The CBC, Day Five

Days left: 495
Words written: 4,114

Over 700 words today! My dad, sister and her three children are set to arrive in about 30 minutes so it will be interesting to see if I'm able to get any writing done over the next couple of days while they're here. Maybe all the extra words I've been doing the last few days will make up for it? (Or am I just taking the easy way out?)

Anyway, as I delve deeper into Ronnie's story, I'm realizing I need to go back and do some more in depth research on NYU and painting. My coworker Rish has a friend that went to NYU so maybe I can talk to that person about what the student experience is like there. Contacting the art program there wouldn't be a bad idea either...

The CBC, Day Four

Days left: 496
Words written: 3,358

So today I decided to do my writing while my daughter was still awake so that I could rest when she went down for her nap. This proved to be quite the challenge as I had to stop my train of thought every ten minutes to stop her from getting into whatever she wasn't supposed to be getting into.

I managed to write well over 500 words though. Maybe not the best stuff I've ever done, but at least I got my ideas on "paper" and can go back and finesse it all later.

The next few days should prove challenging as well since I have guests decending for New Years, but I am determined to see this challenge through. Wish me luck!

The CBC, Day Three

Days left: 497
Word count: 2,767

I'm tired today. My daughter has had a cold for what feels like forever (really only three weeks) and was up at 3:30 a.m. coughing. Being a mom, this brought me fully awake and even after checking on her and tucking her back in, I had a hard time getting back to sleep.

With that said, I only wrote 601 words today, which met my 500 words-a-day goal, but were kinda off topic. Part of the reason for that is that I started on the story line for my second main character (Sharon/"Ronnie") today so I don't think I have as good a grip on her as I do on my other main character (Mark). I ended up going off on this long tangent about how she got started on this project she's working on and don't really know if I'll end up using any of it. I remember from my classes with Sheila Ortiz Taylor, however, that oftentimes you'll end up writing whole histories on your characters, most of which you will not use, but that are necessary to the writing of the story.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring a clearer focus on Ronnie. 'Til then...

The CBC, Day Two

Days left: 498
Words written: 2,165

I am really on a roll! Day two of the Christmas Break Challenge has also been a great success with another 700 or so words written along with some great editing to earlier stuff. I'm actually have fun, too, something I tend to forget about writing.

I think that is a hazard of writing professionally when you also want to write as a hobby. I spend so much of my time at work writing and editing (fairly dry) pieces that I forget how much fun writing "just because" can be. No deadline, no "message" or "audience." Just writing whatever I want just because it pleases me.

I hope I can keep this joy and momentum going into day three...

The Christmas Break Challenge, Day One

Days Left: 499
Words written: 1,678

The Christmas Break Challenge (which shall be referred to as CBC from now on) began today, and I am proud to say I far exceeded by 500 words-a-day goal, writing 713 words all in one sitting. Maybe it was pent up writing energy from the two months I've spend not writing.

Today's writing took me to an unexpected piece of backstory for two of my main characters, essentially showing how the two of them got together. All I'm going to say is that the song Lady in Red had something to do with it.

Your assignment? Go download that song and listen to it. Classic. That's what I'll be doing as soon as I post this. I've decided to start a playlist on my new iPod (Thanks, Dad!) that will be a sort of soundtrack for "the novel." Stuff I can go to for inspiration when I'm stuck.

'Til tomorrow...

The Christmas Break Challenge

Days left: 522
Word count: 975

So.

Yeah.

I haven't done a thing with "the novel" in weeks. Haven't really even thought about it. This is no way to get a novel written, I know, but life just, well, intrudes. I tell myself very rationally that if this is something I really care about, that I really want to do, that I will make time for it, that it is worth sacrificing a night or two vegged out on the couch with my husband. But then I get the baby to bed at eight, and I just can't resist the pull of those cushions, the glow of the television, the foot rubs!

Sigh.

I have a plan though. My office is closed the week between Christmas and New Year's and my husband has to work. This leaves me with nine days (not including Christmas Day) with relatively large amounts of free time to write (in between adoring my daughter, of course). So, the plan is to write at least 500 words on each of those nine days, leaving me with an additional 4,500 words I do not have now and (hopefully) jumpstarting my urge to write this novel again.

