in summary, i'm behind

I wasn't able to finish all my summaries last week, but I did get the BIG chapter summary finished, which is a load off. I'm still planning on completing the shorter summaries because I would really like Maura and Shae's advice, so no worries.

Thus, my goals haven't changed yet. I'll update them next week.

But to distract you from my shortcomings, I decided to post a sexy /funny picture of Paul Rudd. I think he's trying to do a parody of a famous photograph David Duchovny did a while back. I'll post the original next week to keep you all coming back. Well, the girls maybe ;-)
Quote of the Day: When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing. ~Enrique Jardiel Poncela

the storm

Running with this random weather theme, my writing exercise for the week is to elaborate on the title above...

My favorite storms are the ones that seem to come out of nowhere. The ones that creep in silently, with only the warning of a gentle breeze, or a dark cloud in the middle of the sky, like an ink stain on a freshly washed shirt. These types of storms are rare out here in the West, but I can recall a number of them when I was back East. Yet my most memorable storm came from a visit down South, on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The night was balmy; normal for a humid summer there, and the lights of the riverboat casino shined bright on the water, as tacky as rhinestones on blue jeans, beckoning passerby's to try their luck at the tables or slot machines inside. For those of you who don't know, riverboat casinos aren't boats at all. They don't float. They are mere facades, built into the river floor, destined never to traverse the waters in which they sit. Quite sad, really. But I'm sure the people who board them know this and don't get as depressed as I do at the lack of movement. It was aboard one of these fake boats that a storm hit so suddenly that not until a bolt of lightning touched down to illuminate the water that I knew it was happening. The sight of lightning coming down from the sky is a breath-taking event in itself, but when it smacks down upon a body of water as big as the great Mississippi, it's mind-blowing. Nature at its best, and its worst. And any boat, real or fake, that stands in it way could be doomed to a nasty, firey demise.

The insane crack of a bolt of lightning, like that of a steel bull whip, makes most men stop in their tracks. It commands full attention, or fear. That night crowds gathered on the bows, watching in awe as nature, or since we were in the center of the Bible-Belt, as God, smote down his vengeance upon the world. The sky lit up with each jolt, like a long jagged firework, appearing across the water, then closer, then away, then in unison with another bolt, at different levels, different thicknesses, and different intensities of sound. Cracks, crashes, snaps, and the occasional buzz completed the night's music. Thunder, Lightning's brother, was absent for this purely electrical storm, taking a break while his sibling wreaked havoc, letting him gain a little respect from the heathens below.

And like most tantrums, the spectacle came to a slow end, Thunder grabbing his brother's hand saying "That's enough." Lightning rolled his eyes and finally agreed, putting away his toys of destruction. I stayed out on the bow after everyone went back inside. I continued to watch the sky. The clouds disbursed and the air settled again into its thick seat. The element of surprise is what amazes me the most about weather like that. But at that moment all I had wanted was that lightning to take out the posts beneath, so that this stagnant ship could set sail and explore a world which held such surprises as the one I had just witnessed. Yep sad, really.

Quote of the Day: A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one. ~Baltasar Gracián

the summary method

For my first manuscript goal, I'm going to work on a technique from John Braine, a British novelist discussed in James Scott Bell's book, Revision & Self-Editing.

"Braine advocated writing a first draft as quickly as possible, to stay in the flow. No looking back. No pause for major changes. Then after some cooling off, produce a summary of the novel. A synopsis, but one that's subject to change. Because you're going to try to make it better and deeper. You may even change it significantly. The summary should be no more than 2,000 to 3,000 words, and you should produce several versions.

As described by Stephen Koch in The Modern Library's Writer's Workshop:

Tell yourself your emerging story again and again until you have, in capsule, a potent credible version that is propelling you into the new draft. If you like, summarize your first draft version in the first. Then try some other ways of telling it. Change the beginning, change the ending, shift points of view and perspectives. Keep each summary short and try never to devote more than a day's work to any one of them. You are not rewriting. You are summarizing; you are testing possibilities...Don't talk to yourself about the story: Tell it to yourself in this concentrated form. Don't indulge in fancy meditations on theme and do not theorize. But do include images and motifs and moments that you know drive the story forward...

If you produce several of these summaries, and finally fine-tune the best version, the method will give you a roadmap for an organic second draft."

I've been working on my huge chapter by chapter summary. I'd like to finish that and then delve into this. My goal by the end of this week is to have the chapter summary done and at least two summaries as discussed above. I'd like to have my accountability partners review the summaries and give me guidance, advice, or direction when it comes to the bulk of the story.

Wish me luck!

Quote of the Day: Writer's block is a disease for which there is no cure, only respite. ~Laurie Wordholt

wild is the wind

The desert is a strange place. Its weather is either one of two things: Hot as hell, and dry. Or cold as fuck, and dry. There's rarely anything in between. We do get an intermittent spattering of random climate here and there, but that's usually forgotten as the next torrent of cold or hot comes through.

