Sabbatical

I'm taking a sabbatical from writing. Not quitting. Just dealing with a few things that need my full attention.

I will be back when I can.

Polymer Clay Lessons

Ali was nice enough to spend most of her Saturday teaching Nicole and me how to work with polymer clay. We set up two manual pasta machines and lined the table with wax paper. Then we grabbed some clay and started working.

First you condition the clay. That means either kneading it by hand until it's the right consistency or running it through the pasta machine. Usually a little of both. And we blended colors. And rolled beads. And talked. And ate. And baked the beads. And played with Sherman. It was a great time.

What was funny was how some of the lessons of working with polymer relate to life in general and writing in particular. I want to use them in the Bennie books. The one I'll share here is:

It's always important to chill a while.

Nicole made some beautiful dark beads with spots of royal blue. Some had flecks of silver leaf. She'll have a knock-out set when she's done. Ali made all kinds of wonderful things while we worked. She even gifted me with some pinkish marbled beads that go with the green and pink beads I made. I also made green and fuschia for a different set.

Of course, I don't have pictures yet. But I will when they're put together. Promise.

Thanks to Ali and Nicole for on of the best Saturdays I've had in a while.

Not So Cozy

I just finished reading Stalking The Angel by Robert Crais. Great book. Even more, great second book. There appears to be no Sophomore Slump here. The pacing, characters, dialogue, plot and humor of The Monkey's Raincoat did not fade.

At the Pirate meeting on Monday, I talked about the book. That I really enjoyed it. And I talked about finding a series of cozies called the Home Improvement Can Be Murder series. That's right. A series of mysteries centered around a woman who is renovating a Victorian house. I have to admit being taken aback. But Shane said, "Write yours better." Then Jenny said, "Yours isn't really cozy anyway. And you can go less cozy."

Good points. My protagonist is a man who does this as a job. It is a cozy, by broad definition. But it certainly isn't what most people think of when you say cozy. Surprise, right? That someone with my personality isn't writing about a wooly-headed old woman who busybodies her way into solving a murder?

I think that this revelation will help with my own renovations of my book. That's the great thing about the Pirates.

Goal-less

It is hard for me to start a month without any goals. But I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Just let things keep simmering. Keep reading. Only write if I can't stand not writing. And do a little more research.

And complete the UGWP critiques. Almost forgot about those.

Ali is hosting a polymer class later in the month which should be a lot of fun. Other then that, I have no plans.

Scary.

Disturbing Trends

I realize two books do not a trend make. However, something in both of them points to what could be the tip of a nasty iceberg.

In both books the female protagonist owns a small business. So far, so good. They are both experiencing marital difficulties. Nothing original, but not bad as far as it goes. The respective husbands are suspects in the murders the books are about. Saw that coming. But both women are total ditzes. And there are lines like "That would take analysis and emotional stability. Not something for a female to attempt." Spoken by the protagonists! Excuse me?

In the first book, the woman is trying her hand at a small home crafty type business because her children are grown and her husband is burying himself at work. She forgets to deliver an order--twice. She doesn't feel like putting together the second order, but does not call the client to cancel. The whole focus is doing right by her man--who has been alternately ignoring her and treating her like crap for months. The business feels like an author afterthought. "Oh, crafty mysteries are big, let's put a craft theme in it." The protagonist doesn't even figure out the crime, she stumbles into the perp. Great.

The second book is by an author whose other series I like. That one has a strong female lead who is a great business woman and still manages to be a good friend, attractive, etc. The one I'm currently reading is about a woman with a good business but no business sense. She never knows what she has in stock. She doesn't know who she is renting her shop from (hubby set it all up and even though he left her months before, she hasn't bothered to find any of this out). At least she feels like the wronged woman, but the author has set up the description of the husband and his 'dropping out' in such a way that it's obvious our heroine was the one not paying attention or being supportive. That's the most interesting part of the story, truth be told.

