Oct 16, 2007 | 70 Days of Sweat, Writing |
It took me all day to get in gear, with many stops and starts, but I did it. I wrote my 1285 words for the day! In fact, I wrote 1342 words.
And believe me, I didn't think I was going to make it at one point. I opened up the WIP and stared. And stared some more. And read some of the challenge participants' blogs. And stared.
Well, you get the idea. It was painful going, but I wrote 875 words on my nearly done GH entry and 467 words on the new book.
Having accountability is a good thing for me. I knew I HAD to get this done. I made a commitment and I told people I was going to do it. Failure is not an option.
So now I'm cracking open a beer and celebrating. Maybe tonight, I'll sleep like a baby. Or a lazy cat….
Oct 13, 2007 | Writing |
I can't believe I did this, but I signed up to sweat with Sven. Seventy days to write a novel, accompanied by the 200+ other writers who've signed up to do the same thing. If you're feeling brave, you still have another day to sign up. The challenge begins on Monday. It ends on Jan 15. Yeah, that's more than 70 days, but the sponsors have built in 23 days of down time for you to use however you see fit. Me, I have company coming up for Thanksgiving (probably a week or so) and a week-long Caribbean cruise over the Christmas holiday to fit in, but I think I can do it.
And, frankly, I just need the kick in the pants. I am a GREAT deadline girl.
When I have a deadline.
I wrote my master's thesis in 3 weeks, once push came to shove, and got it approved with very little revisions. I wrote all kinds of academic papers the night before they were due (or the day of, if the class was that evening).
I CAN produce under pressure. And I'm darn well gonna do it.
So, what's my goal? First, I have to finish this Golden Heart entry. I have about 50 pages to go, I'm guessing, and a 5 page synopsis. Then I plan to write the rough first draft of the next book I envision in this series. I wrote the first pages to this book in Dallas this year, one night when my roomies were out and I was full to bursting with inspiration and drive. I think I need to write around 90k words, give or take a few.
I'll be reporting my progress here as I go. I hope you'll decide to sweat with me. There's still time! Don't make me suffer alone…… 🙂
Oct 12, 2007 | Writing |
Today, I went over to Writer Unboxed and found this two part interview with Rosina Lippi/Sara Donati (Part I; Part II). Ms. Lippi is an academic who has managed to be very successful, and award-winning (think PEN/Hemingway), with her contemporary and historical fiction. So, when an academic-turned-author says something like the following, I really pay attention:
It’s my firm belief that literary fiction is just another genre, with a target audience and conventions. One of those conventions is what I call the ‘no pain no gain’ rule. Happy endings or even just content endings are not in fashion for the literati at this point in time. But ‘fashion’ is the operative word. There’s no great underlying truth to so-called literary fiction. Academics have claimed the authority to declare what’s worthwhile (and we let them!) and they do a great job at gate keeping. Keep out other kinds of storytellers at all costs. Once in a while somebody sneaks in. Eventually Stephen King started getting reviewed in the NYT, after all. But they still have to qualify everything, and explain why they are bothering with commercial fiction.
My bottom line: Plot is not, as some of the literati seem to believe, a four letter word. Good writing and a good story are not mutually exclusive. You can have both — you SHOULD have both — but the average person out there wants the story, first and foremost. They will put up with many infelicities if there’s a good story to pull them along. Which explains the DaVinci Code. The research, the writing, the premise, none of that worked, but the story grabbed people and they responded.
There's the explanation for the DaVinci Code in a nutshell. It may drive us grammarian/perfect sentence people nuts, but STORY is the key. All the perfect sentences in the world won't get you published without a story to back it up (unless, I suppose, you are writing depressing literary fiction).
In judging contests, I have read some less than perfect entries that had stories I wanted to keep reading because the concept was so good. I've also read perfectly crafted stories that were boring as hell. I used to think, many eons ago, that if all my sentences were beautiful and perfect, that an editor or agent would keep reading and I'd get a book contract.
