I had a wonderful time last night. A high school friend is getting married this afternoon (along with the sister of another high school friend) and that has brought a great many people to town. Last night, we all went out for dinner at a lovely restaurant with delicious food and refreshing cocktails. We sat on the patio for hours talking and laughing. We remembered old crushes (and poor boyfriend decisions). We talked about siblings and parents, children and marriage.
Sometimes I am amazed at how easy it is for us to pick up right where we left off. Some of these people I see often. Some I see once a year for maybe a couple of hours. But the conversations are always easy. It's been 18 years since we graduated and we still have so much to talk about.
Last night there was some reflection on that, about the people we were and the people we are and why we all still get along. Someone said that even back in high school we all had a pretty good sense of who we were and we were all very comfortable being ourselves. I very much think that's true. I know that personally, the core of me hasn't really changed that much. I'm still very much the same person I always was. There are definitely aspects to my personality that have grown and developed and I'm much more comfortable saying what I mean to say and being open...though I still won't always volunteer information unless asked. I still work better in smaller groups than larger ones.
My WIP (work-in-progress) is about (in part) that transition between high school and college and how that major transition affects these characters. I remember, from my own experience, sitting outside Coffee People on NW 23rd with two boys. One I knew well, and one I knew not quite so well. I remember it was near the end of the summer and I was beginning to wonder if this was it, if this was the end of these friendships. I wondered if time and distance would close the book on these relationships. And it made me sad even though I knew I was going off to college where more friends were sure to be made.
All these years later, I'm still in touch with both these boys. One, because we have always been friends, and one because of the wonders of Facebook.
14 July 2012
04 July 2012
Positive Distraction
There have been a few reasons why I've been a bit more quiet than usual. The biggest reason is that I've been feeling a lot more like thinking than writing. And I've had a lot to think about. There are some pretty big decisions I need to make with my current manuscript and I want to give them time to settle so I really know and feel that they are the right decisions. I'm ready to finish this novel once and for all...but I want to do it right and I want to do it best.
Another problem I've had is the TV show Damages. That thing has been like crack and in the last two weeks I've worked through the first two seasons. It's the perfect blend of distraction I've been needing...legal thriller combined with mystery combined with brilliant characters that you love and despise. It's been so good. And since it's been raining/gray literally every day since I got back from my wonderful vacation, I haven't felt guilty at all for the hours spent on the couch.
It's also been a time of research. Every TV show I watch, every novel I read, every movie I see, I think about Story. I think about why the Story works, why I'm drawn in, kept in, and what motivates me to continue watching/reading/paying attention.
I've been reading books about writing and I've been researching the 2012 Willamette Writers Conference in August. Since I'll be working there for part of it, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to participate, but I've been looking into the agents attending and seeing if anyone looks like a good fit for me. I'm not planning on doing any pitches this time, but you never know what might happen in the next month.
The 4th of July has become a day centered on taking care of our four-legged companion. Zelda gets very upset to the point where she makes herself physically sick if she's not medicated and I just don't have the heart to leave her alone so this has become a kind of stay at home type of holiday. Today I really don't mind. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the breeze is gentle and my stack of books looks inviting.
It might just be time to set up the hammock and take a few deep breaths.
Another problem I've had is the TV show Damages. That thing has been like crack and in the last two weeks I've worked through the first two seasons. It's the perfect blend of distraction I've been needing...legal thriller combined with mystery combined with brilliant characters that you love and despise. It's been so good. And since it's been raining/gray literally every day since I got back from my wonderful vacation, I haven't felt guilty at all for the hours spent on the couch.
It's also been a time of research. Every TV show I watch, every novel I read, every movie I see, I think about Story. I think about why the Story works, why I'm drawn in, kept in, and what motivates me to continue watching/reading/paying attention.
I've been reading books about writing and I've been researching the 2012 Willamette Writers Conference in August. Since I'll be working there for part of it, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to participate, but I've been looking into the agents attending and seeing if anyone looks like a good fit for me. I'm not planning on doing any pitches this time, but you never know what might happen in the next month.
The 4th of July has become a day centered on taking care of our four-legged companion. Zelda gets very upset to the point where she makes herself physically sick if she's not medicated and I just don't have the heart to leave her alone so this has become a kind of stay at home type of holiday. Today I really don't mind. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the breeze is gentle and my stack of books looks inviting.
It might just be time to set up the hammock and take a few deep breaths.