But it's the poor dumb helpless female thing that's worrying. I watched the popularity of Sex And The City with confusion. Four supposedly strong, intelligent, successful woman and all they can find to talk with each other about are shoes and men? Gray's Anatomy is populated with whiny, relationship obsessed residents who should not have the time. And too many shows to mention show successful women as harpies.

I thought we'd gotten past all this, but apparently not. All the more reason to celebrate authors who write realistic, well-rounded characters-male or female.

Genres & Subgenres & Sub-subgenres

A lot of writers have trouble categorizing their work. Is it dark fantasy? Urban fantasy? Cyber-punk? I thought I had it easy with mysteries. Either you have a professional detective or not. But then I started reading more. I knew about the craft subgenre. That's where Bennie will fit eventually. But within the craft group there are the knitting mysteries, needlework (other than knitting) mysteries, scrapbooking, etc. By the time I finish Bennie, there may be dozens of jewelry series, but I hope not.

The cat mysteries are everywhere. I have asked the Pirates to shoot me if a talking cat ever shows up in one of my books.

Last week, I happened to pick up the first book in Charlaine Harris' vampire mysteries, Dead Until Dark. Geoff recommended them years ago, but I just got around to it during my reading break. It's a very good read. Sexy, smart, funny and scary with an interesting mystery at the center. Nice. I have since picked up the next two books. I mentioned to Fleur that I read a vampire cozy mystery. She named an author (I can't remember the name right now) who was not Charlaine Harris. I started searching online.

We have a paranormal mystery subgenre. Nancy Atherton's Aunt Dimity, a ghost who solves crimes, would fit there. But within that subgenre, there are werewolf mysteries and vampire mysteries and who knows what else.

What accounts for these clumps of books with similar storylines? Is it just something that's in the air? Does a writer see that one-legged female hairdressers seem to be hot and jump on the bandwagon?

Here's the big question: If you read a werewolf mystery and like it, will you look for other author's who write about werewolves?

A Rest or A Block

I have been finding it harder and harder to get motivated to write this summer. I'm certainly not ready yet to rewrite HM, and D&D needs much more research before I can continue. I think I may need to take a break. Read a lot. Maybe look at taking a class or two.

Being part of a critique group may help, too. Just listening to the comments last month gave me a lot to think about. I'm sure when I've read the submissions first, they'll make even more sense. I'm just glad it's not a group like the CWC. Deb's been in a tizzy all day, and I'm not ready to deal with that kind of pressure.

I'll continue to post. Mostly about what I'm reading. And about the Pirates, I'm sure.

July Goals

Last week got away from me. There were the end of month/beginning of month duties I normally have plus extra coverage for time off here and there. We all love our extra long holiday weekends, but there is a price to pay for them.

I didn't do well on my goals last month. That is probably an understatement. I did manage to write 20 more pages of D&D and do a lot of research. I also joined the new Sunday group (UGWP) so that I can get better at giving and receiving critiques. It's a bit more work for me, but I think it will be worth it. I also cleaned out the blue room so I can finally organize it as a writing room. That should help, too. There's something about having a signal that says, "It's time to work now."

So, since I didn't make my wimpy goals last month, I'm setting harder ones this month. It seems to work for Jenny, Ali and Deb when they do it.

For July:

--Outline changes for HM. There are a lot and I need to know how I'm going to weave them into what is already there.
--Revise first 3 chapters of HM. My chapters are fairly short so this isn't that much of a stretch.
--Write 25 pages of D&D rough. I am dropping my expectations here. My focus seems to be turning back to HM right now.
--Complete UGWP critiques. I have read all the submissions. I just need to write up summaries for all of them.
--Research 6 yoga positions. I want to be more specific about the research I am doing.
--Research 2 massage techniques. Ditto.

That should keep me busy.

It Has To Be Said

It's a good thing the boss is out of town for a wedding. The last two days all Deb has done is listen to her new GBS album. Every time I go past her office, I can hear it playing. And she's staring off into space with a goofy expression on her face.