I don't think that anymore. Dreck is still dreck, even when the sentences are perfect. Exciting is still exciting, even when a comma is out of place or a word is misspelled (though I really want to bop the writer over the head for the misspelling — spellcheck, people!). A good editor can whip a less than stellar manuscript into shape if the story is there. Nobody can make a good story where there isn't one.
Of course I'm not advocating for sending off imperfect manuscripts and leaving the fixing to someone else! I couldn't do it even if I tried. I am a perfectionist at heart, though I've noticed as I get older that imperfections slip by me easier than they used to.
But how do we make sure that story is our focus when we're writing? I don't have a magic formula for that, but I think if you follow Elmore Leonard's direction to “leave out the boring parts” you might be well on your way. Make sure every scene has a purpose. Make sure the scene reveals something or builds on something or sends the story in a different direction. Make sure there's a question that needs answering by the end of the scene, a reason to propel the story forward into another scene with another question, and etc.
Probably easier said than done, and certainly nothing to obsess over on a first draft. But on subsequent passes, keep an eye toward moving the story forward. I'm still learning how to do that. I'd love to possess some innate ability that keeps me sailing forward on a giant ship, plowing obstacles in my path and getting the job done. Instead, I've got this little raft that gets buffeted by the wind and waves. Still, there's not another job in the world I'd want (or, most likely, one I'd be any good at) so I keep hanging on and trying to get to the other side. Like Hemingway's old man, I hope to sail into port with one hell of a fish story. 🙂
What do you think about story versus craft? Do you agree with Lippi? In spite of the great story concept, I have to admit I couldn't finish TDVC. Is that just a writing thing, or is it a grammarian thing?
Oct 10, 2007 | General, Life, Photos, Writing |
Hey, y'all, since I'm still recovering from the events of the weekend (and believe me, it took ALL weekend to prepare for and go to Talladega), preparing my entry for the GH, and trying to rebuild the iPod list I accidentally deleted last week, I'm introducing my very first guest blogger. My husband is only too happy to tell you about the Talladega experience. So please welcome Mike, the man who indulges my writing habit, keeps me in groceries, and says nice things about me. 🙂
We went to Talladega for the big NASCAR race and these are my thoughts on it. First, it was a very long and hot day. We got up at 0500 and did not get to bed until around midnight.
Shortly after arriving in Talladega , we setup for a “tail-gate party” with tables, chairs, and food. It was around 0900 when we started partying. The race did not start until 1:00 p.m., so we did a lot of people-watching, eating, and drinking. I can't get over just how many people and campers there were. The best way I can describe it was “immense.” There were cars and campers for literally miles around. It was like a carnival atmosphere. There were concessions all over the place selling food, t-shirts, and whatever else you can possibly imagine.
Around noon, we all hiked up to the race stands and found our places. It was around 90 degrees outside and getting hotter by the minute. I was starting to rethink this whole watching the race thing because of the heat. Every once in awhile a cloud would block the sun for 10 to 15 minutes and grace us with a much needed break. The hour prior to the start of the race went by fairly slowly, but our patience was soon rewarded.
At 1:00 p.m. the race started and I couldn't believe just how much noise the cars make. I won't try to describe the race, but rather my impressions of being at a race. I've seen NASCAR on TV and never thought it was all that thrilling. Well, being at a race in person is very thrilling! The sound of the engines combined with the speed they travel (around 200 mph) is incredible to watch. There is an ever present smell of fuel and rubber from the tires. (Lynn here: oh heck yes, the smell of burning rubber and the feel of grit on your skin. Just what I needed on a Sunday…) In addition to the smells, the feel of the ground shaking as the cars whip past is amazing. After the cars pass there's a sudden rush of wind with all the smells intensified which shortly fades into the background. The race went on for about 3-hours and wasn't boring, which was a complete surprise to me. Jeff Gordon won on the final lap and that was the end.