25 June 2012
There and Back Again
I didn't get lost in Montana, but I had a wonderful time...even if I was only a few feet from hitting a family of deer on my way out of the state. I spent the next two days tucked away in a small(ish) town in Idaho located in the Palouse Valley. The scenery was extraordinary and a bit unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Moscow, Idaho ended up being the perfect size for me to explore on my own. There are many things to love about a college town and this one was filled with many of the best things. Amazing coffee (seriously, there was a noteworthy coffee shop on every downtown corner), a variety of tempting restaurants, an art gallery, a fountain, a park, an amazing bookstore (where I, of course, bought a book I didn't need), and so much more. And all of it could be reached with my own two feet so I parked the car and didn't move it until it was time to go home. I probably walked 6-8 miles each day I was there, wandering back and forth from my single bedroom house to downtown and beyond.
While I missed my husband and Zelda, it was also really nice to have this time on my own. I read, I listened to music, I wrote. In the end, I didn't edit any of my manuscript. Instead, as I was out walking that first night I stumbled upon two characters (who still haven't revealed their names to me). They began to tell me their story and I began to write it down. In the closest thing I've ever done to an outline, I began to write about them. I wrote that night and then all through breakfast the next morning. I took a break in the afternoon and then sitting in the park listening to the local orchestra play songs by Famous Composers, I wrote some more. I couldn't stop. These two just seemed so eager for someone to listen that I found it a challenge to keep up. I still don't know how their story ends, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
So it wasn't exactly the productive end of the vacation that I had planned for myself, but it was something equally wonderful.
On my last morning in Moscow I ran into the owner of the house I was staying in (she lives next door). We were talking and I was telling her about what I'd been up to. She said to me, "Wow, you are really independent. I'm terrified to eat alone in a restaurant!" I told her the trick is in a good book. Her comment lingered with me for the rest of the day. I guess spending a significant portion of my childhood with a single parent, I got more comfortable doing things on my own. I never really stopped to think about how hard it could be for someone else to do something like eat at a nice restaurant on their own or to travel to a new place and explore.
I had a wonderful time away, but it's good to be home again.
Moscow, Idaho ended up being the perfect size for me to explore on my own. There are many things to love about a college town and this one was filled with many of the best things. Amazing coffee (seriously, there was a noteworthy coffee shop on every downtown corner), a variety of tempting restaurants, an art gallery, a fountain, a park, an amazing bookstore (where I, of course, bought a book I didn't need), and so much more. And all of it could be reached with my own two feet so I parked the car and didn't move it until it was time to go home. I probably walked 6-8 miles each day I was there, wandering back and forth from my single bedroom house to downtown and beyond.
While I missed my husband and Zelda, it was also really nice to have this time on my own. I read, I listened to music, I wrote. In the end, I didn't edit any of my manuscript. Instead, as I was out walking that first night I stumbled upon two characters (who still haven't revealed their names to me). They began to tell me their story and I began to write it down. In the closest thing I've ever done to an outline, I began to write about them. I wrote that night and then all through breakfast the next morning. I took a break in the afternoon and then sitting in the park listening to the local orchestra play songs by Famous Composers, I wrote some more. I couldn't stop. These two just seemed so eager for someone to listen that I found it a challenge to keep up. I still don't know how their story ends, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
So it wasn't exactly the productive end of the vacation that I had planned for myself, but it was something equally wonderful.
On my last morning in Moscow I ran into the owner of the house I was staying in (she lives next door). We were talking and I was telling her about what I'd been up to. She said to me, "Wow, you are really independent. I'm terrified to eat alone in a restaurant!" I told her the trick is in a good book. Her comment lingered with me for the rest of the day. I guess spending a significant portion of my childhood with a single parent, I got more comfortable doing things on my own. I never really stopped to think about how hard it could be for someone else to do something like eat at a nice restaurant on their own or to travel to a new place and explore.
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| Palouse Valley. Photo by Mike Brand |
20 June 2012
The Longest Day of the Year
I don't know if it's just been a super long day or if it was a kick-ass margarita followed by an intense walk back to my vacation house. Either way, I'm a bit tired.
The sun has startled to disappear beneath the roof-lined horizon on this, the longest day of the year. I've driven through some more beautiful country today, some of which I've never seen before. Rolling green hills, mountains, rivers, so much beautiful landscape.
This trip has really reminded me how much I love to drive, how much I truly love the open road. So much of my recent road travels have involved the I-5 corridor and as so many of you know, there is precious little inspiring in that drive. (Though maybe it's partly that I am simply cursed by familiarity.) This trip has been so different. Even though I've stuck to the interstate or at least a major highway, these drives have been anything but ordinary and certainly far from familiar.
After settling into my most amazing 1 bedroom vacation house, I walked into the new downtown area and found a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to me. Fortunately I got there early because I soon discovered that it was 2 for 1 margarita night and by the time I left there was a huge crowd waiting to get in.
