My headache is gone and I'm writing away. Life is busy as usual so I don't have much time to blog, but I had to share the newest addition to my word list...
omphaloskepsis
It means, "contemplation of one’s navel".
Perfect title for a blog entry, don't you think?
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
ugh...migraine
i'm knocked flat right now with a migraine
no fun
it's my first bad one since i started my current bfl challenge.
ugh!
i didn't wake up early this morning because i hoped extra sleep would help me shake it...
no such luck
today is a preschool day so maybe i'll do some writing then
or maybe i'll lie in the dark with an ice pack on my head and moan
sorry for the pity party
it just hurts
no fun
it's my first bad one since i started my current bfl challenge.
ugh!
i didn't wake up early this morning because i hoped extra sleep would help me shake it...
no such luck
today is a preschool day so maybe i'll do some writing then
or maybe i'll lie in the dark with an ice pack on my head and moan
sorry for the pity party
it just hurts
Monday, April 17, 2006
It's been a week since my last entry...
...and I want to do a new one, but I don't have much to say. Actually, that's not true, I have a lot to say, but I don't have the time to say it. I want to talk about "the process" of novel writing (and how there really isn't any one process, every writer does it differently) but today is going to be another busy day and there aren't enough spare minutes to do the topic justice.
I also had three great bits of story appear to me recently, which fit in perfectly with what's come before. It's so incredible when that happens. It really feels like these things "appear" out of the thin air and not like I have much to do with creating them. I'd love to write a blog entry about it all. But again, no time!
So we'll have to settle for another boring update on my progress.
My new mantra is "Trust Yourself". And I think it's helping me even out the ups and downs. I haven't had a panicky, paralyzed-with-fear writing session in a while. (Which probably means I'm due for one soon! ;o)
I still feel like I'm moving at slower than a snail's pace with all this, but even snails get somewhere eventually. I've finally accepted the fact that as much as I'd like to sprint to the finish line, I'm not a sprinting type when it comes to writing. So I'll continue to creep along.
Do you know that even this short, boring, uninformative entry has taken me over an hour to put together? Although to be fair to myself, I haven't exactly been uninterrupted--I've also refereed several squabbles, made breakfast, and participated in some extremely intense Easter candy negotiations. Now I'm going to attempt my lower body workout, do the dishes and the vacuuming, and then the kids and I are going to get ready for Scott's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Honey!)
No wonder I can't manage to get in more blog entries!
I also had three great bits of story appear to me recently, which fit in perfectly with what's come before. It's so incredible when that happens. It really feels like these things "appear" out of the thin air and not like I have much to do with creating them. I'd love to write a blog entry about it all. But again, no time!
So we'll have to settle for another boring update on my progress.
My new mantra is "Trust Yourself". And I think it's helping me even out the ups and downs. I haven't had a panicky, paralyzed-with-fear writing session in a while. (Which probably means I'm due for one soon! ;o)
I still feel like I'm moving at slower than a snail's pace with all this, but even snails get somewhere eventually. I've finally accepted the fact that as much as I'd like to sprint to the finish line, I'm not a sprinting type when it comes to writing. So I'll continue to creep along.
Do you know that even this short, boring, uninformative entry has taken me over an hour to put together? Although to be fair to myself, I haven't exactly been uninterrupted--I've also refereed several squabbles, made breakfast, and participated in some extremely intense Easter candy negotiations. Now I'm going to attempt my lower body workout, do the dishes and the vacuuming, and then the kids and I are going to get ready for Scott's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Honey!)
No wonder I can't manage to get in more blog entries!
Monday, April 10, 2006
Weaving the Web
Every step of this novel-writing-process has had its own challenges--issues I never thought about before I tried doing it myself. Right now I'm tying together a lot of loose ends in my story. I know generally what's going to happen but there are still many little decisions that need to be made and I want to be sure it all hangs together in a logical way. It's time to write the big climactic scenes and not only do they need to be air-tight, but all the smaller threads need to connect believably. Motivations have to make sense. Whenever a character does something, especially something risky or unexpected, I need to make sure their motivation for acting that way is believable.
I've used the puzzle analogy before when talking about language and trying to find the right words, but the plot is also a puzzle whose pieces must fit together. And elements rely on each other. So by sending a character down a particular path, countless other parts of the story are affected. It's like a gigantic web--all interconnected.
Believe me, now that I'm writing a novel myself, I can see the temptation to wrap things up as quickly and easily as possible. Sometimes I want to have a character do something that will advance the plot to where I want and expect it to go, even if it doesn't gel perfectly with that character's personality. But I resist, because I know these people so well, it would bug me too much to force them to act a certain way--a way that's out of their character--simply for my convenience.
Clear as mud, eh? Sorry to be so cryptic. It's hard to explain what I mean without describing the story itself. And that's still top secret!
I've used the puzzle analogy before when talking about language and trying to find the right words, but the plot is also a puzzle whose pieces must fit together. And elements rely on each other. So by sending a character down a particular path, countless other parts of the story are affected. It's like a gigantic web--all interconnected.
Believe me, now that I'm writing a novel myself, I can see the temptation to wrap things up as quickly and easily as possible. Sometimes I want to have a character do something that will advance the plot to where I want and expect it to go, even if it doesn't gel perfectly with that character's personality. But I resist, because I know these people so well, it would bug me too much to force them to act a certain way--a way that's out of their character--simply for my convenience.
Clear as mud, eh? Sorry to be so cryptic. It's hard to explain what I mean without describing the story itself. And that's still top secret!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Renée
Renée: this is what my email program does with my name when I spell it with an accent. IRL, I always write my name with the accent on the second-to-last "e", but in cyberspace, I almost never do, because of the Renée issue.
Come to think of it, Renée, might make for an interesting pen name. Kind of like Prince, when he didn't want to be called Prince anymore and wanted to be referred to by that unpronouncable symbol. At least Renée is something people could say.... I'll have to think about it. ;o)
I'm still getting up early. Still writing. Still making progress. Still getting closer and closer to the end.
Still, still, still! It's not very interesting to read about all my stills, perhaps, but still is a good thing. Working on the novel is all very automatic now. It's just something I do. This blog has helped me so much in that regard.
I also just finished week five of my BFL challenge, which I find miraculous considering everything else that is going on.
And I'm also starting to think about what to write next.
Then there's all the wifely and motherly stuff I do.
Wow. When I stand back and look at it all like this, I realize I should be proud, but I'm not. Renée doesn't often give herself credit. Maybe it would be easier for Renée.
I'll put some more thought into the pen name idea.
Come to think of it, Renée, might make for an interesting pen name. Kind of like Prince, when he didn't want to be called Prince anymore and wanted to be referred to by that unpronouncable symbol. At least Renée is something people could say.... I'll have to think about it. ;o)
I'm still getting up early. Still writing. Still making progress. Still getting closer and closer to the end.
Still, still, still! It's not very interesting to read about all my stills, perhaps, but still is a good thing. Working on the novel is all very automatic now. It's just something I do. This blog has helped me so much in that regard.
I also just finished week five of my BFL challenge, which I find miraculous considering everything else that is going on.
And I'm also starting to think about what to write next.
Then there's all the wifely and motherly stuff I do.
Wow. When I stand back and look at it all like this, I realize I should be proud, but I'm not. Renée doesn't often give herself credit. Maybe it would be easier for Renée.
I'll put some more thought into the pen name idea.
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