Hong Kong Trip: Day 5

On our last full day in Hong Kong, I didn't do any book research. (Gasp!) Well, not anything that I made notes about anyway. But since there's a lot of hiking in one of my books, it was good to refresh my memory about the sights and sounds of Hong Kong trails.

My dad took Gabe and me on a hike starting at Monkey Mountain (appropriately named, you'll see why soon) that ended at the Upper Shing Mun Reservoir. The rain had cleared and we had blue skies. Best of all, my friend Robyn and her son, Owen, were able to join us. 

That fuzzy mountain in the distance is Hong Kong Island. The ICC building on Kowloon Peninsula is the tall building visible.

I love Hong Kong because you can be hiking along, feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere, come to a certain point on a trail, and see THIS. These are apartment buildings, both public and private. This is how most of Hong Kong's population of 7 million people lives in a space of 426 sq. miles--literally on top of each other. And there's still room for beautiful green hills and hiking trails!

A bunker built by the British in WWII. A sign nearby warned us that it was a "desolate trench." The boys were appropriately cautious.

This is why Monkey Mountain is so aptly named. Macaques are everywhere! And they want to eat your food, so don't show them if you have any.

So fun to see my good friend, Robyn! She treated us to one last dim sum breakfast. Yum, yum!

These next pictures were taken on our last evening with my parents. We went out for one more Chinese meal. So delicious and such good company.

Honestly, I don't think this trip could have gone any better. I feel blessed upon blessed!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 4

On the fourth day of Hong Kong my parents gave to me....

a trip to the Museum of History!

I can't post too many of the photos because they're so dark (I wasn't allowed to use a flash), but here are a few from our wonderful at the Hong Kong Museum of History. 

Visiting the museum helped me narrow down the time period and setting for my Cantonese Opera book. There was also a permanent exhibit here about a specific kind of Cantonese opera called Chinese Opera for the Gods, a ritual performed in villages around Hong Kong to commemorate a god's birthday and bless a village. It's a tradition still practiced today, though not as common as it used to be.

Funnily enough, the fishing village we visited on Lantau on day three, Tai O, hosts an annual opera performance of this type. We'd seen signs advertising it when we were on the island.

Gabe in a traditional fishing boat.

A hawker's stall of children's toys outside the opera house

The temporary opera structure for Chinese Opera for the Gods

A scene from 1913 Hong Kong water front (I think that's the right year - need to check my notes!)

A recreation of a building on Hong Kong island in the late 1800's/early 1900's

A popular way to travel around Hong Kong Island -- an old-fashioned tram

My parents sharing a laugh on the MTR train on the way home. How I love them!

If you ever visit Hong Kong and are curious about Hong Kong history, you'll have to visit this museum. The exhibits were amazing. The street scene from early Hong Kong was especially stunning. You can walk into tea shops and pawn shops, see the bulletins posted on the brick walls ... an incredible, hands-on experience.

That evening I was able to see one of my best friends from middle school and early high school at King George V School, Hersha. We hadn't seen each other in twenty years! She and her lovely husband treated us to a delicious meal.

Friends reunited

Gabe was a little worn out after his busy day! He has been a trooper through this trip, following Mom around on all her research trips. This is only the second time he's fallen asleep at a restaurant late at night.

Overall, another wonderful day in my amazing hometown. Gabe and I miss everyone back home, but we're not ready to leave yet! We want our American family to fly here instead of us flying back over there. I wish!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 3

What a fabulous time we're having!

I met my friend Jacqueline (@Lantaumama) through Twitter and our writerly friend Susan Blumberg-Kason. She lives on South Lantau and when she found out I was coming to Hong Kong, she offered to drive us around the island. I'd asked her questions before on Twitter about how South Lantau feels in a typhoon, so she knew one of my books was set there. We didn't experience a typhoon on our trip (thankfully), but we did get a black rain storm warning, which is actually more appropriate for the book. Serendipity!  Jacqueline braved a very wet day to take us around and was an amazing, knowledgeable tour guide. I learned so much about the area and culture and it was wonderful to meet her in person.

Here we are on the bridge in the Lantau fishing village, Tai O.

An original shop-house still in use (shop downstairs, house upstairs), Tai O

Houses on stilts in Tai O, with waterfall behind

Village houses, South Lantau Island

Tumble-down residence, licensed property, in a South Lantau village

Water buffalo field

We took the ferry back from Lantau to Central. You can see the IFC Building with its top in the clouds.

Standing below the IFC building

A huge thank you to Jacqueline. We had a magical third day on South Lantau!

Hong Kong Trip: Day 2

I'm behind a day! I know! But that's because we spend all day out and about Hong Kong. When I get back to my sister's flat, I'm too exhausted to blog! After driving a minivan in the U.S. for five years, I'm not used to walking so much.

