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Author Archives: Dennis Langley

Vacation

27 Jun

I’ve been busy recently with vacation. It all started Friday before Father’s Day. The archery club I belong to, holds a traditional archery shoot every year on Father’s Day weekend. Shooters come from across the U.S.to participate in what many have called the finest traditional-only, 3D archery shoot in the U.S. Yes, I’m biased. However, when participants of the IBO World Championships tells you this, you tend to pay attention.

Only traditional equipment is allowed. Longbows, recurves, and primitive bows are the mainstay. no sights are allowed so instinctive shooting is required. Targets are commercially made three-dimensional life-like replications of real animals. They are accurate in size and shape. The main differences is the real animal does not have scoring rings etched into its side and it doesn’t hold still for very long. 🙂

Looking through the blind at the 3 dimensional foam target.

Looking through the blind at the 3 dimensional target.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The three dimensional targets look very real, but they are made from foam rubber.

The three-dimensional targets look very real, but they are made from foam rubber.

The Shoot consists of three loops of twenty targets each. It’s a lot of work to put these kind of event on but the Club enjoys putting it together almost as much as the participants enjoy shooting it. I did say almost, right! Unfortunately mother nature had other plans for us. Friday was set up day and was beautiful. Saturday and Sunday were a wash out when we got five inches of rain. It cleared up a couple of hours before it was time to tear everything down, but attendance was terrible. Oh well, better luck next year. It will be our twenty-fifth year.

After the Shoot, I visited with my father and took a few days to go to the cabin. Most of my time there was spent getting it in shape for the upcoming July 4th celebration. Then a day of yard work at the house was quickly followed by a three-day writer’s conference called 4th Street Fantasy.

4th Street is a small convention by most standards, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in content. Seeing friends from across the country, participating in panel discussions with world-class authors, sharing music circles and single malt in the evenings, all the while learning about the craft of writing; what better way to spend the last few days of vacation.  For those of you who love to write or read fantasy/science-fiction, this is a must to add to your bucket list.

 

 
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Posted by on June 27, 2014 in Other Strangeness, Traditional Archery

 

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Shot Sequence

23 Jun
Look at the eyes, even after the shot. Concentration!

Look at the eyes, even after the shot. Concentration!

The archer steps into position, comfortable and grounded. She readies an arrow on the string and takes a deep breath letting it out slowly. Her eyes look up from the ground and she sees the target for the first time.

Twenty yards away, tacked to the white backstop is an “X”. It is surrounded by concentric circles moving away from the X in evenly spaced waves. But, they of no consequence. There is only the X. For the next few seconds, or perhaps a lifetime, there is only the X. While her conscious mind focuses only on the X, the archer’s subconscious performs the routine that has been perfected over years of repetition.

Three fingers of the archer’s right hand curl around the bow-string, while the right hand finds its familiar spot on the bow’s hardwood handle.

 

Down range, the archer’s vision focuses on the point where the lines intersect. Only the spot where they intersect. Everything else disappears from view.

The bow arm comes up until the arrow is aligned with the point where the lines intersect. In one smooth motion, the bowstring and arrow are drawn back until the fingers touch the bony ridge along the archer’s jaw line.

From this point the tension in the Rhomboid muscles of the back begin to contract. The arms and hands are relaxed with the exception on the finger curl of the string hand. The subconscious runs through an invisible checklist and decides whether or not the shot feels right.

The spot where the lines making the X connect breaks apart until there is only one dot of ink left on the target. No larger that a pin point. It is the only thing the eyes see.

The shot feels right and the back muscles continue to contract until the string fingers simply allow the string to move forward. it is not a conscious thought or action, just the result of the back tension no longer allowing the fingers to hold the string.

As if by magic, the arrow appears on the small dot of ink that the eyes are focused on. Only then does the back release. Only then does the archer realize that the shot has been made.

One perfect shot!

