Sunday, May 18, 2008
Camping ahead
We scrounged around in the garage today and found all of our camping stuff. I am relieved it's all there...the garage has so much stuff in it I couldn't see where the camping stuff was. But we found it all. We also went to HEB and Walmart to pick up some things we didn't have, like a small grill. I hope next weekend has nice weather like this one did. It would have been perfect if this weekend was next weekend. But I suppose that's part of the adventure of camping. We'll go to the Scarborough Faire one day and the other two days just take it easy around camp.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Renaissance Magazine
The new Renaissance Magazine is out and William and I are just waiting for it to make it to Barnes and Noble so we can see what prize we won in the photo contest. We know we're in the top three, but not which place we got. We've seen the new wedding issue cover online but it hasn't made it into stores yet. It's so exciting.
I'm working on changing the beginning of SC according to some suggestions from writing group. They are mostly small things so it's no big deal. I've written some new description at their request. Kim found the original of her manuscript and is going to give it to me to read. She didn't like the later changes she made. She thought maybe her original was lost, but Alan found it on a disk. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Tomorrow William and I have to look through the garage and dig out our camping stuff for next weekend. We're going to the renaissance faire near Dallas for the Memorial Day weekend. Mom and Dad and Kim and Alan are planning to come too.
I'm working on changing the beginning of SC according to some suggestions from writing group. They are mostly small things so it's no big deal. I've written some new description at their request. Kim found the original of her manuscript and is going to give it to me to read. She didn't like the later changes she made. She thought maybe her original was lost, but Alan found it on a disk. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Tomorrow William and I have to look through the garage and dig out our camping stuff for next weekend. We're going to the renaissance faire near Dallas for the Memorial Day weekend. Mom and Dad and Kim and Alan are planning to come too.
Friday, May 16, 2008
No more debt and thoughts on writers
William and I are embarking on a plan to get out of debt with the help of the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. We've made a budget so far (although we remembered yesterday we left out our club memberships) and have talked a lot about how we're going to do this. It's all laid out pretty clearly in the book, but we have little adjustments we want to make, hopefully not deleterious ones. It will be great to reduce and eliminate our debt so we can start our marriage on the right foot. And then stay out of trouble by getting rid of our credit cards. It may delay our buying a house as we plan to dedicate a large amount of money to getting rid of the debt, instead of saving it for a down payment. Once we get rid of the credit card debt we can start saving (more) for the house.
It's getting close to the time, relatively, when we'll be taking off for CA. We got our plane tickets, a gift from Christie and her grandmother Virginia, so we're set to go. It's too bad we'll completely miss my parents and Uncle Carl and Aunt Linda, who will be there just before us, but I guess it's our honeymoon so it won't be so bad to be alone! Mom is figuring out her wardrobe for the cruise they'll be taking to Alaska with friends Carol and Joe Lawrence. As my parents have never been on a cruise and there are two formal nights, it's something of an adventure planning out all the cruise-wear and fancier clothing. They're going to Alaska, for gosh sake, even though it will be in the summer, so it's hard to know exactly what to bring. Of course most of the time they'll be on the ship, with four excursions on land. They're going to what seem to me exotic places like Victoria and Ketchikan.
As of Monday I'll be off the sleep medicine completely. Last night I slept really well. It's so refreshing to get good sleep. I can't imagine 1/2 a mg is making much difference so I think I'll be okay, even though I have nights where I'm up at 4 in the morning. I'm reading the new Elizabeth George, Careless in Red, which is different from her earlier books. It's from many, many different people's point of view and sometimes it's frustrating when you want to get back to the thread of the main character and there is not so much of him. There are some characters whose thoughts or lives are more interesting than others. She uses contractions to indicate speech rhythms, which is annoying to me. I'd rather she stick to word order to show pattern of speech or regionalisms. She does that, too, so I think the contractions, such as "D'you know what I'm talking about?" are superfluous. They're just distracting. She never used to do that. She's written many wonderful books so I don't know where this new technique is coming from. It's just like I hate it when authors have dialog with no quotation marks, as in, "He said what are you doing. She told him it wasn't any of his business." I can see using it very sparingly, but for a good chunk of the dialog, no. That is another new technique George is using. I'm still into the story and am eager to find out what happens to Lynley, her main character, but I feel like I'm wading through some stuff to get there.
Stephanie Meyer, the author of the trilogy of books about a girl and her boyfriend, a humane vampire, has written a new adult sci-fi book called The Host. It's number one on the bestseller list. Two of her other books are also on the bestseller list. Is that some kind of record? Her first book was written and published in five months. I have to admit I'm a little jealous, but she deserves her success. Her books are really good.
