Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Plotting

"Clearly, the fact that stories have plots in common is of no more account than that many people have blue eyes...The plot is they Why. Why? is asked and replied to at various depths; the fishes in the sea are bigger and deeper we go." --Eudora Welty On Writing

I get it. Romance writing is not taken especially seriously -- by me, by the writing community, by most readers who have walked past the blurred and toned bodies, covering the glossy paperbacks in that row in Barnes and Noble. It's okay. We're all cynics when it comes to love, but some of us are willing to set that cynicism aside to read a love story that only asks us to be swept away by the fervor of two characters that we find compelling.

Admittedly, my well of genre knowledge is pretty shallow. It includes a large number of works written by Jennifer Crusie and that one racy plantation-style library book that was passed through the hands of all of the more curious girls in my high school. I remember reading that novel with morbid fascination, and finding myself more than a little out of sync with the aggressive male lead, and the swooning (by the end of the book) bride.

When Ms. Crusie was passed my way, I reacted with a resounding yes. Sure, there was sex in the book, but there was also drama and fun and ugh the kind of love that you love and you hate and you want more of. I realize that once a book is marketed as romance, there are expectations, and I imagine that many genre readers don't react very well if those expectations aren't met. So, I have been resting back on my heels, wondering if I want to go for the commercial gold mine, or give my literary chops a go. With romance, it feels like there really aren't any examples of crossovers written within the last 100 years.

Regardless, I am still writing the love story that I want to write. Stumbling across the above quote by Ms. Welty gave me a renewed sense that the plot work that I am currently doing is going to be key in getting this book where I want it to be. I wrote a new chapter today, and it was the first time that I felt anguish for my lead's pain. That felt like something big.

In other news, I compiled the book with my new software, and found that I currently have 185 pages of first draft (more now that I've written two chapters since then and have yet to incorporate page breaks between chapters). When I first started this blog, I gave myself a deadline based on my kiddo's school year. Of course, all sorts of heinous life stuff took over only a few months into writing, and I lost the childcare that I had hoped to keep through the Summer. So, now with school ending in June, I would like to have something worth optioning by then. It's attainable, it's realistic, and I am well on the way to achieving it. Now, it's time once more to plot. I am about to write yet another chapter of mid-story rock-throwing. I don't want to watch my character endure the things that are going to happen, and yet I realize she has to if either one of us is going to get anywhere.




Friday, December 4, 2015

The Thing

Today I am sitting with Amy Poehler's voice in my head:

“You do it because the doing of it is the thing. The doing is the thing. The talking and worrying and thinking is not the thing.” 

Time to do the work. I already mentioned the James Scott Bell book that I'm working reading, and now it is time for the Chapter 1 exercises. This is me being accountable.

Exercise 1 - 10 minute essay on understanding my approach to plot

When readers read my novels, I want them to feel whole at the end. That's because to me, novels are explorations into the choices we make. Novels provide comfort in presenting characters who also stumble and stress and miscalculate. My favorite novels show portraits of fully-formed people, trying to navigate a landscape of complex choices and relationships. There is very little place for security in a novel, except through the trust formed in character relationships, and even that isn't sacred. I want a reader to enter the novel feeling compelled to know more about the characters on the page, and exit with their heart in hand, grateful for the journey. I don't require a perfectly packaged conclusion to feel satisfied when I read, but I do require a perfect conclusion. I like to feel lit with possibility and full with love and tragedy and comedy. I like chaos when I read and I don't mind feeling lost while I wander through a novel, as long as there is an element of simplicty. I don't like being told the hows and whys of character action. I prefer to glean these from the character, as if they were a true friend who requires no explanation or defense. I love when the plot feels organic and unhurried. I do fnd myself driven to turn pages in commercial novels, but I also find myself pulled from the page to question plausibility more often than not. I prefer to feel deeply entrenched by a novel, moving through it as it were a waking dream - unavoidable and without intention.


