Now that we have a child, packing for any kind of overnight trip requires checklists upon checklists: what it will take to keep her happy in the car, to help her sleep in a new place, to increase the odds that she'll eat, a separate bag of games and toys to keep her busy in the car, dvds, snacks, clothing for various climates, diapers, wipes, Kiku the monkey, pacifiers, little spoons for little hands, a bag of basic medical stuff ... you get the picture. And then we have to pack for us. It's quite a production.
The hardest part of leaving for a trip with a toddler is that moment when my hand is suspended next to the ignition, ready to start the car. Are we really ready? To we have everything we need? Is the phone charged? The tank full? Did you check her diaper? Are all of the pieces in place? Can we safely commit to leaving our home and venturing to wherever it is we're going? Because there comes a point in the drive when you can't turn back - and there are some things that can't be bought along the way in the event they're left behind.
This was my life two days ago as we prepared ourselves for the +300 mile trip to my inlaws' house, where we're spending the holidays. I literally taped the last to-do list on the back door so I wouldn't leave anything behind in the blurry-eyed state of our 0-dark-30 departure. I had that moment, toddler crying in the car-seat, husband popping the top of a rockstar energy drink and loading a Dora DVD into the laptop, where my hand would not budge towards the ignition. I'm leaving something. All the pieces are not in place. They can't be in place. We're forgetting something. I just know it. And then it hit me: I'm doing the same thing with my sequel.
Tanzy and her sidekicks have been inching towards the climax of the sequel for weeks. It's a big moment for all of them, and nothing will be the same once the dust settles. It's a scary moment for me as a writer, echoing the same kinds of questions in my head: are we ready? Am I forgetting something? Are all of the pieces in place. Are we SURE we're ready for this? Because there comes a point when you can't turn back... and there are some things that can't hop on the train once it's in motion.
Yes, it's a draft, of course it can be changed. Likely, it WILL change 100 times between now and the final draft. But this first draft blazes the trail. Even if I rewrite the whole story from the ground up, this first pass will color any new versions that come after it. Its smoke will linger in the proverbial air. Drafting the climax will force me to commit to how I see this whole thing shaking out. And it's making me seek and destroy any loopholes and inconsistencies in the plot preceding this epic moment.
But the time has come. The lists are checked off. The car is packed. The tank is full. Take a deep breath. Turn the key. Here we go...
p.s. Part of our traditions include setting goals for 2013, so be on the look out for that post in early January, and start thinking about your own. No matter how old I get, the new year always reminds me of a blank sheet of paper. So very, very inspirational. Have a fantastic holiday season!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
The wrong way
I had two of my girls with me on one particular course walk. From the middle of the ring, they concluded that they were interested in taking a more "direct" route from jump five to jump six. The path they wanted involved making a sharper turn, but they believed it would give them a straighter path to jump number six. I disagreed, but I kept my mouth shut, and instead told them to walk it and see what they thought. It only took them half the distance to the jump to realize that the direct path wasn't straight at all, and would set them up for a really awkward turn on the other side to get to jump number seven.
I could tell that they were disappointed that they'd even suggested the route, but I told them I was glad they did, and glad that we decided to see what would happen should they have taken the direct approach. I wanted them to see for themselves why the route wouldn't work. If I simply told them no, they always would've wondered how that path would've ridden. Now they had a better feel for the whole ring. More importantly, they didn't just know which path to take, they also understood why.
As I explained this to them, it hit me how this same principal can apply to my main character and the course she's walking. It's made me brave enough to send her down paths I know will lead to a dead end, because I learn more about her each time she makes a decision, even if I disagree with her. Especially if I disagree with her. When we explore these alternate routes together, more pieces of the big picture and plot line fall into place. Even better: I understand what aspects of the plot are most important and why.
p.s. A huge congratulations to my team - we won high point champion team of the day, and qualified five riders for Region championships.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
NaNoWriMo - won and lost
NaNoWriMo - or, National Novel Writing Month - is made for people like me. I obsess, pull all-nighters, shun household duties, etc., and that's during the other eleven months of the year.
Want to know how many days it took me to reach that magical 50K word deadline? I'll have to let you know, because right now I'm sitting at a cool 41,010.
So what happened? A freaking miracle. At last, this single-focused, neurotic person that I am learned how to find balance between my two jobs, my family, and my writing. During NaNo. Go figure.
