The phases of writing

I'm always amused by people who say, "I should write a book." Everyone who wants to absolutely should. What they do with it is another matter. When I first told my former husband I was writing a book, he immediately wanted to appropriate it as "we should write a book." Writing requires more than a solid grasp of grammar, it calls for a thick skin and "sticktoitiveness." Perseverance. My would-be partner lacked all of those traits.

As I'm writing and working with my critique group, the various phases of writing are jumping out at me. When we (my critique group and I) begin our projects, we submit chapters to each other. In the beginning phases, it's mostly the "creative" aspect. Ideas that are still forming. There are lots of errors and issues. The group helps keep each other on track and corrects the ticky-tack stuff along with continuity and plot issues (this is where the thick skin comes in). As the project progresses, we generally get ahead of each other, writing well past what we're submitting, so that by the time we're about halfway through critiquing a project, the author is more or less in the completion phase, which means the work is getting cleaner. Tighter. Accordingly, the critiques are getting sharper, more fine-tuned, because there is less to critique.

In the creative phase I, personally, am less tuned in to the mechanics. I'm trying to get the story from my head onto paper. The details aren't always clear, and I have a much broader picture of the work as a whole. Mistakes happen. Homonyms. Wrong words. Granted, my group is pretty keen to start with so those rookie mistakes are fewer as a whole, but they do pop up, during the creative phase especially. As I move past the creative phase into the fine-tuning phase, those errors become fewer--or at least I hope they do. 

I'm currently in the creative stage with my new work, although at about the halfway mark. The closer I get to the end, the more I know what's happening and the less the story - overall - is going to change. I haven't quite made the shift to fine-tuning, but my partners are closer to finishing their work. In fact, they both have completed first drafts and are working on final drafts. Their critiques are more pointed, because that's where they're currently focused with their own writing. Things they might have not noticed or didn't call attention to in earlier submissions for critique are now jumping off the page because they are looking for those "ticky-tack" mistakes in their own work. 

When I worked the day job, I was a proofreader, looking for errors other people made. I worked with a team, and we were the last set of eyes. The funny part is that by the time we got it, the work had already been through at least three previous sets of eyes looking for mistakes, so there was surprise when we found things that had been overlooked. There are always things that sneak through no matter how many people check you, and that's why you need SOMEONE ELSE to read what you've written - someone you trust to know what they're doing. Someone with at least rudimentary industry knowledge.

I'm grateful for my critique partners who keep me on track, both structurally and creatively. As published authors, themselves, they know what to look for and how to get successfully to the finish line. The critiques always hold value, even if we don't agree with what's been pointed out. If it makes us think, we have the tools to evaluate if what we've written requires greater clarification or if the reader has "lost the thread." There are many times when what we see in our heads doesn't make it to the paper, just as there are many times the reader lost track of what happened in the last chapter. There are also the genre-specific aspects (my partners and I write in different genres) to be accounted for, and we trust each other to know what those parameters are.

As I'm preparing to shift gears in my own work, the shift in focus will naturally apply to my partners' work as well. I hope to add value to their work, as they add value to mine. I couldn't do this without them.

Signs, signs, everywhere the signs

As we approach All Hallows' Eve, I thought I'd share some superstition with you - my own personal quirks.

When I moved into this house, I brought two cats with me. One was very chill, the other very hyper. One was boring, the other an endless source of entertainment. I loved them both for their personalities and because... cats. After a few years, when the older one (the "boring" cat) died, we had an infestation of drain flies. I'd never seen them before. Didn't know what they were. They mostly stayed where the cats’ safe haven was and I had the odd sense it was the old cat either reincarnated or a sign from the old cat. Weird. I know. And no, I didn't share that with anyone because ... weird. Fast forward a couple of years to when the younger cat died. She lived to be over twenty years old and was moving like an old lady, so it was only a matter of time before she "gave up the ghost." The odd thing is that when she died, again with the drain flies. Only around where the cats spent their "safe" time. Weird, right?