And we all know that next week she's going to be complaining that she didn't have any time to write this month. Two days! I mean, they are a good band, but come on.

I don't get some people.

Summer Reading

I have been buying more mysteries over the past few weeks. Even though I haven't read all of the ones I bought last year. Now I have been reading more recently. And some of the ones I bought were overdue. Like Beth's book, some by Maggie Sefton and the first Diane Mott Davidson--all Colorado mystery authors.

But it bothered me that I was spending more money on books, even though many were from Hooked on Books, the used book store near work. Then it hit me.

Summer reading. That's what I did every summer as a kid. I wasn't particularly athletic. Living in the country meant that often there weren't many kids around to play with. So I read. A lot. Now that it's June, my brain kicks into reading overdrive. So it's okay, even understandable, that I would make sure I have a lot of reading on hand.

Is there a particular time of year when you tend to read more or less? Why do you think that is? And when you do get in reading "overdrive", what do you like to read?

Not Too Bad

I received the last of my verbal critiques on Sunday. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. That's not to say that all the feedback was positive. Far from it. But with each negative comment came a good suggestion on how to fix it. There were differences of opinion. Pretty typical.

My next step is to read through the written comments on the pages. I may have time this weekend. Then I'll digest everything, decide what I'm going to change and what to leave alone then start revisions next month.

Thank you to Ali, Deb, Fleur, Jenny, John, Mary and Nicole for their time and comments. You do rock.

Goals

I didn't make my goal of 50 pages for D&D this month. I made it to 29, which isn't bad. I think part of the reason may be the nervous anticipation of my first critique tonight. I know it's probably silly, but I almost feel like I need to wait until I get feedback on HM before proceeding with D&D. Maybe not silly since they are the same genre. If what I did in HM doesn't work for it as a cozy mystery, I am probably doing the same things wrong in D&D.

Goals for June:

--Get feedback on HM
--Write 50 pages of D&D once I process HM feedback
--Leave HM alone for the month
--Continue research

Not Slacking

I haven't updated in a while because there hasn't been much to report on my progress with D&D. There are new pages, but not a lot. A scene here or there in between tasks at work. Not like with the beginning of HM when I generated page after page. Of course, that was during NaNoWriMo. Maybe I should pretend it's November. Might help.

Using Ali's idea of listing what I have accomplished, I see that I haven't exactly been idle. Research seems to be at the top of the list right now. That's not a bad thing. A lot of different things happen at spas that I don't know much about. I need to find out the way those things work so I don't sound like an idiot when I write about them. I have even more research to do about migrant workers for the jewelry series.

The blue bedroom seems to have collected a lot of junk since last year. Saturday was a clearing out day. One step closer to being a lilac writing room. I moved the Spooky's food dish out to the kitchen, but she doesn't like the relocation. I'm giving her a week to get used to it. If she doesn't, I will have to find a Plan B.

Even though it feels like May is just about over, I have almost two weeks to accomplish more. I may get to my page count goal yet.

Bead Weaving

Friday evening was Mary's jewelry party. Imagine two rooms filled with beautiful beaded jewelry. Women wandered back and forth, picking up one thing then another. Five, six, seven times through and I know I missed things that I would have loved. As it was I purchased two necklace/earring sets and two necklaces.

The second part of the evening was the bead weaving lesson. I learned a few things I have been doing wrong. A couple pieces can stay as they are, but one or two will be changed. I picked a moderately complicated piece to use as a template. Mary's clear instructions and drawn pattern helped a lot. Although I was slow, it did make it through with only minor problems. I'll post a picture when I get a chance to take one. And I feel like I can better figure out how to duplicate other pieces I liked.

I now have the fever to do more beading this month. I may have to make time to do that.