With two days left, I had 10,000 words to go. The old me resurfaced for a moment, itching to type the nights away in the quiet of a sleeping house. But there was a problem: one of my riding teams had a show on December 1st. That means an EARLY morning and a long day, and, more importantly, kids that really need me. All of me. A bright, alert, focused me. Not a me that hadn't slept in 48 hours. So, for the first time in a very long time, I counted the costs, weighed my options, and my writing lost. I didn't try to squeeze it in. I didn't go for the compromise. I let the other parts of my life come in first, and, more importantly, I didn't get my panties in a bunch about it. I made a choice, and I was happy with it.
I'd love to tell you that we had a spectacular show. That every kid came in first and we rode into the sunset like champions. Unfortunately, it was not our day. Not at all. It was the kind of day that was almost too much to handle, and that was a fully charged, well rested me. I can't imagine that I would've been able to be the coach they needed on a day like yesterday had I burned the midnight oil in the days prior to the show.
I think NaNo is a tool to help writers make their writing a priority in their lives. Funny that NaNo is what it took to make me learn the exact opposite: writing IS a priority, but not at the sake of people who count on me. Of course, I've always been a little contrary.
Yes, I still daydreamed about my plot and my characters about as often as most guys think about, well, you know. So I took notes. Texted myself in the grocery store. Jotted an idea down with a crayon as my daughter and I were coloring in front of the TV. Wrote a bit of dialogue on the show program yesterday. And then, I set them aside - both physically and mentally - until a better opportunity to obsess about them came along.
Thirty days. Forty-thousand words. And finally, the ability to multi-task. I lost. I won. I wouldn't change a thing.
Want to know how many days it took me to reach that magical 50K word deadline? I'll have to let you know, because right now I'm sitting at a cool 41,010.
So what happened? A freaking miracle. At last, this single-focused, neurotic person that I am learned how to find balance between my two jobs, my family, and my writing. During NaNo. Go figure.
With two days left, I had 10,000 words to go. The old me resurfaced for a moment, itching to type the nights away in the quiet of a sleeping house. But there was a problem: one of my riding teams had a show on December 1st. That means an EARLY morning and a long day, and, more importantly, kids that really need me. All of me. A bright, alert, focused me. Not a me that hadn't slept in 48 hours. So, for the first time in a very long time, I counted the costs, weighed my options, and my writing lost. I didn't try to squeeze it in. I didn't go for the compromise. I let the other parts of my life come in first, and, more importantly, I didn't get my panties in a bunch about it. I made a choice, and I was happy with it.
I'd love to tell you that we had a spectacular show. That every kid came in first and we rode into the sunset like champions. Unfortunately, it was not our day. Not at all. It was the kind of day that was almost too much to handle, and that was a fully charged, well rested me. I can't imagine that I would've been able to be the coach they needed on a day like yesterday had I burned the midnight oil in the days prior to the show.
I think NaNo is a tool to help writers make their writing a priority in their lives. Funny that NaNo is what it took to make me learn the exact opposite: writing IS a priority, but not at the sake of people who count on me. Of course, I've always been a little contrary.
Yes, I still daydreamed about my plot and my characters about as often as most guys think about, well, you know. So I took notes. Texted myself in the grocery store. Jotted an idea down with a crayon as my daughter and I were coloring in front of the TV. Wrote a bit of dialogue on the show program yesterday. And then, I set them aside - both physically and mentally - until a better opportunity to obsess about them came along.
Thirty days. Forty-thousand words. And finally, the ability to multi-task. I lost. I won. I wouldn't change a thing.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
It's TOTALLY the little things
I'm currently about 35K words into the draft of my sequel. Truthfully, I'd hoped to make more progress this month. But I've caught myself stumbling around. Not on the big things. On the littlest of things. My main character needs to make a small movement. Something simple. Routine. For example, say Tanzy needs to move from one room, down a hall, and into another...
45 minutes pass
...Tanzy still needs to move from one room, down a hall, and into another. By now I've pulled out an unhealthy amount of hair, gone to the kitchen for some cookie dough, made hot chocolate, stared at my empty photo frame for inspiration, tried to get inside Tanzy's head (how does she FEEL about going down said hallway?! What color is it? What does she notice? What is she thinking about?) And then my head does somthing like this:
I can't get her down the damn hallway and in the next scene she's supposed to storm the castle/stop an anstroid from striking earth/save a basket of puppies adrift in shark infested waters?!
