a muse takes over – creating alien plant species
When I was in university, we spent lots of time in botany courses discovering the concept of ‘form follows function’. This means that plants have adapted to their surroundings so almost every physical feature reflects the requirements of landscape and habitat. Good examples:
- thorns discourage predators
- tubular flowers to enable pollination by insects with long mouth parts
- hairs on leaves help conserve moisture by blocking air flow
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This concept is foremost in my mind as I try to populate my fictional planet Meniscus with plants. Plants are important to my story because my characters have to forage for their food (the main character, Odymn, is particularly good at finding food in the forest). My alien plants have to serve the purposes of the story. They also have to be credible and follow biological logic. Form must follow function.
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This drawing of Odymn practicing her parkour in the woods shows two plant species on Meniscus — a banyan-like tree and ‘slag-fern’. This banyan is great for climbing and jumping!!!
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Some sci-fi readers prefer authors not to invent new species, but to use our familiar species. I decided to create new species because my story is about what humans have lost when they were brought to an alien planet. I plan to help my readers by including a glossary of alien plants in the back of each book.
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Although they are alien, most of my plants are reminiscent of our species here on Earth. A good example would be ‘arbel’ a small woodland plant used to treat ailments on planet Meniscus. One of the chemical components of ‘arbel’ is ASA (acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin), making it similar to tea berry (Gaultheria procumbens), a plant common in our woods. I imagine ‘arbel’ to look like our woodland species trout lily (Erythronium americanum). Like trout lily, ‘arbel’ has edible corms. Also like trout lily, ‘arbel’ has thick leaves to conserve water on a planet where surface water is rare.
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Another of my alien plant species is a carnivorous club-moss, a dangerous inhabitant of the Themble Woods. Sheets of this moss crawl across the woodland floor, engulfing their prey. I want to include carnivorous plants on Meniscus because our own carnivorous plants, such as the sundew (Drosera sp.), are so intriguing. My carnivorous ‘club-moss’ has glands to absorb nutrients from its prey and touch-responsive tendrils to help it crawl through the forest. For a while I thought I would use carnivorous vines but I have seen too many movies where vines take over the earth!
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Odymn falls asleep in the woods and is overtaken by a carpet of carnivorous club-mosses.
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An earlier drawing showing vines attacking Odymn.
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Following is a list of the plants I have planted on Meniscus. Beverages to keep the folks on Meniscus awake are brewed from the leaves and berries of ‘thief-bush’!
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| plant | description |
| arbel | nodding woodland flower; corms edible |
| glasswort | transparent, low-growing plant, adapted to the edges of the Churn |
| grammid | tree with orange leaves and edible seed pods; smells like cinnamon |
| ransindyne | plant grown for its edible root |
| slag-fern | fern-like plant with leathery leaves |
| spenel | small plant with edible berries |
| thief-bush | bush with thick leaves and blue berries; used to make beverages |
| tussilago | plant similar to colts-foot, used to sooth a cough |
| walking-vine | vigorous vine native to the edges of the Darn’el desert |
| yarnel | tree with edible fruit like pomegranate |
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This writing has given me new appreciation for the interesting and complex plants we have on our own planet!
Next post I will show you some of the animals on Meniscus!
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
a muse takes over – structuring a project
When I wrote the first ‘book’ for my sci-fi series about enslaved humans on the planet Meniscus, I really didn’t know where the series was headed. The characters were clear to me and my focus was the building of a relationship between the main two characters, Odymn and the Slain. However, as I neared completion of the first story, I discovered: the first book needs the guidance of the second to set the stage for a book series.
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By the time I completed the draft of my second ‘book’, I knew where the series was headed. This is a story of how a small group of human beings overcome all odds and challenging enemies to rebuild a social structure stolen from them.
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Vicki, Odymn’s friend in Prell-nan, plays a very minor role in the first two ‘books’ and a major role as the story progresses.
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In the end, the project will be five books, telling the story in sequence. I thought I would begin this series of posts near the middle of the creative process, when I am deciding how to frame and present my five books and the one over-arching story.
