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Up earlier than usual to help Mer off to college orientation. If you haven’t gone or sent anyone to college in the last 20 years, you might not realize how smart colleges are getting about the orientation process. Many now hold it for a 48-hour period in the summer, weeks before classes begin. It is a toe in the water. You take any necessary placement exams, meet your advisor, sign up for classes and begin to morph from a bored-out-of-your-mind high school senior to bright-eyed-and-nervous college freshman. This way that first weekend has fewer stresses and fewer chances for the freshman to screw up. It’s a great idea

I’ve been having a hard time sleeping – very unusual for me. I think it’s a combination of life stress and writing. The life stress (see paragraph above & I’m moving & I’m moving my parents soon) is understandable. But why would writing make it hard to sleep? I don’t know for sure, but here’s a caffeine-deprived theory. I prefer long, intense writing days (10 hours or more) to the “everything in moderation approach”. (I suck at moderation in writing.) It makes it easier to stay consistent in voice and hold all the details about a character in my head. The downside is it is very hard to turn my head off. Friday night I kept getting back out of bed to write down ideas. Don’t worry. Another day or so and it will catch up with me and I’ll crash. I am known for marathon sleeping sessions as well.

Are you a fan of Kevin Hawkes?

Jane Yolen, one of my long-time heroes, is keeping an online journal that is inspirational and comforting.

What do you think about my new LJ icon? PROM has been out for four months now, so I figured it was time for that commercial break to be over. And I hugely identify with Xena. I wish I could carry my sword with me everywhere…

Time to nudge Mer again. Wake-up world, it’s Monday!!!

Yesterday was just what the doctor ordered – a day in New York City.

I don’t think I could ever live there, but I do love visiting it. I love the crush of people, the hundreds of languages, the thousands of combinations of faces, clothes, walks, eyes, the little dogs, the business – all of it. Energizing. I took the train from Trenton to Penn Station. No, I was not afraid to take the train. To be afraid is to let the bad guys win. They won’t win anything with me.

Why did I take a day out of the craziness that is life right now and head for Manhattan? To do one of the coolest things ever!

Continue reading “Gotta love NYC – SPEAK DVD commentary taping”

Hard day.

Terror in London, fear everywhere else.

Makes my little problems even punier. Makes me feel like a jerk.

Met with my writer’s group for the last time (officially) today. It’s not like I won’t see them ever again for the rest of my life. I know that. But I’ve been meeting with them for more than a decade and that is over because I am moving in 23 days, and the distance will be too far. I wrote about my group a couple months ago, if you’re interested.

We cried during group and shed a couple tears at lunch. Another member of our group is moving this month, too, and a third is moving homes, though she’ll still be able to attend meetings. The sense of change, of forever good-bye and overwhelming sadness darkened our lunch table. I am trying to hold on to the positive, to be grateful for the incredible friendships this group has offered me, the wisdom I’ve learned from all these women. It is hard to imagine what my life would be like without them.

I need to pack something. I’m off to New York City tomorrow.

Pay no attention to the part of me who is wearing her p.j.s all day and stumbling around the apartment, muttering to herself in the voices of several characters. Writer Laurie is in full Madwoman in the Forest mode, scribbling away 16 hours a day. Wrote out a couple action-packed scenes yesterday…. everything needs much, much revision, but that’s how this game works. I’m making progress and that’s all that counts at this point. Full speed ahead!

For your amusement we offer the following diversions:

Welcome YA Uber-Librarian kzookev (who has adorable kids and a great wife) to LJ Land! (Remember the fun I had in Kalamazoo? Kevin was behind all of it.)

The New York Times notices blogging authors. (go here first if you aren’t registered… grrr… hate this registration crap.)

Read about the life and times of Roald Dahl.

Summer vacation for authors. ( The registration thing again!)

And finally, the good people of Denmark are visited by the President and First Lady.

Jeg skal skrive – ha’ det godt, mine venner!

All of the family drama (good drama) the last three weeks has made it hard to focus on my Work In Progress. That’s why yesterday was such a relief. Mer left around lunchtime for a well-deserved week at the beach with her dad. I fired up the computer and dove back into the novel. It was like diving into a deep, dark lake – scary, cold, and exciting.

It took until mid-afternoon to refamiliarize myself with all the threads of the story. That’s one of the things about novels that I find hard – holding on to all the different bits of info about characters, the order in which motivation unfolds, etc. By dinner, it was all familiar and I set about adding to the word count. Went to bed at 11 satisfied.

Today and tomorrow are writer’s dream days – just me and my characters, alone and ready to work. I have absurdly high word count goals. I have to take Thursday and Friday off, and two days next week are set aside for family things, too. Once I get to the end of the month, the family drama meter will be set back on High as I get ready to move and totally change my life. So if I have any hope of meeting my deadline, I had better set and meet absurdly high word counts on days like this.

To be honest, I’m pretty stoked. I like a challenge.

I have to make the coffee. I leave you with these pictures of my back porch kitties. I think they may have moved on already. Didn’t see them yesterday. Tempus fugit

Continue reading “Author obsessed”