It's Friday I'm in love.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

All You Have To Do Is Read

I have come to the conclusion that I should probably stop coming to conclusions. It is a terrible habit. I can distinctly recall the look on my professors' faces, so many years ago now, as they watched me struggle to establish a conclusive endpoint to every conversation. It was this half-pity half-eyeroll expression that often triggered in me the feeling that I had just barely stutter-stepped off the mark again. I would toe so close to the plane of understanding, only to fall away from it entirely by trying to pin the thing down. It took me a while to adjust to the idea that my liberal arts education was not preparing me to present the right answers, but to ask the right questions. The coolest part about writing and reading is the exploration of possibility. It would be made utterly less cool if authors simply regurgitated facts and thesis sentences and punchlines and sent you on your way.

Conversely, in business, people love it when you present and adhere to an idea as if it was the only available possibility. I am sure there are some great progressive enterprises out there that enjoy paying their employees to ponder without conclusion, but my anecdotal experience is that management does not really find thinkers good for the bottom line. It is no wonder that I adapted so well to that environment and moved up the ranks as a result of my willingness to dedicate myself to efficacy, efficiency and righteousness. I am a focused, driven, motivated and successful employee. I am a foolish, bumbling, backwards student.

I struggle with focus when a world of possibility is available. I find myself revisiting my writing with a whole new mind of whatifs, especially if I can only visit sparingly (as in the case of holiday or sick weeks, when the world is rife with interruptions). I guess it makes sense then when I share that I have been avoiding learning about writing since I started my endeavor into the career a year ago. I know that avoidance is pretty juvenile behavior, but I was not quite ready to let go of my self-indulgent righteousness. I mean I have only recently started really staring down the fact that I am new at something again. And I sort of hate that fact. I really liked feeling like an expert, even if it was on the regulatory environment of good laboratory practices for medical device work.

How do I get to be a writing expert? There I go, asking the wrong questions. I have to start learning again. Shame on me for spending years poring over court hearings and preambles and white papers about something that made me feel sick to my stomach most of the time. Shame on me for hundreds of hours and dollars spent pursuing a professional certfication that I did not even really want. I could have been spending that same time continuing my college education with books and seminars and conferences on writing. I love writing. My undergrad thesis was in creative writing. Yet, I did not even require convincing to abandon it. I assumed it was such a natural progression to give up the dream for something that brought home a steady paycheck.

Gross. Clearly I have some unsettled guilt, but that's enough self-effacement for one blog post.

Now I am reading. I have a pretty decent unfinished first draft to one novel, and 10,000 words started on another that could lead to a promising short story. I also have been doing the leg work to put together a third serial project, and I purchased some new writing software. That being said, I have no idea how to do any of this. So, I am reading. I picked up Eudora Welty's and Stephen King's books, both titled On Writing, and borrowed this amazing plot and structure book by James Scott Bell from a friend. I am relearning how to ask questions and revel in ambiguity. I am unlearning the mindset that made me an expert and sitting in my humility in order to make something good happen. We can only hope.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Insomnia, My Best Habit

About a week ago I had this great plan, a total success lightbulb. I was going to go to bed early every night, and wake up at 4 am every day to write. I love mornings. I loved this idea because I love mornings and I love writing, and what could go wrong? There is only one tiny problem with any sleep plan to which I commit myself. I have terrible, totally unpredictable, stupid stupid stupid insomnia. I have read so much about sleep and sleep patterns and cycles and habits, because sleep hates me. Still, I thought I would employ all of these tips and tricks and awesome sleep knowledge to make myself become the 4 am writer that I dream of being.

So, why is it, that in the past week, I have spent the majority of my best writing time between the hours of midnight and 4 am? What is that about? Why am I waking up in the middle of the night with crazy amounts of creative energy, dying to write? The hard part is the right now part. This is the part where I debate going back to sleep before my 5-year-old wakes up and redirects all of my energy toward making things happen today. I know that I can sleep once she is safely at school in the care of competent providers, but I was supposed to do things today. I was supposed to handle things like making sure there is food, and a shelter that doesn't smell funny. This is why the plan is to be a 4 am writer, so I can still be a functional (tired, but functional) human being throughout the day.

After spending 3 hours writing in the middle of the night, I am not good for much other than sleep and binge-watching incredibly addictive television shows. Gross. So, so satisfying after a sleepless night, but gross because now I am an adult and my time is limited, and that just doesn't work for me.