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Each book in the series will tell one part of the over-arching story, in the form of a long poem. This will be accessible poetry, written in short lines and stanzas. The less-accessible part of the story will be the vocabulary and strangeness of the planet and the characters.
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Each book will have its own story arc and these stories will build on one another. Each story will feature recurring characters and a few new characters. All of the stories occur in a particular area of the planet Meniscus, known as the Prell-nan South District (Prell-nan is the main urban area in the story). This allows me to expand on the original five books, if the muse continues to inspire me, into the North District!
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a map to go with the story
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Presently, the five stories are in different stages of completion. Book 1 (Crossing The Churn) is in final draft and with my editor for comment. Book II (South from Sintha) is in final draft. The story arcs and drafting of Book III (Winter by the Water-climb) are mostly complete. Book Four (The Town at Themble Hill) is experiencing the agony of story arc resolution. Book Five ( ?????) is in early, early draft.
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At this point, I am trying to make sure the five stories are balanced in their presentation. To do this, I keep in mind the length of each story, measured in terms of the number of words, ‘chapters’, pages and characters.
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To present this in a table:
| number in series | book title | number of words | number of pages | number of chapters | number of main characters |
| 1
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Crossing The Churn | 9,821 | 147 | 33 |
4
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| 2
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South to Sintha | 8,648 | 104 | 31 | 7 |
| 3
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Winter by the Water-climb | 12,877 | 147 | 53 | 13 |
| 4
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The Town at Themble Hill | 11,389 | 108 | 47 | 16 |
| 5
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???? | 761+ | 10+ | 11 so far | ?? |
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As you can see, these will be short ‘books’, probably readable in about 2-3 hours, allowing for the poetry and a bit of challenging alien vocabulary.
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This post’s bit of advice:
if you are writing a series, knowing the content and story arcs of the subsequent book(s) will help inform the story and content of the previous book(s).
This worked well for me in writing the “Saving the Landing Church” series (see https://janetims.com/2015/07/03/writing-a-novel-draft-by-draft/ ).
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
a muse takes over – introduction
I have been missing from regular posting for a while. The reason is — I have been totally overtaken by a project I am working on.
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Something I have wanted to do for a while is independent publication. Although I am dedicated to the publication of my poetry books through traditional publishing, I am interested in alternative means of putting words and stories out to readers. So I have been looking for a project outside the interests of local publishers.
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Originally I intended to self-publish a book of poems about the use of stone in cultural expression – poems about Mayan stelae, Viking runestones and North American petroglyphs. I may still do this, but as I thought about publishing this book, another muse took up space in my brain. Space, literally. In November I began writing a science-fiction romance and by December I knew I had found my independent publishing project.
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a scan of the painting I will use for my book cover
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I have already said a little about the project on this blog. The story is about a dystopian society on a distant planet. It follows the love story of two strangers who meet and encounter all kinds of adventures. The plot involves the difficult search for freedom and community by a group of people who have been enslaved and denied association with other humans.
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My main character, Odymn, has lived in the alleyways of an alien city, using her dedication to the practice of ‘parkour’ as a way of keeping her body and mind fit.
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The story is written as a series of five long-poems. This is partly because, as a poet, I am drawn to the conciseness and brevity of poetry as a means of telling stories. The use of poetry to tell the tale of Odymn and the Slain is also perfect as a way to convey the oddity of life on a planet where the geography is strange, plants and animals are unfamiliar and all the rules have been broken. Even the water doesn’t behave on the planet Meniscus. It tends to flow upward rather than down!
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My main characters are running from the Gel-heads, a nasty alien species. Part of their journey means ascending the En’ast Water-climb where the water flows up instead of down.
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This post is an introduction to the project. I hope you enjoy the drawings and hints of story they contain. In subsequent posts I will share the process steps I have used to create plot, characters and story-line. I hope you enjoy these posts and find some ideas for writing your own stories.
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My main characters, Odymn and a genetically-modified human known as the Slain, have all sorts of adventures as they get to know and trust one another.
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I also hope you will look forward to the launch of the first book in the series and to finding out what happens when people try to build a community from almost nothing.
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
flutter song
A well-known space can be transformed in an instant.
