You know your husband loves you when
You wake up on a cold night to find your husband has turned on the fan (he is always hot while he sleeps; you are always cold). He has also pulled the down comforter out of the linen closet and covered you with it while you slept.
You mention in passing that you miss all the soups and stews you used to make during the winter in Chicago and the weather is finally getting cool enough for soup in Texas. You come home from work and he has made stew for dinner.
Every time you say you need to work on your book, he makes plans with friends or finds something to entertain himself. He has never made you feel guilty for writing or taking time for the book, no matter how many nights this involves, even when it included going to an 11-day conference out of state.
He helps support you financially (and in every other way) while you are in grad school.
He is leaving to go somewhere and you say, “Bye,” and he says, “Don’t say that. It sounds too permanent.”
Neither of you leaves the house without kissing each other goodbye.
He puts your iPod in your purse so you'll have it for work.
You are so sentimental it makes other people disgusted, but it makes him smile.
Wednesday
Friday
More Blather About Writing
I’ve finished taking notes on draft #2 before I begin draft #3. I am removed enough from the book (to a degree) to recognize some of the strengths and flaws. If you aren’t interested in the blahblahblah of writing and revising, you may want to skip this entry.
The good
There are the obvious things. I don’t tell the story in chronological order all the time, so there are some continuity elements that need to be moved. Either a character mentions an event before it’s happened or maybe another character is running around living her life and I realize, hey wait. In that other chapter, I said this major thing has happened to this person right about now. The continuity problems (compared to some of the other issues with the book) are easy to fix.
I can tell which chapters were written in the beginning and which are more recent, based on the strength of the writing. The more recent chapters are better, without a doubt. And I have a harder time fixing the earlier chapters, which might mean that the elements of the scenes can remain the same, but I may have to rework those sections to make the writing better.
I am no longer attached to pages. When I first began writing the book, if I found a chapter or section that wasn’t working, I would read and re-read it, try to figure out how to make it work, and agonize over cutting pages. Now I just mark them out. Plenty where those came from. While making notes this last go-around, I realized one chapter was unnecessary. I kept only one sentence, which captured the essence of the whole section, and am moving it to another chapter.
There are three or four chapters in the book that contain some of the best writing I’ve done so far. They are not perfect, but they are strong. When I rewrite, I will make them better.
Some chapters could go in several different places in the book. In other words, it doesn’t matter so much for continuity when they happen (usually because they’re told in the distant past). Depending on where I place them in the novel though, different elements are emphasized because of the chapters that are placed before and/or after that distant-past chapter. It’s like a puzzle with pieces that could go in different places and still make a pretty picture. But their placement is a little more difficult. It comes down to what nuances I want to emphasize. And there is no right or wrong answer to that.
The knowledge transfers. I’ve started another project that I want to work on next. Already I can see I’ve absorbed some of the lessons I’ve learned from writing the first novel. The next project moves much more quickly, has a stronger voice, and gets you from the first sentence. I’m sure it will develop its own challenges later, however.
The bad
One of my flaws is a serious love of exposition. While some chapters have a good mix of dialogue, action, and expo, some are all expo all the time. Sometimes I go off on a tangent, and then another, and pages later I am trying to remember what in the hell the point of the first tangent was. I have no problem cutting things if they go too far off track, but first I have to figure out if the tangents are important, or if they add something to the story.
I overuse the words “simply,” “just,” “answered,” and “it.” Those are the ones I’ve noticed so far.
I have six point of view characters. I may not have developed enough as a writer to pull off these six viewpoints and their voices. They may seem too similar. This is one of the biggest flaws of the book, one I’m not sure I’m enough of a writer to fix.
I read an interview (Somewhere, maybe on the Emerging Writers Network? Maybe somewhere else.) with several agents who were giving advice to aspiring writers. One of the agents said one of the biggest problems he sees in first novels is that the writers don’t set up a real conflict. He used the example that a novel starts out with a couple struggling to decide where to go on a vacation, they pick a place, and then they go. There’s not enough juice in the story.
I think I've set up enough initial conflict for each individual character. However, I’m worried that not enough happens in the end, that readers will lose interest. To vary the agent’s example, all of my people are trying to go on vacation, but with conflicting feelings, exes or children causing problems, and self-doubt about motives or past actions that the vacation is now bringing to the fore. But maybe my problems aren’t dangerous enough. Maybe I protect the people too much. Maybe the readers will say, “Eh, they went on vacation, who cares?” And maybe I wrap up everything too tightly and neatly in the end.