Almost May

I'm looking at how I've done vis-a-vis my goals. I may have 15 pages of D&D when I get it typed up if I'm lucky. Not even close to meeting that one. Research, however, has been great.

I guess I need to use Ali's method of looking at what I've accomplished and not just what I haven't. Look for a new section in May with a list of tasks completed. And, I hope, part of it will be more pages.

A Little Help From My Friends

Mary's hosting a beading party in a week or so. She'll be teaching a basic bead weaving technique. Should be a lot of fun. Not only will I get a new set of jewelry, but I'll be learning something I can use in the Bennie books. And spending time with friends. Triple threat.

Ali's also offered to do a polymer bead class. That should be lots of fun, too. I love the stuff she does with polymer.

Now if we can just convince Nicole to share what she's learning in metalworking.

Out Of Order

I wrote a scene out of order. The world didn't explode. Yet.

Yesterday I went to Barnes and Noble to pick up some research books for the D&D series. It's amazing to me how many different topics I need to read about for one setting. Deb says it's a "groovy" setting. I like it, but might have chosen differently had I known. No, that's not true. I do really like the setting.

The characters are becoming a lot more real to me as I go. I guess that's the nature of the game since the same thing happened with HM. It's one of the things that's so much fun about writing for me. Like making new friends.

One Scene at a Time

Yesterday I picked up a magazine on yoga and another on herbal and holistic medicine. I haven't been able to find one on aromatherapy that is published in the US. There are some from Australian and UK, but they are expensive. Maybe I'll see if an inexpensive book on the subject. Must be one.

D&D is moving slowly, but moving. I don't seem to be able to write more than one scene at a time. What's strange is that I find myself wanting to write them out of order. I haven't so far, but I might get a little crazy and try it. I think it would make for a choppy book that needs much more revision. But it's going to need revision anyway.

Have any of you tried writing out of order? Does it help or hinder?

April Fool?

Deb's enthusiasm for April seems to be catching. Now that I have a working outline for D&D, I think I will be able to write fifty pages easily. I have been prewriting for a few days. That means I can utilize shorter periods of free time to jot a paragraph or two. It's not ideal, but it's what I have right now.

Having completed The Artist's Way, I have become aware of certain "nasty" words. One of which is "should". I used it three times in the original version of the first paragraph. See if you can figure out where.

I subscribed to a couple spa magazines last week. They are really interesting. One of the most beautiful spas I've come across is here in Colorado. Tax deductible, right? I would have to have the money first, but it just might be worth it.

The jewelry book has been eluding me. It seems that once I found Bennie, the rest of it went away. I tried to sign up for a metalworking class, but it was full. Maybe that's part of it. It's not a totally bad thing. One at a time is good. And maybe if I do run into trouble with D&D, that's when Bennie will start telling me her story.

Preparation

Yesterday I figured out why I was having trouble getting beyond the first few pages of D&D. Lack of preparation. I did my spa research. (And in a future post I'll talk about just how much I'd like to visit a few.) I did my character sketches for the main characters. I know who gets murdered and whodunnit. So what was missing?

My scene outline. I know a lot of writers just wing it. Or they can plot out mentally and be okay working from that. I have to have an outline in writing. It's not detailed to begin with, but I have to know where my "turns" are, as Jenny calls them. And it's nice to have a list of scenes I know I'll need. So yesterday I wrote the outline and made a list of scenes. I know I'll be adding as I go, but just having the basics down let me relax enough to prewrite two scenes.

Are there certain things you need to do before you can begin? Or can you freestyle all the way through?

Letting Go

I'm a bit surprised at how hard it was to let go of HM. The Pirates were great and seemed happy to have it. I still had a nagging feeling as I handed over the copies. I knew more description is needed. I knew I needed another subplot. But it was time to let other eyes see it.

Part of it may be how invested I got in the characters. A good thing. But I also want others to like "the guys" as much as I do. I guess we'll see.