The good news is, I am writing every day night. So, at least there is some good news. The bad news, is that I am screwed. I can either A. Be the binge-watcher day-sleeper that my body wants me to be. or B. Totally ignore the fact that I am exhausted and work through it, thus leading to a full body breakdown in the next month or so (trust me, this is so not my first rodeo).

So here I sit, wishing that I had slept once again, sure that this can only end poorly.

Monday, November 2, 2015

NaNoWriMo - The Start

I am such a novice. How did I manage to be totally green at thirty years old? I suppose it is a good thing really. A little nugget of youth that I get to have. Not that I am saying that I am old, because I am not one of those people who thinks that life has now ended because my body no longer wants me to behave like it is still sixteen. I just think that now that I have a matured impulse control and the need to sleep that I sometimes miss out on some of life's best learning opportunities. For me, it is the ability and willingness to continue to learn that keeps us young.

So, I am green. So green. This is my first NaNoWriMo. I am like a puppy about it; all wiggles and panting and tail-wagging. I also know that there will be a bump (there is always a bump) that will knock the puppy in me down enough for the cynic to chime in. It is going to be a battle. I just want to come out at the end of it with 50,000 words.

I am putting aside the funfic. I have been staring down the fact that writing the light and flippant fun novel takes as much work as writing one where the stakes are higher. Sure, in theory it requires less emotional investment, but I am beginning to wonder whether I am just not cut out for light investment. So, now I am writing a book that came to me in dream. Like a weirdo. Like a totally weird weirdo. It is really satisfying, though, to write something that feels like it is all mine. Whatever. All I know is that I do not feel quite as inclined to distract myself, and that probably means I am on a better path. Or that I am a puppy, and right now, this new and shiny work is its own wonderful distraction.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Firsts

The first day of school for my Kindergartner (so really, the First first day of school) has come and gone. I spent a whole week cleaning my house because I could. Now it is time for the first day of work, because I keep promising myself that I will work because I mean this. I am over a quarter of the way through a book, and all I have to do is finish it. I realize that finishing does not guarantee a marketable, or even readable product, but it does show that I am at least dedicted to myself and this idea that I am a writer; that I want to write. I realize that it's not sexy or exciting to expose this level of insecurity this early in the process, but I am battling myself lately. I don't want to write because the whatifs in my brain are asking whether I actually can.

Something happens to a person when they endure years of compromise in order to make a buck. It was both the dream and the nightmare to find myself with pockets full of cash and no idea what the goal was anymore. Maybe it's a hyperbole to imply that I was living large, but I definitely had that salary that I once considered enough to finance my life and plenty to share with those less fortunate. Instead, I just kept buying nicer clothes, and better things, and more convenience. Life is hard when you can hardly stand to live it. Anyway, I am not getting into all of that. People do what they need to when they need it, and I am certainly not the first 30-year-old who proved to be a major letdown in the eyes of her 20-year-old self. The truth behind all of it is that I have to work so much harder now to find my way (back? onward? upward?) to wherever I can speak my voice without fear or filter. Yes, this first book is meant to be a simple one that doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but I don't really believe that writing can exist without truth, and I need to be able to express that truth in order for the characters I write to be able to live it. Otherwise, what is the point? Without that, I would just be satisfying someone else's criteria in order to make a buck (which is definitely a desired endpoint, because hey 20-year-old self, mortgages are awful and no one wants to live in a rathole if they don't have to).

It is all just a balancing act. So, in the interest of getting somewhere while I try to ignore my own mental naysayers and actually produce something, I am revisiting the first chapter. I received notes from a friend who is a writing expert, and I am going to take those today and really give myself some time to work. So here goes my first day. I wish I had slept better and didn't have this terrible caffeine headache because I drank too much coffee over the weekend, but that's just how it goes sometimes.

Word count: 35,893

Goal: Rework chapter one in the interest of finding the main character and pulling the thread through the rest of the book.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Listing

I need to put together a first chapter for the historical fiction piece I want to start in a month or so, and I need to run through the edits on the revised first draft of the beach read. I need these two things and I need the time to make them happen. I can feel it coming with Summer winding down and I am scared and excited to be in that state of desperation, because I want my wheels spinning before they hit the ground.

