The point of no return

I'm about half way (give or take) in the new story.  I think most authors would agree that this is usually the point where we reach full panic.  The story sucks.  Or you don't know where to go from here.  For me, I'm still fully engaged in the story, and I have a direction to move, but I'm worried about how to get to the end from where I'm at - pacing (am I giving away too much too soon?).  Second guessing myself, and as one of the ladies at the writers conference said to me, maybe it's just that "woman" part of us. Men don't question themselves the way we do? Do they??? I'm inclined to believe they do, especially as far as the writing is concerned, although I don't know that I've had the same conversations with men who are authors.  The RWA conferences I go to are primarily women (although not exclusively).  I've been to conferences with J.A. Konrath, and something tells me he NEVER second guesses himself (although I could be wrong about that).

At any rate, I've reached a point in the story where I can't quit.  It's the "point of no return." There are some stories that I've started where you realize early on they are so much drivel. Some of them I've pushed ahead with anyway, just as writing exercise, if for no other reason, but this one I believe in. I'm too deep in to quit, I'm too invested in my characters and their outcomes to leave them hanging. And I'm just plain having fun.

One of the fun parts is research. Yes, it can be tedious, especially when answers are NOT forthcoming, but it can also be fun. I enjoy learning things I didn't know before, or uncovering new ideas.  Have I mentioned this story takes place around Christmas? (maybe a million times?) So I was looking up ethnic recipes (my characters have strong German roots) and found one that I definitely want to try.  I've shared it with one of my writing buddies, who does recipes on her blog from time to time, but it is still untested (a reason to try it!).  It will likely show up on her blog in time (and maybe mine beforehand), but considering we are in the summer months, this recipe is more suited to colder weather - comfort food, even. But I promise to share.

Back to my topic . . . there are times when I sit at my computer and want to pour everything out of my head, and I can sit for hours at a time, days in a row (when given the opportunity), but you always hit a stopping point.  I hit one.  That's not always a bad thing, stopping points give me the opportunity to go back and clean up the mess I made spewing words out. The thing about the point of no return is knowing that even though I've hit a stopping point, I will forge ahead.  And actually I have, if at a much slower pace.

Hah.  I just remembered the title of this blog is Ramblings of an Author in Progress.  Yes, folks, I'm rambling.  This is the process.  And now I have to get back to it!

Anon

Happy Memorial Day!

Let me start by thanking the veterans who have sacrificed their time, their health, even their lives to defend our country.

I'm still steaming forward with the latest story, probably too fast, but that's the way I roll. Once a story gets stuck with me, I need to pour it out as fast as I can. It makes for a lot of work on the back end cleaning up after the mess, but at least I have the story down. It's coming together nicely, the characters taking on lives of their own, sharing secrets.

Also still waiting to hear from the publishers who are considering Living Canvas. It's a slow process.

I'm keeping this post short, primarily because I'm entrenched in writing at the moment. {grin} Back soon!

GMC

Huh?

Well, as an author, these three letters are critical to writing a good story. G, for goals, M for motivation and C for conflict.  These three letters have been foremost in my mind for the past couple of days as I struggle through a section of my new story.

Struggle?  Yep.  It happens.  Some people call it writer's block, but I don't necessarily believe in writer's block. More like speed bumps. You go flying through chapter after chapter and then you hit a speed bump and everything slows down. I'm not quite sure why it happens, but its very frustrating when it does. I have future chapters dancing in my brain, so I'm even more frustrated because I have a direction I'm trying to go.  So how do you get over those speed bumps?

GMC.

The chapter is dragging. They're eating dinner and you don't need to see every little bite and it's getting boring. So how do you move it forward? Check out what you're trying to accomplish in the chapter. What are the character's goals? What motivates them to get to those goals, and what conflicts are they encountering along the way? (conflicts like speed bumps?) {grin}

GMC helps to propel you forward when you you get stuck. GMC should be central to every aspect of the writing. I'll be honest with you, when I'm on a roll, I don't get bogged down in "overthinking" these things. I know the basic plot points, I know the overall goals. I know the major conflicts. Breaking it down to the chapter level is usually my idea of "micromanaging," and yet it is important, even at that level. Therefore, when I find myself in this predicament, I reach back into my bag of writer's tools. It doesn't always work like rocket fuel to get me back into orbit, but it generally gives me the push over the bump. Some chapters are like that. They slow you down. Does this chapter have a purpose in the story? Absolutely. So I'm creeping over my speed bump and anxious to zoom on ahead.

An alternative to laboring through these types of chapters is to jump ahead to the other chapters that are dancing in my brain.  I have done that on occassion.  It's a less linear approach, but when you've got other characters or situations singing to you, there's nothing to stop you from giving them their voice. You can always come back to the speed bump later, and often it is less intimidating later. You might think of it as the Quentin Tarrantino approach. 