It's getting close to the time, relatively, when we'll be taking off for CA. We got our plane tickets, a gift from Christie and her grandmother Virginia, so we're set to go. It's too bad we'll completely miss my parents and Uncle Carl and Aunt Linda, who will be there just before us, but I guess it's our honeymoon so it won't be so bad to be alone! Mom is figuring out her wardrobe for the cruise they'll be taking to Alaska with friends Carol and Joe Lawrence. As my parents have never been on a cruise and there are two formal nights, it's something of an adventure planning out all the cruise-wear and fancier clothing. They're going to Alaska, for gosh sake, even though it will be in the summer, so it's hard to know exactly what to bring. Of course most of the time they'll be on the ship, with four excursions on land. They're going to what seem to me exotic places like Victoria and Ketchikan.
As of Monday I'll be off the sleep medicine completely. Last night I slept really well. It's so refreshing to get good sleep. I can't imagine 1/2 a mg is making much difference so I think I'll be okay, even though I have nights where I'm up at 4 in the morning. I'm reading the new Elizabeth George, Careless in Red, which is different from her earlier books. It's from many, many different people's point of view and sometimes it's frustrating when you want to get back to the thread of the main character and there is not so much of him. There are some characters whose thoughts or lives are more interesting than others. She uses contractions to indicate speech rhythms, which is annoying to me. I'd rather she stick to word order to show pattern of speech or regionalisms. She does that, too, so I think the contractions, such as "D'you know what I'm talking about?" are superfluous. They're just distracting. She never used to do that. She's written many wonderful books so I don't know where this new technique is coming from. It's just like I hate it when authors have dialog with no quotation marks, as in, "He said what are you doing. She told him it wasn't any of his business." I can see using it very sparingly, but for a good chunk of the dialog, no. That is another new technique George is using. I'm still into the story and am eager to find out what happens to Lynley, her main character, but I feel like I'm wading through some stuff to get there.
Stephanie Meyer, the author of the trilogy of books about a girl and her boyfriend, a humane vampire, has written a new adult sci-fi book called The Host. It's number one on the bestseller list. Two of her other books are also on the bestseller list. Is that some kind of record? Her first book was written and published in five months. I have to admit I'm a little jealous, but she deserves her success. Her books are really good.
Monday, May 12, 2008
I was up early this morning and went to bed rather late, but at least I did sleep in between. Today I have to prepare a couple of chapters from SC for writing group. We weren't going to meet this Tuesday but now we are so I have to hustle. The state of not writing (or revising) has gone on and it's going to be difficult to break through the ice after this break. Or maybe it won't be.
I am completely immersed in Cranford, the current Masterpiece Theater showing. Yesterday, on Mother's Day, Mom and I watched episode two. There is one more episode to go. It is a delightful story with a huge cast of characters. Now I want to read Elizabeth Gaskell, whom I haven't read before. I finished The Secret History a couple of days ago. Now I'm reading The Thirty-Nine Steps, the book made into one of the first movies Hitchcock directed. It's an adventure/spy story.
William is slowly getting better from the flu. He's been sick for over a week and just can't seem to knock it, an unusual situation for him. He's never sick. Mom, Dad, and I haven't gotten it, which may be testimony to the fact we all received flu shots and William didn't. He didn't think he'd need one since he never gets sick. I'm glad those shots actually work.
I read the Supernanny book and was impressed with it. There is plenty of common-sense, practical advice. After watching the show it was interesting to see her ideas all organized into book form. I think it would be a good guide for any parent, though I can't speak from experience. Mom and I had fun analyzing the different parenting techniques our various friends and relatives use. It's a grab-bag of methods, everyone using his or her own approach. I guess it all depends on the parent's personality and the child's.
I am completely immersed in Cranford, the current Masterpiece Theater showing. Yesterday, on Mother's Day, Mom and I watched episode two. There is one more episode to go. It is a delightful story with a huge cast of characters. Now I want to read Elizabeth Gaskell, whom I haven't read before. I finished The Secret History a couple of days ago. Now I'm reading The Thirty-Nine Steps, the book made into one of the first movies Hitchcock directed. It's an adventure/spy story.
William is slowly getting better from the flu. He's been sick for over a week and just can't seem to knock it, an unusual situation for him. He's never sick. Mom, Dad, and I haven't gotten it, which may be testimony to the fact we all received flu shots and William didn't. He didn't think he'd need one since he never gets sick. I'm glad those shots actually work.
