Tag Archives: The Cabins of Wilsonia

Quotations Limitations

At the time of this writing, there are 40 quotations by YOU in the book. YOU means Wilsonia cabin owners.

Who knew that getting other people to do my writing would be so very difficult?? Look at this list:

Ask for quotes
Ask again, because not enough people responded.
Ask again, because people didn’t understand that I am not looking for history but for details about cabin life. Details, stories, thoughts, stuff about cabin life today.
Edit, because people submit paragraphs and pages in response to a request for “a few lines“. (Editing is fun – if I had a career do-over, I might choose to be an editor.)
Email the edited quotes, because I need people’s permission to rearrange their words if I plan to put their names on it.
Put the quotes in the book, mess with 2 different typestyles and 2 different formats, then scoot and resize and rearrange the page to accommodate the quotes. (This is not fun – if I had a career do-over, I would not choose computer operator.)
Decide if there are too many or if the subject matter is too redundant or if I am putting a dumb quote in because I really enjoyed listening to the person tell me about his life at the cabin or because I really like that person.
Toughen up a little inside so that when someone gets upset with me at not including his quote after the book is published, then I won’t be crushed by their disappointment.
Wonder if I should take all the quotes received that don’t fit and make an extra page at the end of the book. Or the middle. Or the beginning. Or on a hand-out sheet.
Decide that #9 is a poor idea, especially the handout sheet.

Anyone recognize this picnic table yet or the cabin behind it??

Thoughts About Having a FABULOUS Book

Sometimes I say I am working on a book, and sometimes I say I am drawing a book. Since 2014 began, I’ve been working on the written parts of The Cabins of Wilsonia.

The conclusion is written and edited. After I paid the editor, I realized that it needs to be read by someone who gave me some greatly helpful information about Wilsonia and wonderful ideas for the conclusion. He now has it, and I am hoping he doesn’t suggest any changes or additions. Stupid, because if I really didn’t want that to happen, I wouldn’t have asked him to read it.

When I worked in a print shop, I was taught that there are 3 elements to business: speed, price and quality. It is only possible to have 2 of the 3, never all of them.

I’m trying for all three here, but have decided that quality is the most important element.

My desire to have a FABULOUS book is stronger than my desire to either get it done quickly or to do it for the least amount of money possible. (I hope you all are saving up for your copies!)

Words in a Book of Drawings

A picture is worth a thousand words. This means my book will be the equivalent of 265,000 + words. Is that long for a book? Normally they are measured in terms of pages. The Cabins of Wilsonia will be about 168 pages long, perhaps a little less.

Here is what words are being written or have been completed:

dedication
preface
introduction
descriptions of some street names
editing the quotations (SEND ME YOUR STORIES NOW Time is running out!)
acknowledgements
conclusion

Sounds simple enough, but look at the things I have to consider:

Accuracy of information
Accurate interpretation of people’s intentions in telling their stories
Good writing skills (I have an editor, a professional who edits for a living.)
ZERO tolerance for typos
Consistent design within the written parts – Oh My Goodness, Adobe InDesign is the most non-intuitive program ever devised. All those options mean there are zillions of ways to make errors of inconsistency within the design and zillions of opportunities to forget how one did a thing so no idea how to undo the thing.
Proper placement in a book. Did you know that one of the marks of a self-published book is improper placement of information?

The Cabins of Wilsonia may be self-published, but any Joe Average looking through it isn’t going to know that “Cabinart Books” is just little ol’ me.

Perkins tries to sit on my lap when the laptop is there. This hinders my typing. (And this photo was taken last spring – may we PLEASE have some rain NOW, PLEASE??)

Now How Many Are Left?

As I work on The Cabins of Wilsonia, I continue to revise and redesign.

Although I find this light enchanting, this photo will not become a drawing.

Sometimes I think a page looks finished, and then I’ll decide it needs something else. Sometimes I look at a page with drawings to be done and realize it is just crammed too full so something has to go away. Sometimes I look at a completed drawing and think “I can do better”. Sometimes I look at a photo I was intending to draw and I think, “Ick, not doing that!”.

With all that revising, adding and deleting, the math gets a little squishy. Currently I’m not sure how many drawings the book will contain, but now I know this:

At last count, there are THIRTY-FIVE TWENTY-SIX TWENTY-TWO drawings left to do.

If This Was A Job, Would I Get Fired?

At the beginning of 2013 I thought there were 230 drawings necessary for the upcoming book, The Cabins of Wilsonia. (Sorry to sound so repetitious – it is supposed to help Google locate this blog for people seeking info on Wilsonia, cabins and the upcoming book.)

85 of those 230 were finished, so it seemed possible to complete the remaining 145 within the next 12 months.

Then I redesigned and recounted.

This drawing is a result of redesigning. I thought the page was complete, and then I saw this very interesting view of a gable. It has some weird things on the front – horizontal bars with weird loopy metal deals hanging off the bars. Unidentified items present challenges – put them on and risk getting them wrong because I don’t know what they are or leave them off and have the cabin look wrong to the cabin owner? In this case I chose the first option.

The book currently requires about 270 drawings, and as of November 1, I had 45 left to complete. This is twice the number I expected to have by that date. I’m not going to make my deadline of December 31. If this was a job, would I quit? If this was a job, would I get fired?? If this was a job, would I be able to ask for more time or more help or to hire an assistant?