I am starting to romance coffee again, and I want short hair. I am all sorts of in between and transitional. There are too many things going on and I am easily obsessed at the moment, so I am just going to list to get it out, in hopes that I can get back to one of two first chapters.

Current obessions:
1. Party Down: The cast, the jokes, the single camera set-up that makes me feel like the first time I watched The Office or Parks and Rec (which I want to watch all over again since obsessing over #2 on the list).

2. Amy Poehler's Yes Please: The thoughts on parenting and change and age and apologies. The way she describes her problem with sleep with such delicate and empathetic comedy that this kindred insomniac laughed and cried and wanted to read it all over again.

3. Play it Again, Dick: A second chance at experiencing a new and sardonic world of Veronica Mars. Enough said.

4. The Nutri Ninja: Because I love smoothies. Liquid nutrition, yum.

5. Comic books: It's general and it's not new, but it has been 7 or 8 years since I really knew what I was doing in a comic book store. I just picked up Carol Corps and Phonogram and the Spidergirl title that was so popular in the mid 2000s. I am utterly tickled by the return of comics to my life. 

6. Running: That obsession never ended, but I think I may finally be healing enough to make it regular for the first time in a year. September starts training for another half marathon. I like being the insane person who has to run at least 15 miles a week. I like putting sneakers on while my eyes are half-closed and forcing myself to move until it is all I want to do. Something about running makes me feel like a kid again. I like that. I want that forever.

7. Moonrise Kingdom: Finally saw it, and it was perfection. We celebrated 9 years of marriage yesterday, and it was good. We ate an obnoxious amount of fried potatoes, got a little tipsy on good beers, and spent an hour playing Galaga and Ghost Squad. Then we came home and watched Moonrise Kingdom for the first time, over honey bourbon and lemon juice, and we laughed and we cried and everything was perfect.

That's it. Hopefully that exercise helps me get some stuff done. Or I'm just going to watch Party Down until I feel fully hydrated and maybe take one more nap before I pick the kiddo up from her sleepover.

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Titling by Date is Stupid and Boring

So, I realize that it is absurd to keep popping into this blogspace in order to assure this blogspace (and all 53 people who have viewed it, if they ever return) that I'm NOT DONE WRITING. Nevertheless, here I am, promising myself and the internet that I am most assuredly not done writing. This Summer has simply made me put a pin in it. Between camps and climbing and the ongoing requirement to get outside and revel in Vitamin D. I have allowed myself to stop pushing the word count. I am not (very) lazy, I swear. I actually LOVE working. I know that, because I have spent a decent amount of time aching for it as I have been shuttling between zoos and parks and pools. Yes, I have other goals that are calling me away from writing as well, but in truth it's just the birds singing and the fulfillment of weeding the garden and playing with my kid that has pulled me away from the computer.

I don't feel too bad about closing the laptop for a short while, because I haven't been ignoring the craft at all. In fact, I have been spending a lot of time figuring out just how much I don't know and what I need to start attacking first. I have reread the first 5(ish?) chapters of my book and found my main character boring. In an attempt to keep her from being me, I have successfully made her nobody. I have spent a few hours, on and off, with a legal pad, trying to find out who she is. I have spent more time journaling in my written journal (not enough, but definitely more) alowing myself out, in order to better digest the complexity involved in writing a character. I don't know if it is working, but that is what I have been doing. I am also reading EVERYTHING. I am watching documentaries again and studying people like the wallflower freak that I have always been. Afterall, that is what made me want to write, right? I wanted to understand WHY PEOPLE KEEP DOING THOSE THINGS. I wanted to play with characters that frustrate and confound and relieve and inspire and excite and motivate me. I wanted to give people some authentic truth to look at and question, and rub between their fingers for a while.

In an attempt to conform and be more likeable, I think I forgot that I am 100% weirdo who likes to ask questions and know more and wonder why and stare. I LIKE TO STARE. Somewhere in there I became embarassed by these tendencies that make me feel so remarkably, so strongly me. I started feeling like I needed to be ready in case someone stared back at me. I felt like I had to be just interesting enough, but in a way that did not intimidate anyone. That is not me. I like discomfort and awkwardness and the power that comes with a good long intimidating stare. I am not averted by fear, which is probably why it felt so frustrating and false to pretend otherwise, and why it feels so invigorating to work through and undo all of that bullshit.

