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Scorpions: Hazards of Writing in Italy

February 8, 2017 by Steve Gannon 2 Comments

Euscorpius alpha Caporiacco in Attack Mode

At one time or another, most of us have probably dreamed of holing up in a cabin somewhere to finish a particularly troublesome project. For a writer like me, that would be the essay that’s taking forever, the manuscript that got sidetracked, the novel that keeps getting postponed by life’s day-to-day interruptions.

Even better than a cabin in the woods, how about an isolated, 800-year-old casa in Italy? No distractions there, right?

That’s what I thought before I learned about the scorpions.

Something they don’t tell you in the travel brochures: There are LOTS of scorpions in Italy! Fortunately they aren’t the kind that kill you. Of the approximately 1400 species of scorpion worldwide, only twenty-five are deadly, and Euscorpius alpha Caporiacco – the black, nocturnal species prevalent in Italy and southern Switzerland – isn’t among them. The sting of the Italian version has been likened to that of a wasp, fatal only to someone who happens to be allergic.

Nevertheless, it’s more than a little unnerving to pick up a houseplant or look under a cabinet and find one of them staring back at you. They are definitely . . . creepy. The good news is that travelers visiting Italy can avoid being stung by simply hanging up clothes (don’t leave anything on the floor), shaking out shoes, and never walking barefoot at night.

 

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Pranzo on the Terrace

Unfortunately for me, scorpions aren’t the only distractions in bella Italia. For one, there is traffic noise at all hours, especially first thing in the morning. Nothing a chicken dinner wouldn’t fix, though.

Speaking of food, the produce here is great! Fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, pastas, pizzas, meats . . . did I mention chicken? I’ve been doing a lot of cooking over here. Hmmm.  Maybe I can work something about that into my writing?

Sardinia

And then there’s the coast. Tourist season is coming up soon, so my wife Susan and I decided it would be much smarter, not to mention cost effective, to travel to the beach now rather than later. Here’s a picture of us on the sand of Sardinia.

We also visited the island of Elba, where I did some firsthand research on Napoleon that might come in handy . . .

Elba selfie

Anyway, am I getting any writing done here in Italy? You bet. In fact, I’m just about to get back to work on my L.A. Sniper manuscript – the fourth in my “Kane Novel” series—right after I swat a couple scorpions, BBQ some chicken, and kick back for a while on the terrace.

What’s your worst insect encounter? Do bugs creep you out? What distracts you from your work? Please leave a comment and join the conversation!

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  1. orthodad2001@aol.com'Kenny GREENBAUM says

    June 15, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    Good to hear you are “surviving” the scorpions and the fruit/cheese plates. We were in Stresa two weeks ago, anywhere near you?

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 6:44 am

      Hi, Kenny,
      Yep, still surviving, and actually getting a little more work done than I suggested in my post. We’re near Perugia, which is halfway between Rome and Florence. LONG way from Stresa. Beautiful up there in the lake region near Switzerland! We plan to visit there sometime too — as soon as we take care of the chicken situation.

      Reply
  2. suncoastreader@gmail.com'Suncoast says

    June 15, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    Great legs (both of you) and great selfie. No wonder you are still working on the new book. Have you had any target practice at dawn when the chooks wake up first?

    Down Under we are faced with a few nasties, including sea water crocs up North that make some wonderful beaches almost unusable. Generally it is spiders we fear when gardening, especially the Red Back (poisonous but not normally deadly) and Funnelwebs (sometimes fatal but there is now an antivenom) which are pretty common in parts of Sydney.

    One of the most famous old Bush songs is “Redback on the Toilet Seat” because in the old days one of their preferred habitats was the outside Dunny (toilet).
    http://youtu.be/TjDAiq2-xeU

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 6:49 am

      Hi, Suncoast,
      Your insects (and crocs) in Australia make our problems pale by comparison! I remember a National Geographic (?) video on all the poisonous varieties of snakes and spiders Down Under. Scary! I guess I shouldn’t complain. Do you have any dangerous chickens?

      Reply
    • jimcrocker@ymail.com'Jim Crocker says

      June 17, 2014 at 4:38 am

      Mind if I join the party? I just hit the Slim Newton link and that’s just precious. I’ll be firing that one off around the web.

      I talked to a woman in northern Florida with a huge rattlesnake problem. Her and her husband would go out after dark with big headlamps on there hats and a Mossberg shotguns and walk the property blasting away for hours.

      Reply
      • Steve says

        June 17, 2014 at 6:34 am

        Hi, Jim,
        Yeah, snakes . . . especially poisonous ones. I saw a lot of them when I lived in California. Swatting scorpions is definitely preferable.