One more week to go on The Artist's Way. I don't have much to add about the experience. I'm glad I did it. Even though I went in pretty much kicking and screaming. That tends to be the way with things that are good for us.

Which brings me full circle on this post. I didn't want to let go of HM. But it's probably a very good thing for me to step away for a while.

Perspective

Deb visited a store called Beads Galore when she was in Phoenix. She came back bearing gifts. There are some unusual beads, colors I wouldn't normally pick but beautiful, and some great charms and pendants. I will post pictures when I get a chance.

The funniest thing to me is that she wants me to teach her to make jewelry. It's funny because I'm still very much a beginner. I feel I need to learn so much. Yet her argument is that I've made more jewelry than she has. True as far as it goes. Maybe we can take some classes together.

How does one go from thinking of oneself as student to teacher? I would be more comfortable teaching quilting than knitting. Even though I learned to knit a dozen years before I looked at my first quilt pattern. Teach writing? Probably not. Not yet anyway. I still have a lot to learn. I think with most things, especially the creative ones, we are always learning. Or at least we should be.

Artist's Way Check-in, Week 10

It's amazing that I'm this close to the end. I've realized that it's a program I'll probably be doing in some form from now on.

Week 10 is Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection. I'm looking at the things that I tend to let interfere with my writing. Sometimes it feels like everything. I have been reminded of a question I came across in another book. "How does it serve you?" The book was about a woman's quest for self-discovery. She suffered from several chronic illnesses. When she talked to a healer, he asked her, "How does your disease serve you?" Her first reaction was anger. Naturally. Then she thought about it. She got a lot of sympathy from family and friends. She had a ready excuse for not participating in things. Etc.

I had forgotten about that question. Now I have a Post-It on my workstation. When I complain about something (or someone) infringing on my writing time, I'll ask myself the question.

Do you have something or someone who eats up your writing time? How does it serve you to allow it?

Long Week

With Deb in Phoenix, I've been covering her workload, too. Of course, it's been busy. Not that I begrudge Deb time with her family. If she could somehow split in two and leave one of her here, that would be nice.

The good news is that I have been working on D&D in the evenings. I think it's starting to come together a bit. I'm not adding many pages. It's more that it's gaining weight. I have a better idea of what is going on. Maybe this weekend the word count will climb a little.

How Stupid Are Your Customers?

There has been an alarming trend in advertisements over the past few years. I first noticed it with "cable" ads. Not infomercials. They were for things like hair removal products or cleaning supplies. The person who needs the product apparently can't function in the real world without it. A new example is the digital recorder for people too stupid to write out a shopping list. "Milk, butter, eggs," the housewife says. Then she listens intently at the store.

Lately, this trend is moving to more mainstream products. Carl's Jr. and Popeye's are both running commercials with stupid customers. Beer ads have done this for years, but I think the wink and nod was that the guys are drinking. But now it's fast food and laundry detergent and cars. Why should I buy a product if it's meant for stupid people?

This also seems to be a trend with a lot of the books I'm picking up. I know cozies are supposed to be fairly easy to figure out. But I see it with different genres. The author waving his hand at the reader to say, "This is the clue." Worse, the long explanations of things. "Here's what I think is a hard word so I'm going to explain it ad nauseum, because I'm sure you don't know it and can't figure out how to look it up on your own."

Am I being overly sensitive/critical or are you seeing this too? Do you feel as if you're being talked down to? How do you avoid it in your own writing?

Artist's Way Update

I am continuing with The Artist's Way, but will not be giving any more updates here. At this point in the program, many personal issues are being raised. As with most 12-step programs, I think anonymity is important now. I will finish it, though, as I'm feeling I am getting results.

Yesterday, in a flurry of free writing, I came up with three potential HM stories. Some are inter-related so they may end up in one book. Or they might be separate books that reward readers who have read the whole series.

So, no more AW updates, per se. But you will probably see them as I make progress with my writing.

Artist's Way Check in - Week 7

Late.