I haven't really done this in a long time. I used to blog almost every day, pouring an obnoxious amount of words into the internet, like fuel on an anonymous teen-packed bonfire. Most of it was not great or even good, but it was at least easy to do back then. When did it get so hard to stop thinking when I wrote? When did I trick myself into thinking that everything I did was big-I Important? I think some point in adulthood plateaus into the feeling that there is real power and importance in the things we do, and I definitely believe that there is truth in that, but we settle into the idea that we are powerful and Important because of it. We are still nothing other than the constructs that we rebelled against and exposed in our teen years. Legacies and influence don't really change that fact. Our kids will throw it in our faces one day, and everyone who bought into the idea that age inherently adds meaning will have to stare down the empty shells that they worked so hard to establish. Living in denial also works pretty well for some.

Anyway, if we all just stopped trying to be liked and banding together in a fearful attempt to keep feeling like we matter, then growing older might not have to be such an emotionally painful process. I'm still trying to figure out how to alleviate some of the physical ailments, but at least I can rest in the knowledge that the less I fake it, the happier I am. Maybe then I'll stop hunching so much.

That's it then. Or however I used to end these things. Synopsis: 1, I'm not writing much, but I am alway thinking about it and working towards the next rainy day. 2. I'm done being afraid of getting old and having no fans. I have friends. I don't need an entourage.

P.S. - There are a lot of other things stressing me out right now. Home buying and selling things. Training for a half marathon things. My kid is starting school in 3 weeks and AM I A GOOD PARENT YET? things. But, time is limited, and this blog is supposed to be about writing, or something.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Prologue:
Things are happening! Writing things. I feel a little guilty at not keeping up habits, like blogging before every writing session, but there are so many little moments when I scurry away to make notes or continue a scene. No need for excuses here, I know, but I still make them. I'm only taking the break to write this blog because the power has gone out, and I don't want to create anything new that won't be auto-saved. I guess I won't even be able to publish until I get wireless back. This week is an exciting one for me, because I truly believe I can wrap up another thousand words this week to break 30,000. I'm aiming for 50,000 now, since I'm controlling much more of the content. Then I'll need to find beta-readers and editors who can lend themselves to a quality product. And then I'm going to move this book, because I will have written a book worth reading. I swear I'm not being overly confident. I really thing it's worth reading. It's fun and flip and light, but still good enough writing that I can feel confident in asking people to spend money on it.

I'm writing all of the time now. New series ideas, character and content practice in a gaming community, and still the book continues. I have found something wonderful here.

Word count: 29,015

To do:

  • Misunderstanding fiasco fun times
  • Set up a real date (should be a blast - expand on a dynamic I've been dying to get back to)
Notes:
  • Consider working in the friend angle more (Novak)
  • Christmas party goings-on
  • Does this book end on New Years?
  • Increase output to 5,000 words per week to meet the goal (I can do this!) - try for 2,000 words a day
Input:
  • Storium
  • Rocket Boys 
  • Daredevil


Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Prologue:
Writing play-dates are a go. In addition to that, I have a partner writing session on Mondays. This has been amazing for me. I'm struggling with balancing my desire to write all of the time and my responsibilities and obligations outside of the written word. It's actually a really good struggle to have. In addition, my publishing ambitions have changed a bit. Initially I wanted to submit under a publishers title. Now I'm considering self-publishing an e-book. I'm leaning pretty heavily in that direction.

Word count: 26,165 (more than halfway!)

Status:

  • Beginning is still a bit clunky (long paragraphs)
  • Revisit initial encounter/consider simmering the scene a bit for easier consumption by larger audience
  • About to enter a scene from male character's point of view. Do some recon. Ask for help!
  • Pass around to beta-readers with new changes. Get a feeling for whether the action is organic/anticipated, but not too obvious.

