Dreary Monday

However, I’m excited! Today will be my first day writing in my brand new office chair.

With a ten year warranty.

I can now say Books Written BC and AC.

 

Yesterday was my birthday.

My girls gave me this new chair, a container of sand from FL and a PERFECT shell found in the ocean, an expensive pillow, a sweet trinket, lamp shades for some rockin’ garage sales lamps I found a few years back (3 bucks a piece), and something that may arrive today.

I didn’t ask for the chair, which I needed most of all.

They could see what the old one had done to me, physically. And they heard about it. Finally I pulled in a kitchen chair, but the damage was already done.

Saturday night they surprised me with this gift.

 

Here’s what most important about this. Now in control of their gift-giving (and they have been for years), they paid attention and got me something that I needed.

 

While I am so grateful to be divorced, it’s hard to not have a partner, to always carry the burden. I’m always worried about money, about my children, about my friends, about deadlines.

And I’m lonely, sad, overworked and underpaid, lots of times heartbroken. The feel-sorry-for-myself-list goes on forever. I would have never purchased this for myself.

(It’s so huge and comfortable and soft. AND leather!)

 

I haven’t been this touched by a gift in, maybe, forever.

People listened to me with their hearts.

My girls did.

After they gave me the chair, I felt a little less lonely.

 

I could relate this to writing and talk about what’s important to your character and how does she feel now and how is she changed. I could ask about her family and her relationships and ask what does she need. But I’m not going to. I’m going to say I’m changed because my girls listened and because this gift showed me they love me. I’ve kinda needed this.

 

Thank you Carolina, Elise, Laura, Kyra and Caitlynne.

Thank you for caring.

I Am Doctor Frankenstein

by Lisa Sledge

At least, that’s how it feels these days.

I’m on my second draft. It’s a complete rewrite of the first.

It’s as if I took my baby and chopped it up into tiny bits. I’ve deleted characters, scenes, and subplots that didn’t go anywhere. Now I’m stitching in new material to fill in the gaps, changing the narrative voice (kind of a big deal), and deciding what remains to be salvaged from the old. It’s not much.

My book is a mess, but at least it’s an improvement over the first. So that’s encouraging.

With any luck, however long it takes to get to a final version, I hope I’ll be successful hiding the stitches and seams of my revisions. I hope I can blend the bits and pieces of my manuscript together in a way that appears natural.

I’m grateful for fresh readers who look at my writing and give me honest opinions. After staring at it so long, I can’t tell what’s working and what I only think is working. I cling to reassuring voices for dear life.

And I ask myself, am I having fun right now?

No. Not especially. What I’m doing is honest to goodness hard work.

But even if every moment isn’t a party, I love ending a writing session and knowing that my story is better because of what I did that day.

Patience. Determination. Perseverance.  It’s bound to add up to something.

Three Things Thursday

From Brenda:

Writers should read. What might be even more helpful is to begin what Michael Petracca (in The Graceful Lie, a how-to writing book) calls an “Interactive Reading Journal”.

 

Divide your sheet of paper, a notebook page, or your screen page into two columns. List the left hand column as “QUOTATION,” and specify the item being read by title, whether it’s a fiction book, essay, book on writing, or whatever. You might also want to include a chapter title, page number or other identifying information (or page numbers could be listed at the beginning of each quote).

 

Read a particular portion: a chapter, a section as identified by the writer, or just until you find a quote you want to remember or respond to. Type the interesting or evocative quote in the left-hand column (with page number, as desired)

 

In the opposite column, write what you thought about the quote, or how you responded to it, or how you agree, or why you disagree, etc.

 

The longer you engage in this activity, the more you will begin to see HOW writers write, WHY they write. And you will see how you respond to those writings. All these can be important to you, as a writer, in crafting your own works.

From Cheryl:

In honor of Banned Books Week, I decided to list my top ten favorite banned books…but in the end, I couldn’t cut the list down. So here are my top fourteen, in no particular order, all of which have been listed by ala.org as some of the most frequently banned books.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Fade by Robert Cormier

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

What are some of your favorite banned books?

From Carol:

One of the very best parts of writing for me is typing the words THE END.

We all know writing is tough. Sometimes the hardest part is just doing it. Every day. A few words at a time. When you don’t want to. When you think you can’t. When you hate what you’re writing.

If you endure, I promise good things will come of what you do.

Kyra’s in FLorida

And has been there forever.

Last night I thought how far away she is and I started to feel anxious.

I like my girls close.

She’ll be back the day before my birthday.

Which is Sunday.

Yes, Everyone! I have a birthday on Sunday. September 28.

And yes, I do love presents. But not surprises.

Ann Dee’s birthday is in December.

I will let you all know if the girls treat me great on my birthday.