The question is, am I truly disciplined enough to stick to my plan? (History says no.) Stay tuned to find out. I promise to blog each day to keep you up to date on my progress (and whining).

The Flow of Things

Days left: 555

Word count: 975

Even though we were on vacation last week (Oct. 22-26), I still managed to do a little writing (as evidenced by the increased word count above). I'm starting to get a feel for my characters and where they are at the beginning of the story and that is exciting. The best part of writing (other than being done) is when things start to flow, when the characters truly take on a life of their own and they start telling their own story (often far away from the story you sat down to tell). I can feel their world coming to life. I'm still not sure where they'll end up , but that's okay. There is definitely a theme emerging for this story, namely fear of change, fear of taking the next big step in life and how others can help us through those transitions (something I've dealt with a lot in my life).

I hear my daughter stirring from her morning nap so I better close for now. I leave you with this awesome Death Star jack o' lantern from break.com. Happy Halloween!

Progress!

Days left: 575
Word count: 552

So I have finally written the first 552 words of "the novel." I was able to devote, not one, but three hours to writing yesterday and today. Yesterday, I spent most of the time fleshing out my two main characters, Mark and Ronnie. I'd done some work on Ronnie's character a few weeks ago, but I'd been wrestling with Mark.

In fact, I've been wrestling with Mark's character since college, since that night nine years ago that he first popped into my brain (all of which you can read about here). Yesterday, I had one of those magic writing moments where it all just flooded out and made sense, and I finally felt like I could get started on the storytelling part.

Now if I can just keep this momentum going...

Slacker

So I've been a total slacker the last few weeks, at least when it comes to "the novel." I have done little else but have little brainstorming sessions in the car while I'm driving to pick up my daughter from day care. I tell myself, very sensibly, that "the novel" will never get written if all I ever do is drive around thinking of writing "the novel." And yet, here we are with 578 days left and approximately zero words written. I go on to say, to myself, you set a writing schedule Kiley, now stick to it for once in your life!

So, starting next week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and at least one day on the weekend are "writing days," where I must spend at least an hour working on "the novel." It's not much, but, hey, it's a start!

In other news, I am halfway through reading Persuasion by Jane Austen for the first time. (I know, I know! I call myself a Jane Austenite and yet have never read Persuasion! Whatever.) I have to say that Captain Wentworth is giving Mr. Darcy a run for his money. Especially when he's portrayed by such lovely male specimens as Rupert Penry-Jones. Sigh...

How to Write a Novel

Top 3 sites that pop up when you Google the phrase "how to write a novel":

http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/pages/depts/resources/resour_writers/100daysbook/bk100da.html

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

And this very funny (and useful) blog post by Justine Larbalestier:

http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2006/09/06/how-to-write-a-novel/

Now to put some of this advice into practice...

Excuses and Name Calling

So it's been a couple of weeks since I've done anything with "the novel" (if you can call an idea in my brain such a thing). Life has interfered, beginning with a trip to my hometown for my ten year high school reunion, followed by my daughter starting at a new daycare which has lengthened my commute by 15-30 minutes (depending on traffic) and just general disorganization stemming from those two events.

Thankfully, this week we're back into the normal swing of things, and I can refocus. Today I thought of a great name for my main female character. I was looking for something that was traditional, but that would lend itself to an unusual nickname, and I think I've got it (though I'm going to refrain from writing it here for several reasons I don't care to get into at the moment).

Anyway, my goal for tonight is to get a rough sketch of her life, appearance, personality, etc. Actually get something on paper and not just scribbled notes on a pad!

Ugh

Nothing like a cold to kill your creative spirit. I have been useless this week on all fronts, be it writing for work or the novel. Just want to lie down and take a nap...

Working Mom Blues

I am having a blah day today. Probably has something to do with it being Monday and the start of another work week which means leaving my lovely daughter with her sitter and sitting in this windowless office for nine hours. Blah. Not to mention we are having just gorgeous weather for August. So to be honest, I'd just really rather be hanging in the backyard with my sweet girl, watching her discover the feel of grass between her toes.