 

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2014 in Traditional Archery

 

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Sad Ending

02 Jun

On Monday, I received an email from Ned Miller, the editor and founder of Stick and String Traditional Archery Magazine. It stated that as of September 1, 2014, the magazine would publish its last issue. The reason given was not being able to generate sufficient capital to maintain operations. For two and a half years, Stick and string has provided traditional archers with an alternative magazine that provided quality reading and informational articles.

In the Summer of 2012, Ned read my post Room to Write where I commented on my collection of traditional archery equipment. Ned emailed me, stated that he had a new magazine, and asked if I would be willing to write an article for the Fall edition. After a few emails we settled on a topic and my article, “The Bridge Method”, appeared in the September 2012 publication. Then in the Summer of 2013, Ned published my second article, “Extending the Length of Your Arrows”.

I feel privileged to have been involved in Ned’s magazine. Ned was always easy to work with and as a fellow archer, was open to articles discussing anything related to Traditional Archery. Though it didn’t have a huge circulation, I know the people who contributed to and read Stick and String will miss it. I know I will.

 
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Posted by on June 2, 2014 in Traditional Archery

 

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Summer’s Coming

28 May

Two weekends ago, my ‘crew’ went to the cabin to put the dock and boat lift in the lake. This annual ritual took place several weeks later than in previous years due to the hard winter and late ice out. It usually takes a few hours to get everything in the water and leveled up. This is followed by general back-slapping and high-fives indicating that no one drowned in the process. Cold drinks and hearty meal celebrate the coming of summer as the boats are now in the water and fishing can begin in earnest.

 

Putting new section on the dock.

Putting new section on the dock.

There were several twists to this year’s event. We added a new section to the dock. The expansion was necessary because the CEO bought me a new toy (i.e. boat – not pictured).

Dock and lift in their new locations. Time to go fishing!!

Dock and lift in their new locations. Time to go fishing!!

And, we put it in a new location to provide the clearest view of the lake. In addition to the view, the change of location made for easier set up. The water is more shallow in the new location, which means I don’t have water splashing over the tops of my chest waders. Water temperature of 48 degrees F can make for a chilly experience if it gets inside.

Now that the work is done, fishing, writing, and general R&R become the priorities! Yes, in that order!

 

 
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Posted by on May 28, 2014 in Other Strangeness

 

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Taking things for granted

20 May
Hummingbird in flight

Hummingbird in flight

If you read my previous post, you will note the menagerie of fauna that frequent the cove where my cabin sits on the lake. This was only a small cross-section of the animals I saw over a two-day period. White-tailed deer, black bear, woodpeckers, pelicans, nuthatches, creepers, red-winged blackbirds, hooded mergansers, osprey, bald-headed eagles, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, and more, all made an appearance. I told my domestic CEO that if she ever caught me taking the beauty and wonders of nature for granted, that she should hit me with a shovel. She agreed to it, perhaps a bit too fast.

I try very hard to notice something unusual about my environment every day. Most people would be shocked at the wildlife that life in their neighborhood. And, I mean downtown big cities and suburbs, as well as, the more rural areas. A few years back a 180 pound cougar was spotted by the police and filmed walking through a residential neighborhood in a close suburb of Minneapolis. After a few sightings it just disappeared. A gigantic white-tailed buck lives in the city park and adjacent marsh not two blocks from my house. I live in the city, folks!

Quite often, the CEO catches me sitting in my chair staring out the window toward the waterfall, pond and gardens that fill my back yard. “What are you looking at?” she asks. “Oh, nothing,” I respond, though that is not a fair answer. It’s just simpler that trying to describe two rabbits playing among the hostas. Or, the way the breeze is making the Siberian Blue Willows sway across the waterfall. Or, the interesting structure of the pagoda dogwood tree. Sometimes I do go to the trouble to explain what I was looking at. But, she knows me and takes it in stride if I keep it to myself.