I performed all the tasks, and my Artist's Date was a trip to a coffee shop to write free hand for a while. I fleshed out the rushed through scenes of HM. I also introduced a few characters in D&D. One showed up that I knew had to be there, but hadn't really thought about. All of a sudden, there she was. Marigold is a dog groomer at the spa. I'm not sure if most spas have dog groomers, but they should. How many pet owners treat their pets like children? And the owner of the pivotal dog in the story has changed into a well-heeled widow. The town now has a name--Overlook, Colorado. It was settled by wealthy mine owners who didn't want to be in Colorado Springs or Denver, but wanted to be away from the actual mine sites. All in all another productive week.

Each week of The Artist's Way is titled, Recovering a Sense of [fill in the blank]. The program could be called simply, Recovering Sense. In all meanings of the word. Now that I am more than halfway through, I feel as if I am recovering my common sense when it comes to writing. I'm also more aware of all of my senses. It all helps.

Deb has finally convinced me to let her read HM. I know some of the edits I want to make already. It should help to have another pair of eyes look at it before I do, though. Once I tighten up those things, I'll let the Pirates have it. Exciting. And scary. They've never read anything I've written before.

Artist's Way Check In - Week 6

The spontaneous decorating of a notebook last week was fun. And I have to chalk it up to The Artist's Way. I just don't see myself doing it before the program.

I thought about skipping the Artist's Date last week, because I didn't have a lot of spare time over the weekend. But I decided I could spare an hour and a half. I've wanted to learn how to crochet for years. Then at the last Pirate meeting, Ali pointed out that you can use crocheting with beads to make jewelry. Even more reason to learn. I bought a skein of inexpensive acrylic yarn and a kit with five different crochet hooks and book on basic crochet. During my Artist's date, I started the process of learning. The chain was fairly easy, but the single crochet stitch took some fiddling. I'm very slow at it, and feel like I have ten thumbs, but by the end of the date I produced something that did resemble the picture in the book. I will keep practicing. Maybe I can reduce the number of thumbs I have by the end of the month.

Fun, But Not Really Me.

Or maybe it is me, and I really have been denying that side of myself.

Yesterday, I decided to buy some new notebooks at Target to start the 3S book. Since jewelry is a big a part of the series, I wanted to find some cute school notebooks with jewelry on the cover. Nothing. Instead I found some that look like they've been used for testing different stencils. The designs are mainly birds and butterflies with a star or two thrown in. Quite different. But nothing to do with jewelry. I bought them anyway because I liked them. And I bought some stick on 'jewels' from the kids party section of the store. I'm going to add them as embellishments to the notebooks.

Sounds silly even as typed it, but I'm doing it anyway. And I'm looking forward to it.

So there.

Late Artist's Way Check In - Week 5

Some parts are getting easier and others are harder. The Morning Pages are such a habit now that I feel stressed if I don't do them first thing in the morning. And I'm resigning myself to the Artist's Dates. But the tasks often feel like busy work. Cameron calls any resistance a "tantrum" which seems harsh, even when talking about the artist child. I think that is one of the things that annoy me about the program. The hyperbole. Saying 'no' doesn't always constitute a tantrum.

My Artist's Date this week was a hike at Red Rocks Canyon. I've wanted to go there for over a year, but just never made it. Saturday was beautiful, if colder than the weatherfolk predicted. I took the long loop around to the Goddess Contemplative trail. The trail itself is gorgeous. It winds among some of the few trees in the park and up against the geological formations that give the place its name. Volunteers have constructed benches from halfed logs so hikers can sit and meditate at various points along the path. Very nicely done.

About forty-five minutes into the hike, and halfway down the Goddess trail, I had what Deb calls an ah-ha moment. The heroine of the 3rd Series (aka 3S) finally showed herself to me. I know what she looks like. I know her name. I know her history. I don't have a plot yet, but I'm sure it will come.