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Every day I walk the path from our front door. Our bird feeders are right there, beside the path. Usually the opening door sends the birds scattering. They fly into the trees around our yard and twitter and chirp until I go.
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But last week, just after a new fall of snow, I had a magical experience of being in the midst of the feeding birds. And for whatever reason, they paid no attention to me at all.
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The birds, mostly chickadees and goldfinches, whistle and tweet as they feed. But the prevailing sound as I stood among them was the fluttering and whirring of wings all around me.
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We have other visitors at the feeders, mostly a couple of cat-sized grey squirrels and a family of red squirrels, the descendants of the squirrels that moved in to take advantage of the feeders when we first moved here 37 years ago. The spaces around the feeder vary, depending on whether birds or squirrels are the dominant visitors. It was fun, just for a moment, being part of all the activity!
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Copyright 2017 Jane Tims
“Glorious Light”
So far this winter I have read some terrific books. One of the best combines my interest in history with my love of stained glass.
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“Glorious Light — The Stained Glass of Fredericton” by John Leroux (Gaspereau Press, 2011) is a splendid photographic record of the best kept secret of Fredericton’s architecture. The book explores both sacred and secular examples of glass artistry throughout the city. With examples, it describes and provides background on specific windows, some I have seen and wondered about since I came to Fredericton almost 40 years ago.
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On Thursday evening this week, as part of our “Authors Coffee House” (Holy Trinity Anglican Church), John Leroux will give a presentation and reading of “Glorious Light”. John is a noted local architect and restoration specialist, and an engaging speaker. If you are in the Fredericton area, this would be a great way to spend a Thursday evening. Perhaps I’ll see you there!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
ready for the next snow date
When I talk about my retirement, the conversation always seems to go to how busy we are.
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My days are filled with activity. I spend most mornings writing and reading. In the afternoon, I spend a smaller-than-necessary time on keeping house, making supper or going into town on errands. Evenings are divided between time with my husband and writing, attending meetings or working at some of my volunteer work.
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snowbanks in our turn-about last year
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The weather can change all of this. My husband has a 40 horsepower tractor equipped with a front end loader and a snow-blower. On snow days, he plows or blows snow from his customer’s driveways. On these days, I am the ‘support worker’. I answer the phones, keep track of where my husband is blowing snow, deliver diesel when he runs low on fuel and take him his dinner.
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my husband’s tractor, a L4060 Kubota
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Our day starts at about four in the morning. First, the ruler, to measure the fallen snow. Then, the first customer … us! … two passes to make sure I can get the truck out when the time comes. By the time the first refuelling call comes, the truck is cleared of snow, the bird feeders are filled and I have already finished my daily writing objectives.
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the snowman is our snow ruler … after some storms you can’t see the measurement
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When people complain about bad driving in winter, I can say that I have driven in the worst of the worst. Since most of our 25 or so customers are in the local subdivisions, we are often out removing snow before the side roads are plowed. I am lucky to have a four-wheel drive since this winter, snow over ice has been the norm.
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the first tractor we had, a great work-horse, but less comfortable for long days of work
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You might think that writing takes a back-seat to my duties when it snows. But not so. I do a lot of my writing in my head as I go about my work. In the evenings, when I drive out with my husband to collect from his customers, I am gathering writing ideas. For example, a few nights ago, as I waited in the truck, a drone lifted from a neighbourhood yard and tracked overhead … a scene for the novel I am working on was born!
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the scene where we sometimes eat our lunch
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Our lives are busy, but I love variety. I love being part of my husband’s day as he goes about his work. When I take his lunch to him, we talk and watch the falling snow and listen to the radio. And wonder where 37 years of winters have gone!
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Copyright Jane Tims 2017
results of the Christmas sale
On this past Saturday, I had the fun of being a vendor at Sandra’s Market Fredericton. This was the first experience of its kind for me, although I have attended such sales for years.
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Overall, I had a great time! The venue at the Delta was beautiful, not crowded, and set-up was easy. The other vendors were pleasant and very interesting to talk to. A couple of good friends stopped by and there were lots of shoppers. I took a book to read, but watching the people at the sale was too much fun to miss. I sold five books and three paintings, including the painting ‘teaberries’, seen below.