        Reply
  3. mimi@mimiart.com'Mimi says

    June 15, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    Scorpions….Sardinia….Elba…..fowl traffic…..pranzo on the terrace….lovely legs on the beach…….meraviglioso!!!!!

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 6:51 am

      Hi, Mimi,
      Yeah, life is sweet. And at least two of the legs on the beach are lovely.

      Reply
  4. sandeb@cox.net'Larry Levine says

    June 16, 2014 at 12:30 am

    I can’t stand snakes. They creep me out

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 6:54 am

      Hi, Larry,
      Ditto. I used to like them as a kid. Later that changed — maybe because I ran into so many rattlers in California. Not crazy about big spiders, either, except possibly tarantulas and daddy longlegs.

      Reply
  5. kazult@earthlink.net'Tony Stewart says

    June 16, 2014 at 1:32 am

    Steve,
    I`m anticipating your new book but impatience is just one of my virtues.
    You already know most of my vices.
    I wish I could post a few images: one of a huge black scorpion from here in my home, & one of an even more terrifying big black hairy monster.
    Both are real, but I`ll let readers imagine.
    As you well know, most terrifying in man`s psyche is his imagination.

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 7:00 am

      Tony,
      I promise to have “L.A. Sniper” completed before too long. It’s going well, better than I indicated in the post, and I’m too far along now not to finish. I’d love to share your monster images. You have a great eye and it shows in your photos. Let’s figure out how to do that . . . maybe a guest post?

      Reply
  6. lgannon@aarp.org'Larry Gannon says

    June 16, 2014 at 2:45 am

    Any centipede in Italy? Those are the bad boys in Hawaii .

    The beach looks fantastic

    Best place for a pizza margarita?

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 16, 2014 at 7:08 am

      Hi, Larry,
      Yep, we have centipedes here, but they are the little kind. Not dangerous, but they are irritating, as they seem to be able to get inside no matter what you do, and they will get on cloth (like the bed), which scorpions seem to avoid.

      Great pizza, margarita and otherwise, is everywhere! Interesting, however, is that people don’t share pizza much over here. You will see a table of eight and everyone has their own. The pizzas aren’t huge, but they aren’t little, either.

      Reply
  7. elaineandmike@tphillips.org'Elaine Phillips says

    June 16, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    Glad to see that you two are having a wonderful time – scorpions and all! The countryside is so beautiful – we have been to Italy three times and loved each visit. Things are nice and green here in Sun Valley – very pretty – wildflowers are magnificent. Glad to hear the book is coming along! Can’t wait to read it! Love to you and Susan from Mike and Elaine

    Reply
  8. Steve says

    June 16, 2014 at 3:20 pm

    Hi, Elaine,
    Look forward to seeing you and Mike soon! Beautiful here, but SV isn’t bad either!
    Steve

    Reply
  9. allender_jay@yahoo.com'jay allender says

    June 16, 2014 at 7:47 pm

    Hi Steve. Glad to hear from you and about your current adventures. We have scorpion also but have seen very few since our arrival in Arizona (9 years already) Plenty of rattle snakes though and some close encounters. At present we are enjoying Sidney, B.C. for the month June. Great area. Anyway stay safe and away from the critters. J&S

    Reply
  10. Steve says

    June 16, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    Thanks, jay and Sonja
    Stay safe yourself. I think your scorpions are more dangerous than ours, and of course rattlesnakes . . .

    Reply
  11. jimcrocker@ymail.com'Jim Crocker says

    June 17, 2014 at 4:30 am

    Very nice, Steve. I have fond memories of scorpions in southeast Asia and the giant centipede. Would not want to be locked in a box with any of those things. Other than one thing that quickly pops to mind, I wouldn’t want to be locked in a box with anything. The bug will do it every time, Steve. Ruin a night’s sleep. Ruin a vacation, even. And Italy at that, eh?

    We don’t have any serious bug issues where I live in Montana. It’s our big secret. Not even snakes. There’re bears and mountain lions, but hey. Many people don’t even have screens. Motion detectors for nightly predators is something else again. I never leave the house at night. Sometimes you can actually hear ’em howling and growling out there. Yikes!

    Reply
  12. Steve says

    June 17, 2014 at 6:39 am

    Hi again, Jim,
    I have been getting a lot of responses mentioning giant centipedes, especially in Hawaii. I’ve never seen one, and I hope I never do. I think I”d rather deal with a bear or mountain lion, which we do have in Idaho. Actually, I feel lucky if I get to see one of them. They are pretty shy in our area. Don’t think I’d like to run into a grizzly, however (see my post on Hollywood Killers).

