A Time for Everything

I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.

--Roethke

One multicolored computerized flowchart later, I must stop planning. It's time to go to town writing. I cannot plan my way to the answers to these small, lingering plot questions. It's time to write my way to the answers now.

Yay! The fun part! Time to watch the word count grow!

The Goal: A first draft completed by the last week of February.

Post 100

This post marks the 100th of my short, low-profile blogging career.

Having a blog has forced me to do something I have never been able to do. Keep a journal for more than ten or twelve entries. I have scads of blank books. It's the go to gift for people who don't know what to get me, and none of them have enough entries to represent a significant amount of time. In January it will be a year since my friend Erin and I both decided to do this (it was her idea in the first place). I'm glad I did. 2008=100 posts=the most well-recorded year of my life. And it was a good one.

There's something about celebrating the 100th anything (100 days in school, 100 years, 100 bottles of beer on the wall. . . .) that creates an expectation for number 100 to be special in some way. So. . . .

Since this event of the 100th post coincides so nicely with the approaching new year, I will be changing the look of this blog in observation of both. Also, my husband got a fancy schmancy new camera from his parents for Christmas. To give him an opportunity to use it often, and encourage his long-time photography hobby, I will begin a new "Yet-to-be-named" photo series of some kind in January. Maybe I should call it "Inspired by Ann."

Making Progress. . . .

While the WIP word count may be at a standstill, progress is being made in the area of plotting. This story is going to require some pretty careful construction, because it is actually three stories being told simultaneously. These will, hopefully, dovetail and mirror each other in a resounding halleluia chorus of an ending. Ambitious, yes, but really, shooting for the moon is the only choice at this point.

Anyway, I had to head back to the flowchart for a bit this evening. I have plotted one thread quite carefully, and noted the intersection points. I believe I will do the same for the other two before I go back into the zero draft. I'm thinking about writing each story separately, in a linear fashion, before combining them in a later version.

This process is a pretty dramatic difference in my approach to a project like this. Let's hope it's not just different. Let's hope, for the love of Petunia, that it's better.

Owl In Love

By Patrice Kindl
Graphia (June 7, 2004)
Age: 9-12



I finally finished reading Owl over the Christmas Break. Since this novel, Patrice Kindl has written Goose Chase, and others. Owl is a shape-shifting teenager who is also in love with her science teacher. I really appreciate Kindl's writing style, with a distinctive and strong authorial voice. The story is contemporary and ethereal at the same time. The whole novel was so well-paced and plotted, the ending did not quite live up to the rest for me. But this is so worth reading. A writing class unto itself.

The New WIP Word Counter

Over the last year I've done some off and on prewriting, storynotes, character sketches etc. Now that I've decided to shelve more revisions for my other novel (for now), these efforts have intensified and focused themselves. I'm finally ready to begin a ZERO DRAFT of a brand new idea.

For my own accountability, there is a new gadget in the sidebar that will track the progress of the ZERO DRAFT. Word count is king at this stage. It's the only time quantity does slightly trump quality. Do you have any methods to keep yourself going during the "roughest of drafts" stage?

Christmas Memory

Just before dawn, my sister Betsy and I are creeping down the stairs, our sleepy parents behind us, at six a.m. The tree is huge, spectacular, and throwing pokey, rainbow shadows on the walls. We cut it down in our own backyard, had to wire it to the wall so it wouldn't fall over.

We take in the display of Christmas booty, I swear it glittered like treasure, beneath this giant evergreen. An art set, opened with the brushes carefully fanned next to shiny watercolors. A pink doll stroller. For Betsy, a Little Lady Buggy, holding a tiny doll passenger and looking every bit as charming as it sounds. At age eight and two, we think we have hit the mother load.

I love my presents, but even more, I'm thrilled to watch my sister. Her pigtails are cockeyed from the day before and I'm thinking how adorable she looks, how fun it is to share this morning with a sibling. I'm showing her how the little buggy works and how to hold the doll like a real baby. This is the first Christmas she has any idea who Santa Claus is.

Contentment settles over me as I sit in the middle of toys and lights. I will never want another thing as long as I live. I can't even imagine there is no Santa Claus. Next year would be a different story but, for this morning, my sister and I are both so excited about this guy who indulged us like we never thought our parents would.

No matter how it really was, I think the rainbow lights must have been more vivid and bright that Christmas than you can get them now. The tree must have been stolen from a production of The Nutcracker. And Santa must have been real, if only for that moment.

Flow Charts and Spreadsheets and Outlines Oh My!

A few posts ago I wrote about my foray into spreadsheetdom, with regard to publisher research and submissions tracking. This has led to creating an outline for a newish idea for a novel I've been kicking around.

