Scribbles & Munch

      Hi!  I just got back to Ohio from Hawai'i!  That's a 7 hour time difference!  I was on planes for a total of 9.5 hours, and in cars for a total of 4!  In other words, my brain is in a state somewhere between hallucinatory and happy-go-lucky!  So hide my car keys!
      Yet despite this, I'm going to blog.  And just for sheet entertainment value, I'm not going to edit this at all--not even spell-check.  So you get an idea of my raw talent.  Or...whatever.
      Top three things that inspired my writerly self on this trip:

#1 - Native Hawai'ian mythology.  How the heck have I been missing that?  It is rich and beautiful and full of cool gods and ghosts and Brownie-like figures known as Menehune.  I'm embarrassed that I've been going to Hawai'i since I was a little kid and never bothered to really research the lore.  Once I have finished moving, the first book I will get from the library will be about Hawai'ian mythology.

#2 - Politics.  Or rather, trying my damndest to avoid them.  I WAS ON VACATION!!!  But since stupid is everywhere, I used this awesomeness to get Donald Drumpf* out of my head.

I'm not supposed to talk politics on my blog, lest is alienate potential readers.  Some things are more important than getting new readers.

@3 - Hardcore History!  One of my new favorite podcasts!  I've always been fond of history, but there's just so damn much of it (no, I'm actually being serious), it's hard to keep up.  Besides, reading history books is always a bit of a gamble: the good ones are very, very good, and the dry ones are very, very plentiful.  What I love about Hardcore History is that a) it's a podcast, so I can multitast while listening; b) it's analytical, meaning that I not only get the facts but I get interpretation to go with them, and c) it's related like a good story told over dinner.  Which means it's easy to listen to.  I've heard two complete thus far, and now I'm 3.5 episodes into World War One.  And man, that is good history!
      I especially think history is important as a writer.  It provides context for characters and place-setting.  And no, just because you're writing a contemporary story doesn't mean you get to ignore it--every setting, every family, and even every building has history to it.  We're influenced by that history every day, it's just such a part of our lives we take it for granted.  Don't.  Know your history.
      Another good reason to know your history is that the number of crazy bizarre things that have happened in real life will blow your mind.  I love fantasical fiction, whether it's sci-fi, contemporary fairy tales, romantic horror, or high fantasy.  But that just makes the shocking events of real history that much more astounding.  So if you're looking for ideas - or hesitating over an idea, because you think, "that's too over-the-top, nobody would believe that" - do your research.  You don't need dragons to make events incredible.

      And finally, if you're going to the island of Kauai any time soon, I recommend dinner at Red Salt, rum tasting at Koloa rummery, getting a massage from these awesome people, kyaking and hiking up to Uluwehi falls on a rainy day (fewer other hikers), donating money at the local Humane Society (they'll let you borrow a dog for a day!), buying your groceries at the farmer's markets, and celebrating with a bottle of Nani Moon mead!

And don't feed the chickens, which are - and I mean this - freaking everywhere on that island.

*No, that's not a misspelling.  Watch the video.