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I think the best part of the sale was talking to the various shoppers about their experiences picking berries and gathering wild plants. A couple of people mentioned battling the squirrels for hazelnuts. Many of the older shoppers said their berry picking days were over due to ailments. A few people were interested in identifying edible mushrooms.
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December 8, 2016 ‘teaberries’ Jane Tims (acrylic) 8″ x 8″ $30 (SOLD)
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Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
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first gathering in spring
thick leaves as leather crush
weep wintergreen
oil infuses pale tea
milk to swell aroma
sugar and midnight sparks
sweet steam meets breath
aspirin makes undelicate
my heart
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The leaves of Eastern teaberry or American wintergreen contain oil of wintergreen; the chemical in this oil is methyl salicylate, known for its anti-inflammatory properties and closely related to aspirin. Methyl salicylate will build up an electrical charge when dried with sugar and rubbed. In Quebec, the plant is known as la petit thé du bois (little tea of the woods). Flowers are waxy, nodding, bell-shaped and white.
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Copyright Jane Tims 2016
cover art for book
In the past two months I have been working regularly on a science-fiction romance for eventual publication with Amazon. I have now completed the cover art for the book, based on my earlier black-and-white drawing. Below are the drawing, the possible layout for the book cover, and the painting. My photograph is terrible but this will give you an idea of the eventual look of the book.
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December 13, 2016 ‘parting the ferns’ Jane Tims (acrylic) 18″ x 24″
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Copyright Jane Tims 2016
raspberries in winter
On December 11, 2016 (from 10 AM to 4 PM), I will be at the Delta Hotel (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at Sandra’s Christmas Market Fredericton to sell my paintings and books. If you are in the Fredericton area, please pay me a visit!
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I have a new painting for sale at the event. December 8, 2016 ‘raspberries’ is painted in acrylics, 7″ x 5″, gallery edges, unframed. It reminds me of picking raspberries on a summer day.
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December 8, 2016 ‘raspberries’ Jane Tims (acrylic) 7″ x 5″ $25
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mended by raspberries
for Mary
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drove all the way to Flume Ridge
to pick those berries, large as thimbles
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red as blood after we’d pricked
our fingers on needled vines
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crossed the covered bridge to nowhere
the through road blocked, the way broken
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the covered bridge at our backs
the roar of the flume in our ears
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the tipple of honey bees
lightheaded in the berry canes
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This poem appears in my book, within easy reach, Chapel Street Editions, 2016.
Copyright Jane Tims 2016
getting ready for December – a gallery of ‘within easy reach’ paintings
On December 11, 2016 (from 10 AM to 4 PM), I will be at the Delta Hotel (Fredericton, New Brunswick) at Sandra’s Christmas Market Fredericton to sell my paintings and books. This is the first time I have ever tried selling at a craft show and I will be sure to report back on the experience.
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I began preparing for this event in July, painting a number of small canvasses, all on themes associated with the poems in my book within easy reach (Chapel Street Editions, Woodstock, 2016). Here are a few of the paintings I will have for sale. They are all priced to sell and I will give a discount for anyone buying both a book and a painting.
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August 20, 2016 ‘pick faster’ Jane Tims (10″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($45)
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August 25, 2016 ‘rose hips’ Jane Tims (10″ x 12″) acrylic, gallery edges ($40)
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October 21, 2016 ‘blueberries’ Jane Tims (5″ x 7″) acrylic, gallery edges ($30)
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July 31, 2016 ‘wild strawberries’ Jane Tims (10″ x 8″) acrylic, gallery edges ($40)
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August 14, 2016. ‘wild hops’ Jane Tims (12″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($50)
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August 16, 2016 ‘high bush cranberries’ Jane Tims (12″ x 10″) acrylic, gallery edges ($55)
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My books and paintings would be imaginative Christmas gifts for anyone who loves poetry, wants to re-kindle their own memories of berry picking or gathering other wild plants, or wants a small painting for a corner of a favourite room. I am thinking someone who has a home bar might like ‘wild hops’.
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I hope the market goers love them! If you are in the Fredericton area on December 11, I hope to see you there!
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Copyright 2016 Jane Tims
nichepoetryandprose 