It was hard not to write to all of you last week, seriously. But, I made some real progress on the novel and that feels good. I didn’t write thousands of new words, but I got some good work done on the structure and plot. (Not that plot is important in a mystery . . .) An especially helpful step was getting Plottr, which gives you a great visual representation of the flow of the book. I also had a good talk with my agent, who reminded me to always ask myself, “What do you want your reader to be feeling right now?” Great advice.
FYI, just in case you are interested, a few books have been particularly helpful to me, especially James N. Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Mystery. One of his best tips is to always ask yourself “How does this section advance the story?” It’s ridiculously easy to natter on about this or that, especially about dogs, but if it doesn’t move the story forward, out it goes.
I am also so grateful to all of you for the recommendations of mysteries that you’ve enjoyed, especially those with dogs. I’ve definitely made a list, and I will check it twice, promise. Life is good when working is defined as reading a mystery novel, yes?
My desire to write to you last Monday (I am apparently addicted) was eased by a last camping trip that Jim and I took in our camper last week Sunday to Tuesday. We went to Devil’s Lake State Park, did lots of hiking with the dogs and enjoying our little camper. Here’s Jim and the dogs on Tumble Rocks Trail, which goes alongside the lake and avoids some of the steep climbs that the area is famous for.
It’s a lovely lake and a lovely area, and not too crowded if you go out early in the morning and can avoid the weekends.
Lessons learned: First, the dogs seemed shocked when we arrived and let them out. Our last four trips in the camper have been to stockdog trials, and I swear they got out of the car and asked “Where are the sheep?” They looked around, sniffed around, looked confused, and eventually lay down in the camper like teenagers stuck with their boring parents for the weekend. They were also, of course, on leash all the time, it being a state park, so that must have felt very different to them too. I promise you they didn’t suffer–they got lots of interesting walks and new smells, but I’m pretty sure that they had expectations that weren’t met.
Second lesson? The reason we found such a good looking site in the campground that was still open (flat, against woods, no other campers on one side) was because the “empty” site right next to us was actually where everyone dumps their sewage and garbage. We just laughed at ourselves and it was fine, just a little noisy Sunday afternoon when campers the size of small European countries idled beside us waiting to empty their tanks. But overall, it was a peaceful get away in a beautiful place. I came back refreshed and excited about the novel.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Skip is migrating his way up onto the couch. You can see, however, that he’s just not quite sure that he wants to be up there.
Recently I posted this photo on Facebook and asked “Which dog is allowed on the couch during the day and which dog isn’t?” But, argh, I didn’t explain the rationale behind it and got lots of questions about why I was treating Skip so poorly. It’s pretty simple: Skip used to play so roughly with Maggie that it scared her, so we let Maggie leap up onto the couch to escape him. He never even tried to get up on the couch, and so she had a “safe space” that ended up giving her confidence. That way she controlled the play, rather than me awkwardly trying to intervene.
As time has gone on, Maggie has gained confidence, Skip has learned to self-handicap (a bit), and they entertain us after their dessert (Kong stuffed with soaked kibble and frozen) by playing in the living room so rambunctiously that we turn the TV off and laugh at the best entertainment ever. It’ll be interesting to see what happens now that Skip can get up; he seems to like cubby hole-like places to sleep, so we’ll see what happens as time goes on and he has free rein up on the couch. Maggie, as you can see above, pretty much figures the couch is hers (but is happy to share).
I’ll leave you with this strangeness from this part of the country: An Iris blooming in late fall (backed by asters, who should indeed be blooming now, but the Iris? No way.)
I’m sure you know that Iris bloom in spring, and no, these are not a variety that blooms twice. They won’t bloom next spring when they normally would. Nor will the lilacs in full bloom in my neighbor’s yard. Our weather is bizarre–we are lucky to have avoided floods, fires and drought, but it got super cool in late summer, and then brutally hot, and then cool again, so that many of the plants thought they must have made it through winter and now it must be spring. It all feels a little Alice in Wonderlandish. I’ll let you know if I see a Mad Hatter next.
