FinnsForest – Author D.L. Finn

From Finn’s Forest #13! #writingcommunity #authors #books #editing #newstory #newsletter

Hi!

I’m enjoying spring and with all the new life decorating my landscape, although I hope the rains continue into June, so I don’t have to worry about fires yet.

These last several weeks I’ve been in the editing zone with Sounds in the Silence. I spent a good week pouring through my current work in progress, looking for filler words. Each book is unique, so it keeps me on my toes. What I found were a lot of unnecessary thens, nods, and ups. Other times, it was very or definitely. Once I pay attention to a word, a new one sneaks in.

I am very thankful for that find feature in Words, especially when you have to go through 600 ups. Yes, I cut a good chunk of them.

It was nice to take a break from working on the story, although what I found was some of the weaker spots were in the same place as these filler words. Next, I will focus on the total flow of story and conversation tags. That last one is my least favorite. How many times can one character shrug, nod, or grin?

Sounds in the Silence was written during NaNoWri—a dual timeline with no plan ready. I just jumped in. I’m paying for that during editing, despite that, a story did bloom that I hope to release this June.

I have been offering excerpts of Sounds in the Silence in my newsletter. Interested? You can sign up to receive my once-a-month letter here on my website if you aren’t already subscribed.

This is also where you will run across my Book of the Month. I started the Book of the Month in September of 2021. The very first book on the list was: Ghostly Interference by Jan Sikes

Here’s the link to my lastest newsletter: March Newsletter.

The current Book of Month: Tell me a story: in 99 words
By Annette Rochelle Aben

I only mention this because it’s a great list of books by amazing authors. If you ever find yourself wondering what to read, you might just find your next read here.

Next week, I’ll be sharing my book reviews.

Embrace that inner child by reading a good book! D. L. Finn

From Finn’s Forest #10. When things are what they may seem. #writingcommunity #authors #inspiration

Last week on the thirteenth was an unusual anniversary and I thought I would celebrate it today. It was the day I broke my foot. Here is the updated post and story on why this event is so important to my writing—things aren’t always what they seem.

It was Friday the 13th late at night in 2015. My bedroom was heavy with the chill of a snowy day. I‘d finished reading for the night and made one last bathroom trip. As I jumped out of bed, my feet hit the cold hardwood floor. That sent me running through the icy room without paying attention to where I was going. As I crossed over the bear throw rug, my left foot caught on our twenty-pound black cat, Coco. He had made it a habit to lie on top of the bear and blend in.

In what was only a few seconds seemed like forever as the cat didn’t move, but I did. My weight shifted trying to counterbalance, and I reached out to the dresser but missed. At that moment, I knew I was going down. So, I twisted in an attempt not to land on top of the cat who had a lot of trust in me I wouldn’t hurt him. That’s when I heard a loud snap. Then I hit the ground.

I lay there next to Coco wondering what to do next. Through this event, my husband was still peacefully sleeping. After several painful attempts to get up, I finally called out for help.

“Why are you lying on the ground? You should get up and sleep in the bed.” My groggy husband replied.

It took him a few moments to realize that I couldn’t get up and was hurt. Once he up-righted me, I hopped on one foot to complete my task. Each jump jarred my foot painfully.

Not wanting to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, I slept with a fortress of pillows protecting my injured foot.

I slept very little.

The next morning was Valentine’s Day. The hospital staff found amusement in hearing my story as I spent Valentine’s Day in the ER. My husband never left my side and reassured me it didn’t matter where we were if we were together. He had a good point.

Later, I left on crutches and rested through the weekend. As the days went by, I found I had too much time on my hands. I tried to fill it with TV shows, but I realized I needed something to do.

That’s when a family member suggested I should publish one of my children’s books.

With this unusual downtime, I did a lot of research. I set up a website, blog, had the story edited, got a cover created, and entered social media. Finally, four months later, I was ready to push that button with the company that helped me first publish. Now, I was published.

Once I released that first book, I haven’t stopped. I kept going forward into the writing world.

So, happy late ninth anniversary to the time I tripped over our black cat on Friday the 13th and broke my foot. What seemed like a bad thing ultimately opened the door to a whole new world.

Embrace your inner child by reading a good and be thankful all those events that might not be what they seem! D. L. Finn

From Finn’s Forest #9 #writingcommunity #authors #nature #writing #poweroutage

Hi!

I’m writing this post during a power outage. Usually, we sit in the dark because of snow, not rain and heavy winds, so I wasn’t prepared for this power outage. We did not get hit as badly as the southern part of our state or coast with rain, but the wind did its damage. Keep those facing weather challenges in your thoughts and prayers.

