be enough?  


Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have some discussion on it.  Either on the social networking site you found me through, or over in my blog, itself. Come and ask a question, or leave a comment on the forum.   

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1.  

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html  
 
You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar.  

Thanks for reading,
Siana.

The really cool thing about attending camp, is getting ahead on episodes of The Equilibrium Saga.  I decided to use this story, instead of a new one, for this month’s camp.  Stockpiling, as it were.  Which means that I’m finally back on track. :)  So keep watch every Wednesday evening (pacific time) for a new installment.

Which gets us to tonight’s announcement for the current episode, Rip Van Winkle Part 2.

In the last episode we left Ashton alone in a hospital room, wondering whether the reality he thought he had lived through, or the one he returned to, was the real one.  Or were they both, somehow?  In either way, he will need to deal with the reality he is in…


Do you like how the story is turning out?  What do you all think?  We are still in the very beginning and there’s a lot more to come.  I would love to hear comments and have discussion on it.  Either here, or over on my website. Come and ask a question or leave a comment on the forum.   
 
And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  

Meetings part 1.  
http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html  
 
You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar.  

Thanks for reading,
Siana.

Third chapter to the Equilibrium Saga.  Rip Van Winkle part 1.

Last week, Ash finally returned home, but to great confusion.  If he was home, why was somebody else residing there?  And what or who caused him to go unconscious?  If that wasn’t hard enough on poor Ashton, he now has more trouble and danger to deal with.  But this time, it’s not from the supernatural.  Or is it?

So it has been a few weeks since I last announced the weekly release of the Equilibrium web serial on this blog.  Life kind of caught us up in its hecticness and took over.  I haven’t quite managed to get completely back on track, as you can tell since this is Thursday not Wednesday.  Hopefully I’ll manage the proper day next week.  :-)

And if you are new to the Equilibrium Saga, and would like to start at the beginning, here is a link to the first episode.  Meetings part 1. 

http://www.sianawineland.com/2/post/2012/03/meetings-part-1.html

You can also access the story through the page buttons at the top of the screen, just click on Equilibrium.  Instructions for navigating through the story are in the right hand information bar on the Equilibrium page. 

Characterization is about painting a picture, about making every word count in our fiction.

Instead of just having a room and a desk, the room and the desk can help illustrate our main character.
 
He sat down at his desk piled high with assignments. His leg hit the keyboard tray which had just lost another screw. He ripped it off, cracking the plastic.
 
As opposed to.
 
He caressed the hand-turned legs of the 19th century mahogany desk, then pulled out the polish and rag from the bottom drawer, wiping over every crevice with care. Checking to make sure the blotter was properly placed, he set his stationary and pen on top. Dear Alice, he began to write.
 
In each instance, the reader learns a lot about the character and what type of person he is, what his habits are, etc... The same can be done with objects and worlds and clothing. They shouldn’t just sit there doing nothing when they could be doing a whole lot of something.   

And I may see a tree that looks like a drooping old man.  But is that what my character would see? How would my character describe it?
 
I took a workshop a few years ago with Elizabeth Lyon and she suggested creating a lexicon for every character to help us create descriptions and sentences filtered through our characters’ sensibilities instead of our own. It’s something I had done most of the time anyway, but it really helped me take characterization to the next level. Our jobs and hobbies give us all a unique vocabulary by which we view the world. By creating a lexicon, we can more clearly paint that view through our character’s thoughts by using words they would use.
 
What’s your favorite way of creating richer, character-driven prose?

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