I read the Supernanny book and was impressed with it. There is plenty of common-sense, practical advice. After watching the show it was interesting to see her ideas all organized into book form. I think it would be a good guide for any parent, though I can't speak from experience. Mom and I had fun analyzing the different parenting techniques our various friends and relatives use. It's a grab-bag of methods, everyone using his or her own approach. I guess it all depends on the parent's personality and the child's.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Not writing
I haven't written in the last few days. On the blog or on my manuscript. I've been kind of stuck. I don't know where to go from where I am. It's kind of discouraging. I'll have to get something together by writing group on Tuesday. It's these blank periods that make one feel demoralized as a writer and like it will never change. Even though you know it will change, the pendulum will swing back, and all will be well again. I've been rereading The Secret History, by Donna Tartt. I'm not sure how many times I've read it. It definitely influenced my first book, just as P.D. James and Jane Austen did. Perhaps I related to the situation of a young writer writing about college-age kids. Now I'm changing the age of my main character to high school to make the story more accessible to Young Adult readers. Apparently no one quite relates to college kids. The teen group wants to read about high schoolers, probably older than they are, and college kids want to read adult books. I always saw SEA CHANGE as an adult book, not young adult, but the biggest response I've got is from an agent for Young Adult. So we'll see how this goes.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Iron Man
We went to see Iron Man tonight. I always enjoy Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, so it was good for me. William loves anything with the name Marvel attached, so it was good for him. I'm up writing another blog. I don't know what it is about it--it's addictive.
Today I got a lot of work done on revision. It was painstaking kind of work, changing tenses and POV and making notes about chapter insertions. Also some writing to fill in those empty chapter places for Reven's diary entries. I felt good having done it but very tired. Tired I think also from working out really hard yesterday. I couldn't go to the gym today. Too sore. It's hard to even go down stairs. I really pushed it with the heavier weights on the machines. Diana said that's gotten results for her, so I'm trying heavier weights. I didn't know it would practically incapacitate me. I hope tomorrow will be better.
We had--you guessed it--meatballs for supper tonight. And enjoyed them! We love the meatballs. I've gone to bed with The Lighthouse but am up again to write here. I just came to shut the computer down and got snagged. I spoke to Ryan tonight, for the first time since the wedding. He was calling me back from my phone message on his birthday. It was fascinating hearing about his work with an orthopedic supply company. He attends surgeries to make sure the doctor has all the information he or she needs about the device they will be using to replace a knee or what have you. He said at first it was kind of repulsive but now he says he'll think about what he's going to have for lunch during a surgery. I guess just like a doctor or nurse you get over it. He said sometimes there's drilling or pounding. Yikes. I'm just glad I've never been awake for any of the surgeries I've had. Appendix, broken arm, deviated septum. I'd rather be out! He said he and Bevin had a great time in Costa Rica. It sounds beautiful.
I'm not going to play World of Warcraft for a while. I haven't been playing so it's not worth it to keep up the account. They save the account for you anyway if you start playing again: your characters will still be available. I've got enough to occupy me on the computer right now. I wish I could figure out a way to do some of the editing on paper, but it's so much more convenient on computer. I can't seem to use the hard copies anymore, except to make changes on the machine from the printout after writing group.
Not much more to say tonight. Bon nuit.
Today I got a lot of work done on revision. It was painstaking kind of work, changing tenses and POV and making notes about chapter insertions. Also some writing to fill in those empty chapter places for Reven's diary entries. I felt good having done it but very tired. Tired I think also from working out really hard yesterday. I couldn't go to the gym today. Too sore. It's hard to even go down stairs. I really pushed it with the heavier weights on the machines. Diana said that's gotten results for her, so I'm trying heavier weights. I didn't know it would practically incapacitate me. I hope tomorrow will be better.
We had--you guessed it--meatballs for supper tonight. And enjoyed them! We love the meatballs. I've gone to bed with The Lighthouse but am up again to write here. I just came to shut the computer down and got snagged. I spoke to Ryan tonight, for the first time since the wedding. He was calling me back from my phone message on his birthday. It was fascinating hearing about his work with an orthopedic supply company. He attends surgeries to make sure the doctor has all the information he or she needs about the device they will be using to replace a knee or what have you. He said at first it was kind of repulsive but now he says he'll think about what he's going to have for lunch during a surgery. I guess just like a doctor or nurse you get over it. He said sometimes there's drilling or pounding. Yikes. I'm just glad I've never been awake for any of the surgeries I've had. Appendix, broken arm, deviated septum. I'd rather be out! He said he and Bevin had a great time in Costa Rica. It sounds beautiful.
