New Year Update

Long time since I've posted. Lots of writing and revision. Another draft of the book is completed with lots of feedback from early readers. My partner and I are revising our synopsis and getting ready to send out query letters. Also completed revision of a short story that has evolved from 4500 to 8100 words so it's now a novella. Story takes place during the summer of love in San Francisco. Looking for a place to send this piece. Currently collaborating with my two sisters on a memoir - inspired by letters written between our parents prior to their marriage. Tentative title: Love Letters. Looking forward to attending the Willamette Writer's Conference later this year.

Revise, revise, revise...

With the novel resting - first readers are busy providing feedback - my writing time is devoted to revising my short stories rejected by publishers. I use the revision techniques provided in the book Manuscript Makeover written by Elizabeth Lyon that were incredibly helpful when working on the novel. Four of my short stories are in the revision process. Mostly I focus on 'riff writing' to flush out details previously confined to a phrase or brief narrative. My focus is breathing life into my protagonist that helps the reader understand what motivates the character. In my story, Golden Purifiers, I need to answer the question - why would Patsy embark on her solo journey across the country? Without her motivation revealed, the reader is clueless about why Patsy reacts as she does. Her inner struggle and how she overcomes it is critical for the reader to understand the overall story plot. I use my writing time to rev up these short pieces and will then submit them to publishers.

And the waiting begins...

Today my writing partner and I completed revising draft 4 of our book. While we aren't done yet, the story is much tighter, builds nicely to a climax and our hero wins the day. What was missing from the previous draft was the back and forth tension leading up to the climax. And the climax scene! Our hero didn't have a chance to triumph over inner and outer struggles in the preceding drafts. He succeeded but we had failed to show how he won the day. When our writing session ended today, both myself and my writing partner were ecstatic. We know we've got a well paced, funny yet dramatic story. Time for us to take a break from revision and send the manuscript off to our first readers for feedback!

Novel revision

My writing partner and I have completed writing draft 3 of our novel and have begun polishing it up, adding tension, increasing characterization, and adding backstory to highlight the universal theme. Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon is our guide. Amazing how the story plot came together in draft 3, as chapters and the story ending emerged. I reviewed our progress and noticed we spent approximately 3 months on drafts 1 & 2 each after more than a year of riff writing and producing our first crappy copy. If we keep the same revision pace, we'll have draft 4 ready by September. Writing is a wonderful, fun, and creative process.

New Project - Letters from 1940-41

For the past several months I've been working on a new writing project. A year ago my two sisters and I found and read letters our parents had written to each other before they were married. I'm using the thirty-three letters as the basis for a novella length piece. The letters are the root of the love story between my parents. Interspersed between these are a series of dialogues between my two sisters and I as we took turns reading the letters to each other. The final piece is a narrative written from Mom's POV. Inspiration for the piece comes from Carol Shield's book, The Stone Diaries in which she uses a similar format to tell the story. I am well on my way to having a completed first draft which I will send to my sisters for critical feedback and additions that come to them. This is a 'Creative non-fiction' piece. The dialogue between we sisters is based on our own reactions as we read the letters. The narrative comes from family lore and my creative imagination.

On Rejections

Since my story Twenty Forty-Six was accepted for publication the rejections sting less. Recently two of my stories were rejected but both editors offered praise for my writing. And encouraged me to continue writing and submitting stories. One editor said a story was confusing and offered suggestions on improving it. Most helpful as I rewrite the piece for submission to another publication. I appreciate the feedback and encouraging words. I continue writing and submitting my short stories. The learning process never ends.

Success in six months!

Six months since my last post. Implemented my plan to write, revise, and send out short stories to publishers. Six months later I received an email from Fountain Magazine informing me I'd won "Honorable Mention" in their 2014 writing contest. Yippie! Not only will my story Twenty Forty-Six be published in Fountain Magazine's 100th issue this summer, a cash prize of $200 was awarded too! Publication and money. So excited. Now I can call myself an author, not simply a writer. Inspired I move forward writing, revising, and sending off my short stories to publishers.

