Good News and Bad News

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I picked up two more classes to teach for the fall; the bad news is that now I won't have the time to finish my manuscript before Christmas, as I had hoped. It is just so *very* frustrating!

I know... everyone says "If it's important enough, you'll make time for it." Well, that's true, but at what cost? I have learned the hard way that I can't write and be an effective wife, mom and teacher. Teaching is a 60-hour a week job for 20-hour a week pay. It would be different if I could use the same notes, but darn it if every semester I don't get different courses. So I have to make up new notes, handouts and tests all the time, which is incredibly time-consuming.

(This semester, I do have a few sections of a course I've already taught, but they changed the book on me! As Charlie Brown would say "Arrrrgggghhhhh!!!!")

But, I'm grateful for the income and the scheduling flexibility. I'll just keep taking it one day at a time.

I just hope Zeke gets used to being in his crate. That dratted beagle just pees all over himself whenever we leave him. Today I was gone for TWO MINUTES before my husband got home. We drove past each other on the street. Don't you know that dog made a mess? God bless his little furry peabrained self, but I hope he "gets it" soon!

P.S. I just have to add that I realized after this post that I hadn't cleaned the cage yet, so I went downstairs. That wasn't pee in the cage... it was drool!!! Too, too funny.

"When you write you tell yourself a story. When you rewrite you take out everything that is NOT the story."
— Stephen King

Stephen King also says that he is "the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries." I haven't read any of his books, so I can't comment on that. Horror is not my genre.

But, I can say that my goal is to be the literary equivalent of a spinach quiche. Healthy, satisfying, a little bit unusual, and appealing to those who are tired of Big Macs.

Rainy Day

We're having a soft, rainy day today. I love rain. It's an excuse to curl up with a cup of tea and a book and not stir until dinnertime.

Only, I can't quite do that. The house still looks like a bomb hit it, from being on vacation. It always seems as if the van vomited our belongings into the living room upon arrival. I've been slowly sifting through and putting things away, but it's been a busy week. This is my first slow day.

Where's Rosie the Robot when you need her?

Brag Day

Okay, everyone, here's an idea I just had:

Today will be "Brag Day." I am inviting you to post in the comments a paragraph or so of dialogue or description of which you are particularly proud. It could be fiction, non-fiction, whatever. Give us a taste of what you are working on!

Alternately, email it to me and I'll add it to this post.

C'mon... Brag a little!

Too much feedback spoils the novel

With a short hiatus ahead of me, I am psyching myself up to start writing again. I did a *little* while on vacation, but not very much. I was too busy spending time with my long-lost family in Ohio.

Having had some time to reflect (between early morning Scrabble, trips to the zoo, fishing and walking the dog and boys in the park), I've come to the conclusion that one of the reasons I was able to stop completely for a while is the level of confusion that has resulted from too much feedback.

I'm more eager for feedback than most writers. I really want to know what people think before I spend more precious months of my life working on something. The problem is that other writers have totally different opinions from mere readers. The other writers who have looked at my stuff say, "There is way too much exposition here, you have to take this out as it slows the whole thing down."

The readers say, "This is happening way too fast! Who are these people? Where are they? Why are they doing these things anyway?"

From all the writing blogs I've looked at, it seems that the only writing style allowable these days is basically stream of consciousness. Or, rather, stream of action. Everything has to happen pretty much in the moment to hold an editor's attention. The number one rule is "Show, don't tell."

But when I read books that have been published by very successful writers... oops! They use a ton of exposition in their first chapters. I just read one by bestselling romance author Nora Roberts in which the entire first chapter was basically backstory. I enjoyed it. I kept reading. It didn't slow me down. But apparently, if I were to submit a similar first chapter, I'd be given the good old "form rejection."

None of it makes sense.

So I have decided "To heck with them all!" I'm just going to write the story the best I can and if no one wants to publish it, I'll just self-pub and move on with my life. Grandma's not getting any younger... she just celebrated her 98th birthday. I need to finish this and record it so she can listen to it. She can't read any more, but listens to audio books all the time and is waiting for mine.

I owe it to Grandma.

Update

Well, I'm not writing at all. I'm too busy working. But I hope to get back to my book in a few weeks when the semester is over. I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Christine

The Cuckoo Clock

This week we re-started our Bavarian cuckoo clock. It's been idle for years, while our son and other people's children were too young to resist yanking on the chains. But I started it again when my friend's four-year-old daughter was here and begged to hear the cuckoo. She was thrilled as I turned the hands again and again so she could see the little woodchopper raising his axe, the mill wheel turning, the people dancing, and the little bird popping out of his door.

I slept on the sofa last night because I'm not feeling well, and enjoyed the clock's reassuring sound. It made me recall our trip to Germany eight years ago. Much of my novel was inspired by that trip: by the castles, the mountains, the forests, the turquoise waters of the alpine streams, the brightly painted houses, and the fortress-towns like Rothenburg. We visited Nuremburg but didn't get to see the castle. The rest of our fellow tourists did, but, being unable to read the German signs, Mark and I ended up taking a long circuit of the grassy moat! By the time we found the castle entrance, it was time to return to the bus. I've always regretted that.

But I got plenty of inspiration from Neuschwanstein. I could go to the Alps every year, I think! Fresh air, fresh ale, a sense of timelessness and incredible scenery. What more could a person ask for?