What I Saw

Wow! Wahoo!

That pretty much sums up my first hike to Aravaipa Canyon on Dec. 6. Sure, you’re crossing the creek about 70 percent of the time, which means wet, wet feet. But, oddly, that squishy-squashy feeling provided some delight and extra cushion! The unseasonably warm 68-degree weather was also helpful.

“A picture says a thousand words.” I agree. This photo, with our friends at Aravaipa Canyon in Arizona, captures the spectacular time we had during our 7.5-mile hike. Hubby and I are on left. Kathy, Don, Roxanne & Mark to our right. Click to enlarge.

I’ll admit, up front, that I started the hike by falling in the water. I was trying to ‘stay dry’ and attempted to cross a fallen tree. Let’s just say that I would have gotten less wet by trekking through the water like everyone else. A spill like that is always good for a laugh, though (and I’m lucky that dear husband suggested he take the camera from my neck before my daredevil – I mean stupid – stunt. I nearly went under!)

This canyon is filled with geologic wonders, which meant I was generally trailing behind, with the camera snapping (I blew through the batteries, somehow, in the first hour, which meant Don’s water purification system was useless, since he offered up his Energizers! Whining will get you everywhere!).

The leaves of the Fremont Cottonwoods, Arizona Ash, and Sycamores were also changing colors, making the scenery that much more vibrant. I was able to see igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks I’ve never seen – in peaches, pinks, and glassy black obsidian. I saw crenulated folding from intense metamorphic pressure and volcanism, stream formation in action, and erosional processes – all things I’ve been learning in my geology class. Did I mention that I came home with a sack full of rocks? [See more Aravaipa photos on my Twitpic page.]

I honestly can’t think of anything better: being that immersed in nature, and being with great friends who appreciated it just as much. I highly recommend it, as it rejuvenates the senses! And, besides, when the friends in your group address you as “just a kid” – as you’re knocking on the big 4-0’s door –you gotta love that!

For Writers: Friends. This trip made me think about friendship quite a bit – and how very lucky we are to have found good friends in our rural paradise. It made me think about how vitally important friends are in novels, as well … especially to your protagonist.

In my first novel, I had created such a large family for my main character (MC) – which meant loads of supporting characters – that I had forgotten to provide her with an honest-to-goodness friend.

But then I realized how badly she needed a sounding board, and that comic relief was definitely in order. In Chris Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, he discusses the importance of various archetypes. While some of these archetypes can have ‘negative’ qualities, they can also become those all-so-important friends to your MC.

• Mentors: can be dark, fallen, comic in nature, young or old, provide training/motivation, offer a code of ethics.
• Shapeshifters: change constantly from your MC’s point of view, can mislead her, keep her guessing, but also can be a catalyst for her positive change.
• Tricksters: are the comical sidekicks who cut big egos down to size, bring the MC down to Earth, and stir up trouble.

Aren’t all of those qualities things you’ve witnessed in your real-life friends? Don’t we all have a clown in the bunch, a mentor, a complicated, shapeshifting character, whom we call friend?

Who is your protagonist’s friend? A mentor, a trickster? A combination of both? What role does the friend play in the story? As an author, do you think you can ‘get away’ without having that special confidant in your fiction? Or in life? I don’t …

And I already have that friend in place on my second work of fiction. Not surprising to those who know how much I love the desert southwest, that confidant is an aging ranch hand – a once spectacular cowboy in his heyday, and a wise mentor at the end of his journey.

What do you see in the photo below? A series of interconnected pathways? An artery-like roadmap? A peeling away of layers? Artistic interpretation? Boring brittle plant remains?

This is actually a fun glimpse at the insides of prickly pear cactus pads – known as nopalitos, or nopales.

When alive and healthy, nopalitos are a succulent food source for animals – javelina, cattle, deer, rabbits – as well as humans. The best time for humans to harvest is springtime, when the pads have just formed & have not yet produced needles & glochids (the tiny, harry stickers). To me, they have a zucchini-like taste and can be roasted, cooked in a frying pan or grilled. Quite tasty! Click to enlarge.

When I came across this withered desert plant during a hike this summer, I knew it was going to become a future blog post. After all, seeing things in different ways has become a bit of a mantra for me over this past year.

I confess, though … I had no idea that an x-ray view of a prickly pear cactus might reveal this artistic, skeletal pattern beneath. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Just like human skin, the cactus skin protects an intricate series of veins and arteries – the lifeblood of the plant. When torn away, the pad that was once 90 percent water shrivels, and the innards die, exposing elaborate pathways and connections.

For Writers: This photo immediately brought to mind the complicated “innards” of a novel. When you think about all the elements that must come together to form a cohesive, spellbinding novel, it can become a bit intimidating.

You have to remember not only what color Aunt Edna’s hair is in chapter one, but also her back-story, previous comments, and future hopes/dreams. You also must keep track of the physical seasons of a novel, internal character complications, external plot lines, timelines, acts I, II & III, subplots … If you’re not careful, the “connections” that are so natural in the prickly pear pad can quickly become disconnected in your novel.

How do you connect the dots so that your plot flows, your characters grow, and your seasons show? What devices do you use to keep track of story elements and to keep all of the details organized in your mind?

The most helpful tools I use:

• Giant white-board: I am a visual person, so a big white board is essential. On it, I borrow from the Hero’s Journey to loosely map out my plot points, acts, and story arc (on a giant circle divided in fourths). I even have a smaller white board on which I transfer actual chapter descriptions after I’ve written them so that I can visually see what happens from chapter to chapter and how well they fit within the story arc.
• Character profiles: I know I’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth mentioning again. This is where I have every detail about my character: her motivation, her hopes, dreams, physical descriptions, dialogue tags, plot ideas for future scenes. It is an indispensable reference and a great way to keep track of essential details (each character profile is in a binder for easy reference).
• Chapter lists: As I’m writing, I keep a chapter-by-chapter description of the action in each scene. This proved quite helpful during the editing stages of my first novel, as I could quickly see which scenes I could cut and/or edit. Besides, it’s also truly motivational to see this document grow. It’s also helpful for synopsis writing.

What organizational tools do you use? Do you find the magnitude of writing a 200-plus-page novel daunting? I have often said that writing a novel has been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done professionally. And, like the prickly pads of napalitos, I’m “sticking” to my story. It is still the most difficult – but rewarding – thing I’ve ever done.