    Reply
  13. suncoastreader@gmail.com'Suncoast says

    June 19, 2014 at 12:16 pm

    Steve,

    I have just had the worst attack from the smallest bug, the midge. Last Saturday we were sitting on our patio when an almost microscopic midge flew past my face. On Sunday I had a couple of small bites on my right eyebrow and on Monday they scabbed up. On Tuesday the eyelid was swollen and I went to the Doctor and got antibiotics and antihistamine but by Wednesday my right eye was part closed and my vision was like a blind pulled down over my right eye and it was so swollen and painful. I went around telling my friends how my wife had socked me!!

    Thursday morning it was still partly closed but by the end of the day (now) it is getting slowly better but the 2 bites are still inflamed and sore. Tomorrow, hopefully all will get back to normal.

    So you don’t need a big bug to lay you low!!!

    Reply
    • Steve says

      June 19, 2014 at 6:31 pm

      Hi, Suncoast,
      You’re making me feel grateful for only having to deal with scorpions! Damn bugs . . . Hope you feel better soon.

      Reply
      • suncoastreader@gmail.com'Suncoast says

        June 20, 2014 at 7:34 am

        It wasn’t bug, it was ophthalmic nerve SHINGLES! My GP spotted it and put me on antiviral pills a couple of days ago and it seems to be under control with only a couple of blisters near my right eye.

        My best friends tell me that the perfect treatment is very cheap white wine – and my local bottle shop has a drinkable one at $3 per bottle. Maybe it would be easier and cheaper in Italy.

        The eye seems to be fine – in the past before antiviral medication it could be dangerous. It’s times like this that you realise how vulnerable and valuable your eyes are.

        Reply
        • Steve says

          June 20, 2014 at 7:45 am

          Damn, Suncoast,
          I’m really sorry to hear that. I had a case on my chest and my back years ago, and I still suffer some aftereffects including occasional pain. I hope you recover quickly and completely.

          BTW, there is a vaccine to prevent shingles, or Herpes Zoster, and I would recommend that anyone reading this who hasn’t already done so, GET IMMUNIZED. I did after the fact, as the disease can reoccur.

          Reply
  14. dawilk@me.com'Debbie says

    June 19, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    I was running on the trails in Whiting Ranch(Orange County) downhill, and literally ran into a bee. I was stung smack in the middle of my breast(the nipple to be exact). Feeling the pain, shock, and panic, I noticed a ranger jeep coming up the hill. Lucky for me it was a woman ranger with a great remedy for stings. She had a “bee”pack that was a 2×2 gauze pad with ointment on it. She told me to slip it into the jog bra and by the time I was back to my car, the stinger would be out and I would have no pain. Yea! It worked. I guess I was just too fast for my own britches.

    Reply
  15. Steve says

    June 20, 2014 at 4:51 am

    HI, Debbie,
    Ouch! I’m going to need some time thinking about this one.

Filed Under: Humor, Writing

Author Errors: 5 Common Mistakes

February 8, 2017 by Steve Gannon Leave a Comment

Question: How do you feel when you skip your morning coffee? Answer: Depresso.

Okay—not much of joke, but I included it here to illustrate how writers can sometimes feel when finishing a project. I recently completed a first draft of my new novel, L.A. Sniper, and although I’m celebrating that milestone in what for me is a yearlong process, I’m also feeling a little depresso as well—along with maybe a bit of apprehension about sending my newborn out into the cold, cruel world. But I suppose that’s just part of the process.

The good/bad news is that there’s still plenty left to do before then. In today’s world of publishing, writing is just one part of the equation, and I decided to take a break from work to post an article on some of the pitfalls authors typically face on the way to publication.

Let’s imagine you just typed “The End” at the bottom of your brand-new manuscript. Now you want to get it out there as quickly as possible. Needless to say, you want to do it right.

So now what?

Formerly a traditional publisher did the heavy lifting required to get your book into the hands of readers—editing, copyedit, cover design, promotion, and printing. I’ve gone that route in the past, and I learned from my experience with Bantam Books that even with a trad publisher, you must get involved. And if you’re an indie author, it isn’t simply your involvement that’s required. Now it’s all up to you. You are responsible for everything previously done by a huge, professional publishing house, and you must do it well. A daunting task, but nobody ever said this writing thing was going to be easy.

There are five critical areas where things can go wrong. Although there are certainly others, in the following I’ll provide some suggestions that can help you avoid the five most common mistakes.

1. Over-Editing 

Solution: Cut Bait.  The revision process can go on indefinitely, if you let it—literally taking on a life of its own.  This is common in writing groups and with many insecure authors.  At some point you simply have to “cut bait” and move on to the next step.  Not to say that you don’t want your work to be the best it can be, but don’t get paralyzed by endless revision.