The ugly
I can spend weeks revising (what’s a few more weeks, give or take, after four freakin’ years), but it’s possible that all this work will still not make the novel strong enough to sell. This book may not be good enough to publish.
I read an interview with Salman Rushdie in a recent issue of the Paris Review. The interviewer made a comment about how most novelists seem to have a first lousy novel tucked away in a drawer. Rushdie said, “I have three.”
This might be my throwaway novel. Knowing that makes it hard for me to sit my butt in a chair and keep working.
Sometimes I read a novel, close my eyes, and groan because the writing is so good. And I know I'm nowhere near that league. And I may never be.
The indifferent
Even if only a few of my friends read this novel, I’ve learned a lot. Revision is an excellent teacher. And I’m going to keep writing. If I have to have three lousy novels stuck in a drawer before my first gets published, at least I’ll be in good company.
Maybe I'll never be great, but I can get better.
I’ve finished taking notes on draft #2 before I begin draft #3. I am removed enough from the book (to a degree) to recognize some of the strengths and flaws. If you aren’t interested in the blahblahblah of writing and revising, you may want to skip this entry.
The good
There are the obvious things. I don’t tell the story in chronological order all the time, so there are some continuity elements that need to be moved. Either a character mentions an event before it’s happened or maybe another character is running around living her life and I realize, hey wait. In that other chapter, I said this major thing has happened to this person right about now. The continuity problems (compared to some of the other issues with the book) are easy to fix.
I can tell which chapters were written in the beginning and which are more recent, based on the strength of the writing. The more recent chapters are better, without a doubt. And I have a harder time fixing the earlier chapters, which might mean that the elements of the scenes can remain the same, but I may have to rework those sections to make the writing better.
I am no longer attached to pages. When I first began writing the book, if I found a chapter or section that wasn’t working, I would read and re-read it, try to figure out how to make it work, and agonize over cutting pages. Now I just mark them out. Plenty where those came from. While making notes this last go-around, I realized one chapter was unnecessary. I kept only one sentence, which captured the essence of the whole section, and am moving it to another chapter.
There are three or four chapters in the book that contain some of the best writing I’ve done so far. They are not perfect, but they are strong. When I rewrite, I will make them better.
Some chapters could go in several different places in the book. In other words, it doesn’t matter so much for continuity when they happen (usually because they’re told in the distant past). Depending on where I place them in the novel though, different elements are emphasized because of the chapters that are placed before and/or after that distant-past chapter. It’s like a puzzle with pieces that could go in different places and still make a pretty picture. But their placement is a little more difficult. It comes down to what nuances I want to emphasize. And there is no right or wrong answer to that.
The knowledge transfers. I’ve started another project that I want to work on next. Already I can see I’ve absorbed some of the lessons I’ve learned from writing the first novel. The next project moves much more quickly, has a stronger voice, and gets you from the first sentence. I’m sure it will develop its own challenges later, however.
The bad
One of my flaws is a serious love of exposition. While some chapters have a good mix of dialogue, action, and expo, some are all expo all the time. Sometimes I go off on a tangent, and then another, and pages later I am trying to remember what in the hell the point of the first tangent was. I have no problem cutting things if they go too far off track, but first I have to figure out if the tangents are important, or if they add something to the story.
I overuse the words “simply,” “just,” “answered,” and “it.” Those are the ones I’ve noticed so far.
I have six point of view characters. I may not have developed enough as a writer to pull off these six viewpoints and their voices. They may seem too similar. This is one of the biggest flaws of the book, one I’m not sure I’m enough of a writer to fix.
I read an interview (Somewhere, maybe on the Emerging Writers Network? Maybe somewhere else.) with several agents who were giving advice to aspiring writers. One of the agents said one of the biggest problems he sees in first novels is that the writers don’t set up a real conflict. He used the example that a novel starts out with a couple struggling to decide where to go on a vacation, they pick a place, and then they go. There’s not enough juice in the story.