At least the number is down to 2 digits. Maybe I can have them finished by the end of January 2014.

Still Drawing, But Behind Schedule

In my previous schedule to complete the 230 drawings by January 1, I was meant to have 208 finished by the end of October. Might make that, might not. Not even going to address the problem with the new schedule to complete 270 drawing this year. Ain’t gonna happen.

What, me discouraged? Nope! I’m still moving ahead. As my husband likes to point out, “It is a self-imposed deadline!” This is true. However, as a self-employed person, who else will impose a schedule if not me?

On the other hand, this means as I adjust the design of the book, I can also adjust the schedule of completion.

Now that my explanations (excuses?) have been made, have a look at a few recently completed drawings. (Hey Mr. Google, I’m talking about pencil drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia.)

Governmental Insanity

In spite of varied political opinions, most of us with private inholdings or other interests in the National Parks can agree that shutting the parks makes no sense.

Much of what the government does makes no sense to me. If it were run like a private business, it would be bankrupt. Oh. Never mind. It makes no sense any way it gets examined.

There are 12 cabins still standing in Wilsonia that were sold to the government. They now sit empty, neglected, useless, abandoned, falling down, looking sad, of no use to anyone – not private folks, not the government, not park employees, not concessionaires, no one.

As someone who owns a cabin (in Mineral King), who loves cabins (my business name is “Cabin Art”!) and is devoting several years of my life to documenting the cabins of Wilsonia, this makes me sad, puzzled, baffled, and frustrated. As a self-employed, tax paying citizen, it infuriates me! (But, I will conduct myself with dignity here.)

What a waste. The only people who benefited from the sale of this cabin were the sellers. That strikes me as a fairly short-sighted decision on the part of all involved. I have a lot to say about the matter, but since this blog is primarily about drawing a book on the cabins of Wilsonia, I’ll hold back.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this post wasn’t too off-putting.

Recalculating

Ever used one of those talking GPS deals when you were driving? If you go a different direction from the instructions, the female robot says “Re-Cal-Cu-La-Ting”.

That’s me, a female robot. A recalculating pencil picture production person.

When I visited Wilsonia in August, I was a little unnerved by how many changes I wanted to make to the design of The Cabins of Wilsonia. I added pages, added cabins that I previously didn’t believe would fit, details that I hadn’t noticed before, and even decided to redraw a couple of completed drawings.

WHAT?? AM I NUTS?

I might be by the time this is finished.

It was my plan to finish all the drawings, 230 of them with a little head start of 78, by the end of 2013.

Now that I have 5 months remaining, it seemed like a good time to assess my progress. This time I added in all the little decorative pieces too. Maybe I just wanted to feel overwhelmed, or maybe I like pain or maybe, just maybe I wanted to impress myself with the magnitude of this project.

Actually, it isn’t a project. It is a

PROJECT

According to my current count, there will be 269 drawings in The Cabins of Wilsonia PLUS the cover, and I’m sure a few more places will crop up that need decorative touches. I have 186 finished, which means there are 73 remaining if I am to accomplish my goal, with the moving carrot dangling out there.

73 divided by 5 equals approximately 15 drawings a month.

‘Scuse me for a bit. I need to go lie down. Maybe have a hit of chocolate, or knit a few rows, or just talk to Perkins, my Wonder Cat The Survivor. (Just heard a bunch of horrid coyotes yipping outside the studio as I type this.

Visiting Wilsonia

After spending days, weeks and months just drawing, designing, studying photos and thinking about Wilsonia, it feels almost dreamlike to be there in person.

I was privileged to be a guest in this little cabin:

If it weren’t for the fact that the water heater has only a 10 gallon capacity, I might be tempted to move in permanently. Smart folks, my hosts! 😎 This might be my favorite cabin. (I know, I say that a lot!)

Visiting Wilsonia causes my project to become more complicated. As I become more familiar with the cabins and the community, I get to know them all better and I keep seeing more things to draw.

I redesigned some of the pages to accommodate more drawings, and added several pages. This means that I need to complete more than the 230 drawings on the schedule for 2013.

It might be good to stop visiting Wilsonia until the drawings are completed and the design is set in cement.

But, then I’d miss you all. Wow, your friendliness, hospitality, enthusiasm and support just bowls me over!

Thank you, Wilsonia!

Neal Won!

As an aside, I have an Unca Neil (yep, that’s how we say and spell it), had a friend named Niel, and now I have a friend named Neal who won my little contest. It was a “name that street”, based on a pencil drawing for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia.

(sorry to be so redundant – rumor has it that Mr. Google can find a site easier if I repeat the important words like “pencil drawing” and “cabins of Wilsonia”.)

As I meet and talk with people around Wilsonia, I often have questions about various cabins and lots. It has been very surprising to me to hear, “We never go to that part” or “I only know my immediate neighborhood”, or “I don’t really know the street names”. Maybe my book will help with some of that by creating interest in other neighborhoods.

But I digress. Neal knew exactly where this drawing is:

It is looking down Pine Street. Since I am not naming cabins in my book, I don’t name them on the blog either. I believe in protecting privacy. Besides, cabins change owners in Wilsonia, and if I name a cabin and then it changes hands, my book will be quickly outdated. Nosirree, I’m going for timeless.

What did Neal win? A package of notecards with this image on the front:

The Cabins of Wilsonia

A picture book about a cabin community