Input:

  • The Dinner by Herman Koch (book club book)
  • Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam
  • Daredevil (Netflix)




Monday, April 6, 2015

Monday, April 6, 2015

Prologue:
Mondays have now become the best days. Mornings are for writing, afternoons are for dating, and the weather finally wants me to be awake and energized. I have a few precious hours to create and I am excited to be using them. As for life outside of Mondays, I am still bad at expressing frustration while also requesting that it not being taken too seriously. I feel like complaining is integral to getting rid of frustration and not dwelling. Complaining switches to scheming and manipulating and drawing lines in the sand. Why can't I just be annoyed and be through it? I can't stop myself from feeling frustrated/annoyed. I try to use friendship to relieve frustration so I don't pay it too much credence. Boo to all of it. I just want to write. 

Starting Word Count:
20,025

Ending Word Count:
21, 175

Time: 
1.75 hrs(including blogging)

Writing Scope:
  • Pete scene:
    • On the way to Val's place
    • Still playful
  • Maintenance scene:
    • Rife with tension, bursting with excitement, total human blunder

Life:
  • Run outside
  • Figure out dinner plans
  • Front yard garden

Optionals:
  • Listen to The Dinner

Current input:
  • Arguments between professionals in a cafe setting

Notes:
  • Pick a quieter setting
  • Not in love with the dialogue - feeling clunky - research dialogue exercises and maybe write Pete's character a little more clearly
  • Still not to the juicy scene that I really want to write - consider skipping ahead to stay motivated

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Prologue:
And that's how fast another month can pass. What was I saying about not forcing habits? I'm beginning to feel like it's time to start. I did not write for a month. I did have a two-week travel period during which I forgave myself any attempts at writing, and last week was just the kind of sputter-start-stop reorientation that happens upon returning. Last evening and this morning I read everything that I have so far, in addition to some insightful writing blogs regarding tracking and drafting/versioning. These things call for a format change to the blog posts, including a new requirement that I must blog before writing. I'm learning that I'm more productive on blogging days for a reason. The April 2015 deadline is no longer feasible because of all of my breaks, and the end of May seems optimistic, but I'm still requiring it. As a gift to myself, I'll buy Scrivener once the book is finished. 

Starting Word Count:
18,474

Ending Word Count:
19,257

Time: 
1.5 hours (including blogging)

Writing Scope:
  • Pete scene:
    • Tone should be light, fun, confident and comfortable
    • More exposition at Moll's
    • See more of Valentine
  • Maintenance scene:
    • Rife with tension, bursting with excitement, total human blunder

Life:

  • Run outside
  • Send invitations to more people (text to request addresses)
  • Plan a meal, update groceries (grocery shopping optional)
  • Start seed germination
  • Fertilize/mulch front yard and prune
  • Rope off backyard gardens
  • Family movie night!

Optionals:
  • Listen to The Dinner

Current input:
  • Bosch

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Prologue:
I swear I have not given up on the experiment. I had a 3-week long vacation that lasted a little too long and produced all sorts of changes. I had to fight a few parenting battles, some still ongoing. I sometimes wonder if I will ever feel confident in the no man's land that exists between apathetic and overbearing. Nevertheless, I did accomplish some writing, and I am finding my story growing on its own. I am finding more stories as well. I have cracked open a previous journal of writing prompts and I intend to be faithful to it most evenings. I have always shied from forced habits, and yet I often grow when I engage in them. Maybe I will come to that, but I am not there yet. I am still feeling a little frenetic from all of the change, and I would rather let that settle through the natural paces of time and acceptance. One forced and rapid event that did happen during my vacation was the sharing of my book (not initiated by myself). I experienced shame and frustration and then acceptance, and now I feel that it is best that I allow others to read my work, even though patches of it make me cringe.

Word Count:
17,597

Scope:
Complete one manuscript and a synopsis for submission by April 2015 (55,000-60,000 words).

To do:
  • No writing today - just a check-in for personal accountability
  • Read Rocket Boys
  • Big Black Book journaling
  • Running
  • Karate class for the little

Optionals:
  • Pampering foot scrub
  • Download and start Red Shirts

Current input:
  • The Americans
  • Rocket Boys

Monday, January 26, 2015

Monday, January 26, 2015

Prologue:
Feeling a little bit of cabin fever. I owe myself a run. I think my five-year-old might have a urinary tract infection, so I'm in watchful mother mode. Still, I have content that I need to cover, so it's a bit of a balancing act. Two weeks away from a mini vacation with my partner in crime. It is going to be well-earned.

