SECRET GARDEN

I’m still on a mini-writing hiatus as I wait for edits from my critique partners. I’m milking my leisure time to decadent levels of self-indulgence before the grind of revisions begins. I like to think of my addiction to dramas as research into character and plot development for future projects. And, I have learned a lot, especially about pacing, humor, and layering of obstacles for the characters to overcome. See, it’s not all fun and games.

Okay, it’s mostly fun. But I think it’s also been helpful. Maybe I’ll write a post about what I’ve learned at a later date.   

Onto my latest obsession:

This wonderful South Korean drama series can be found on HULU, Netflix, and www.viki.com (a ‘fan-subbing’ collaboration hub). It's called SECRET GARDEN. If you like romance and action adventure spiced with fantasy, then I highly recommend this show.

The first scene fully captures the intensity of this series. Imagine a stunt woman, Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won) dressed in leather: tough, beautiful, and dangerous, but also poor and humble accidently meets an arrogant and eccentric CEO, Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin). A man so arrogant he has no social filter and says whatever pops into his head. He has no concept of the real world having been pampered his whole life. Two polar opposites, yet despite their differences there is an undeniable attraction. Fate intervenes in a series of hilarious misadventures due to a body swap.

Yep, you heard right.

What was interesting was watching these amazing actors take on the characteristics of their partner when they swapped bodies. Their demeanors and quirks flipped so drastically, I was able to suspend my disbelief and go with the flow. It’s not surprising that this series won a bunch of awards.

Loved it!

If anyone has a recommendation for a show, please let me know in the comments section.

SHARING OUR VOICES- CHERIE LARKINS

I'd like to welcome Cherie Larkins to Sharing our Voices. I met Cherie a couple of years ago on Agent Query Connect. She is a wonderful mother, writer, and friend.

For more information on this amazing woman, please check out her blog, Cherie Writes... and twitter, @writercherie

Take it away, Cherie:)


Thanks, Angie, for letting me hijack babble post on your blog. It’s truly an honor to be here.

When Angie asked me to share about cultural or environmental influences affecting my writing, I immediately thought of FOOD. Must have something to do with being pregnant—I’m always hungry nowadays. J

But this topic actually has more merit than just an expectant mama’s cravings for Doritos and ice cream at 2 in the morning. Food, whether it has a subtle or more prominent presence in our writing, does exist in our stories.

Take my Middle Grade Fantasy WIP, for example. Food is a huge part of my worldbuilding. My protagonist is a twelve-year-old orphan seeking for his sister, who has been taken away by the Slave Traders. He comes from a farming village, so his memories of home include the sweet aroma of fresh-baked bread and pumpkin soup, and the herbs growing freely in his mother’s garden. But when his adventure leads him to a fishing village, the pungent odor of fish entrails permeating the very air he breathes in makes him sick. And he refuses to scavenge for leftover food, even while he’s slowly dying from starvation.  So when a peddler appears with a basket of pan de sal (salted bread), my protagonist immediately concocts a scheme to steal a roll.


Now this is where the fun begins…for me, anyway. I grew up in the Philippines, a country comprised of many islands. The nearest beach was about 5 minutes away from our house. Weekends would mean a day of swimming until our skin’s so burnt from the sun, we’d be ten shades darker by the time we go home than when we first set out in the morning. Then there was the food. Fish was a staple, of course. Fried, poached, grilled, baked, or sushi-style minus the seaweed and rice wrap. My mother would cut up raw fish into bite-sized cubes and marinate them in a vinegar-ginger-herb mixture. Yum!

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Once, I even saw my grandmother pick up sea urchins and bash them open with a rock. Inside was this gooey orange fleshy thing, and she would eat them raw. Grandma claimed it was really good, but I declined her offer politely. :-S

A lot of the food from my culture ended up in my WIP. It was a blast to create a world so familiar to me. It was even cooler to realize how reminiscent it was of my childhood. I even had my orphan boy visit a “wet” market, similar to the one we used to frequent in those days. No sterile packaging and white aisles here. Just a lot of stalls bursting with crawling crabs, glassy-eyed fish, and a variety of sea weeds, bundled up like bouquets of flowers. Fishmongers and vendors join in a singsong voice to lure customers their way so they can haggle and bid for the most reasonable price.



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Wherever we come from, or whatever experiences we may have had in our life, there’s always something we can take from our personal adventures and use it to inspire our writing. Or the worlds we’re creating. As a writer, it’s the best—and easiest—way to make our stories come alive.

Happy writing!

 

GAME OF THRONES: SEASON 2

The dragons are coming.... Sunday, April 1, 2012.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I hope I'll be able to enjoy the premiere without a repeat of last year's Game of Thrones Experience with the Kids in the House.

As a huge fan of the books, I thoroughly enjoyed last season. I got a huge kick out of the reactions from my friends who had never read the books, but were totally enjoying the series. They had no idea of the twists awaiting. As the last few episodes aired, it was tragic.

 I'm trying to be cryptic, no spoilers. But, maybe I'm going overboard and confusing everyone. So I'll stop here with a final warning.

Since the series appears to follow the books faithfully, be prepared. War is coming. It'll get nasty. And nobody is safe.

I'M BLOG HOPPING

Earlier this month, Michelle Hauck shared her inspiration in an awesome Sharing Our Voices post. Thank you again, Michelle.

So when she asked me to write up a post on Getting The Call, I couldn't say no. Not that the thought even crossed my mind. I love my awesome critique partner to pieces. Plus, this is one of my most exciting memories. It's right up there with the day I got married and the birth of my children.

I relive the excitement of that day whenever I get discouraged with this writing journey. It helps to remind me that no matter what stage of the process I've entered, whether it be starting a new wip, learning how to write a query letter and synopsis, querying agents, editing, going on submission...etc.

This is my dream and each experience is a memory I'll treasure.

Here are the links if you want to stop by and say hello:

For the Love of Writing
Michelle4Laughs- It's in the Details

Thanks :)

P.S. Happy Birthday, Daddy. Love ya.

HIBERNATION COMA, WAKE ME WHEN IT'S WARM

I'm sorry to say I don't have a Sharing Our Voices Post today. I love learning about what inspires my fellow writers. If anyone would like to volunteer and share, please email me.

I've been hibernating. For some reason, March puts me in a foul mood. I always catch some nasty virus. Right now, I'm fighting off a sinus infection. Hopefully, it won't be a repeat of last March when I was down with bronchitis for a week and had crazy fever dreams featuring the cast of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels. Wicked crazy.

I haven't felt inclined to start a new writing project. I still need to finish editing the three wips, DJINNI, HOUND OF ANNWYN, and QUEST lounging about in my computer. I rotate my efforts between them, because I'm always thinking of new ways to improve upon the existing storylines. A story isn't done until the ideas dry up, right? Or until it's published.

I've been critiquing for my partners, and they're reciprocating by reading my latest wip, QUEST. I still love this story, and I’m learning more about the elements needed to make it middle grade. I'm still trying to convince my daughter to draw character sketches. She started one last week, but got distracted by Naruto (she's totally addicted now). Maybe I should just do it myself. Sigh.

So, how’s everyone doing? Any new projects?