Homework: Part I

Yesterday, I completed the first part of my revision homework. I made a list of important scenes and arranged them in a logical order. This was done in my new notebook, purchased for the occasion even though I have at least 30 brand new notebooks of every shape and size already. But it helps to have tools that are specifically for a particular purpose/project.

I have the printout of the manuscript for Part II of my assignment. This one may take a couple days to complete.

But I'm on my way!

Obligations

It's been almost a week since I updated this blog. My goal is at least twice a week. Of course, my writing goals were even more ambitious this month, and I haven't really gone near any of them. Why?

Other obligations are intruding. But I'm wondering to just what extent I'm obliged to do these other things. This morning I said no to an event I thought I was obliged to attend day Saturday. It felt great. And the person hosting the event even responded with a "good on ya" for saying I wanted to spend the day writing instead. Cool. And since I'm not doing something I don't want to do during the day on Saturday, I can attend an event I want to on Saturday night without being exhausted. Cool. How many of the other things could I or should I have said no to over the past few months?

So what do you feel obliged to do that interferes with your writing? Is it a real or an imaginary obligation?

Final Feedback

Well, I received the final feedback for this draft of MMG last night. There will be much more when I start my rounds of queries. Jenny wrote up a great summary with an assignment. Maybe because I'm always harder on myself than anyone else would be comfortable being, it wasn't anywhere nearly as harsh as I thought it would be. Even with my thinking that she was delaying because it was such bad news.

I did wait until this morning to read it. Wanted to just enjoy last night with The Group. We have such a great mix of people now. All different genres and backgrounds, but it works somehow. I hope John decides to join us. He makes a nice addition.

Now I need to go buy a big 3-ring binder (part of my homework) so I can begin working on it this weekend. I'd start sooner, but this is shaping up to be a crazy-making week. Meeting last night (which was wonderful), meeting tonight for PPW, possibly a concert tomorrow night, barbeque at Jonnie and Steve's on Saturday (again, wonderful) and another meeting on Sunday (jury's out on this one). Oh, and maybe dinner with Geoff if he doesn't pick Saturday.

Think I may take Friday off just for me. Sounds like a plan.

Words

Part of the reason I write, and read for that matter, is because I love words. These made up things that respresent objects, feelings, thoughts and actions. We string letters together to make words and words together to form sentences and, next thing you know, we've created whole worlds that didn't exist before. Words, by their very nature, are evocative. They are powerful. And they can be hurtful and destructive.

I've written previously about finding exactly the right word. Ali suggested poetry as a means to really understanding and gaining expertise at that. I've heard other writers defend their use of extremely obscure words as wanting to use "the exact right word" to convey an idea.

However--

When does "using exactly the right word" become "showing off"? In responding to a comment on a previous post, I used stentorian instead of saying loud, booming, etc. It's a word that came to mind as the right one, but subsequent comments point to it being unfamiliar (although those comments may have been teasing). So, should I have said "loud and commanding voice"?

Would coming across one or two words you weren't familiar with throw you out of a story? I'm not talking about fantasy or science fiction where there are usually new words made up by the author. But even there I guess it could get annoying. How do you, as a writer, find that balance?

Summertime Blues--Eddie Cochran

Actually, I'm in a pretty good mood. But I do get sluggish this time of year. I want to go swim in the river by my uncle's house and then stretch out under the willow tree to read a book. Maybe eat some watermelon with my cousins and spit the seeds into the river.

Goals

Let's see how I did for July:

--Revise MMG after receiving feedback --Submit to at least 12 agents (not done)

--Write editorial for PPW NewsMag (Wrote 2 because the deadline for the next one is coming up fast)

--Complete Writer's Life for PPW NewsMag (Wrote 2 for same reason as above)

--Write up mini-bio for PPW NewsMag (done)

--Stay current on submissions to Apollo's Lyre (Done as far as I know since there may have been submissions to the old email addy)

For August:

--Revise MMG, submit to DL and query at least 12 others [surprise, surprise]

--Play with TNN a little more

--Stay current on AL submission.

I do believe that is plenty for now.

Legal Uppers

Amazing how a few hours with certain people can work as a tonic.

I usually go out to dinner with the Sunday Group of the CSFWG on the last Sunday of the month. Yesterday, I sat in on the critique portion as well even though I hadn't read the submissions (although based on the comments, I will go back and read them). Even so, the critiques and suggestions are still helpful. Some of this stuff is just good sense to apply to any kind of writing.

At the dinner portion of the evening, we talked about some of the writing issues and more suggestions were made. But mainly we talked. About writing, of course. About books we're reading and enjoying, or not enjoying, and why. About movies, television. About life in general. We voted on names for Jenny and Shane's baby. We sympathized with Nicole's quest for a flowered dress for a wedding she's attending, because it was obvious that Nicole didn't want to buy a flowered dress. We rehashed the final Harry Potter book. Ali and D.B. talked about going bead shopping together. And we laugh. A lot.

I'm ready to write. I'm ready to work on TNN. A good thing, too, because Jenny hasn't finished with MMG yet. She, too, has been caught up in Pottermania--even moreso because of her job. And I'm really okay with that. Last week I would have been upset. It would have been another reason to be in a bad mood. But I think I'm reaching the point she was talking about a few months ago. I'm ready to rewrite MMG, but I'm not feeling like it's my one and only goal. Like it's the one thing that will make or break me as a writer.

And I'm in a really good mood today. Thanks gang!