Word Count:
13,900

Scope:
Complete one manuscript and a synopsis for submission by April 2015 (60,000 words).

To do:
  • Add some movement towards the Sunday-Monday scene
  • Depth of character for Sarah
  • Shower
  • Play with the kiddo
  • Turn the TV off

Optionals:
  • New puzzle
  • Read Vienna 1914

Current input:
  • Etta James
  • Bomb Girls

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Tuesday, January 22, 2015

Prologue:
Unexpected day to put some work in. Current word count is 11,700 - that leaves 48,300 to go.

Scope:
Complete one manuscript and a synopsis for submission by April 2015 (60,000 words).

To do:
  • Complete chapter 8: what friends are for and set-up for chapter 9 restaurant party scene
  • Dog walk (completed)
  • Shower/stretch/self-pampering

Optionals:
  • New puzzle

Current inspirations:
  • Etta James
  • The Fall

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Prologue:
First morning wake-up before 5 am. I will admit that it was an easy sell because of the company I had for coffee. Still, that's progress. I did not intend to work Saturdays (although I really am no longer a weekender in any way), but I have some catching up to do. All of my creative energies over the past week were spent on making birthday party favors. 

Scope:
Complete one manuscript by April 2015

To do:
  • A solid 2 pages more of chapter 4
  • Character outlining/brainstorming
  • Morning gym routine
  • Grocery store visit for cheese and juice pouches
  • 11+ goodie bags and confirm cupcakes 
  • 4 hours of shooting the breeze with fire wives 

Optionals:
  • New puzzle

Current inspirations:
  • Etta James

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Everything Is Work

The past two weeks didn't go as planned. They started alright, with a concise yet chippy entry dated January 2nd. How am I only thirteen days after that original post and already facing down unanticipated hurdles?

Writing is work. I know this. I have known this. It took me fifteen weeks to produce 85 pages that I was satisfied could pass as a thesis, and I'll admit it was still a bit thorny. I guess I started last week with the idea that returning to something that I enjoy after doing something that was incredibly taxing would be a cinch. Cinch it is not. Duh.

Marriage is work. It is when I convince myself that having a long-term partner in my life is easy coasting that I tend to find the bumps. Enough said.

Parenting is work. I have a 5-year-old who can explain that I'm operating around a C+ average.

Dealing with loud and seemingly inexhaustible neighbors (who need to separate because they clearly hate each other and everything else this world has to offer) is work. I had no idea just how much I really did not want to know about the people with whom I share a wall until it now has become an offensively large portion of my day.

I was euphoric starting out last week. "Here Comes the Sun," played at the grocery store and I smiled, feeling giddied and reassured by happy coincidence. Yes dear, the sun has arrived, and everything is still work.


Monday, January 5, 2015

Monday, January 5, 2015

Prologue:
I remember when I used to be well-rested. I'm going to give myself a light January, in hopes that it means my body will jump out of bed come February. 

Scope:
Complete one manuscript by April 2015

To do:
  • End chapter 3 with a bang
  • Start chapter 4 (complete at least 4 pages today) 
  • Keep on a schedule
  • Grocery shopping

Optionals:
  • Gym visit (start doing this to get more energy - or a quick workout at home)

Current inspirations:
  • Dorothy Parker
  • Homer Hickam
  • mi-5

Friday, January 2, 2015

Friday, January 2, 2015

Intro:
This is the first post to a journal intended to aid in keeping a new writer on track.

Scope:
Complete one manuscript by April 2015

To do:

  • Purchase Pokemon birthday invites and paraphernalia
  • Upgrade dialogue in chapter 2
  • Write apartment/one night stand scene in chapter 3
  • Map new series concept; speak easy style, think Elroy and LA

Optionals:
  • Gym visit
  • Library visit

Current inspirations:
  • Dorothy Parker
  • Homer Hickam