So now that I've avoided my speed bump long enough to blog, I need to get back to work!

Getting away from it all - Travelogue

DH and I took a quick break from the real world this past weekend. We visited picturesque Galena, Illinois and stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast (the significance of that will make more sense when Living Canvas gets released).  Acknowledgement to steller innkeepers Lorraine and Jan Svec for making us feel at home.

I also took the time to visit a bed and breakfast in Dubuque - shout out to Amy Boynton of the Mandolin Inn, who I interviewed when I was developing Living Canvas.  Although I've stayed in B&B's before, the inspiration for the one I wrote didn't fit with the vision I needed, so I did some online research and stumbled on a closer image for what I wanted to convey. Castle Valley Inn is a mash of many different places, but with Amy's kind assistance, I was able to create a stronger vision. Finally getting the chance to see Mandolin Inn, I was not dissapointed. The place is Beautiful (yes, that's a capital "B"). Gorgeous. Awesome. Thanks to Amy for her kind hospitality.

But back to Galena. This is what we saw the first night. Have I mentioned the new book includes those "moments of grace" when the world seems to stop?

My husband is an excellent photographer and he took some beautiful pictures (like this one of the sunbeams breaking through the clouds).

Galena is a tourist type of town filled with little shops to browse (I'm not much of a shopper, but its fun to look in the windows). 

And the thing about Galena is that they don't have alleyways, they have stairways between buildings that lead to the next block over (or, more accurately, up).  Built in a "driftless" area (this is an area of land untouched by glacial erosion), it is one of the few hilly parts of the flat Midwest.



A Day to Myself

The ugly deadline season is over. The work is still coming in, but the crunch to complete it is less oppressive. So, after months of suffocating pressure, I have a day off, all to myself.

And I'm spending it working on the new story. Fresh from the Chicago Spring Fling, I'm re-energized after motivational workshops and validation for my craft.

So what happened at the conference? you might ask. I had a scheduled appointment with an editor from a major publishing house. Prior to that, there was an agent who had an appointment open, so I asked if I could take the slot. Unprepared (I'm a pantser too many times), I went in to pitch Living Canvas. Within a few minutes, said agent put me in my place. "I'm going to say no," he said, "and this is why." There were several reasons - and he had some valid ones. The most important one was that I was "all over the place." Unprepared (my words, not his). This happens sometimes when you're a pantser.  But I'd been working so much that I didn't have time to prepare, and cocky, because I'd always done well in these appointments in the past. So it took the air out of my balloon. However, I still had my appointment with the editor to keep. As an author, we are forever second-guessing ourselves, I struggled with what to do.  I had a few hours, so I prepared.  And it paid off.  Within two minutes with the editor, she asked for partial. Two Minutes! Is it any wonder some authors are bi-polar? We go from the depths of despair to the thrill of acceptance all within a matter of hours.

Now for the ridiculous part. After the conference, I hurried home and prepared my materials for the publisher. Then I let them rest for a few minutes to make sure I hadn't rushed through and overlooked something. I waited an extra day and re-read my proposal. And I clicked send. Then I went to my sent folder and read it one last time (too late to do anything, but for my own peace of mind). Wouldn't you know there was a typo in my letter? It wasn't there the first time, or the second time, or even the third time I read it.  I swear! (oh, it's not nice to swear, sorry.) Don't know if I brushed a key on my way to "send" or what happened, but of course now I feel like I've sabotaged myself. That being said, if she can get past that typo, the rest of it should be perfekt (yes, I know I spellled that wrong).  And now the waiting game begins.

Said editor did mention that she has never published something she's gotten during one of these types of appointments, but I did tell her I hoped to be the first. She was very gracious, and friendly (they usually are) and I would love to work with her. But I'm not getting overly optimistic about my chances. It's a tough business and even the multi published authors get turned away sometimes. But its a glimmer of hope. For now.

In the meantime, I'm using this Day to Myself to move ahead on the new story. The conference helped me to remember some of the important pieces that go into the process, and a few days away from the story gave me some editorial clarity to fix things I can see already, even though I'm only 13,000 words into it. AND it's written around Christmas, so although it isn't a Christmas story, per se, it is a Christmas story. Unintentionally! A much better idea than the one I had previously considered writing, and this one will be more fun (less introspective).

Along those lines - any native German speakers, I have some questions! Please feel free to email me if you can help me with some "different" translations. I know a smattering, I have some family background to help, but using a German patriarch in the story, I have need of a particular translation that I'm trying to mold to fit my purposes . . .

And now, back to A Day to Myself. I have a story calling me.