Does this mean it’s snowing in Licking? Well, it is a little, but I think this white has more to do with the color of my screen as I stare at the blank page, waiting for words to come.
I’m home today, my one total and complete day off during the week, and I’m writing. Thinking about writing, writing about writing, and writing.
Since I decided to change my novel’s target audience (from young adult to adult, probably women), my magical young adult story has become a magical coming-of-age story. My heroine is older now, looking back, and I need to understand her in a whole new way.
How do I get inside her world? What’s the trigger for her telling this story to begin with? The list goes on. And how do I answer all these questions with one day off a week?
Well, the answer to the last one is easy. I don’t. I think about the questions all the time and answer them when the answers come.
For example, last night I took my mother to Bingo, something we do on a regular basis. This is her night out and she likes me to be there, so I go. And there I was, in the middle of a game, suddenly struck with an idea.
I grabbed my little black notebook from my bag and, in between marking N36 and B14, scribbled, “They tell you not to flashback too much when writing a story, but from here, in my thirties, looking at my thirteen-year-old self, everything is a flashback.”
And from there, all I could think about was the nature of memories. Needless to say, I didn’t win.
That’s all right. I treasure every word that ekes out, even the ones like my jotted note (which will surely change beyond recognition by the time the book is out). It’s been 10 months since I seriously wrote one word on it. Every word is a win.
The point is always the same for us, isn’t it? How to create while doing everything else in life that needs doing. Because those things don’t stop, no matter how many days you have off to just stay home and write.
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Case in point: I’m still thinking about white papers, and I thought you might be interested in a few good links.
Michael Stelzner seems to be a leader in the field. Here’s a link to his blog.
White Paper Source offers some interesting resources.
Purdue University has a ton of information about commercial writing in general.
Once again, here’s Peter Bowerman, an endless source of great stuff.
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“Writing” is a packed word. At this point in my life, it means fiction and freelance. And journaling and blogging. And working at the newspaper. I’m another year older now–59 on Christmas–and I treasure each opportunity to put words together.
I WILL discover the missing link that makes every act of writing a career. Or a bunch of little day jobs.