Today is one of those odd times when the consistency falters and the random reigns supreme. Today the wind blows. And I'm not talking gentle breezes. I'm talking "wind-advisory-please-stay-inside-or-get-a-two-by-four-to-the-face" kind of blast.

Outside the gusts rush through the trees and buildings like a massive wave; forcing leaves, trunks, telephone poles, dirt and rock to bend, coil, snap, and take flight under its powerful will. First in one direction...and then the other. Only brief interludes of reprieve where the foliage and wildlife sags, spent and tortured, limply awaiting the next blow. Above, the sky, a brilliant blue, seems oblivious to the brutality and violence below. But like puffs of factory smoke creeping in to pollute a passing daydream, the clouds move in.

Every once in a while I hear the sound of wood scraping glass, and it reminds me of a multitude of horror movies, where the little boy is huddled in bed under his covers, afraid of the monster outside, who is really a big old elm in their yard. I hear the unusual sound of metal clanging metal, and it reminds me of the bell on ships that signals danger, or maybe arrival. I would hate to be on a ship during wind like this. To be tossed about on the ocean, like some child's toy, holding on for dear life amidst the spray, praying to any god that would listen. My life would flash before my eyes as the waves crashed and flipped before me, threatening death underneath the watery depths. Then as suddenly as it happened, the wind would die down until it was eerily still. The boat would scarcely rock, the water flat and smooth, barely a ripple in its surface.

I would marvel at such a wild change in the weather, wonder which prayers worked, or if it was simply a natural coincidence. To be in dire straights, smack in the middle of chaos and within a few frantic heartbeats back in a moment of utter stillness; that's....wild.

And wild is the wind....

Quote of the Day: Every writer I know has trouble writing. ~Joseph Heller

on our way

It's that time again. Getting back to business. The business of writing.

Maura, Shae, and I have embarked on another step in the journey to publication. We've all finished first drafts (though Shae deemed hers more fire worthy than anything else ;-)) and now we need to get these suckers revised and agent and/or editor ready. Maura has already done one round of revisions and in my honest opinion she doesn't have much further to go. Shae would just like to get back into the writing scene again. Me, I'm just the procrastinator of the century and a moody one at that.

The return to the writing scene is exactly what the focus of our next step is about. Writing for the sake of writing! Maura has been journaling, which is awesome, and Shae has been writing for the camera, and I have been...blogging. Sometimes. I've been slacking on my goals as my mood has fallen, I've let reality has seep into my creative side. Not good!

Thus, the plan is as follows....

1)Each week we will be posting one writing exercise that we have done from a source of our choosing on our blogs.

2)Each week we will complete one current manuscript goal until....well, for me, until I've sent it off to my prospective agents.

I'm excited and looking forward to working with my girls, as well as my characters, again :-)

Quote of the Day: When we see a natural style we are quite amazed and delighted, because we expected to see an author and find a man. ~Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 1670

where to start?

First, the hair. What do ya think? I'm very pleased. Thanks Justine from Curl Up N' Dye!



Second, the new car. Yep, I bought a 2009 Toyota Yaris in beautiful black.

I love it almost as much as my hair. This came to me in my quest to lower my debt to income ratio. With this car, I have a slightly lower monthly payment, the car is in MY name and ONLY my name, I'll save on gas because of the sweet mileage, and I have a three year warranty that I didn't have before. I really liked my previous VW bug, but it was time to move ahead and make some serious choices about the future.

That said, I went to my NACA workshop concerning purchasing a home and found out how awesome their program is. Their goal is to get as many people into realistic, legitimate mortgages as possible. They require you to make goals about what you want and how you plan to get there, along with demonstrating how you will make it happen. That is the tough part. You have to have patience. Since, I want to get into a condo and get into it the right way, I'm willing to take the time. They say roughly three to six months. And though my living situation isn't the greatest, I'd rather make sure I'm set for the future once I'm out of here. I don't want to be in this position ever again!

Other than that, my cellulitis on the tattoo cleared up and its almost back to normal skin. I can't wait to get the next two!

My writing has been put on the backburner in all this car and home mess, but my schedule is starting to clear up and I'm aching to get back into it. I'm hoping to get out to RWA's conference and push the novel, like Maura is going to do. I noticed in the RWA magazine, that its possible to get a scholarship by writing in. I may just do that. Then I'll only have to worry about airfare and lodging. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Honestly, I hope to have the novel done in the next couple of months, and ready for an agent. Obviously, my January goal sheet is on my mind, but hey, things happen and goals can be rearranged. :-)

Quote of the Day: Let me walk through the fields of paper
touching with my wand
dry stems and stunted
butterflies....
~Denise Levertov, "A Walk through the Notebooks"