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Taking the Muse to a hotel room

Note to self and to all others who write for a living: Never, ever, ever agree to a January 1st deadline.

Ever.

Why not? Let me count the ways – NCTE/ALAN, Thanksgiving, Daughters 1, 2 & 3, Boyfriends of Daughters 1, 2 & 3, and Number One Son, the 25-person family extravaganza called Christmas dinner, etc. etc, etc.

Life calms down AFTER January 1st, not before. Doh!

I have been working on my new YA on and off for months, but I keep being interrupted; by travel, conferences, speeches to write, interviews, last edits on the historical books, research and planning for the next historical, and all of the above-mentioned winter/holiday frenzy.

To be blunt, I was getting near meltdown about giving the book the energy and focus it needed. My Beloved Husband had the answer: I needed to run away from home. Which was not the answer I was looking for, but he was right. I have a great writing set-up; house in the country, supportive partner, no toddlers hanging around, luring me to play outside. But I needed total solitude so I could immerse myself in the story – no interruptions, no threats of interruptions. I needed to go to the Magic Place.

After giving a speech at Syracuse University and dinner with a dear friend and her daughter Friday night, I holed up in an undisclosed location (fairly comfortable hotel) and got busy. I am not going to tell you how many pages I wrote – I hate it when people get competitive about page counts or word counts. But I’ll tell you this: I arrived with a character in my head. I am leaving with her story on the page. I doubled my personal page goal, and I thought that goal was unrealistic to begin with. (This was the raw draft; the brain dump onto the page. I don’t know that I would even call it a first draft, not yet. But it’s close.)

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Magic Place.

I am feeling better about being a writer right now than I have for about six years. Because I spent two very, very long days and nights completely given over to a story. I ate and wrote, went out for more food, wrote some more. Ate a snack, wrote. I feel kind of crappy about not running, but I didn’t want to lose a precious minute. I fell asleep thinking about the story, I woke up thinking about the story. I had many instances of unreality, not sure where I ended and the story began.

I did not totally abandon my family. I fielded several Santa question calls and checked in with my BH several times a day. He’s going to be picking me up in a few minutes and we are off to celebrate Jessica’s birthday.

So today I feel like a writer, a real writer. I highly recommend this sort of weekend to everyone who is fighting to find time to write.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!!!!

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Excellent discussion

There are some wonderful comments in reply to yesterday’s post about if writers should consider watching television as a way to improve their craft. You might enjoy reading them – please chime in with your opinion!

I’m still in need of teachers using SPEAK in the classroom so I can connect them with an Australian teacher looking for examples of how that book words with students. If you want to help, please email me at laurie AT writerlady DOT com and I’ll hook you up.

Busy day. If I get everything done, I plan on watching the NOVA special about training for the Boston marathon tonight.

Sending out prayers to you, Uncle Jim and Aunt Barb, and wishes for for a speedy recovery and return to strength!

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looking for SPEAK teachers, my thoughts on TV for writers

I have an email from a teacher in Australia who wants very much to teach SPEAK. She needs our help. The books have already been purchased, but the principal is having second thoughts about putting the book in curriculum.

She writes: …could you please help me with some real examples of ‘Speak’ being used effectively in the classroom and/or pass on my email to someone who may be able to help me?

If you would like to help this teacher, send me your email address to laurie AT writerlady DOT com. I’ll pass it on to her. Thanks!

I had another email which kept me pondering all weekend. The person heard me speak at the SCBWI conference in Michigan a few weeks ago and asked if I really meant it when I said writers should turn off the television.

The answer is no. And the answer is yes.

My primary point was this: if you are trying to be a writer, and if you find yourself complaining that you don’t have enough time to write, then honestly examine how much time you watch TV. The average American watches 4.5 hours of television a day!. If you want to write and you fall in that category, it’s a no-brainer. Turn off the television. Start writing. End of problem.

Now if you like television, and you are satisfied with the amount of time you’re writing and quality of your work, by all means, keep watching.

BUT….

Some people see their television and movie-watching as a critical part of becoming better writers. They feel that the exposure to Story structure (Plot A, Plot B, Plot C, character arcs intersecting, etc.) that they get out of watching well-written shows helps their writing. I’ve had folks argue with me that they must watch TV to write books and write them well enough to be published.

Are you sure you want my honest opinion here?

I think that kind of viewing will help if you are trying to write a screenplay or break into television writing. But it’s not going to do much for your book writing.

I see a consistent weakness in the writing of young people and writers who don’t read much. They fumble with narrative description. They are great at dialog and they often get the bones of their story laid out well. But the actual description of scene action, setting, the observation of small details which reflect the emotional journey of the character – all that stuff is not up to snuff.

You learn how to write those elements of Story by reading. They are not part of “live action” storytelling – the kind we see on screens and stage. Television and film are different media than books. That’s why books don’t translate onto the screen without a great deal of changes.

TV and film are just as valid as books when it comes to storytelling. I don’t think TV is evil. I see nothing wrong with being a fan of a show and really enjoying your time watching it. (Though I do believe American Idol is an utter waste of time.) There are plenty of shows and movies I’ve enjoyed. My larger point is this: if you think that watching TV will help you write a great book….. well, good luck with that. I don’t think it works.

(Full disclosure – I tracked my TV viewing this week. I watched approximately two hours of news. BH and I watched most of the first Godfather movie Friday night, and some of the Ohio State vs. Penn State football game Saturday. I watched NFL football yesterday while I worked on thank-you notes and started watching a (Netflix) movie with Number One Son that was called on account of homework. And I read three books.)

What is your opinion about this?

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on and on

My father-in-law is responding to the meds and is awake and aware. Grandmother Death seems to have given him a pass this week.

I am at the end of the revision of my historical – huzzah – and am looking forward to getting back to the new WIP.

Our problems with Time Warner Cable – messed up cable, internet and phone – continue to drive us crazy and make their technicians curse and kick the ground. This has been going on for a month now. I am about to cancel all of the services, permanently, and see this as the Universe’s way of giving me more time to write and read.

A couple of people have asked me what I think about J.K. Rowling’s announcement that Dumbledore was gay. I think she misses writing, that’s what I think. I suspect that now the pressure is off to finish the series, and the hoopla over the last book’s publication has died down, she finds herself thinking about her characters a lot. And I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s writing about them, but she doesn’t want to tell anybody until she’d finished.

What do you think?

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Inspiration, revision truths, and silliness

This is a revision weekend. I’m actually excited about it, though I am feeling a little confused about a scene that I know should be in the book, but since I changed some things, I cannot figure out where to put it. Paging the Muse, paging the Muse, clean up in aisle three…

I had a reader question come into my Facebook. Kendall wrote: “… where (in general) do you get your inspiration and ideas for different books?”

I probably come across at least one idea that could become a novel every day. Generally, it’s a person trapped in an interesting situation, or facing a conflict that forces him/her to change and grow. This idea will pop into my head out of nowhere, or I stumble across them because of something I’m reading, some fragment of dialog I overhear, a scene I witness at an airport or the grocery store. I start to ponder: “what if….”

But not all ideas about books are robust enough to become books. Along with the initial conflict, I have to dream up a character with a rich interior life, well-defined background, and memorable secondary characters. And then I throw in setting. And then I throw in subtext; exterior image systems that reflect the character’s inner journey. And then I revise eight or eleven times and I have a breakdown or two and I pull out all my hair and I have a book.

Do you dream of writing a novel and having it published and living the life of an author? Read “My Book Deal Ruined My Life” and tell me what you think.

Nobel Prize winner (literature) Doris Lessing has a MySpace.

What if the Nobel in Literature were awarded in an alternate universe?