loving hockey
I think that I will never be as proud of a magazine publication as I am of my two poems and two drawings in a hockey magazine!
Between the Lines – A Journal of Hockey Literature is a publication of the University of Saskatchewan, now in its third volume. The editors are Dwayne Brenna and Sara-Jane Gloutnez.
~
Between the Lines: A Journal of Hockey Literature
~
So, why am I so proud of this accomplishment? Is it because I am a lover of hockey? Just the opposite. I never pay it any attention! I have been known to ask if the Blue Jays won the Stanley Cup last year! However, one of my brothers is a devoted hockey fan. His love for the sport when he was young has always impressed me … I think people need should be passionate about their interests!
~
Hockey is a great theme for poetry. The game itself is naturally rhythmic (the movement of the skater, the varying pace of the game). The names of players and announcers, the terms for various plays, the enthusiasm of the fans … interesting words to work with! And metaphors abound.
~
I like to learn new things, to discover new themes for my writing and art. I also consider the game of hockey to be quintessentially Canadian. I can’t name a single hockey player after Mickey Mantle, but I love having my poems and art in a hockey magazine.
~
Between the Lines is a well-presented publication that includes stories about hockey and hockey players in both poetry and prose. The writing inside captures the scratch of blades on ice, the excitement of the announcer’s voice, the clouds of breath above the outside hockey rink, and the scurry of kids to move the net from the way of subdivision traffic.
~
~
loving hockey
~
at eight, my brother
was tall for his age
narrow-boned, jointed
as a skater bug
on the big farm pond
but compact, center
of gravity low
~
he learned to skate
on a strip of ice
by the driveway
practiced on the pond
a family myth
that he was pale
and our dad saw no value
in rising early
for ice time
~
my brother’s rink
a screen, rabbit-eared
Hockey Night in Canada
a pad of blue-lined
paper, hockey stick
a yellow pencil, skate
marks neat columns
of statistics, goals
and assists, Howe hat tricks
Mahovlich, Rocket
Richard, numbers
from the breathless
crescendo, Foster Hewitt –
‘He shoots, he scores.’
~
today my brother
is a fit man
an accountant, skates
on the boardroom table
on the frozen pond
a water strider
on the meniscus
attends games
at the coliseum
can still do a pivot
from standing
~
~
~
poem published as ‘loving hockey’ in Between the Lines, Volume 3, 2015/2016
drawing published in Between the Lines, Volume 1, 2014
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
A tree for the corner!
It’s inside! Our Christmas tree for 2015.
~
our tree for 2015, a balsam fir
~
We are lucky here in New Brunswick – we can buy locally-grown Christmas trees. We buy our tree at a lot where they cultivate their own trees, so usually the tree has been cut only a few days before, and will last well past Christmas. I usually take our tree down on January 6th.
~
When my son was young, we often cut our tree at a Christmas tree farm with my brother’s family. I can still see the paths the kids made as they ran in the rows, trying to find the perfect tree.
~
I am happy to know that many trees sold in communities across America come from New Brunswick. We have seen the loads of trees on the highways for weeks.
~
~
OK, I am officially in the Christmas spirit! Now the lights for the tree. And then our box of ornaments. Results to follow!
~
Copyright Jane Tims 2015
writing a novel – professional editing
‘a writers’ retreat’
Jane Tims, November 29, 2012
~
Remember my first novel? – ‘Saving the Landing Church’ aka ‘Open to the Skies’. The book is the story of how a woman tries to preserve an abandoned church with unexpected consequences for herself and for the community. The setting of the novel is a writers’ retreat in rural New Brunswick.
~
I began the book three years ago and worked on it, on and off, for a year. Since then, I have been working on two more novels in the series: ‘Crossing at a Walk’ and ‘Shore to Shore’.
~
In the last year, I sent ‘Open to the Skies’ to three publishers. Eventually I heard back from each one: ‘interesting but does not meet our publishing needs’. Disappointing but expected. However I intend to accomplish my goal of getting my novel published!
~
~
I decided to take another step and ask a professional editor to look at my novel and offer comments. I hired Lee Thompson of ‘Lee Thompson Editing +’ ( http://leethompsonediting.com/ ) to read my book and comment. I knew Lee from his role as Executive Director with the New Brunswick Writers’ Federation and took him up on one of the editing specials he occasionally offers. Lee read my novel and provided me with chapter-by-chapter notes about dialogue, plot pace and voice. He helped me most by pointing out areas where he felt characters were not contributing enough to the story.