Sending Out Stories

Throughout the summer I diligently wrote, revised, and rewrote scenes for our book with my writing partner. We added a forth writing day and write together over the internet. Recently we decided we each needed to get a few short stories or articles published. I have a dozen or so pieces in various drafts and started reviewing and rewriting these. My writing partner and I critique each other's pieces. We see ourselves as our own mini critique group. We encourage each other and hold each other accountable for sending out stories. We are committed to sending out two stories/articles each month. This is the motivation I need to get my stories out to publishers. Acceptance or rejection of my stories is not what matters. Just sending out my stories is important.

Life Interrupts Art

Three months. Life interrupts! When last I posted in March, my coauthor was on a three week vacation. The week she returned my dear out-of-state friend came for a two-week visit. May brought family events and travel issues. But come June, life settled and my coauthor and I devised a writing schedule -  we write Mon. Tues., and Thurs. mornings from 9:30 to 12:30. Three days a week is manageable as we organize the main plot and subplot scenes along the story timeline. Together we write new scenes as well as rewrite previous ones, brainstorm ideas and clarify scene goals. Joy-joy-joy it is, writing again.

Write something each day

My co-author is on a three week vacation so I have turned my writing attention to other projects, an advantage of having several writing pieces at different levels of development. I continue reorganizing Dubious Grief writing scenes and letting the material flow. I've given up trying to impose a predetermined structure on the story. For my historical novel I'm mostly done with the research and now think about how my protagonist will react to specific events and write short snippets to develop into scenes later. I write whatever interests me on a daily basis. My goal is simply to write, write, write something every day.

Complementary editing styles

Yesterday during my writing session with my co-author we discovered our minds work very differently as we approach editing and organizing the book. We are using a spreadsheet to identify each scene we have written, it's purpose/goal, and the take away for the reader. I'm a plodder. I work best if I can concentrate on one editing task at a time. My co-author tends to see many tasks as we work on organizing the material. Her mind is like a pinball, easily moving from one task to another. So we discussed these differences and decided my focused approach and her ability to see all the other editing issues actually are complementary strengths. As we plod along identifying each scene goal, she notices where the 'holes' in the story are and records these in a note column. Reminders of editing tasks to pursue next. Once we figured out how our different styles complemented one another we were able to edit in a way that suited both our styles.

See new post on Dubious Grief page.

Rejecting the 'lone writer' ideal

I have never been comfortable with the 'lone writer' image. For me writing works best as a collaborative experience. Writers need feedback from other writers on their stories. Critique groups are one way to collaborate as is enrolling in a writing class. A third collaborative options is co-writing stories with another writer. Writing stories together may sound risky to those writers who have not experienced this collaborative process, because our 'writing ego' gets in the way. My writing partner and I agree our co-writing experience works for us. Often she reads aloud what I have written, suggests edits, and I do the same for her. When she suggests I "kill a darling" I put my ego aside and discover I often agree with her analysis. Because we are writing a novel together, this helps me refine my characters, story threads, and offers ideas about how my characters might react to the characters and scenes my colleague writes. Co-writing our novel keeps the story moving, provides valuable feedback, and keeps me laughing as I write.

Keeping the winter blues away!

January ends tomorrow and my writing has moved forward significantly during the month. Writing several pieces at various stages of story development has kept me on my toes. Most helpful has been designating specific days and times for each project. Two days a week I write/revise with my writing colleague. One day I work on my Dubious Grief material and this keeps my memoir project moving along even without the writing class I usually participate in. In the evening I ponder new story ideas and file them away for a later time. I have also taken up watercolor painting - so nice to have a truly free creative activity outside the structure of writing. All in all this month has confirmed my belief that variety in my writing and other creative activities is key to keeping the winter blues away.

Writing together using the internet

I am collaborating with another writer on a novel. Since it is winter and the weather can be terrible, we are using the internet to write scenes together and organize our materials. This method has worked great for us. In the past we'd meet at either my or her house and write once a week. Now using the internet and Google's gmail allows us to store and share materials and write together several times a week on our novel. It's great to be able to write and edit the same document together. No need to deal with the cold, frigid weather. And we are making better progress on our novel than meeting once a week in person. Love this method of collaboration!