Followed any White Rabbits yourself this week? And I’m curious, have you ever had couch privileges for some dogs and not others? I’d love to hear your stories. For me, it’s mornings in the study working on the novel, and working with Skip for the last trial of the season in a few weeks. I’ll keep you posted.
Kat says
My son thinks he might want to be a writer. He has wonderful ideas for stories but so far lacks the discipline to actually write any of them. One of the books he’s recommended to me as most inspiring to him was Frey’s How to Write a Damn Good Mystery. I’m glad you’re also finding it a source of information and inspiration. There was one about writing excellent science fiction that he also raved about but the name eludes me.
D’Artagnan had clearly never been allowed on furniture when he came to live with us. It was so firmly fixed in his head that he couldn’t get up on furniture that he had to be coaxed onto the dog bed I made out of the crib my mother-in-law had saved from when my husband was a baby. It’s all of six inches off the floor counting the mattress. We don’t mind sharing the furniture with the critters–that’s why it’s called FURniture, right? It’s been interesting watching D’Art slowly figuring out that he can climb up on things. He’ll get up on the sofa occasionally but the only piece of furniture he really seems to enjoy being on is the kingsize bed. I suspect it’s the only one that feels truly spacious enough for a guy his size to really relax.
Gayle says
Yes, I allow my dog up on my bed and on a loveseat in the living room but the guide dog puppies that I raise are not allowed on any furniture!! I am amazed that the guide dog pups do not even attempt to get up on the bed or loveseat – I am very consistent from day one that their paws stay on the floor that I guess it never occurs to them to go up! And I do think my personal pup is happy to have that “safe” space away from the puppies constant attention.
Jen Gibson says
When we had two dogs, the cattle dog claimed the bed as her own and the lab put up with her displeasure when she (the lab) came on the bed, but thankfully Remy the lab didn’t retaliate. It was never an ideal situation but countless attempts at keeping both dogs off the bed failed (our fault). And the lab was too big to spend the night on the bed. So Kinka got on the bed first, grumbled when Remy came on for snuggles, then settled down, and Remy left when we asked her to so we could have a reasonably good sleep despite the cattle dog on the bed! Now when there was a thunder storm, Rémy disregarded all rules and slept at our heads! Rémy was the best napper, though, and loved a good afternoon snooze on the bed in the sun sans cattle dog, human okay but not necessary!
While perhaps not the best example, it all worked out for the most part.
Carole K says
In our previous house, all dogs were allowed on the furniture. At one point we had nine, including three Great Danes, a Borzoi, and several smaller dogs. When we moved to the new place, I decided that only the littles (Mini Dachshunds) and cats, of course, would be allowed on the new furniture. (The one large exception was our Pot-Bellied pig since nothing could stop him from parking his ninety pound self literally anywhere he wanted to snooze.) I had a friend tell me it ‘wasn’t fair’ that the Dachshunds were allowed on the sofa when the Kelpie, Pitbull, and Lab were not. I explained that dogs didn’t understand the human concept of ‘fair’. The bigger dogs never once complained about the rule…and my furniture remained in pretty good shape for years.
Kathleen says
I never used to allow dogs on the furniture…….until I got my first ‘small’ dog – a Corgi. I did allow both cats and the smaller dog up on the couch and my bed, and the other dogs never seemed to find it unfair. They still respected that they were not allowed up and never even thought about getting on the furniture even when the Corgi was. As you mentioned with Maggie, it was always a ‘safe’ spot, and just a privilege that their smaller size earned them.