And then I get psyched out to the point of paralysis and Tanzy's feet root to the proverbial floor, which turns into quicksand and sucks us both under. And then my brain goes something like this: what the heck am I doing? I'm not a writer. The plot has gone to hell in a handbasket. I have no idea what I'm doing. The astroid hits, the princess is toast, the sharks are full.
Then, before I completely self destruct, I remember a helpful hint I got from my editor when she polished Tanzy's first adventure in preparation for publication: why not just let her walk down the hallway?
Huh?
"Try this," she says. "I walk down the hallway."
I walk down the hallway.
Simple. Tidy. Perfect.
As writers, we know how important it is to develop our characters emotionally. We also know how important it is to paint a whole picture. When done correctly, we allow our readers to live in our stories. It's a beautiful thing. You know what else is beautiful? Our readers are smart. We don't have to fill every sentence with physical description and emotional reactions. Too much, and our writing becomes so bloated that the story gets lost in the flab. And that's what most people want in a book: a good story.
So if you have a moment when you can't get your character from point A to point B, remember what they taught you in geometry: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
45 minutes pass
...Tanzy still needs to move from one room, down a hall, and into another. By now I've pulled out an unhealthy amount of hair, gone to the kitchen for some cookie dough, made hot chocolate, stared at my empty photo frame for inspiration, tried to get inside Tanzy's head (how does she FEEL about going down said hallway?! What color is it? What does she notice? What is she thinking about?) And then my head does somthing like this:
I can't get her down the damn hallway and in the next scene she's supposed to storm the castle/stop an anstroid from striking earth/save a basket of puppies adrift in shark infested waters?!
And then I get psyched out to the point of paralysis and Tanzy's feet root to the proverbial floor, which turns into quicksand and sucks us both under. And then my brain goes something like this: what the heck am I doing? I'm not a writer. The plot has gone to hell in a handbasket. I have no idea what I'm doing. The astroid hits, the princess is toast, the sharks are full.
Then, before I completely self destruct, I remember a helpful hint I got from my editor when she polished Tanzy's first adventure in preparation for publication: why not just let her walk down the hallway?
Huh?
"Try this," she says. "I walk down the hallway."
I walk down the hallway.
Simple. Tidy. Perfect.
As writers, we know how important it is to develop our characters emotionally. We also know how important it is to paint a whole picture. When done correctly, we allow our readers to live in our stories. It's a beautiful thing. You know what else is beautiful? Our readers are smart. We don't have to fill every sentence with physical description and emotional reactions. Too much, and our writing becomes so bloated that the story gets lost in the flab. And that's what most people want in a book: a good story.
So if you have a moment when you can't get your character from point A to point B, remember what they taught you in geometry: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Can you vague that up for me? A quick lesson from my favorite little person.
I have a twenty month old daughter. Among her favorite current activities: coloring, collecting acorns, and - for better and for worse - repeating everything I say. My husband and I have learned a lot about ourselves as she demonstrates new skills: while she pretends to talk into the remote control like a cell phone, she paces in tight ovals and throws her other hand in the air. That's when she's mimicking my husband. We know when she's mimicking me when she hastily concludes with: "kay, bye!" and tosses her makeshift phone on the closest available surface.
She's also shown me that I've been a little lazy in the word department. Several months ago, she started pointing at objects when she wanted them. And apparently, I responded by asking: this? this? So now, when she wants something, no matter how big or small, no matter how many knick-knacks and doodads surround the desired object, she points and cries: "this! this!" Her little cheeks flush and she makes fantastically pudgy fists as I helplessly touch one object after another. This? No. This?!
The problem is obvious: instead of using descriptive, decisive words early on, "this" became the assigned word for anything my daughter wants. Oiy. Then it dawned on me: "this" can also happen in my writing.
I catch myself doing "this" from time to time, vague sentences that limp the bridge from the sentence before it to the sentence after. Or, on a larger scale, vague and "this-y" transitions that adhere two scenes together with little more than bubblegum. Unfortunately, guilt by association can apply, and those "this" moments often weaken the writing that directly surround them.