Since I'd spent the day in the car, I decided that a walk would be a wonderful thing to do so I wandered up giant hills and back down again, weaving through neighborhoods. It was perfect.
I thought about life and I thought about my book and I thought about a really interesting idea for another book. Seriously interesting.
Earlier I thought I might dive right into editing my manuscript, now that I'm on my own. Instead I think I'm going to spend the evening writing out my new idea. I don't want it to slip away when I go to sleep. A friend has decided to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo in August and I think I'm going to join her and this might just be a fun little distraction for me to work on. And editing takes a different kind of brain and I just don't think I'm there tonight.
The sun has startled to disappear beneath the roof-lined horizon on this, the longest day of the year. I've driven through some more beautiful country today, some of which I've never seen before. Rolling green hills, mountains, rivers, so much beautiful landscape.
This trip has really reminded me how much I love to drive, how much I truly love the open road. So much of my recent road travels have involved the I-5 corridor and as so many of you know, there is precious little inspiring in that drive. (Though maybe it's partly that I am simply cursed by familiarity.) This trip has been so different. Even though I've stuck to the interstate or at least a major highway, these drives have been anything but ordinary and certainly far from familiar.
After settling into my most amazing 1 bedroom vacation house, I walked into the new downtown area and found a Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to me. Fortunately I got there early because I soon discovered that it was 2 for 1 margarita night and by the time I left there was a huge crowd waiting to get in.
Since I'd spent the day in the car, I decided that a walk would be a wonderful thing to do so I wandered up giant hills and back down again, weaving through neighborhoods. It was perfect.
I thought about life and I thought about my book and I thought about a really interesting idea for another book. Seriously interesting.
Earlier I thought I might dive right into editing my manuscript, now that I'm on my own. Instead I think I'm going to spend the evening writing out my new idea. I don't want it to slip away when I go to sleep. A friend has decided to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo in August and I think I'm going to join her and this might just be a fun little distraction for me to work on. And editing takes a different kind of brain and I just don't think I'm there tonight.
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| My little home away from home. |
17 June 2012
Safe and Sound
I've arrived at my destination after a day of solo driving (some 670 miles). I've visited, been licked by enthusiastic dogs, slept, showered, interneted. Life is good.
Yesterday was an amazing day of seeing how beautiful this world is. From the exit through the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area to my descent into Helena, damn, there's some beautiful country. I don't know that I want to "Get Lost" in Montana as so many billboards advised me to do, but I'll definitely enjoy myself while I'm here. And Idaho? You should really talk to your agent or your PR person because from what I saw you are fucking beautiful.
I arrived in Missoula around 5pm and decided to hang out for an hour or two, eating and wandering around before the last 100 miles. When I stopped for lunch I asked a couple friends for recommendations for a place for dinner and where the two lists overlapped, I dined. I ate at Old Post which was a great bar with wonderful beer and the most amazing fish tacos I've ever had. (In full disclosure, I've never had fish tacos before...but they were amazing!)
As I walked around Missoula, enjoying a lovely evening of sunshine and big, blue sky, I thought, "I probably wouldn't complain if I was forced to live here." I took many lovely pictures and walked along the river before forcing myself back in the car for the last stretch.
Today is another beautiful day and I'm looking forward to breakfast and further adventures.
Yesterday was an amazing day of seeing how beautiful this world is. From the exit through the Columbia River Gorge Scenic area to my descent into Helena, damn, there's some beautiful country. I don't know that I want to "Get Lost" in Montana as so many billboards advised me to do, but I'll definitely enjoy myself while I'm here. And Idaho? You should really talk to your agent or your PR person because from what I saw you are fucking beautiful.
I arrived in Missoula around 5pm and decided to hang out for an hour or two, eating and wandering around before the last 100 miles. When I stopped for lunch I asked a couple friends for recommendations for a place for dinner and where the two lists overlapped, I dined. I ate at Old Post which was a great bar with wonderful beer and the most amazing fish tacos I've ever had. (In full disclosure, I've never had fish tacos before...but they were amazing!)
As I walked around Missoula, enjoying a lovely evening of sunshine and big, blue sky, I thought, "I probably wouldn't complain if I was forced to live here." I took many lovely pictures and walked along the river before forcing myself back in the car for the last stretch.
Today is another beautiful day and I'm looking forward to breakfast and further adventures.
10 June 2012
Easy Like Sunday Morning
This morning's clouds are scattered with blue and lit with a brightness that just might contain some sunshine. There is a busy day ahead of me (as it's the last non-working day before my road trip) so I'm really enjoying this quiet time in the library with a cup of coffee and the steady tick of a clock. Time does not feel rushed...yet.