When my dad had to move from his home into assisted living, an odd thing happened. The senior living apartment my parents had lived in was overrun with drain flies. These little pests now represented death to me, but I kept that weird belief to myself. 

Recently, I found a drain fly in an unexpected place in the house. One. By itself. In a location diametrically opposed to where they appeared when the cats died. A harbinger of death? Now, it's sort of like when people say "death comes in threes." You're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

I'm currently writing a ghost story. The ghost's name in the story is Penny (this is not a spoiler, so don't worry about not being surprised). This morning, I was taking my shower and out of the blue, something brown shows up on the shower floor. Eww! That did NOT come from me! I step out of the shower for a tissue to pick up whatever it might be, expecting it to be soft and squishy, and to my surprise, it was a penny. Where the heck does a random penny show up from in the shower? There is a possible explanation for this, but it defies logic. Doesn't make sense, that I could carry a penny around on my body for an entire day and night without losing it. What does it mean? Probably nothing, but it does give me thoughts for the book I'm writing! Similar to the conical mound I visited on my field trip, it's a sign, like the world is tossing things my direction to keep me writing this story. I got the message. Not to mention I like the premise to start with, so I don't need the extra nudges - although they're always appreciated.

As to the drain fly? I haven't seen it again, nor any of its friends. Here's hoping everyone stays healthy and safe.

Field Trip

When the pandemic hit, I decided since we couldn't safely travel, it might be fun to visit old mansions. I made a list, and we went to a couple, providing the inspiration for HORNED OWL HOLLOW and DARK SHADOWS. There were more on the list that we didn't get to. I'm still a sucker for a good ghost story, so when I was recently looking for something to do, something popped up in my SM feed that looked interesting. Tinker Swiss Cottage is less than an hour's drive, and being of Swiss heritage, it looked like it would be "scenic," if nothing else, so we planned an excursion. When we mentioned it to a friend, they mentioned a Japanese garden that was also in that area, so we decided to do both.

We try to plan our visits at times we won't bump into a ton of other people - during the pandemic we were often the only people on the tours. When we went to the cottage, we were two of five tourists (unless you count the "support" dog riding in one woman's backpack). Nice, small group. Before we left the gift shop to begin, that particular woman asked if the place was haunted. I'll admit I was hanging on the answer, because that was one of the reasons I wanted to see it! Imagine my disappointment when the docent said no. Only one family had inhabited the house over the past 100 years, and to the best of her knowledge, it was not haunted. I was hoping for at least a story! Regardless, we took the tour, which was worth the trip. I desperately wanted to ask about one particular piece, however. A snuff box made from human bone. Human bone?? Whose? But I didn't. Sometimes, you have to let your imagination fill in the blanks when making up stories. I did learn something that I'll be using in the current work in progress - something I wasn't expecting to see there, but which I'd been entertaining as part of the story. When the world repeatedly presents you with ideas to include, you need to pay attention.

The kitchen with pictures overhead.

The library staircase

The conical mound!
(Look for this in the new book)

After we got home, I searched online for ghost stories related to the cottage, and found a show with Jack Osborne and Jenny McCarthy where they stalked around the cottage in search of ghosts. The usual performative type ghost show, and when Jenny professed to actually see/feel a ghost, Jack shrugged her off and suggested they move on. 🤣 I did learn more of the history of the cottage, and also that they "called in" the ghost hunters because locals were nervous and no one was coming to tour because they were afraid of said ghosts. I think they vastly underestimate tourists, but what do I know?

Then there was the Japanese Garden to get our Zen on. Beautiful day. Beautiful garden. Very peaceful. We had a great blue heron hanging out posing for pictures. Lots of ducks. Lots of koi. A Japanese tea house tucked into the woods. Waterfalls. We had lunch at a farm to table restaurant, and all in all, a very successful field trip.  I leave you with some pictures from our adventure...