If you have a "this" moment in your writing, I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about, and exactly where it is. That page or chapter you've been avoiding. Don't let it psych you out! As my editor said about a stumbling "this" sentence, pick an action and own it. Believe that it's not just the best thing to do - it's the only thing to do.
p.s.
I want to stand up and cry "objection!" against myself for just a moment, as I am now in day 17 of NaNo. First drafts can be chock full of "this." But the first draft is simply the map that shows your characters how to get from the first word to the last. Once they learn where they're going, they'll show you how they want to get there.
She's also shown me that I've been a little lazy in the word department. Several months ago, she started pointing at objects when she wanted them. And apparently, I responded by asking: this? this? So now, when she wants something, no matter how big or small, no matter how many knick-knacks and doodads surround the desired object, she points and cries: "this! this!" Her little cheeks flush and she makes fantastically pudgy fists as I helplessly touch one object after another. This? No. This?!
The problem is obvious: instead of using descriptive, decisive words early on, "this" became the assigned word for anything my daughter wants. Oiy. Then it dawned on me: "this" can also happen in my writing.
I catch myself doing "this" from time to time, vague sentences that limp the bridge from the sentence before it to the sentence after. Or, on a larger scale, vague and "this-y" transitions that adhere two scenes together with little more than bubblegum. Unfortunately, guilt by association can apply, and those "this" moments often weaken the writing that directly surround them.
If you have a "this" moment in your writing, I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about, and exactly where it is. That page or chapter you've been avoiding. Don't let it psych you out! As my editor said about a stumbling "this" sentence, pick an action and own it. Believe that it's not just the best thing to do - it's the only thing to do.
p.s.
I want to stand up and cry "objection!" against myself for just a moment, as I am now in day 17 of NaNo. First drafts can be chock full of "this." But the first draft is simply the map that shows your characters how to get from the first word to the last. Once they learn where they're going, they'll show you how they want to get there.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Riding a dead horse - the hard truth
Gory title, I know. I'm referencing a tongue in cheek comment I made in a previous post about word count. But here's the difference between beating a dead horse and riding one: you could beat a dead horse for all kinds of crazy reasons: anger issues, severe mental breakdown, or maybe you have an odd way of coping with grief. But to hop aboard and think that the poor lifeless creature is actually going to take you somewhere - anywhere - that's a different story all together.
Ok, time to cut the metaphor and get down to brass tacks (hehe.) The hard truth is this: sometimes your first book - or your fifth - or your twentieth - is just a practice run. But let's focus on that first book, because it's like a first love. It matters in a way that you've never felt about anything else before. You doodle about it when you daydream, talk about it until people start turning the other way whenever they see you coming, cover your wall with pictures of it, stop spending time with friends and family because this first true love consumes you on a soul level. And that kind of love is blinding you to its faults.
I want to interject here and say that I'm not writing this post because I've never ridden a dead horse. Boy howdy have I. The first book I wrote dove deep down into the bleakest recesses of my heart and dredged up all kinds of feelings. I poured them out onto page and page, bleeding words like a stuck pig. It was my truth. My story. So it had to mean something to someone else. Right? I shopped that story all over the place. I even went so far as to print the whole thing out and mail it to a professional connection I'd made at a women's magazine. This is ALL of what she ever said about it: thanks for the notepad (a gift I'd included in the package.) Ouch.
I had to admit to myself that the book, worn out and floundering, had run its race and come up short. But I still won. I learned so much about arc and pacing as I toiled over that first love. I learned about developing my characters and letting them have minds of their own. The hardest lesson of all: I realized that 99.9% of the time, my manuscript is not nearly as ready to run as I would like to think. Patience is a virtue - and one I still have to chase down with a stick from time to time.
That first book was my first true education as a writer. I penned a first word, and made it all the way to the last. I wouldn't trade a thing for all the mistakes I made between them. But I also no longer expect it to get up and run. I've stopped trying to edit and rewrite it into something that will sell. It is my teacher, plain and simple. And at last I've let it retire to a lush, green pasture. Its work here is done.
p.s. As soon as I get my house unpacked, I'm going to jump into the NaNoWriMo universe! So I probably won't have a chance to blog much this month. I will definitely do a little diddy at the end of the month to let you know how my first NaNo attempt turns out. I'm already starting a week behind... but I work best under pressure.