~
The following is my commentary on Lee’s editing services:
One of the hardest aspects of writing is overcoming subjectivity. Hiring Lee to read and assess my novel helped to overcome this problem since Lee is not only a skilled editor, but is able to provide his comments in a way that encourages a writer’s objectivity. Lee provided a chapter-by-chapter analysis of my novel, including his assessment of what worked, what didn’t and suggestions for improvements. First, I knew by his synopsis that he had read the novel thoroughly and understood what I was trying to achieve. His comments on dialogue, plot pace and voice were specific and not only improved this book but helped me to look at my writing in a new way. Most important, his insightful thoughts on gaps in the story led me to discover story areas and directions that had previously eluded me but waited just below the surface to be discovered. Thanks to Lee I am now in the last stages of a final draft and almost ready to submit the novel to some of the publishers he suggested. I have realized that obtaining the services of a professional editor is one of the most important steps a writer can take – Lee’s confidence and skill made this part of the process painless and productive!
~
I am realising that writing a novel is a story of its own, consisting of many parts, each with its own consequences:
~
- First ideas about story and plot – a place to begin
- First Draft – the novel takes shape
- Second Draft – revision
- Third Draft and so on – more revision
- Beta Reader – someone to cast a reader’s eye on the draft and provide feedback
- Professional Editor – someone to cast an editor’s eye on the draft and provide feedback
- Publisher – someone to read and reject the novel
- Publisher – someone to read and accept the novel for publication
- Readers – someone to read the words and discover the story
~
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
Here’s looking at you!
Just finished a new series of paintings for my son’s store Meta GameZ at 98 Regent Street in Fredericton. The store specializes in Magic the Gathering and other games for those who love fantasy worlds. Dragons are a favorite theme, so here are five dragon eyes, looking at you. Hope you can stop in at the store and have a look at the originals! All are 10″ by 10″, acrylic, gallery edges.
~
November 30, 2015 ‘yellow dragon eye’ Jane Tims
~
November 30, 2015 ‘blue dragon eye’ Jane Tims
~
November 30, 2015 ‘purple dragon eye’ Jane Tims
~
November 30, 2015 ‘red dragon eye’ Jane Tims
~
November 30, 2015 ‘green dragon eye’ Jane Tims
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
taking the goodness into winter
I love carrots. Give me a bunch of local carrots and a bag of onions and there is always something for supper.
~
Keeping the goodness of our local produce into the winter months is a challenge. But this past weekend, I found dilled carrots still for sale at Cameron’s roadside stand just outside of Gagetown, New Brunswick. We also bought apples and a frozen apple pie.
~
Mom used to make these and they make a crunchy addition to a meal. Just carrots, vinegar, dill seed, garlic and salt.
~
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
something orange
I love the colour orange. It must be so – it is one of the most used ‘tag’ words in my blog postings.
~
This is a rather whimsical ‘side-view’ watercolour of an orange mushroom I saw recently in our cottage woods. I published the ‘top-view’ in an earlier post.
~
November 22, 2015 ‘side-view of an orange mushroom’ Jane Tims
~
November 5, 2015 ‘woodland floor’ Jane Tims
~
Copyright 2105 Jane Tims
in the shelter of the covered bridge – the record we leave
The Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge (Tomlinson Mill), built in 1918, is the only covered bridge remaining in Victoria County, New Brunswick.
~
Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge, Victoria County, New Brunswick
~
It is a charming bridge, with a long roofed window on one side.
~
long window in Odellach River #2
~
Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge, Victoria County, New Brunswick
~
The sound of the nearby mill is part of the personality of the bridge. A small distance away are the foundations for an old water mill.
~
old mill foundation – Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge
~
Every covered bridge has a record of people who have visited. Some carve initials, some make brief statements, some draw. I know from finding my own initials 20 years after I left them, that these records persist.
~
CT in the Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge
~
CT and RF in the Odellach River #2 Bridge
~
initials made with nails in the Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge
~
how was the summer ‘orange’ ? … who was Laurel?
~
who were the ‘Hillbilly Bikrs’ ?