2. Technical Errors

Solution: “Vet” Your Manuscript.  Carefully check all technical material in your work, and then have someone knowledgeable in the field vet your story—making certain you at least sound like you know what you’re talking about.  For instance, cartridges or rounds (not bullets) are inserted into a rifle or a semi-automatic pistol via a magazine, not a clip—an error I made a few years back that garnered an avalanche of criticism from gun-enthusiasts, and rightly so.  Consult with an expert and get your details straight.

3. Lack of Reader Input 

Solution: Test Market.  You don’t write in a vacuum.  Once you have your manuscript (mostly) revised, vetted, and ready to go, preview your work with friends and readers whose opinions you trust.  If they find typos along the way, fine—but what you really want is their candid comments on your story.  Listen to what they say.  Did your story move them?  Were there plot holes?  Unclear motivations?  Murky character development?  This evaluation is traditionally performed by a publishing-house editor, but in my opinion a “groupthink” approach is equally effective, possibly even more so.  Of course writing isn’t a democratic process and you want to preserve your original vision, but you will be surprised at how often you can improve your work by opening yourself to reader suggestions and criticism.

4. Sloppy Writing

Solution:  Professional Copyedit.  Most readers will not tolerate sloppy writing, typos, punctuation mistakes, and grammatical errors from anyone.  You need a clean manuscript, and for that you will have to PAY someone.  Having a friend who’s “good at editing” won’t cut it.  Find a professional and use his or her services.  Period.  After that you can do one final revision, making certain you don’t introduce new errors along the way.  And then publish!

5. Poor MarketingSolution:  Social Media Marketing.  Now that your book is out there, who knows about it besides your mom?  Unless your name is Stephen King, hardly anyone, that’s who.  Yours is one of tens of thousands of new books published each year.  To find an audience, you must market your work.  If you sit around waiting for your book to be discovered, you’re going to be sitting a long time.  Step one in marketing is to have a professionally designed book cover, for which you will probably need to PAY for the services of a graphic artist.  Step two is having a well designed website hub, along with various social media sites—Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.—feeding into it.  There is far too much in the social-marketing category to cover here, but there are many online sources (Jonathan Gunson’s bestsellerlabs.com or Joanna Penn’s TheCreativePen.com) that can point you in the right direction.  To reiterate:  Self-marketing is absolutely essential.  Note that most successful authors devote around 70% of their average workday to writing and about 30% to marketing.

Oh, one last pitfall I forgot to mention: procrastination.  Speaking of which, it’s time for me to grab some coffee, get over my first-draft depresso, and head back to work.

In your reading, have you encountered any sloppy writing lately? Does it irritate you? What are your pet peeves when reading? What are your main writing/publication problems?  How do you get the word out about your work?  Please leave a comment (click here) and join the conversation!

  1. 1marth1@gmail.com'Martha Hollenhorst says

    September 4, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    I think some of your ideas on writing apply to other arts, too. Something can be overcorrected and overworked until all the life in it is gone, whether it is writing, music or visual arts. The excitement/apprehension of presenting new work to the public, and the let-down of, “now what?”, are similar, too. It is a lot of work, but it keeps things interesting. Congratulations!

    Reply
  2. Steve says

    September 4, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    Well said, Martha! Of course as a writer, I was selfishly only thinking of myself, but it’s good to know that other people have similar problems! The over-editing factor can definitely occur in all of the arts. It’s also hard for anyone, as you point out, to finish a big project and not have a followup activity in the crosshairs. Maybe working on multiple projects is the answer?

    Reply
  3. snaz@web-ster.com'Bev Snazele says

    September 7, 2014 at 4:41 am

    This is a great blog! Keep this going. I will share this on Facebook!

    Reply
    • Steve says

      September 7, 2014 at 4:15 pm

      Thanks, Bev! And thanks for posting this on FB. I’m trying to get something new out on this site every month or so, but lately I’ve been making a big push to complete “L.A. Sniper,” the fourth in my “Kane Novel” series. I’m almost there on that, so look for more from me here in the future — at least until I start the next writing project.

      Reply
  4. terryctyler@hotmail.co.uk'Terry Tyler says

    September 7, 2014 at 7:24 am

    I’m going to be totally honest here as it’s eight on a Sunday morning and I haven’t had my first coffee yet (it’s still brewing!). I’ve started reading three indie books recently and abandoned them for the same reason – they read like first drafts. In two cases I think the authors didn’t spend enough time on revision and just shoved it out there, and in the other case, a debut novel, it was simply that she CAN’T WRITE. I find this with about thirty per cent of the indie novels I start. The writers have the desire to write but not the talent, so the novel just reads like a series of statements, wrapped up in a lovely professional cover with no proofreading errors and a promising blurb – they read all the stuff about presenting it properly, but forget that vital ingredient. This is one thing that people rarely mention but I sometimes dare to – make sure you can actually WRITE before you publish. Something your best friend (or writing group) won’t tell you….