I'm not going to play World of Warcraft for a while. I haven't been playing so it's not worth it to keep up the account. They save the account for you anyway if you start playing again: your characters will still be available. I've got enough to occupy me on the computer right now. I wish I could figure out a way to do some of the editing on paper, but it's so much more convenient on computer. I can't seem to use the hard copies anymore, except to make changes on the machine from the printout after writing group.
Not much more to say tonight. Bon nuit.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Another trip: destination Omaha
Mom and Dad set off for Omaha bright and early this morning. They plan to drive the 12-hour trip straight through. They're heading up for the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder's meeting. There are also special discounts at this time at Borsheim's, a cool jewelry store--huge--owned by Warren Buffett. William and I will hold down the fort again, taking care of cats and plants, etc. It'll be fun to play house again.
I went to writing group and showed them the Prologue and first two chapters of SEA CHANGE. Luckily, they all really liked it. For two of them, it's their favorite thing I've written, which is kind of surprising as it was the first big thing I wrote. I would have thought I'd get better with each piece I wrote and subsequently people would like them better! However, I'm still glad they like SC. It is the one I thought was a closed book (har har) and I had basically thrown it in a drawer. Now it's been my entree into the agent world, making a connection with an agent who actually wants to see the revised version and was willing to give me wonderful suggestions for the whole manuscript.
Little Lige, Wren's son, is doing fantastically in his swimming survival lessons. I saw underwater pictures Wren took of all the kids doing their thing and it's amazing to see them underwater swimming up to the surface to do their starfish float.
I revised more of SC yesterday and it's going well. I brainstormed with Mom again about some of the issues I'm facing with the revision, and it helped me nail down some problems and how to solve them. Out of a list of seven items I got five done yesterday. One of the biggest challenges is going to be writing more Reven diary entries and inserting those as separate chapters. We debated about how to title the diary entries and decided the location she is writing from would be a good way to do it. Of course, then I have to give away what city they're in at the beginning of the story (which is Austin but I never said that in the previous version). I have to find parts of the story, exposition or scenes from Reven's point of view, where I can change them into entries. Michelle the agent suggested I have these interspersed chapters from Reven's POV. Right now there are just a few in italics sprinkled through the book. One scene I have to change to first person and italicize is where Reven goes to visit an art gallery in Paris: a big scene I would be loathe to lose. If I make it into part of her journal I think it will still work. I just have to keep at it and slowly turn this boat around. Metaphorically. There is a pivotal boat scene in the manuscript after all!
I wonder if I'll still be working on this when I get to the Vermont Studio Center in September. I want to have the revision as finished and polished as possible before I give it to Michelle again. I probably have only one more chance to get it right with that agency, so I want to do it right. Who knows, she might give me another chance if she has problems with this next revision, but I can't count on it. She seemed really interested in the story and she obviously read the whole thing from her comments so I hope I'm someone she would seriously consider taking on. It would be so fantastic to have an agent. One huge step closer to getting published!
Work seems to be wearing William out. He has a lot to do and has meetings in-between which keep him from working on his projects. I know he really likes his job, and they like him, so it's a pretty good situation. One of the bosses even mentioned giving him a raise the other day, IF they get the next funding they need. That would be awesome, of course. We're still saving for a house, though chunks of money get taken out of that pool when I have to go to the doctor or order my medicine. It makes me feel bad. William doesn't give me a hard time about it or anything, I just wish we didn't have to touch that money so it keeps accumulating. A friend suggested we pay off our credit card debt before saving for a house, but it's hard to think about doing that when we're so eager to get into a house. It would mean staying much longer with Mom and Dad. Not that we don't love them and love to be with them, but every newlywed couple wants their own little place anyway.
I've been feeling very good. I'm gradually going down on my sleep med, and though I've had some interrupted nights, last night I slept straight through from 12 until 6. I feel better having gotten uninterrupted sleep.
Rereading P.D. James's The Lighthouse. She's an inspiring writer to me. She's so precise. I find myself looking at her structure and breaking down her prose to try to understand how she does it. I hope she keeps writing more books: she's in her 80's and sharp as a whip but I fear she may retire. I've already lost Madeleine L'Engle, I can't bear to lose P.D. James too.