This past week has been full. The majority of my time not spent at work has been about pre-trip errands and graduation stuff. And when it hasn't been that it's been about reading books (I have two assignments to finish by the end of the month) and rewrites.
Tuesday I spent an hour on the phone discussing and brainstorming with my critique partner. There is one last problem (and it's a significant one) I have to work out. It won't change the heart of the story, but it provides a very important context for the reader. We brainstormed several ideas/solutions and in the end I thought of something that just might work. We hung up and I went outside to see what Zelda was up to and the idea began to put down some roots started to grow. Partly because of time and partly because of choice, I haven't worked on my revisions since then. But what I have been working on has been really promising. I'm making some smart choices and I've really been able to get the characters back to where they should be.
This whole process has taught me so much about writing and about reading. One very important lesson that I've learned is that you will never fool a smart reader.
The past few weeks (and I'm pretty sure I wrote about it once before) there has been great discussion about Story. It's a theme that's been recurring in my life over the past month. Story is king. Story rules all. You can have the best characters, the best dialogue, the most clever sentences and brilliant prose, but if you don't have story, you don't have anything. Readers (and writers) need story.
There's been something passed around the internet this week that was absolutely perfect for all this Story talk. Before I had a chance to pass it to my critique partner, she sent it to me. It's the 22 Rules of Storytelling According to Pixar and it's got 22 useful things for any writer/storyteller to consider.
Soon I will be traveling and I imagine my characters will tag along on this journey. It's been too long since I took to the road and I'm really looking forward to the time in the car listening to good music, watching the world pass by, and letting my thoughts wander. Until then, I've got a few things to check of my To Do list...
This past week has been full. The majority of my time not spent at work has been about pre-trip errands and graduation stuff. And when it hasn't been that it's been about reading books (I have two assignments to finish by the end of the month) and rewrites.
Tuesday I spent an hour on the phone discussing and brainstorming with my critique partner. There is one last problem (and it's a significant one) I have to work out. It won't change the heart of the story, but it provides a very important context for the reader. We brainstormed several ideas/solutions and in the end I thought of something that just might work. We hung up and I went outside to see what Zelda was up to and the idea began to put down some roots started to grow. Partly because of time and partly because of choice, I haven't worked on my revisions since then. But what I have been working on has been really promising. I'm making some smart choices and I've really been able to get the characters back to where they should be.
This whole process has taught me so much about writing and about reading. One very important lesson that I've learned is that you will never fool a smart reader.
The past few weeks (and I'm pretty sure I wrote about it once before) there has been great discussion about Story. It's a theme that's been recurring in my life over the past month. Story is king. Story rules all. You can have the best characters, the best dialogue, the most clever sentences and brilliant prose, but if you don't have story, you don't have anything. Readers (and writers) need story.
There's been something passed around the internet this week that was absolutely perfect for all this Story talk. Before I had a chance to pass it to my critique partner, she sent it to me. It's the 22 Rules of Storytelling According to Pixar and it's got 22 useful things for any writer/storyteller to consider.
Soon I will be traveling and I imagine my characters will tag along on this journey. It's been too long since I took to the road and I'm really looking forward to the time in the car listening to good music, watching the world pass by, and letting my thoughts wander. Until then, I've got a few things to check of my To Do list...
02 June 2012
Down to Business
It's the first day of my four day weekend and even though I was awake at 6am, I didn't care.
My morning has been spent taking care of life's little details (bills, errands, birthday breakfast with my littlest bro) and now I've got two hours until a lovely afternoon with the loveliest ladies. We will enjoy pedicures, take-out, booze, and a movie that will certainly make us laugh.
Life is good.
With these two hours, I am going to get started on the revisions, for reals. I am going to take the big leap and see where I resurface.
I've been giddy with anticipation all day.
Due to OS issues, I lost having Word on the Desktop...which is much easier to edit on, what with its GIANT screen. But this week I got my new copy of Microsoft Office and so I'm super excited to be able to do everything on one computer rather than double Mac-ing it like I've been doing.
Here goes...
My morning has been spent taking care of life's little details (bills, errands, birthday breakfast with my littlest bro) and now I've got two hours until a lovely afternoon with the loveliest ladies. We will enjoy pedicures, take-out, booze, and a movie that will certainly make us laugh.
Life is good.
With these two hours, I am going to get started on the revisions, for reals. I am going to take the big leap and see where I resurface.
I've been giddy with anticipation all day.
Due to OS issues, I lost having Word on the Desktop...which is much easier to edit on, what with its GIANT screen. But this week I got my new copy of Microsoft Office and so I'm super excited to be able to do everything on one computer rather than double Mac-ing it like I've been doing.
Here goes...
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| Double Mac |
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