The Red Pen

After absorbing the notes of my Working Writer's Retreat weekend, my red pen has been pointed and ready to scratch. I have spent the past week viewing my four alleged complete picture book manuscripts with a fresh eye. I have pressed select, delete on my keyboard with confidence. Last Monday, I was a bit dispirited by some of the weekend's negative comments i.e. "Where's the plot?" As the week worn on I found my self becoming more discerning and critical of my work than anyone in any of my critique groups. Sometimes you need a kick in the pants to get back on track. Rewriting is hard work. I have wondered what has taken me so long to see the obvious flaws

I have realized for a plot to move forward there has to be dis-ease - not an illness but a sense of discomfort that builds suspense - the sense of a problem that needs solving - the sense of a character moving towards resolution despite the obstacles. I have realized you have to write your heart out before you point that red pen or press that delete button.

I am glad to have had a chance to retreat as I am now refreshed and ready to write.

Retrenching after Retreat

Just returned from a working writer's retreat that felt like a two night sleep a way camp peppered with critique, comradeship and rediscovery. It was a delight to spend solid blocks of time devoted to the review and analysis of one's work. Everyone's opinion is just that - an opinion. I am always fascinated by the continual retooling of a manuscript that seems perfect. I will be fascinated to see where the publishing industry will be in 10 years. I can't decide whether book publishing is at a crossroads or the edge of a cliff. In the meantime, I shall scribble, scribble, scribble on the path to the completion of my next book.

Can't Hurry Love

This weekend I am going to a writers' retreat where we will critique, have free time to write and share our works with two editors. As I prepare for this event, I realize that my first attempt at a middle grade novel is no where near ready to begin it's first chapter. I am still exploring and creating my character's world, having a wonderful time watching my words come into focus. Some days are frustrating but today has been good. I found the seeds of my plot and have fleshed out my character's world. As I enjoyed this morning's a-ha moments, I was reminded of the Supreme's song YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE. I can substitute the word "plot" for love and that would express how I am feeling these days.

I need a plot, plot
To ease my mind
I need to find a story to call all mine
But mama said

You can't hurry plots
No, you just have to wait
She said plots don't come easy
Its a game of give and take

(With apologies to Diana Ross and the writers of this song...)

Hungry for More - Part 2

Horror of horrors! I finished The Hunger Games last night, eager to jump directly into the flame of Catching Fire when I discovered the sequel was not yet "kindle-ized!" I was so smug that technology would seamlessly allow me to read on from one to book to the next. Now I have to wait for our local Barnes & Noble to open to continue Katniss' adventures. As a writer I can't help but read with an analytical eye. I marvel at the captivating spell this book has cast upon me. It is YA fiction that targets a demographic that could include my grandchildren had I become a mother at an early age. One of the driving forces in the story are the continual planting of seeds of doubt and distrust. You are never sure of any one. This sense of discomfort lures me through the pages even though I know the heroine will endure.

36 minutes to go...

Hungry For More

Unlike my dear husband, I do not entertain a fascination with the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max, and Bladerunner. Literature reveling in the demise of western civilization, with exception of Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451, does not interest me - until now. I am swept up in Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I will be reading Catching Fire the moment I finish this one on my beloved Kindle. It also heartening to see such a strong female character in this dark world. This book deserves it's popularity. It is a gripping story with a fast paced tightly woven plot for both young and old adults alike!

Scribble, Scribble, Scribble

Peck! Peck! Peck! That's what it's all about. I am not talking about the hokey pokey. Now that August has turned into September, Laurie Halse Anderson's month of writing prompts is no longer part of my morning routine. These 15 minute exercises are probably the best ones I have seen to provoke and improve a work of fiction in progress. They have helped me turn a character inside out and expand her world beyond my imagination. These prompts have also made me realize the examination of my life experiences hold a wealth of stories beyond my wildest dreams. I can stir them into my pot of fiction and create a newer, truer story. I have also realized the fact that sounds like something Gertrude Stein would say - the more you write the more you write. The more time spent writing the more likely the muse is to sit on your shoulder and press her words into your ear. She's whispering now and I must go - scribble, scribble, scribble...

Le Joie de Boeuf

Sometimes I think it's good to do things that are against one's nature. It's good to get out of your comfort zone and try things that seem impossibly complicated. Today I made Julia Child's Bouef Bourguignon. Last Sunday after seeing the wonderful Julie & Julia, Mark noted that our orange Le Creuset dutch oven was in the movie. I proclaimed that I would make Boeuf Bourguignon just like Julia in our starring pot. Media mimicry has always been a part of my life. When I was 5 years old,I would change into a skirt and put on my mouse ears every time the Mickey Mouse Club came on the TV. Making this recipe was another version of this deviant behavior.

Today seemed like a good day to do this since the tree men were here. I could not count on silence and lack of interruption to spend any time writing. I also wanted to be home to monitor the chain saws. Little did I know that Julia's recipe for servantless American women would eat up half my day, chopping, slicing, sauteing, stirring, timing, etc. My confidence level is nil when it comes to mastering a complex recipe that even requires the simmering of bacon rinds! By noon I was ready to start sipping the unused wine in the measuring cup. I still had to braise the pearl onions and saute a pound of mushrooms in an unspecified amount of butter. It would be nearly 3 more hours of cooking at a low oven temperature before I would have to strain the meat over a pan and reduce the simmering sauce.

I did taste the stew and it is excellent, much better than anything I'd buy in a Costco package and heat up for 20 minutes. Like Julia, I love to eat but the truth is that I would rather not spend my day cooking. Yet I am glad I did it. My ode to Julia Child. Tonight I will raise my glass in a toast to her joie de vivre and my mastery of boeuf bourguignon.