The Empty Sack
21 Aug 2010 2 Comments
in Goals, Writers Write Tags: loss, perception, Trusting Your Instincts, writers, writing
At the beach, I grill hot dogs while Bacon watches Cherry and Coco swim. When I open the back of the van to get out the condiments, a Dollar Tree bag floats gently overhead. I don’t want to be one of those losers contributing to the flotilla in the Gulf, so I jump. And miss.
The wind propels it around the dune and down the road. I’m right behind pounding the sand, huffing and puffing, but the bastard is beyond reach. With each step I hurl my body forward. Dollar Tree drifts. My lungs burn. I kick the sand with my flip-flops.
Why am I still running? Over my shoulder, the car is a half-mile back. I’m chasing a sack that I’m never going to catch. Leaning forward, hands on knees, I let it go.
What have you chased lately?
Wednesday Check-in
21 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
in Goals, Wednesday Check-in, Writers Write Tags: Donald Maass Workshop, writers, writing, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: 49 tasks completed out of 591 possible, 3 since 4/14
Miles walked: 4.5 since 4/14. I took the dog to the park today. She finagled a dog biscuit out of another schnauzer owner. The treat was so big, she wasn’t sure if she should eat it or bury it. She ate it, but only after carrying it around for fifteen minutes.
I’m working on Chapter 6, the Reversing Motives exercise on pages 38 and 39. I have finished three and have three to go. Sometimes, my initial motive at the beginning of a scene is weak. For example, in one place my protagonist found herself in front of her love interest by accident. Now, she goes to him with a problem, giving her a motive. Even though she chickens out and doesn’t ask for help, she feels conflict. The rewrite changed only a paragraph of the manuscript, but the entire scene is different because the tension is elevated.
In another, I discovered the protagonist has no reason to be there at all. I cut those pages, lifting the necessary exposition and dividing it between the previous and following scenes. You’d think after working on something for two years, I’d have these problems fixed, but the Breakout Novel tasks are so story specific, they shine a spotlight on the obvious–even when it’s hidden in plain sight.
And, if you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t seen this video of the Maassketeers, watch it now. There’s a reason why so many of us have become disciples. The method works.
Wednesday Check-in
14 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in Goals, Wednesday Check-in, Writers Write Tags: Donald Maass Workshop, writers, writing, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: 46 tasks completed out of 591 possible, 6 since 4/7
Miles walked: 2 since 4/7
I also wrote a new scene with a different point of view character. The plot keeps twisting, but the walking isn’t going so well.
Night Shift
08 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
in Aha!, Goals, Housekeeping, Joined at the Heart, Writers Write Tags: family, garden, Trusting Your Instincts, writers, writing
The words have real meaning. Two weeks on days. Two weeks on nights. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. For a family, whose breadwinner finds work in the current economy, it’s a blip–barely an inconvenience, but still an adjustment. Here are ten things I’ve figured out:
- The trajectory of the job search coincides with the time I’ve been writing this book, two years and eight months. I’m not finished.
- I can live with the new schedule. I’m more confident every day.
- When I lose it because I’m lonely, overwhelmed, isolated or bored, working in the garden puts my head back on my shoulders.
- Writing at 5:45 a.m. keeps the self-loathing away. If Bacon can handle alternating shifts, I can get up early to write.
- Conversely, I have to go to sleep at 10:30 every night. Otherwise, 5:45 is impossible. I may not be on his schedule, but I still have to have one.
- The way I used to do housework is impossible. I can’t make a bed when he’s asleep in it, and cooking dinner at three in the afternoon is just dumb. No one will eat it. The learning curve is steep on domesticity.
- The flip side of the night shift is quiet. The kids go to bed, and I have time to think.
- Weekends are wonderful. They mean something again.
- Steady income.
- Two years and eight months ago, I wanted to write a book that would make readers think about what they believe. I get to do that every day.
Wednesday Check-in
07 Apr 2010 Leave a Comment
in Goals, Wednesday Check-in, Writers Write Tags: Donald Maass Workshop, walking, writers, writing, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: 40 tasks completed out of 591 possible, 8 since 3/31
Miles walked: 5.5 since 3/31
I know I haven’t been a regular blogger. Lots of life changes are happening around our house. Add to that, a lactose intolerant eight-year-old with a stomach virus. I promise to post again soon.
crisp |krisp| adjective