In the past I have spouted on about how much an outline "wouldn't work." Oh, and how outlines "take the excitement out of creating." Stuff like that. These things are possible, but as I was forcing my daughter to take a bite of chicken not long ago, I considered this fact: I have never TRIED it. And, frankly, the novel writing I've been doing is perhaps one step above underwhelming. This is a lot because of the lack of plot organization. So, on with the experimental outline! And did you know what a beautiful flowchart you can make with Word 2007? Alas, the flowchart will wait. I'm starting with storynotes. One step at a time. . . .

Need some inspiration lately? Check HipWriter Mama
I need to re-think how I blog

The Anti-Rant (aka Positive Moment Post)

I overheard my sister, who is a kindergarten teacher, talking about the importance of having a "Positive Moment" at the beginning of the day with one of her more challenging students. This got me thinking about the importance of positive moments in general. With the holiday season in full swing, and the darkest month of the year almost half over--

--cue new agey instrumental and fade in to a cup of steaming chai (with a side of ripe mango for a serving suggestion)

I hereby commence the inaugural "Positive Moment Post"

*Today's positive moment is brought to you by Stash.*

A local restaurant (and high school hangout) has been collecting money for the food bank in our town for the past month or so. They have a jar by the cash register for spare change. So far they have raised $660.00. Everywhere I go I see collection sites for the clothing bank, glove and hat trees etc. At my church we are raising money for Heifer International--a nonprofit that's fighting world hunger one cow (or goat or honeybee) at a time. There are food baskets and toy donation boxes galore because everyone thinks about sharing their blessings this time of year.


Someone I know had a good idea. Donate to your local food bank every year during the month your birthday falls. This evens out the giving (if a lot of people participate) and spreads it throughout the year.


I call June. :o)

Looking Ahead

I know, it's not yet Christmas, but I'm in the mood to think about 2009. January is one of my favorite months, not because of the snow, but because of the "clean slate" feel to it. And I'm all about fresh starts. Plus, I never really made any December goals, unless you count the November goals I all but completely ignored.

So, in 2009 I, being of sound mind (?) and body, do solemnly resolve--in no particular order--to:

1. Keep up on my laundry
2. Paint my kitchen
3. Floss more
4. Call my grandmother more
5. Organize the rest of my files
6. Submit my picture book ms
7. Start another novel
8. Give monthly to a charity/church
9. Make sure the dog is walked every day
10. Get myself, once and for all, on a regular writing schedule
11. Exercise five days a week
12. Eat five different vegetables every day
13. Blog about more interesting things than just myself all the time

My Competition

The Chronicle Books slush pile, picture from Fuse#8. And they aren't even one of the so-called "Big Five." Not that most of those even accept unsolicited ms anymore! Hoo boy. I need to work harder.

Writing Exercise #6

This is an exercise to get your childhood memories bubbling to the surface. Think back. Even further. Further now. Step into your tiny child body and look around at what you smell, hear, see, taste etc. It's the very first Christmas you remember. Maybe it's just a snippet, but that's okay. Pull the memory to the center of your mind and let it stay there a moment. Meditate on it a spell and see if it blooms a little, elaborates on itself. It might take a little time, but when you have a few sensual details go ahead and write those down.



Or maybe something immediately comes to mind. Still, see what more you can remember. Fully immerse yourself in the memory and then write down everything.

Read it.

Do the same thing with other random childhood memories. When you think about it, it's quite amazing what you've got stored, just waiting to be mined for story.

Oh Yeah

Read this --an interesting rant about capitalism. Thanks to Sarah Miller for the link.

Update

As I write this I recall that I did make some goals for November. It is now December first and too late to make a mad dash to accomplish them. I did do one thing, though, toward making smarter submissions.

I've been researching *stifles a yawn* and researching. And, oh, doing more research.

I now know the publishing trends of eleven major publishers, including how many debut authors they've bought from in the last four years. I know which ones favor anthropomorphism, word play and humor. I know which ones lean more toward didactism, celebrity authors and high concept. I know the take-out preferences of certain editors, and which ones will return a postcard submission reply.

I've had my daughter make files for me because she likes to be a little helper. She even filed the info for me after I printed out my reports. Those very scientific reports that give information like "query only--crapshoot" and "only agented--ice cube's chance" Oh, and "No debuts in five years--don't bother"

A list of titles has been compiled. My job now is to comb the biggest library in town for them, read them and make the appropriate notes in the appropriate files. Then, write these very personalized cover letters evidencing all this careful study blah blah blah.

So far it's been an enlightening experience. I've learned quite a bit and, mostly, I'm glad I'm almost done with this part. Of course, the system will require upkeep. Right now I think hiring my daughter sounds good--so far she exhibits more "agent skill" than I do!