Here's Jeff driving back to the pits after his win:
If the traffic was bad getting to Talladega , it was ten times worse leaving. Many of the campers that spent the weekend there had packed up and joined the exodus. Since we knew traffic was going to be bumper-to-bumper, we decided to tail-gate again to cool off and eat some food. After a two-hour break, we decided to head home. The traffic was still bumper-to-bumper, but it was starting to move. We didn't get home until 11:00 p.m. After unpacking and showering, it was midnight.
Lessons learned: Spend the weekend down there so we don’t worry about the traffic. It would probably be best to have an RV instead of a tent since a drunk can't trip and knock over your RV. Make sure you have the day off after the event! You have to RECUPERATE. (Lynn: When you add in the migraine I got from the heat and lack of sleep, it took me three days to recover…) Oh yeah, traffic should not be a big problem t
he day after either. Take more pictures. I shot around 80 pictures, but I don't believe I captured nearly enough. I may need to get a digital SLR because taking pictures with a typical digital camera is challenging during the race. (Lynn: Ohhhhh, trying to sneak that one in on me huh? The man is a gadget junkie! It's a ploy, darn his hide.) Tracking the cars becomes an art of anticipating where they'll be when you press the shutter. I had a few empty shots (at least I'm not wasting film). Take a video camera for general purposes. I can't describe the enormous size of this event and I believe a video camera would have helped by recording our drive in and out. Go with a “Hot Babe” like I did. (Lynn: Notice the flattery. This is to smooth the way for the camera! I've got your number, cup cake!)
Well, that's the Talladega experience in a nutshell. Am I sorry I went? No way! It was pretty cool, and I learned that the car chase scene I wrote into my WIP needs the smell of burning rubber and the grit that gets thrown from the tires. I wouldn't have known just how bad it smells if I hadn't gone to Talladega. A car burning rubber on your street is different from that sustained smell of melting rubber that a racecar exudes. And since my car chase involves a high-powered sportscar, I can just imagine what that would smell like. Did I mention the smoke? These are things I'd forgotten to include, but you can bet they'll find their way in now. So, going to Talladega was a learning experience for my writing. And isn't that what all our experience does anyway? Gives us fodder for our imaginations.
Oct 4, 2007 | General, Life, Photos |
A few months ago, perhaps in the throes of distraction related to the WIP or fresh from the happiness of a shoe shopping extravaganza, I uttered these famous words: “Sure, I'd go to Talladega to see a race.”
Oh be careful what you utter! This Sunday, I am going to Talladega for a Nascar event. I know nothing about Nascar. Ricky Bobby is my favorite driver, if that tells you anything.
Truly, the full import of what I have done is beginning to sink in. They drive around and around. For hours. It's loud (someone told me to bring ear plugs for pete's sake!). It's crowded (the gates open at 5-freaking-AM people! On a Sunday!).
We live a good 150 miles from Talladega, so I can't imagine what unseemly hour we shall have to rise for this occasion. (Can I confess that before I moved to Alabama, I thought Talladega was in Florida? It sounds like Florida, and since they have Daytona, I was certain Talladega must be there too.)
Getting up early and driving so far won't be fun, but maybe the day will be more fun than I'm currently anticipating. We are going with two other couples, people we like, and people who, apparently, already know things like who drives what car and what a points leader is and all that stuff.
Since I'm also the person who said, “Sure, I'll go to the Pro Bowl,” and who had a good time there (it was the tailgating more than the game) and who said, “Sure, I'll run an 8K race with you,” and who survived it with only two dead toenails (always get running shoes in the proper size), I suppose I should look forward to this whole Nascar thing. There will be tailgating, and that's always fun. There will be beer. And I — the person who brought a newspaper, a notebook and pen, and 2 books to the Pro Bowl just in case of boredom, and who never did a thing with any of them — will be taking an iPod, a couple of books, and maybe some paper and pens. Just in case.
So how's your spirit of adventure? If you don't know a blasted thing about Nascar (like me), would you go to a race with friends? Has your adventuresome spirit ever gotten you in trouble or committed you to something that you then asked yourself why did I agree to this?
Man, I hope I get to see Ricky Bobby……