Britney Spears is on my music rotation right now. I'm listening to her and thinking of everything she's been through. Of having your life smeared across the tabloids and never having privacy. I'm not saying she hasn't provoked some of it by flirting with the paparazzi, but no one deserves what she's gotten. And to have your medical diagnosis put out there for everyone to see and debate over: talk about lack of privacy. An interest in how all that affects someone and their family is part of what prompted me to write PHOTOGRAPHIC. I hope I got some of that across in the story. Britney's most recent album Blackout is her best, I think. She's obviously matured as an artist no matter what her personal and health problems have been.
I went to writing group and showed them the Prologue and first two chapters of SEA CHANGE. Luckily, they all really liked it. For two of them, it's their favorite thing I've written, which is kind of surprising as it was the first big thing I wrote. I would have thought I'd get better with each piece I wrote and subsequently people would like them better! However, I'm still glad they like SC. It is the one I thought was a closed book (har har) and I had basically thrown it in a drawer. Now it's been my entree into the agent world, making a connection with an agent who actually wants to see the revised version and was willing to give me wonderful suggestions for the whole manuscript.
Little Lige, Wren's son, is doing fantastically in his swimming survival lessons. I saw underwater pictures Wren took of all the kids doing their thing and it's amazing to see them underwater swimming up to the surface to do their starfish float.
I revised more of SC yesterday and it's going well. I brainstormed with Mom again about some of the issues I'm facing with the revision, and it helped me nail down some problems and how to solve them. Out of a list of seven items I got five done yesterday. One of the biggest challenges is going to be writing more Reven diary entries and inserting those as separate chapters. We debated about how to title the diary entries and decided the location she is writing from would be a good way to do it. Of course, then I have to give away what city they're in at the beginning of the story (which is Austin but I never said that in the previous version). I have to find parts of the story, exposition or scenes from Reven's point of view, where I can change them into entries. Michelle the agent suggested I have these interspersed chapters from Reven's POV. Right now there are just a few in italics sprinkled through the book. One scene I have to change to first person and italicize is where Reven goes to visit an art gallery in Paris: a big scene I would be loathe to lose. If I make it into part of her journal I think it will still work. I just have to keep at it and slowly turn this boat around. Metaphorically. There is a pivotal boat scene in the manuscript after all!
I wonder if I'll still be working on this when I get to the Vermont Studio Center in September. I want to have the revision as finished and polished as possible before I give it to Michelle again. I probably have only one more chance to get it right with that agency, so I want to do it right. Who knows, she might give me another chance if she has problems with this next revision, but I can't count on it. She seemed really interested in the story and she obviously read the whole thing from her comments so I hope I'm someone she would seriously consider taking on. It would be so fantastic to have an agent. One huge step closer to getting published!
Work seems to be wearing William out. He has a lot to do and has meetings in-between which keep him from working on his projects. I know he really likes his job, and they like him, so it's a pretty good situation. One of the bosses even mentioned giving him a raise the other day, IF they get the next funding they need. That would be awesome, of course. We're still saving for a house, though chunks of money get taken out of that pool when I have to go to the doctor or order my medicine. It makes me feel bad. William doesn't give me a hard time about it or anything, I just wish we didn't have to touch that money so it keeps accumulating. A friend suggested we pay off our credit card debt before saving for a house, but it's hard to think about doing that when we're so eager to get into a house. It would mean staying much longer with Mom and Dad. Not that we don't love them and love to be with them, but every newlywed couple wants their own little place anyway.
I've been feeling very good. I'm gradually going down on my sleep med, and though I've had some interrupted nights, last night I slept straight through from 12 until 6. I feel better having gotten uninterrupted sleep.
Rereading P.D. James's The Lighthouse. She's an inspiring writer to me. She's so precise. I find myself looking at her structure and breaking down her prose to try to understand how she does it. I hope she keeps writing more books: she's in her 80's and sharp as a whip but I fear she may retire. I've already lost Madeleine L'Engle, I can't bear to lose P.D. James too.
Britney Spears is on my music rotation right now. I'm listening to her and thinking of everything she's been through. Of having your life smeared across the tabloids and never having privacy. I'm not saying she hasn't provoked some of it by flirting with the paparazzi, but no one deserves what she's gotten. And to have your medical diagnosis put out there for everyone to see and debate over: talk about lack of privacy. An interest in how all that affects someone and their family is part of what prompted me to write PHOTOGRAPHIC. I hope I got some of that across in the story. Britney's most recent album Blackout is her best, I think. She's obviously matured as an artist no matter what her personal and health problems have been.
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