Charisse says
My Afghan Hound Carter loves being on the sofa with us. We trained him that he had to wait for permission before launching himself between us. Sometimes when we are already comfortable, he will stand in front of us and stare at us really intensely, like “heh guys, Carter here, and I would like to come on the couch, please.” His beautiful brown eyes will dart between us begging us to respond. When we say “OK” he leaps like a gazelle,landing softly with tail wagging, settling down between us to ear rubs. He’s 10 now, and never once has he gotten up on the couch without permission, even when Poppy sneaks up occasionally when we are not looking. She and Pogo are not allowed on the sofas because Carter needs a place away from them, with the privilege of being the senior dog. Pogo and Poppy do not suffer, there are three beds near the sofa. All 3 are Afghan Hounds, and Carter has never stolen food either, the other two, particularly Poppy, are thieves. OMG, Carter is just the sweetest, most gentle, kind and respectful dog. I love the other two, but they are both, but mostly Poppy, full of humor, mischief and “I can’t hear her telling us what to do Pogo Elliot, can you?” By the way, we bought a huge sofa so Carter and our late Whitley, a rescue shaggy dog, could share our evening routine.She never got on the sofa unless invited as well.
Rebecca Rice says
Hi! Don’t know if you follow other writers, but I read a lot of CJ Cherryh stories and “Lee and Miller: stories (married couple that writes together, which is an interesting dynamic when they talk about it), and they both post occasionally on Facebook and their personal websites about “how they write stories”. You might find it interesting. One thing that they all say is “don’t be afraid to move a scene if it makes better sense earlier/later, and to leave it out entirely if it doesn’t help the story.” There is a reason that Lee & Miller have such an extensive short story collection, as all those deleted bits get kept and expanded on! Sharon Lee has actually published a book called “Writing Neep” for the princely sum of 2.99 that is: “Fifteen essays by Sharon Lee on the business, craft, and personal sides of professional writing, collected from blog entries that first appeared at Sharon Lee, Writer and/or Eagles Over the Kennebec. ”
Also, I had a greyhound, a small girl who was most likely kenneled on the second level at the track, and thus would have spent her life jumping into and out of a crate set at counter height. And I could NEVER get her to come up on any of the furniture of her own accord. I could lure her up with treats, and even get her to lay down using treats, but as soon as possible, she would jump off and down to the floor. So I had a LOT of dog beds scattered around the house, so that she would have soft places to sleep on. Couldn’t even get her on the bed with me, which was personally disappointing. The terriers I have now make up for it by wanting to be in my lap the instant I sit down anywhere!
Mary F says
We don’t have “couch privileges,” per se, but we have an ottoman in our family room that doubles as a feeding place for Lola, our Westie. She doesn’t always eat her entire meal, but leaving it on the floor would mean that Piper (our Cavalier King Charles) would gobble it up. So we put Lola’s bowl up on top of the ottoman, where Piper cannot reach it. She has a knee injury that keeps her from jumping up there to get her sister’s food. I seem to remember something about necesssity being the mother of invention…
Deborah Mason says
We allow our 2 lab mix “pound puppies” on our last on the recliner sofa. They are also free to use the futon, but only the younger one does. He sleeps part of the night in his bed (dog beds are on either side of our bed, at the head end) watching/ sleeping while I read. As I’m putting the book down, taking off glasses,turning of reading light, he gets up & goes out to the futon for a while, returning to the bedroom before before morning. Neither one has ever tried to share the bed with us.
Jan Berger says
My Dobes and Border collies are not allowed on my furniture because it’s a place for my Papillon to retreat to when he needs some space and some time to nap.
Here in northeast MA, it’s been interesting to see my pollinator gardens full of salvia still blooming. And, a clematis that bloomed this spring and then appeared to die (it dropped all of its leaves and turned brown) is. Ow blooming again. Very strange!
Wendy Katz says
Thanks for the behind-the-scenes peeks at the book writing process!
I love snuggling with my dogs on the furniture. When I adopted my Aussie at 4 1/2 years of age, she had always lived outdoors and was bashful about getting on the furniture for weeks. The first time she dared to get on the bed, and was welcomed, she was as excited as a teenage girl at a slumber party. There was more partying than slumbering that night, but since then she’s been an excellent bed companion. She then laid claim to the easy chair that has served as an elevated cuddler bed for 3 generations of dogs.