    Reply
  5. Steve says

    September 7, 2014 at 4:09 pm

    Hi, Terry,

    Thanks for commenting! You make several good points, shedding light on the elephant(s) in the indie publishing room no one wants to talk about. Now that self-publishing has widened the portal for aspiring authors, it’s undeniable that there is a lot of work out there that doesn’t merit reading. To be fair, lately I’ve read a number of books published by major houses that don’t deserve reading, either. I suppose one can just hope that good writing coupled with a good story will rise to the top, whether it’s delivered by a major publishing house or via an indie publishing platform.

    On the positive side, in today’s market it’s tough to get a publishing deal, so independent platforms offer a way for aspiring writers to get their writing into the hands of readers. As you point out, whether a new author can tell a gripping story complete with believable characters and possibly even some emotional impact is another question, but to have any chance at all, a new writer’s work should be well presented, as typo-free as possible, and grammatically correct. Or if breaking rules is on the table, a writer should at least know the conventions. Bottom line, the craft of writing is something that can and should be learned. Telling a great story also requires talent, but at least indie publishing offers new writers an opportunity to try.

    The other point you mention is the difficulty of getting candid, trustworthy criticism, which as you say probably won’t be forthcoming from your mom, your best friend, or your writing group. (I trust my wife, who pulls no punches when critiquing my work.) Although hard to come by and often painful to hear, candid criticism – say from a professional editor – is invaluable.

    A final point before I head down for my second cup. Amazon lets readers sample for free the first few chapters of an eBook before clicking the ‘buy’ button. At least this provides an initial opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff, and who knows? Maybe the next indie author you try will turn into a new favorite.

    Reply
  6. jimcrocker@ymail.com'Jim in Montana says

    September 9, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    Because of the samples I can check out on my Kindle, I am looking at many more authors than in past years. As a budding author, I think this has helped me improve my writing. I have learned so much from reading the work of other authors.

    I think it is great that so many people can take a shot at it, even if it is only one book. Experiencing the writing process is good for everybody, like vegetable soup. And of course this is hardly news, but it is darn hard to make a good job of it–that being a story that is an interesting experience for the reader.

    At the other end of the spectrum, the writer puts in countless hours hunting down those pesky typos that seem to pop up like weeds. Whaddaya gonna do, eh?

    Reply
  7. Steve says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:43 pm

    Hey, Jim,
    I totally agree that Amazon’s making sample chapters available for free is a great way to check out other authors’ work, see whether you would like to read (the rest of) their book, and maybe find a new favorite storyteller in the process.

    I also think it’s wonderful with indie publishing that people now have a greater chance to flex their writing muscles. As another commenter noted, this new publishing freedom makes separating the wheat from the chaff difficult for a reader, but you take the good with the bad.

    Typos!! My eye goes right over them. I know what I meant to say, even if I leave out words and misspell the rest. That’s why I PAY someone to edit my work. (And even then a few slip through.) Arrgh.

    Reply
  8. rgaston@optonline.net'Rozsa Gaston says

    October 22, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    Steve – LOVE your blogs. Pithy, succinct, and packed with info. My Kindle Scout campaign ended two days ago and I am now officially brain dead while I wait to hear back and recover from 30 days of social media madness.

    Do you have a copy editor you can recommend to me? Ready to PAY someone to get this manuscript as scrubbed as possible before submitting to KP OR self-pubbing.

    Thank you, Steve. Keep the blogs coming, very entertaining.

    Rozsa Gaston
    SENSE OF TOUCH (a historical romance based on life of French queen Anne of Brittany)

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Writing Mistakes

Question: How do you feel when you skip your morning coffee? Answer: Depresso. Okay—not much of joke, but I included it here to illustrate … [Read More...]

The Future of Cinema?

There is a revolution coming in the world of filmmaking, and the first shots have already been fired. This coming revolution will transform the way … [Read More...]

Dangers of Writing in Italy

Euscorpius alpha Caporiacco in Attack Mode Writing can be deadly. Especially in Italy . . . At one time or another, many of us have probably … [Read More...]

The Importance of Stories

A lot has been written on the topic of “Why We Need Stories,” but after reviewing a good chunk of the literature, I think I can add something on the … [Read More...]

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