~
graffiti, names and initials left on a wall of the Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge
~
Beti from Australia … Hilary and Macey were BFFs … Destiny was here … FTW – ‘the Wu’
~
some of the inner structure of the Odellach River #2 Covered Bridge, Victoria County, New Brunswick
~
Have you ever left your initials or a message for others to find?
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
Buying Local
The weekend before last, I attended WordsFall (a yearly event of the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick) in Sackville, a town in eastern New Brunswick. I read at the open mic session, enjoyed listening to the work of the other readers at the session, and attended two Saturday workshops.
~
When I visit Sackville, I am always encouraged by the atmosphere of community that prevails. For a small town, they have a lot to offer. My favorite places are the campus of Mount Allison University, the Sackville Waterfowl Park especially its birdlife and boardwalks, the Cackling Goose Market with its delicious sandwiches and gluten-free products, and the landscape of the salt marsh.
~
Brochure for the Town of Sackville, New Brunswick
~
While I was at the workshop, I picked up a brochure about Sackville. The painting on the front of the pamphlet is by Mary Scobie, ‘Sackville Market Day’ (Oil on canvas, 24″ by 48″) http://www.maryscobie.com . As our winter approaches, it is great to remember the fresh and local produce available in summer.
~
The Sackville Farmers Market is one of the oldest in the province and operates year-round.
~
Do you attend a farmers’ market and is it open during the winter months?
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
winter around the corner
As the weather gets more wintery, I adopt a strategy for getting through the next few months. The aim of the strategy is to keep warm!
- Put the kettle on and have a hot drink every morning. My hot drink of choice is tea with a little milk, but I also like hot chocolate and occasionally a cup of coffee.
- Make soup for supper. I love onions so every hot soup begins with these. Tonight we added Canadian bacon, a can of corn, a cut-up sweet potato and some spices.
- Knit. As I’ve said before, I can knit anything. I even knit a new top for my strawberry cookie jar! My usual knitting produces socks on four needles.
I think I am the only one on the planet who has knitted a new top for her cookie jar
~
3. Make small lap quilts. I love to work with fabric. My method is to piece together bits and quilt as I go. Last spring, my aunt gave me lots of fabric to work with so I will not be short of patterns! I am not a very good quilter but the work keeps me warm as I sew and the result is a cozy lap quilt.
a couple of examples of my latest lap quilts
~
4. Walk outside every day, to acclimate myself to the colder weather. I have a great walking stick, wooden, hand-carved with an owl.
my owl walking stick
~
What are your strategies for keeping warm in winter???
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
in the shelter of the covered bridge – update
Although my blog has been a bit silent this fall, I have been working! Among other projects, I am making great progress on my poetry manuscript ‘in the shelter of the covered bridge’.
~
~
To provide experiences and inventory the plants and animals living in and around covered bridges in the province, my husband and I have visited 28 covered bridges in the drainage basin of the Saint John River and 5 covered bridges in Charlotte and Westmorland Counties. I have a few more bridges to visit, but to give a little seasonal diversity to my project, I’ll travel to these in early winter.
~
Reading at WordsFall 2015, an annual event of the New Brunswick Writers’ Federation (photo by WFNB)
~
As a result of these bridge visits, I’ve written 60 poems. I read five of these last weekend at two writers’ events: WordsFall (Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick http://wfnb.ca/ ) and Odd Sundays (a monthly Fredericton reading event). The poems include the results of my work on different poetic forms – in the manuscript I have examples of the sonnet, ghazal, haiku, tanka and villanelle.
~
black horse painted in the Quisibis River Covered Bridge (Pont Lavoie)
~
As I develop the manuscript, and to help organize the poems, I have sorted them into categories:
- gaps between boards (deterioration and loss)
- liminal, shore to shore (transitions)
- grit of a blade (carvings and history)
- notch of a lily pad (habitat)
- a blade of grass between thumbs (mystery)
- heads of timothy (miscellaneous)
- a loose board rattles (sounds)
~
Writing these poems has given me a glimpse into the living world of the covered bridge. We may cross a bridge daily but it takes a little time to know a bridge and discover the life there. Most of the animals living in or around a covered bridge are timid or hidden, and avoid human contact. The plants provide the setting for the bridge but there is a pattern to the places they grow and some will only be seen if visitors to the bridge slow down. And carved in the beams are the stories of the humans who have been part of the history of the covered bridge.
~
Baker Brook #2 Covered Bridge – a deer and a crow are watching us from the hay field
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
