Rain break

It just started raining. The trees are swaying and the pattering against the windows, walls and railings sounds like a wind chime. So pretty. My dog's not going to like it though. She needs to walk once the rain stops.

I'm back to writing. It's slow going. I'm on the third or forth version of the same scene I've been working on for over a week. Last night I started a new story to distract myself and prove that I could get a hundred words in. I made it to five hundred. This one's a suspense though. I wanted to go in a completely different direction and practice external conflict more.

But I'm going to refocus on CBG today. I think if I let myself get swept up in another story, I risk having two incomplete works on hand. Discipline in this arena is good.

Wow, it's pouring down now. Poor doggie. I should have taken her out sooner. Ah, it's slowing down again. No, typed that too soon.

I caught the last half of the Jersey Housewives reunion. Is that show bananas or what? Must catch the repeat this evening! Sarah's House is coming up in a few minutes on Fine Living. She's got fabulous taste.

Rain stopped again.

A mind shift is needed

June has been an unsettling, bad-news month so far. Subsequently, writing has taken a backseat because it feels self-indulgent. It's also become a frustrating microcosm of the other areas of my life: I'm not making the progress I think I should be making; the way isn't clear. (So much for the escapism of it.) That's when I question the point of staying up past 1 in the morning tapping away on the keyboard. You can liken it to the tree falling in the forest and no one hears it--does it count?

But someone left the following comment a few days ago: "This story, your writing, it's just beautiful. The emotion that just seems to pour from the text as I'm reading is truly breath-taking. I've laughed, I've gotten choked up. Absolutely beautiful."


That was like someone offering a hand to pull me up. Upon reading the comment, I grabbed the flash drive and did a rewrite. Chapter five should be called: 'Agony'. My appreciation for published authors has deepened more and more.

I've got a few quiet days this week (fingers crossed that the plumbing and the household fix its are resolved) and one of my favorite writers sent in new material to edit, which is a treat and inspiring too. Hopefully, I'll get some decent sleep and regroup. I sure need it.

Where I'm going

The following quote by Erich Fromm captures the heart of Sascha's journey. It's one we all take. Some of us find our way faster than others.

Immature love says: I love you because I need you. Mature love says: I need you because I love you.

Revisiting Point of View

It's late. I had planned to get some writing time in but seeing that I have to be up early, it's a bad idea. A headache's coming on and staring at computer glare is a no-no. Feeling disappointed and a bit guilty because I wrote but two days this week and went to bed almost at 2am every night. Sometimes later because I was doing research. (Rereading books and blogs on writing) . StillI need the rest.

I've been reintroduced to the principles surrounding good point-of-view (POV) techniques. Up until now it was something I did instinctively then that got mixed in with how other writer's did it. I'm delving more into "hows" and "whys" and as I do this, I see it's an area for improvement. Chapter five of CBG will be my first go at a more disciplined approach to POV. It also means format changes for the previous chapters. Yep, I'm still a youngin when it comes to this writing thing.

When the draft is completed, and I go to edit mode, I'll be looking to see if my POVs add tension, reveal underlying dynamics and convey info that can't be achieved through dialogue and beats, and if the scene doesn't "belong" to one character. I think this will help in finding my voice and avoiding the rookie trap of deferring to what another author has done in the past--just because I haven't studied a particular topic enough to make my own choice on what to do.

Chapter five is looking to be a 2 chapters in1. Yikes!

Based on the outline, the two need to be linked to create a balanced pace and show the passage of time. Separated, they seem to dangle. It would be alright in a complete book where the reader could just read on but since the story is being written and posted in installments, it's best to tackle the material in one go.

Right now it looks like CBG's not going past ten chapters. The ending I've had in mind still rings true. For now it's going to be ambiguous/open.

On the nights that ran too late to grab the flash drive and start writing, I mitigated my guilt by editing my playlist. Yep, I tried to fool myself into believing I was being productive. One of the readers at Lit has suggested songs to listen check out. I love that!

The Pens totally gave away game 5 (and if you're a hockey fan, you know winning game five is a blessing). Yeah, the Wings played well but it wasn't so much that they won the game with their play, as much as the Pens lost it. Watching the game was a buzz kill. And do I hate the hockey coverage on NBC. Thank you Gary Betteman for turning the game into an afterthought when it comes to media coverage. You can literally blink and miss an ESPN hockey update while basketball gets extensive pre-game and post-game coverage. Let me not talk about football.

My computer's giving me 'tude so I better vamoose soon.