Fortunately, this time around our landlines and DSL are still up, so I’m able to communicate. I use my phone. This is where I get news and updates and where most of my focus is. I have been without this communication during storms and it’s like being alone on an island. No idea what is going on in the world.

I thought I’d try to get some work done or this post. My little laptop took forever to update and finally let me use it on what limited internet is available. Our power came back later that night and then we got some snow the next day.

Even with these issues, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. It may not be ideal to experience in real life, but for characters, it adds an extra dimension to the story. My experience is that cooking on a woodstove can be fun—at first. A character who can’t get a fire burning or hot enough will have a few lessons to learn.

A generator is one of the best investments we’ve made for where we live. It’s not a full house, but it runs the well so we have water, outlets in the bedroom to run hubby’s CPAP machine, refrigerator, outdoor lights, and microwave. It requires not only gas and oil but learning how to run it safely. People have burned their houses down by putting them in the attic. You have to make sure your power lines coming in are shut off or you may send unwanted power to the people working on the lines. An electrician put our panel in and we are careful to follow instructions. Other things to learn is how much wattage applicances take and what is most important. There are so many possible stories just in that.

There needs to be some downtime in stressful situations. During this outage I watched a TV show on Chromecast and Hulu. Usually, it’s through a satellite as that is more reliable at our house but it needs power too. I got lucky with the internet working. But it gave me the break I needed. Books offer that same escape so we can reset and rewind, ready for what the world brings us.

Sometimes in life, all we can do is survive. The same happens in a story where our experience can be woven into any story making it all the more real. Characters being out of communication and having no power adds that opportunity for a killer, sudden illness or injury, a tree hitting the house and losing shelter, a war going on and no clue, or even the worst case, it’s worldwide.

A forced change in our daily routine makes us look at the world differently. For me, besides trying to get the fire going and keeping it going, my mind wanders. My what-ifs kick in and ideas flow that insist on being written down. Plus, there is that lesson showing us what is important. Being safe along with having shelter, food, and water. This bit of wisdom and empathy can flow into a story, with a few challenges along the way.

Like life, nothing goes along smoothly, and in stories that is what keeps us turning the page.

Note: That little bug that’s been making it way though my family for the last month finally claimed me. So I took some time to rest and recoup.

Read a good book and create some of that magic. D. L. Finn

From Finn’s Forest #7 #writingcommunity #author #readers #fall #poetry #pumpkins

Today we are taking a trip back to 1997 and then enjoying a fall poem. The late 90s was a time when I was sending my work out to publishers in the mail, including Elizabeth’s War. This included children’s magazine articles. I received rejections, including one from Highlights, who kindly suggested that I focus on one area and submit more pictures. Did I get that is what they wanted me to do? No, I didn’t. I missed an opportunity there.

But, an article called “Mega Veggies” did score a yes and my first payment for writing. In May 1997, my article was in Nature Friend Children’s magazine under my real name. They are still going today and it might be time for me to resume some of that article writing I used to do.

Not only did I talk about how to grow your own veggies but the extra mile farmers went to increase product size. Here’s the quiz from my 1997 article and the sizes of veggies way back when. Which belongs to which? Answers below.

1. cabbage	a. 37 lbs. 5 oz.
2. carrot	b. 124 lbs.
3. tomato	c. 1006 lbs.
4. pumpkin	d. 7 lbs. 2 oz.
5. radish	e. 15 lbs. 7 oz.
6. zucchini	f 7 lbs. 13 oz.
7. potato	g. 64 lbs. 8 oz.
8. cucumber	h. 20 lbs. 1 oz.

What made me think about this article from twenty-six years ago? I saw a news story about the current size of the world’s biggest pumpkin. Since I wrote my article, it has more than doubled to 2749 pounds from a mere 1006 pounds years ago.

Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota world record pumpkin, was weighed on 10-09-23 in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Answers to quiz: 1b, 2e, 3d, 4c, 5a, 6g, 7f, and 8h.

Here is a fall poem from Deep in the Forest Where Poetry Blooms

HARVEST MOON

full moon

autumn’s delight

a fairy celebration

under the bright harvest glow

joyful

all the woodland creatures join

pirouetting under the stars

before first snow

arrives.

NOTE:

Next week is the release of The Destination. Be sure to stop by and celebrate with me, along with enjoying the Halloween day. I’m dressing up as the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz for my daughter’s costume party this coming weekend and my husband is going to be wolfman. I’ll share pictures then. It’s a come as a classic villian theme. I went back and forth between the Wicked Witch and Annie Wilkes from Misery. Anyone else dressing up?

Embrace your inner child. Take a fall (or spring) walk and enjoy nature! Then sit down on a bench and read a book or write a poem. D. l. Finn