Argh... bad, bad week for writing. Started out with sciatica (or so I suspect due to the pain in my left lower back & the occasional shooting pains down my left leg -- who needs an MD???). Then bad got worse when I ended up with a suspected case of food poisoning on Tuesday evening/Wednesday all day/into Thursday.
So much for the Thanksgiving plan to go out and eat Indian food. We had frozen pizza at home in our jammies.
Wahoo.
But I am grateful to be on the mend.
Oh, yah, you betcha.
11.21.2008
The Birthing Process
One great joy (for me) in writing is finding a new story idea. When the idea comes from my sister and frequent writing partner, Jeannine, it is the greatest of joys. No one knows me as well or bounces ideas around with me better (with the exception of my husband, but we don't usually write fiction together, so it's okay).
Recently, Jeannine brought a possible new screenplay to me; in the past week, we've roughed out the setting (era & place), the 3 main characters, a sense of the throughline (or at least the point of the story), a couple of prime scenes, and a sense of the ending. We're starting to know our main character just by talking about her: why is she in the story, what's her emotional stake, how does she accomplish her intentions, where does she want to go?
This is the best time -- nothing down on paper yet, but we've planted the seed.
Recently, Jeannine brought a possible new screenplay to me; in the past week, we've roughed out the setting (era & place), the 3 main characters, a sense of the throughline (or at least the point of the story), a couple of prime scenes, and a sense of the ending. We're starting to know our main character just by talking about her: why is she in the story, what's her emotional stake, how does she accomplish her intentions, where does she want to go?
This is the best time -- nothing down on paper yet, but we've planted the seed.
11.18.2008
Milestone and Rule #1
Actually wrote several pages today, in between letting the cat down cellar at 6 AM, the dog out to potty at 7:40AM -- first time for him with snow on the ground, and he doesn't know what to think -- and fighting with the drain in the tub for 2 hours.
That's 2 whole hours trying every trick known to womankind, from easing plastic tubing down the narrow pipe to the vinegar & baking soda bubbling trick to pouring boiling hot water & dish soap down it trying to get the works to drain properly... only to discover that somehow someone had accidentally hit the plug dealie so that it was halfway closed. Since the stopper is inside the drain and therefore invisible to the naked eye, it didn't occur to me to check that first. Aargh! But at least I didn't have to call a plumber.
Since this is a training week, I'm not terribly concerned about the slow-going, but it occurs to me that some milestones and rules might be in order to keep things on a more progressive track. So:
That's 2 whole hours trying every trick known to womankind, from easing plastic tubing down the narrow pipe to the vinegar & baking soda bubbling trick to pouring boiling hot water & dish soap down it trying to get the works to drain properly... only to discover that somehow someone had accidentally hit the plug dealie so that it was halfway closed. Since the stopper is inside the drain and therefore invisible to the naked eye, it didn't occur to me to check that first. Aargh! But at least I didn't have to call a plumber.
Since this is a training week, I'm not terribly concerned about the slow-going, but it occurs to me that some milestones and rules might be in order to keep things on a more progressive track. So:
Milestone #1: Starting in December (no point pre-Thanksgiving, trust me), send out 6 queries a month to agents to try to get representation for The Long Black Veil. Send on Wednesdays; they make good administrative task days.
Rule #1: If more than 30 minutes passes staring at a blank page, work on something else. For example, if nothing's moving along with The Pirate's Bride, I'll work on the screenplay for "The Long Black Veil", or perhaps the screenplay for "Slide". Momentum breeds momentum.
That's all for today's progress report. Time for bed.
11.17.2008
A Quick Search for Inspiration
The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it. ~ Leo Rosten
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ~ Robert Heinlein
You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair... You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page. ~ Stephen King
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~ Anton Chekhov
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~ Gene Fowler
One ought only to write when one leaves a piece of one's own flesh in the inkpot, each time one dips one's pen. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such. ~ Samuel Butler
If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~ Toni Morrison
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ~ Robert Heinlein
You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair... You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page. ~ Stephen King
Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~ Anton Chekhov
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~ Gene Fowler
One ought only to write when one leaves a piece of one's own flesh in the inkpot, each time one dips one's pen. ~ Leo Tolstoy
Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such. ~ Samuel Butler
If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~ Toni Morrison
11.15.2008
The Queen is Dead, Long Live the Queen
Here's a happy little late night thought: my mother will never read the book I'm writing now.I don't think she even read the bits I had started for this one over 3 years ago.
What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
11.14.2008
One Week Gone...
So, I have not gotten a ton of writing done this week, but I feel as though I have adjusted my attitude -- and sometimes that can be more beneficial for going forward than generating a bunch of mediocre work. (Quality, not quantity.)
I'm starting to believe writing full-time may actually be the right thing for me. Even though the economy is tanking, I've given up a decent paying job, and our debt load hasn't changed much, I still feel better than I have in years. And it's not just because I don't have to answer to a supervisor; I still have to answer to myself, and I'd take bets that I'm a much harsher task master than any supervisor I've worked with. I've had some good ones, and they weren't half so exacting.
This week was orientation. Next week is training. Then the real work begins...
I'm starting to believe writing full-time may actually be the right thing for me. Even though the economy is tanking, I've given up a decent paying job, and our debt load hasn't changed much, I still feel better than I have in years. And it's not just because I don't have to answer to a supervisor; I still have to answer to myself, and I'd take bets that I'm a much harsher task master than any supervisor I've worked with. I've had some good ones, and they weren't half so exacting.