I think I've set up enough initial conflict for each individual character. However, I’m worried that not enough happens in the end, that readers will lose interest. To vary the agent’s example, all of my people are trying to go on vacation, but with conflicting feelings, exes or children causing problems, and self-doubt about motives or past actions that the vacation is now bringing to the fore. But maybe my problems aren’t dangerous enough. Maybe I protect the people too much. Maybe the readers will say, “Eh, they went on vacation, who cares?” And maybe I wrap up everything too tightly and neatly in the end.
The ugly
I can spend weeks revising (what’s a few more weeks, give or take, after four freakin’ years), but it’s possible that all this work will still not make the novel strong enough to sell. This book may not be good enough to publish.
I read an interview with Salman Rushdie in a recent issue of the Paris Review. The interviewer made a comment about how most novelists seem to have a first lousy novel tucked away in a drawer. Rushdie said, “I have three.”
This might be my throwaway novel. Knowing that makes it hard for me to sit my butt in a chair and keep working.
Sometimes I read a novel, close my eyes, and groan because the writing is so good. And I know I'm nowhere near that league. And I may never be.
The indifferent
Even if only a few of my friends read this novel, I’ve learned a lot. Revision is an excellent teacher. And I’m going to keep writing. If I have to have three lousy novels stuck in a drawer before my first gets published, at least I’ll be in good company.
Maybe I'll never be great, but I can get better.
Wednesday
I knew a woman who:
Had divorced and remarried.
Had an STD that made it difficult for her to conceive.
Said she didn’t like sex.
Said she would prefer her husband to have sex with a prostitute than to step foot inside a Hooter’s restaurant.
When I asked her what she thought about gay marriage, she said she didn’t think it should be allowed because she felt that the love she and her husband shared was “holy.”
People are so very strange.
Had divorced and remarried.
Had an STD that made it difficult for her to conceive.
Said she didn’t like sex.
Said she would prefer her husband to have sex with a prostitute than to step foot inside a Hooter’s restaurant.
When I asked her what she thought about gay marriage, she said she didn’t think it should be allowed because she felt that the love she and her husband shared was “holy.”
People are so very strange.
Tuesday
I have an idea
Since we're trying to protect the sanctity of marriage and all with a constitutional ammendment I think we ought to make a new rule about voting. To vote for this ammendment, you can't be divorced. And you can't have broken your marriage vows.
If we're going to be sanctimonious, let's go all out.
Since we're trying to protect the sanctity of marriage and all with a constitutional ammendment I think we ought to make a new rule about voting. To vote for this ammendment, you can't be divorced. And you can't have broken your marriage vows.
If we're going to be sanctimonious, let's go all out.
Monday
Catching Up
I had a very unproductive seven days. All last week I kept feeling like I was coming down with something. I think I went to bed early every night. Thursday I left work at midday, stayed in bed all day Friday, and most of Saturday. I got Nate sick, too. On Sunday, going to the grocery store was a major enterprise. Good news is, aside from a massive coughing fit in the middle of the office, I'm feeling a lot better today. Things that are still on my to-do list:
1. Make notes on edits for my third draft. I've gone through approximately 5-6 chapters leaving 54 or so. I have 60 chapters in this novel. Yes, I am insane. And possibly have serious problems with structure. But we'll see. Sometimes I think it's great, other times I think readers will be confused as hell. After this draft I'm giving the book to a few readers so I'll see what they tell me.
2. Paint the hallway. We ran out of ceiling paint and need to get more.
3. Start thinking about my Halloween costume. We're going to a costume party and I still have no idea what I want to be.
Too many other things to list or I'll get depressed. One thing at a time ...
I had a very unproductive seven days. All last week I kept feeling like I was coming down with something. I think I went to bed early every night. Thursday I left work at midday, stayed in bed all day Friday, and most of Saturday. I got Nate sick, too. On Sunday, going to the grocery store was a major enterprise. Good news is, aside from a massive coughing fit in the middle of the office, I'm feeling a lot better today. Things that are still on my to-do list:
1. Make notes on edits for my third draft. I've gone through approximately 5-6 chapters leaving 54 or so. I have 60 chapters in this novel. Yes, I am insane. And possibly have serious problems with structure. But we'll see. Sometimes I think it's great, other times I think readers will be confused as hell. After this draft I'm giving the book to a few readers so I'll see what they tell me.
2. Paint the hallway. We ran out of ceiling paint and need to get more.
3. Start thinking about my Halloween costume. We're going to a costume party and I still have no idea what I want to be.
Too many other things to list or I'll get depressed. One thing at a time ...