Self Motivation

I usually start the new year by taking a memoir writing class at the local community college. Because the tuition has nearly doubled, I skipped enrolling this year. Instead I will proceed with my writing as if I am enrolled, cranking out my words and reorganizing Dubious Grief. I dug out my class notes from the previous four years and will do the exercises, pump out the word count, and see where it leads. Since the class meets on Tuesday evening, I have dedicated my Tuesday writing to my memoir, Dubious Grief, to strengthen the illusion and hold myself accountable. Another year, another challenge.

Reflection in poetry

December 27, 2013

Harder to Live

A karate kick

to my heart

delivered

the day Glen died 

taught me 

I do not want to be 

the last one standing. 

Watching  

mom’s health decline 

illuminates  

what it is like to be 

ninety-three

I do not want to be

the last one standing.

I do not want to live 

without 

my sisters 

my children

my family 

I do not want to be 

the last one standing. 

Jean Louise Blanchard

remembering Glen’s words: “it’ll be harder for you than for me...”

Holiday Reminiscing

The end of the year is for me a time of reflection. Lately I've been reminiscing about the holiday time when I was a kid in the 1950's. A lot has changed yet much remains the same. Lots of material for a short holiday story. When did we get a christmas tree? I remember Dad brought a tree home the weekend following Thanksgiving. He'd trim branches then cut several inches from the trunk and put it in a bucket of water out on the porch. He said the tree needed at least a week to soak up the water and replenish itself after its long journey from the forest to our house before we decorated it. Do folks still immerse their trees in water today? We kids spent a lot of time hunting for signs of christmas packages. Mom hid them in a closet, high up on a shelf in her sewing room. Today I see parents shopping for gifts, with their children in tow. Some kids even tell their parents what to buy as they shop! Mom put electric candles, with blue bulbs, in our windows. (Where the bulbs blue or am I misremembering?) Last year when I visited my Mom before the holidays we looked through the various decorations she still kept; the small items she would display around the holiday. My most vivid memory is standing in the darkened living room, looking at the christmas tree all decorated and lit with multi-colored lights and hearing a voice tell me, "you have alway been and will alway be." I was five at the time. These collective memories could make a fine story.

See new post on Dubious Grief page.

Let it snow!

Holiday time from Thanksgiving through the end of the year is typically a time when my attention shifts away from writing and onto daily life. I spent Thanksgiving week visiting my son and his family in CA. When I returned I began my frantic holiday beading - necklaces for the women in my family. It's a tradition I keep up year to year. Not so different this year until the end of last week brought snow to Eugene OR. This is a city where everything stops when snow falls. We are totally unprepared for it. Since the storm hit on Thursday night the temperatures have not gotten above freezing so the snow remains on the roadways, packed down and slippery. This year in particular we are stopped in our tracks - last night the temperature fell to a record shattering minus 9 degrees. Just keeping the pipes from freezing and staying warm is a challenge. No holiday shopping here. Instead several days to write, write, write. This may be my most productive writing time during the holidays ever!

New post on Dubious Grief page.

Time for reflection

After several weeks dealing with health issues - I'm back in the grove writing again. While I suffered through a head cold, coughing and sneezing through my days, I reflected on a new structure and wrote notes to remind me of my insights once I had enough energy to write. With direct questions such as 'what is the purpose of this chapter' and 'how can I draw the reader in' I have a solid framework to use in revising materials. Now that my head has cleared and coughing subsided, I am able to integrate these notes. Amazingly my notes still make sense (mostly) and I write, write, write these ideas into restructured chapters.

A multi writing approach

I've discovered that writing three different books at the same time has helped me avoid getting bogged down due to my resistance in performing some writing tasks. I can't seem to edit pieces for very long before I get bored. One project, my memoir about my grief journey, at times overwhelms me and I can't seem to write. Research for my historical novel can become tedious. So having three writing projects keeps me moving along.

See new post on Novel Ideas page.