This week was orientation. Next week is training. Then the real work begins...
11.12.2008
Research is Your Friend
So... slow start this AM has equaled basically a no-start day; it's mid-afternoon, and I've written about 2 words.
HOWEVER, I have done a good bit of research on the WWI era. Here's what I learned today:
TE Lawrence was raped by Ottoman Turks
The sinking of the Lusitania was not a completely unprovoked act; the ship carried "secret" munitions to Britain's aid, though officially the US was neutral in 1915
Americans renamed German measles "liberty measles" when we entered the war... (like "freedom fries" that could kill you)
1914-1919 produced some interesting music
In October 1918, over 851 New Yorkers died of the Spanish flu
And apparently our President-elect is Irish!
HOWEVER, I have done a good bit of research on the WWI era. Here's what I learned today:
TE Lawrence was raped by Ottoman Turks
The sinking of the Lusitania was not a completely unprovoked act; the ship carried "secret" munitions to Britain's aid, though officially the US was neutral in 1915
Americans renamed German measles "liberty measles" when we entered the war... (like "freedom fries" that could kill you)
1914-1919 produced some interesting music
In October 1918, over 851 New Yorkers died of the Spanish flu
And apparently our President-elect is Irish!
Slow Starts
Inherent challenge number one: working from home means frequent interruptions from the animals. The people get it, but the animals... not so much.I've been trying to work since 8 AM, but first I had to feed Homer... and take him potty... and listen to him whine until I let him upstairs with me.
Thank God he goes to day care a few times a week.
11.10.2008
First Day's End
Highlights from today:
Set up the blog
Heard from some dear, supportive friends
Re-read and edited 52 pages of Bride
Wrote 1 new page
Not a bad beginning.
Set up the blog
Heard from some dear, supportive friends
Re-read and edited 52 pages of Bride
Wrote 1 new page
Not a bad beginning.
The First Leap
A few years ago, I met my husband-to-be at a party. The first time we met was inauspicious, but the second time, I knew in that inexplicable way in which we recognize an absolute truth that we were meant to be together. Many odds were against us, from complicated relationships to geographical distance to a not-insignificant gap in our ages. And yet we married last year, and neither of us has ever been happier. That was the first leap of faith.
And now, after struggling with my mother's recent death and several years of career dissatisfaction, my husband suggested I stop trying to fit my square self into a round hole, quit my job, and just write. He believes it's what I was meant to do. I want to believe.
So I am taking the risk. Working with my sister, who is also my writing partner and a critical part of my life, I have finished one novel--The Long Black Veil--and will try to get an agent and/or publishing house interested in buying it. Concurrently, I will continue working on the screenplay that LBV inspired and on the new novel, The Pirate's Bride.
Will any of it sell? I don't know. But with my husband, sister, family and friends supporting me, it's time to make the second leap.
And now, after struggling with my mother's recent death and several years of career dissatisfaction, my husband suggested I stop trying to fit my square self into a round hole, quit my job, and just write. He believes it's what I was meant to do. I want to believe.
So I am taking the risk. Working with my sister, who is also my writing partner and a critical part of my life, I have finished one novel--The Long Black Veil--and will try to get an agent and/or publishing house interested in buying it. Concurrently, I will continue working on the screenplay that LBV inspired and on the new novel, The Pirate's Bride.
Will any of it sell? I don't know. But with my husband, sister, family and friends supporting me, it's time to make the second leap.
Slide
Slide
Type: Screenplay
Genre: Dark Comedy, Present-day setting
Status: In Revision
Logline: For brothers Wes and Neil, their friend Alaska, and co-workers Dexter and Bird, escape from their boring lives is a pipedream... until an ice storm sets up the perfect robbery. Forced to rely on one another if they hope to slip away, these smalltown slackers may just realize their wildest dreams.
Type: Screenplay
Genre: Dark Comedy, Present-day setting
Status: In Revision
Logline: For brothers Wes and Neil, their friend Alaska, and co-workers Dexter and Bird, escape from their boring lives is a pipedream... until an ice storm sets up the perfect robbery. Forced to rely on one another if they hope to slip away, these smalltown slackers may just realize their wildest dreams.
The Pirate's Bride
The Pirate's Bride
Type: Novel
Genre: Romantic Drama; 1900-1929 era
Status: In Progress
Logline: Set at the turn of the twentieth century, ugly duckling Harper Geist marries handsome, desirable Julian Pratt and sets her small hometown talking. As rumors about their match become uglier — spurred on by her jealous sister — Harper grows suspicous of Julian's professed love and begins to doubt her own judgment. Only a tragic accident makes her realize all that she has allowed to undermine her marriage, but by then it may be too late to find forgiveness.
Type: Novel
Genre: Romantic Drama; 1900-1929 era
Status: In Progress
Logline: Set at the turn of the twentieth century, ugly duckling Harper Geist marries handsome, desirable Julian Pratt and sets her small hometown talking. As rumors about their match become uglier — spurred on by her jealous sister — Harper grows suspicous of Julian's professed love and begins to doubt her own judgment. Only a tragic accident makes her realize all that she has allowed to undermine her marriage, but by then it may be too late to find forgiveness.
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