Street gang

Real wild street gang!                                             Image courtesy of Sioux City Press

Growing up, my family would go for long walks in the forests of central Wisconsin. I was always amazed at what my father would spot before the rest of the family. When I got old enough to realize he was not all-powerful, I asked him how he did it. “It is very simple,” he said. “I look for particular shapes that would indicate a part of an animal, like an ear or tail.” My father then said, “The most important thing is to look for movement, just like the animals do.”

I took his advice and practiced. the one thing he didn’t tell me is that the most important thing to remember is that you must first want to see the little things and the larger world around us. If we take them for granted, we forget they exist and we stop seeing them.

So, slow down and take a good look around. Remember what it was like, as a child, experiencing things for the first time. Try to always live with a sense of wonder.

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2014 in Musings and Odd Thoughts

 

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Ice out

14 May
Ice out (Image Public Domain)

Ice out (Image Public Domain)

Gone are the sub-zero air temperatures. The remains of the last spring snow storm disappear into small runoffs and ditches along the road. Mountains of snow piles dwindle down to small lumps as the warm winds from the south, carve away at them. Lake ice turns black and rotten. Even the bravest fishermen, stop tempting fate and no longer venture beyond the shoreline.

A murder of crows wing by overhead carrying with them the guarantee that spring has returned. Bunnies are fat and playful. They seem to forget for a moment that they are a prime food source for the predators that lurk nearby. But somehow, there is peace, as the sun brings joy to the landscape.

Soon, the loons will gather looking for food and mates. Their strange laughing calls will echo across the lake. To soon, they will disperse to find nesting sites and good fishing.

As darkness falls a single beaver cruises the shallows between the ice edge and the shore. He looks for a young sapling to use for a tasty meal. He disappears around the point as the coming darkness swallows him.

The weatherman forecasts that tomorrow, a warm rain will fall and continue so for several days. When the rain ceases, the ice will be gone and spring will come to the lake.

 
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Posted by on May 14, 2014 in Other Strangeness

 

Back Stories

17 Apr

004

A few weeks ago I read a post that really caught my imagination. It was Matt Wright’s post on Tolkien’s published appendices. The question that came to mind is how can the volumes of back story that we create for each character, plot, location, and obstacle be used other than to help write the story? A sizable portion of Tolkien’s world and back stories were published after his main books and were gobbled up enthusiastically by his fans. As Matt points out, the e-book industry is perfect for this type of follow-up publication and many of the author’s I follow have used it to good effect.

I got my start writing by creating back stories for my friend’s RPG characters. So, generating back story is something that I spend a fair amount of time thinking about. I found that creating a character study using free-writing is not only is fun, but it produces characters with interesting and unforeseen motivations, likes and dislikes. Back story written as short-shorts or even a short story can be a nice change of pace from your main WIP. Also, it can help a writer through a plot or character block.

So, this ‘extra’ writing  brings up a few questions, “Can back story be used to promote a book that has yet to be published? Can it be used to help create an audience for an upcoming book release? Can it be used for story promotion without damaging the story to come? If written with the intent to promote a longer upcoming piece, what is the best vehicle to introduce it to potential new readers? Would posting it on a blog provide as much exposure as e-publication? If the back story is a short-short, does it even make sense to try to e-publish it?

Honestly I’m split on this topic. Whereas, introducing readers to a short piece to lure them in may sound like a good idea, it would have to be written so that the writer did not give away too much of the character for the main story to follow. Also, short pieces are harder to write from a world-building/explanation stand point. The writer has less room for exposition.

The flip side is that a short piece might be enough candy to lure the reader into a relationship with your characters. The writer needs to be aware that new fans won’t wait very long for the longer piece to be released. So, unless the goal is to release numerous shorts before the main book is released, timing of the back story release would be critical.

What do you think? Do you have back stories you could use to promote your WIP? Would you ever publish back story to promote your WIP or do you think it best to wait and see if the WIP is well received?

 
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Posted by on April 17, 2014 in Thoughts on Writing

 

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