Ahh, working motherhood...

I was thinking on that topic earlier and remembered my sister saying (before my daughter was even born) that working moms can't have it all, that something will inevitably be neglected. At the time I dismissed her comment, thinking that because she was essentially a stay-at-home mom, she didn't know what she was talking about. Now that I am on the other side, however, I think there is a grain of truth to her statement.

In my experience as a working mom, the thing that gets neglected the most is, well, me. During the work week, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. (well, more like 6:27 a.m. thanks to the snooze button), and I really don't stop until I put the baby to bed at 8:00 p.m. Sometimes later, depending on what chores need to be done. Weekends aren't much better sometimes, though I do get to sleep until 7:30 or so thanks to my darling husband. Yesterday, for instance, from the time I got up until after 8:30 p.m., I was going, going, going. Making breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, doing the grocery shopping, feeding/changing/playing with the baby throughout.

By 4:30, when my husband plopped down on the couch to watch a movie, I looked on with envy (and anger?) because I would have loved nothing more than to do the same. But the baby needed a snack, and, oh, I have to clean the toilets, etc. etc. etc. Sometimes the weekends are worse than the work week and I look forward to Monday and the one hour I get for lunch so I can sit still and read my book while I eat leftovers in my office.

I bring all of this up to vent because, honestly, I don't have a solution. If only I didn't have to sleep...

Inspiration

I am inspired. Digging out Windows to the Soul and rereading all the commentary I received on it and realizing (9 years later) what I should have done with it in the first place (namely do a little research and revise it, all of which you can read about here and here) has inspired me to work on this piece again and see if I can't make it into something halfway resembling a good story. (Phew! Take a breath...)

Up first, learning a little more about New York City (as in more than the name and that it's a big, exciting city)...

Crappy First Drafts Part II

So when I left off with this story, I had just turned in my first short story for my classmates to read and critique. Here is an actual entry from my writing journal from that class:

"My first story, Windows to the Soul, was workshopped today. They didn't tear it/me apart like I thought they would. However, several big things were brought up.

First, characterization. They didn't feel like I'd developed Sherry enough. K thought it was strange how [Sherry] got prettier when she got closer when its usually the other way around. Dr. N wanted me to write more about her apartment, that I really missed an opportunity to develop her character there. The funny thing is that in my [hand]written draft, I did describe her apartment in detail, but I decided that it wasn't necessary and took it out.

Plot was also brought up. L said she didn't think that this would happen in real life. Others said similar things like, 'Why would Mark tell Sherry all this when they just met?' and 'How is it possible that he could make such a huge change after one conversation after ten years?'"

So... Poor characterization and an unbelievable plot. Sounds like a pretty shitty story to me.

At the time I took it in stride and was just proud that I'd tried. This was, after all, the first time I'd tried to write a story. Looking back on it though, I can see so many things I could've done to make that story a success. The first being, write more than one freaking draft!

If I took nothing else away from that experience, it was this: Your first draft, by nature, is going to be crappy. And that's alright. It's supposed to be. First drafts are about getting the juices flowing, getting something on paper.

The trick, however, is to then research and revise. Then research and revise some more. And maybe then, turn it over for someone to look at. This whole concept was beyond me at the time. I still thought writing was supposed to be easy, remember.

Well, that's enough of my history for now. I'm sure I'll regale you with other thrilling tales in the months to come so stay tuned...

ESF

While taking a break from a very mundane task at work today, I Googled one of my writing teachers from college, Elizabeth Stuckey-French. One of the results that popped up was this interview of her from 1998. This particular passage really struck me:

"Some people think that once you get published everything is set forever, but that is not how it works. Once you are published you don't feel any more worthy as a person, or as a writer, and you don't feel like you can just kick back and rest on your laurels for the rest of your life. You have to keep writing -- and you have to keep getting up to change the baby's diapers. Life goes on."

She also says:

"The only reason to write fiction is because you feel compelled to do it...Writing fiction is such a strange thing to do: inventing characters and having them talk to one another is such an odd way to express yourself. If you don't feel compelled to do that as a way of making sense of the world then I would suggest trying something else."