Mary Ellen says
It’s great to go along with you on your writing adventure! I can’t wait to read the book and my dog will probably be on the couch next to me as I do.
Barbara says
Our Eskie is welcome to use the furniture with one caveat – no food, treats or bones allowed. Toys are okay. He’s learned not to bring his bone up on the couch. We keep a fleecy pad on the corner cushion of the couch and that’s where he settles in when we watch TV or read. He used to jump up on our bed in the morning for a cuddle but he’s older now and I suspect it’s harder for him to make that leap.
Helen Parker says
I have a mini poodle and a bichpoo who are allowed on the furniture; poodles don’t shed and these are velcro-dogs who love a cuddle so where’s the down side?
When I got my standard poodle I optimistically decided he wouldn’t be allowed on the couch.
Lenny had other ideas. He’s very very tall, very very long and all 33kg of him often needs a cuddle at the end of the day so I share the couch with him, often with his head resting on my chest. When all three decide they need to be with me there’s a lot of negotiation to be done, or two of them have to go to the other couch. (Which is less attractive because I’m not on it.)
I recently saw a day bed in an opp shop, so that has become Lenny’s bed since he’s huge and would need an x large dog bed. The day bed is perfect as it’s bigger than the couch and I can often sit on it with them all and enjoy a cup of tea and a read.
lin says
Mr. B is allowed up on furniture, although he prefers his box by the window where he can look out. Since we got the new couch, he generally comes up only if he can sit in the corner section (which is preferred by all species, so he doesn’t usually get it). Even though the upholstery was chosen because it was pet-friendly, we’ve covered the couch in old quilts.
He rarely comes up on the bed because it’s too crowded for his taste. The only times he does is when there are a lot of firecrackers. Then B will sleep between my husband and me until it quiets down and it’s safe enough to go back to his bed.
BARB STANEK says
My dogs are allowed on the furniture. Most of them have at one time or another spent time with me at night in bed. But the dog that I have now is the first one who prefers to be on the couch. Or, if I’m not in it, my chair. Or my side of the bed. She politely gets off when asked, but is in one of these three places if left to herself. I find it endearing.
Irene Stoller says
Our borders will occasionally get on the couch or the bed when we aren’t on them or in them but they actually prefer other spots in the house. Our Moss prefers his wire crate with a comfy dog bed in it and the door removed. Claire prefers the area around the toilet in the summer and her dog bed in the winter. We’ve never really trained them on it one way or the other but Blue the cat may have.
Timaran says
I’m glad that your writing is coming along so well. I’m looking forward to reading your novel. Others have mentioned some dog related mysteries that they’ve enjoyed–here’s mine: the Chet and Bernie series by Spencer Quinn. Bernie is a private investigator and Chet the dog is his partner. Chet is also the narrator and his “voice” is the most “doggy” that I’ve ever read. Stephen King described the author as being “fluent in both suspense and dog.” He’s not a “talking dog,” and doesn’t know anything that a real dog doesn’t know so it’s a kick reading human behavior as interpreted by Chet. 🙂
My dogs are allowed on the furniture. I spend some of my favorite times snuggling with them on the sofa.
Stefanie says
We’ve always allowed our dogs on the couch as long as they are respectful of the space and the “move” request. Our dearly departed chow mix rarely came on the couch. He preferred cool spots and liked to be under the coffee table. That was mostly his choice, however, we really didn’t like him to be on the couch because he would resource guard once he was up there. Poor guy didn’t get many invitations!
Trisha says
Timaran, I too love Chet and Bernie! Agree completely that Chet is a rare doggy voice. Turns out the author and I have the same literacy agency, maybe Illget to meet him sometime.
Melanie Hawkes says
My last dog Happy claimed the single seat sofa, but Upton is too big so sleeps on the double. I keep a cover on it to protect the leather. I used to enjoy cuddles on there with Upton, but had to stop as he loves to hump me! He is too big for my bed, unfortunately. Good luck with the novel.