We are having a fabulous time and it's so much fun to gather information and experiences for my books. On our second day, we went on a walk/hike into the hills behind my sister's flat in the pouring rain. One of things I love most about Hong Kong is the nature and all the paths through the hills. It's warm and humid here, so the rain isn't uncomfortable. But when it rains, it pours! I'm really enjoying the rain, though, because one of the books I'm in the process of writing, set in Hong Kong, has a lot of rain in it. In fact, the rain is so important, it's practically a character. So, as ironic as it seems, the weather couldn't have worked out better!

An abandoned house in a village behind my sister's flat.

The road turned into a river as we walked.

A stream running past a village house.

I spent a lot of time on Day 2 at the Heritage Museum in Shatin. They have a permanent Cantonese opera exhibit there. Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm hoping to write a historical novel about a child adopted by an opera troupe. I took a billion pictures at the museum, but here are a few:

Replica of the Foshan theatre, built in 1658.

Traditional opera dressing table

What a dressing room would have looked like

Costumes

I mentioned that it rained, right?

Hong Kong Trip: Day 1

I'm in Hong Kong at the moment, visiting my parents and my sister and conducting research for several novels-in-the-works. 

Here are a few pictures from my adventures today: 

The view out my bedroom window. Those are traditional Chinese graves, a detail in one of my books.

Bougainvillaea overflowing. I love how Hong Kong is such a mix of city and gorgeous nature.

Closed up snack shop. I want to remember what this gate looks like, because one of my minor characters owns a shop like this.

One of the main reasons I'm here: researching Cantonese opera!

I forgot what real rain felt like, smells like, tastes like, sounds like. Incredible!

Food is an important part of my novels, because Hong Kong food is amazing. Here's Gabe chowing down on dim sum.

Wall flowers

Bananas growing in my parents' village.

These are papayas, right?

Amazed by the beauty and color of rural Hong Kong.

One of my books takes place in a village. It's good to remember what the village houses look like.

When people think of Hong Kong, they usually think of only a huge city. Do any of these photos surprise you?

Tomorrow I'm planning to visit a history museum to learn more about Chinese opera. So excited!

Hong Kong Trip: We're Here!

My boy and I made it safely to Hong Kong!

It was a grueling fourteen-hour flight, but it was all worth it to see these smiling faces of family when we landed.

We're looking forward to a great trip here.

Our first item on the agenda, as soon as it's morning, is to eat Dim Sum, which is traditional Cantonese breakfast.

Traveling with my son, Gabe, has been a pleasure. He had to learn a lot about patience yesterday, but it's so fun to experience this with him because he is so filled with wonder at everything ... from the size of our plane, to the escalators and moving sidewalks at the airport, to the number of floors in his aunt Michelle's apartment building. The last time he was in Hong Kong, he was five years old and he doesn't remember a lot. I'm so excited to introduce this American small-town boy to Asian city life.

Watch out, Hong Kong! Here we come!

The Juggling Act & My Trip to Hong Kong

Hello, blog! Hello, bloggy friends!

Today I'm over on my agent Kate Testerman's blog chatting with my bud (and agent sister and valued critique partner) Krista Van Dolzer about how we juggle writing and motherhood.

If you're interested, head over there!

Also, I'm taking a trip to Hong Kong next week to visit my parents and sister, and while I'm there, I'll be doing lots of research for two new novels. I'll be posting some of the fruits of my research--photos and interesting bits of information. I hope you'll come back and visit.

How are you spending your spring break? 

Be Fearless: This is Preparation

How is an editor different than a critique partner?

Someone asked me this question awhile ago, and it's a really good one!

As in the last post (where I gave details about my revision process so far), I have to preface by saying that my experience might be vastly different from other writers'. So, take my thoughts with a sprinkle of salt.

There are a lot of similarities between a good critique partner and an editor. I have nothing but utmost respect for my critique partners. I value their opinion and take everything they say seriously. The biggest difference, then, is how my critique partners and I interact with each other. I send them my work (or vice versa), they critique it, and leave opportunity for me to ask for questions and clarification afterward. But I don't send the same story repeatedly until it's perfect.

With my editor, though, we went through revisions until he was happy with the product. I never felt a responsibility to make my critique partners happy with my books. I knew they would feel fulfilled in a sense, just as I feel fulfilled when I'm able to help them meet their goals, but there's still a certain degree of separation with a critique partner that's not there with an editor. My editor respects my space as an author, but he also shares a vision with me for the book, and we work toward that vision as a team.

With that said, my experience with my excellent critique partners prepared me well to work with my editor. I was already used to getting lots and lots of comments, long "editorial" letters, nit-picky corrections (yay for critique partners who are as anal as I am!). I was used to ripping my books completely apart. Heck, in a couple instances, after sending something off to a crit-buddy, I had started ALL OVER AGAIN.

