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.

Opening scene draft

Just returned from a visit with my sisters. We talked about our experiences during the 1960's & 1970's. Thinking about where to begin I decided to write a working draft for scene one of the novel.

"It's strange, even bizarre when I ponder it all now." Rosemary grinned stiffly, her round eyes opened wide. In her peripheral vision she caught a glimpse of Molly frantically scribbling on a yellow notepad. She had refused Molly's repeated requests to record their meetings.
Everything had begun a lifetime ago yet sweat sprang from Rosemary's pours. Her rigid body shuddered. Voice low, barely a throaty whisper she said, "You never forget the sound of a bullet passing inches above your head..."

New post on Dubious Grief page.

A road map approach

This piece (story about social movements and change) is the first time I will use a 'road map' (historical events) to develop a novel. Most of the research about events from the 1960-70's is completed. The question I now address is: Where is my protagonist and what situations during this timeframe provide the greatest opportunity for her to change? Thinking about these critical moments I am sketching out possible scenes, encounters where the protagonist moves from one perspective and into a different way of viewing her world. What is she looking for and how does she get or not get what she wants. I will write, write, write these scenes and see what happens.

50 years later...

Now that my research about events in the 1960-70's is nearly complete I've started writing short pieces about these times from the POV of my protagonist. This is the fun, exciting part - remembering these events and placing my fictional character in the middle of things. The scenes include snippets from the counter culture (music, concerts, books), the antiwar protests against the US involvement in Vietnam (student riots, demonstrations, speak-outs), the civil rights movement (bus riders, voter registration, marches), women's health (abortion rights, MS magazine), and the environment (anti-nuclear power, Earth Day). These were empowering times/events. Fifty years later it is time to tell these stories. So I write, write, write...

Memories from long ago

From mid January through May 2013, I wrote sporadically. I believed during the early months of this year my grief and sorrow prevented me from writing for this was the time 4 years earlier when cancer ravaged my husband's body. I did not want to believe I had tumbled into depression. It is only looking back on those months that I can acknowledge my depression (which disappeared when I visited my sisters and mom) and its debilitating effect.
I could not write. I had nothing to say. I'd just finished rereading 'The Women's Room' (Marilyn French) that I'd read over thirty years ago when I was a graduate student. I looked around my world and deduced that all the promise of that long ago time had come to nothing. It was like my whole life, all my activism, had come to nothing.
Over the past several weeks, researching the events from the 1960-70s has rekindled my passion from that time. I realize I have something to say. I write my stories, filled with such hope for a different future  but with the knowledge that little of that promised future remains today.

Historical puzzle pieces???

My short stories, set in the mid 60's - mid 70's, fit into the framework of an historical novel. Putting together a timeline of historical events from that era has stirred up more memories to fictionalize. Thinking of these pieces as a historical novel helps me clarify each short piece and uncover themes to tie the pieces together. I don't anticipate these short stories as a novel, but as a series of pieces relevant to the issues of today. It is exciting to see the puzzle pieces come together to form 'the big picture' and to see how issues 45 to 50 years ago are still relevant today. It's also somewhat depressing to realize we have not resolved them.

Creating Fictional Characters

This week I reread a small book - Writing A Woman's Life - written in 1988 by Carolyn Heilburn. In the book Heilburn writes about her alter ego - Amanda Cross who writes mystery stories. She talks about how creating a female lead in her mystery stories she was creating a fantasy version of a life she might have had. That she wanted to "create an individual whose destiny offered more possibility than I could comfortably imagine for myself."
What a wonderful model for creating fictional characters. Give them every possibility and see what happens. This inspired me to let go of trying to control my characters, let them tell me what to write. Recognizing that I have no control over my characters has set me free - however briefly - from the trap of 'writer's block.'