Ok, time to cut the metaphor and get down to brass tacks (hehe.) The hard truth is this: sometimes your first book - or your fifth - or your twentieth - is just a practice run. But let's focus on that first book, because it's like a first love. It matters in a way that you've never felt about anything else before. You doodle about it when you daydream, talk about it until people start turning the other way whenever they see you coming, cover your wall with pictures of it, stop spending time with friends and family because this first true love consumes you on a soul level. And that kind of love is blinding you to its faults.
I want to interject here and say that I'm not writing this post because I've never ridden a dead horse. Boy howdy have I. The first book I wrote dove deep down into the bleakest recesses of my heart and dredged up all kinds of feelings. I poured them out onto page and page, bleeding words like a stuck pig. It was my truth. My story. So it had to mean something to someone else. Right? I shopped that story all over the place. I even went so far as to print the whole thing out and mail it to a professional connection I'd made at a women's magazine. This is ALL of what she ever said about it: thanks for the notepad (a gift I'd included in the package.) Ouch.
I had to admit to myself that the book, worn out and floundering, had run its race and come up short. But I still won. I learned so much about arc and pacing as I toiled over that first love. I learned about developing my characters and letting them have minds of their own. The hardest lesson of all: I realized that 99.9% of the time, my manuscript is not nearly as ready to run as I would like to think. Patience is a virtue - and one I still have to chase down with a stick from time to time.
That first book was my first true education as a writer. I penned a first word, and made it all the way to the last. I wouldn't trade a thing for all the mistakes I made between them. But I also no longer expect it to get up and run. I've stopped trying to edit and rewrite it into something that will sell. It is my teacher, plain and simple. And at last I've let it retire to a lush, green pasture. Its work here is done.
p.s. As soon as I get my house unpacked, I'm going to jump into the NaNoWriMo universe! So I probably won't have a chance to blog much this month. I will definitely do a little diddy at the end of the month to let you know how my first NaNo attempt turns out. I'm already starting a week behind... but I work best under pressure.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Happy Release Day to "New Pride" by Laura Diamond
I am so excited to host my very first guest post! Laura Diamond is dropping by Tanzy Hightower's stomping ground to tell us all about her new Novella, "New Pride," which releases TODAY! Happy release day, Laura! Tell us about New Pride.
YouTube interview: In The DM Zone—Talking about SHIFTING PRIDE
New town, new love, new
terror... It’s here! My
prequel novelette, NEW PRIDE, releases today. I’m SO stoked for it to run wild
in the world.
NEW PRIDE was
born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In
SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father,
Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new
love.
NEW PRIDE Blurb: A shape-shifter
without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry,
Derek, from an unstable, rogue group. On a hunt in the forest, they encounter a
gorgeous brunette, Molly, partying with friends around a campfire. Derek tells
the rogue pride and they bristle at humans trespassing on their territory.
Richard risks life and tail to protect his secret and the humans—especially
Molly—while simultaneously trying to win her heart. When Molly is kidnapped, he
faces taking on the rogue pride alone, but quickly finds he has to put his
trust in Derek, not only to rescue his new love, but to ensure the rogue pride
doesn’t wreak havoc on his new town.
Author Laura
Diamond: Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things
young adult paranormal, dystopian, horror, and middle grade. Her short story, City of Lights and Stone, is in the Day of Demons anthology by Anachron
Press (April 2012) and her apocalyptic short story, Begging Death is in the Carnage:
Life After the End anthology by Sirens Call Publication (coming late 2012).
Her debut young adult paranormal romance, SHIFTING PRIDE, is coming December
2012 by Etopia Press. When she's not writing, she is working at the hospital,
blogging at Author
Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer
, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion. She is also full-time
staff member for her four cats and a Pembroke Corgi named Katie.
How to find
Laura Diamond on the web:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/diamondlb
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laura.diamond.52
Facebook Author
Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond
Amazon.com
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_8
Website: www.AuthorLauraDiamond.com
YouTube interview: In The DM Zone—Talking about SHIFTING PRIDE
*GROUP HUG* Thank you, everyone, for taking the
time to celebrate with me and for helping me spread the word. This wouldn’t be
happening without you. Yes, you! Without you, I’d have given up a long time
ago. ;)
I hope you enjoy
NEW PRIDE and SHIFTING PRIDE.
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