I'm convinced that's why the ten-page editorial letter my editor sent me wasn't too overwhelming, because I had forced myself, in my pre-published days, to be fearless.

YES, take out that huge chunk of writing you love. The book is better without it!

YES, keep reworking and reworking and reworking that scene until it flows so smoothly you stop noticing the writing and feel only the feelings.

YES, start again. It's not the end of the world. And the new story will be one hundred times cleaner.

When you get used to cutting your work into tiny pieces and sewing them back together, you eventually learn the sheer beauty of revision. So, when an editor comes at you with MAJOR changes, you can skip the nervous breakdown and get to work.

That's why I'm glad for the gift of my years and years of rejection, because I learned to be a writer.

I hope this blog post doesn't come across as cocky. Notice that I mentioned WORK. I didn't sing and dance my way through the editorial letter. I had to let everything my editor told me sink in over several days. I had to think a lot. I had to rework and write a lot of new stuff. It was work and it was a challenge. The point is, I felt prepared.

How do you interact with your critique partners? If you have an editor, did you feel prepared to work with him or her? I'd love to hear your story! 

Photo credit: DarrenHester from morguefile.com

Sneak Peek: My Revision Journey So Far

Sometimes it feels like there's a thick, mysterious curtain  between the world of querying and finding an agent, and the world of signing a contract and starting work to make our manuscripts into books. I'm not sure why that is. I think writers are mostly willing to share their experiences. Maybe it's just that they don't want to show off ... or maybe they get busy (raises hand!).

I thought I'd share my own revision experience so far. Obviously, my timeline doesn't apply universally, but hopefully you'll find it helpful/enlightening in some way.

I signed my contract for Red Butterfly back in August. Of course, I'd known I had a book deal for awhile before that, but I couldn't talk about it until the official announcement came out. You all know how that goes. Secrets, secrets, secrets!

I started my first round of revisions in August. These began with the UPS man arriving at my door and handing me a large manila envelope filled with -- you got it! -- a print-out copy of my book with hand-written notes from my editor. The envelope also included an almost ten-page editorial letter and a November deadline.

MY FIRST DEADLINE!!! Ahhhhh!

Actually, I was pretty excited about it. You know how firsts are always exciting. Even when they're deadlines.

That edit was a big one. I had a ton of back story to figure out/change and a lot of extra poems to write. I added six thousand words, which is a lot for a verse novel.

I handed those revisions in early (because, you know, deadlines were still exciting), in October. My editor got back to me in a little over two weeks (he's amazing like that) with more revision notes. This time the (much, much shorter) editorial letter came by email, with hand-written notes in the UPS man's manila envelope.

This time I had a month and a half to make changes. There was still a lot to do, though not as much as the first round, and, I'm happy to say, despite my laptop crashing, I was able to turn in my edits the day before the deadline. (Phew!)

My crazy-fast editor got a third round of edits back to me by the beginning of December and gave me a week to make changes.

But this time it was little things, and the editorial notes arrived via marked-up Word document in an email. I tidied everything, sent it back and voila! Got the okay. We were finished!

Except for copy edits, which should be arriving on my doorstep sometime this month. I'll keep you posted!

In my next post I'll talk about a related subject to this: how my six/seven years of querying and writing rejected novels prepared me for my first deadlines. I hope it will be encouraging, so come back to read it!

Until then, if you're a published author, was your revision experience similar? If you're not published yet, is this the idea you had of what revisions would be like? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

And, lest I forget, Happy New Year to all!

Photo credit: Sgarton from morguefile.com

Merry Christmas!

The crazy Sonnichsen clan hopes you had a very merry Christmas!

God bless you!

I'm Baaaaack!

Hello, hello, long lost bloggy friends!

I almost had a heart attack when I saw the date of my last blog post. Gahhhh!

But I am still alive. Here I am with the dashingly handsome sidekick on a recent weekend getaway we took to a cute little town in southern Washington called Walla Walla. That's the inn where we stayed behind us. So pretty, and so peaceful! We had a wonderful time.

We needed this getaway because this semester has been ... beyond busy. We've often felt like two ships passing in the night, communicating by Morse code and flashlight beams.

The good news is: football season is over! The DHS's team did well, placing third in the 2A division in Washington. (Go Mustangs!)

Other good news is: I finished all my edits. I'm planning another blog post to go into more detail (for those of you who are interested), but basically I'm up-to-date for everything that needs to be done with RED BUTTERFLY and now waiting on copy edits arriving some time in January.

In the meantime, I'm working on a fun little time travel MG. I'm hoping to finally write an ending for this thing soon. I think it's going to need A LOT of editing, though, before anyone can see it. But what's new, right?

How are things in your creative world? If you're a writer, tell me about what you're working on. If you're not a writer, tell me about something interesting you're doing. I'm going to make an effort to run around to all my long-lost friends' blogs, so please leave a comment so I can dash over and say Hi!