I am certainly guilty of getting wrapped up in the idea of "being published" (as evidenced in my About Me blurb). What I tend to forget is that what matters is that I write because I want to, because I enjoy it. I always feel like my best work comes out when I'm not thinking about the reader, per se, but about the story itself and the characters and how they would react in a situation and why.

Thanks for the reminder, ESF ;-)

Crappy First Drafts Part I

My next lesson to learn was how much work writing can be. As I said in my previous post, I'd always envisioned writing as a glamorous job. I imagined an author sitting down and writing a story from start to finish, the words flowing onto the page effortlessly, scene after scene until the story was told.

So maybe that is why, when I sat down to write my first short story for my fiction workshop, I was surprised when I found myself staring at an empty notepad, pencil in hand, for the better part of an hour. I couldn't think what to write. I had no idea where to even begin.

So I thought of a random name, Mark. I tried to create a character around this name. He lived in New York City (a place I'd never been, but that sounded cool). He was sad. And he was sitting alone at a bar. That's all I could think of.

I sat pencil in hand for another 15 minutes.

Then I thought, what if there was a woman in the bar that caught his attention. So I made him notice a woman at the other end of the bar and proceeded to describe her with every cliched phrase I could think of.

What if she approached him, I thought. Brilliant! So I decided she was a painter and that she painted people's eyes (just because that sounded different). She walks up to Mark and asks if she can paint his eyes. He agrees.

(Now I was really on a roll.)

They go back to her place and she starts to paint and while she's painting she starts asking him about himself and about why his eyes were so sad. Now I had to come up with the big finish, the big answer to why Mark was sitting alone in a bar in New York City looking sad.

So I made Mark answer (after only a very little hesitation) that his wife and child had died in a car crash back in his hometown and that he'd moved to New York to forget about the past. He even cried. She had helped him overcome his grief, and he was now able to move on with his life.

I ended the story with Mark seeing the woman's painting of his eyes in an art gallery and smiling.

Pencil down. I had written a four page masterpiece! I titled it "Windows to the Soul" (because I apparently had a thing for a good cliche) and typed up my story. I made copies for the class to read and critique and prepared to hear the praise.

Stay tuned for what the class had to say about my mini-masterpiece...

A Writer is a Reader First

It is my firm belief that all great writers start out as great readers. I have had a love affair with the written word for as long as I can remember. I have vivid memories from when I was very young, six maybe, of pulling a stack of books from my parents' bookshelf, curling up in my father's chocolate brown recliner and reading.

I think I first realized how much I loved reading in middle school, when I spent the entire summer before seventh grade staying up into the wee hours of the morning reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series. I literally (no pun intended) lost myself in those books. I was Anne, on Prince Edward Island at the turn of the century. I fell in love with Gilbert right along with her. That was really the first time I realized the power of the written word. How it could transport you to another time, another place, give you an all access pass into someone else's thoughts and feelings.

I didn't realize I was a writer, however, until my sophomore year in college. On a whim, I signed up for a fiction workshop. I felt like I needed something light in an otherwise heavy schedule (I was preparing to major in psychology and had a courseload full of classes like statistics and social psychology). As we started the course, reading through Janet Burroway's Writing Fiction and writing short stories to share with the class, I began to see all the books I'd read differently.

I'd always had this idea that stories came out all at once, that a writer sat down at their desk and typed out a novel from start to finish. I had no idea how much thought and effort it took to write a single page or paragraph or sentence. I didn't realize that you could sit down to write one story, and end up writing something completely different.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The more I learned about writing, the more I learned to read like a writer. To appreciate the beauty of a well paced plot, enjoy a particularly well-rounded character, admire a setting described so well you could feel the bitter cold or sunshine on your face. In short, I began to learn to recognize good writing when I read it. Thinking back over all the novels I'd read through my life, I realized that the ones that really stayed with me, the ones I'd read over and over, were also the ones that were written well.

So what happened next? Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll tell you about my first (awful) attempt at actually writing fiction...