D&D are also speaking much louder. The name of their town showed up this morning. I'm starting to actually hear them. If I wasn't a writer, I would be worried. But I am thrilled.

Synchronicity Balancing Act

One of the things that has been driven home to me during the four and a half weeks of The Artist's Way is how out of balance my life is. I knew it was, but not the extent of the imbalance. An early exercise has the person draw a circle with six sections. The sections are labeled Work, Health, Spirituality, Family/Friends, etc. You place a dot in the wedge for how much time you devote to that item. The more time, the closer to the circumference the dot. For me, work was just about to the circumference, family and friends were pretty close, too. Just about everything else was almost at the center, especially Health (taking care of) and Spirituality.

Several other tasks are about listing things you'd like to do if there were enough time or money. One of the recurring themes for me is education. Not another or a higher degree, but just taking classes in things that interest me.

Last night I found two pieces of junk mail in the mailbox. One was for a series of classes on either DVD or CD. They listed everything from mathematics to philosophy to art history. The other was for One Spirit book club. They have books about reincarnation, philosophy, tarot, witchcraft and cooking.

Then this morning I read a post on the PPW forum from a friend. She was raving about Julia Cameron's diet book. Said it was a great guide for getting yourself back into a healthy frame of mind.

Even I can't ignore that many messages in twenty-four hours. So I went to Barnes & Noble on my break and bought the book. And I bought a book of meditations. I am going to look into possible UCCS extension or Pikes Peak Community College classes. Since I tend to prefer to do things on my own, I think it might be better for me to take a class with other people.

Could this be working?

Reading Deprivation Over

I missed reading more than I thought I would. Even allowing myself to read work-related emails and the like. I couldn't keep up with my friends' blogs or any of the others I like to read. No reading magazines or books. I couldn't even start a new knitting project, because I couldn't read the instructions.

The interesting thing is how impossible it is to not read at all. Words are everywhere. Just glancing around my office, I see words on the following:

Calendar
Stapler
Computer speakers
Water bottle
Telephone
Shredder
Computer screen
Computer
Book spines in bookshelf
Magazines on credenza
File folder box
Printer paper package
Voice recorder for dictation
The Monet print on the wall

That's just in my office. At home, they are on food packages, on the television screen, books, CDs, DVDs, appliances, toiletries, etc. etc. etc. There is absolutely no way a literate person can give up reading completely for a week unless you go into seclusion somewhere with all your food in unmarked plastic containers.

John pointed out that to write, you are by default also reading. I struggled with this dilemma as well. I wrote Morning Pages, since they were allowed, but did not work on anything new. Nor could I do revisions since that involves a lot of reading.

What did I do instead? I walked once more than I would have anyway. I watched television. I watched a few movies. I worked on an afghan using a pattern I know by heart. Pretty much what I would do anyway, except read. There were no revelations--except the one about not really being able to avoid reading. Maybe if the weather had been warmer, I would have gotten out a little more. I thought about my revisions on HM and what I want to do with D&D, but I couldn't write them down.

Maybe I will find the reasons later in the program. Maybe the benefits will show up later, too. I'm just very glad it is over.

Artist's Way Check-in Week 3

I completed my tasks and wrote Morning Pages every day, but I skipped the Artist's Date. I have to admit that I feel guilty about that, which is also quite irritating. I hate feeling guilty, worked many years to avoid feeling it, and here it is back again. Maybe this is one of those "stuffed" emotions she talks about that needs to come out. It doesn't feel like a good thing.

More anger surfaced at one of the rules for Week 4. No reading. At all. Does anyone ever really do this? I think not. Deb admitted that she just stopped reading for pleasure during her fourth week. When you have a job that requires reading, even just email, how do you say you won't? Sorry, boss, I will answer that email next week? No.

I'm noticing a lot of repetition in the tasks and exercise. List five things you used to like to do. List five hobbies it would be fun to try. Write, "It would be fun to....." List five things you would like to learn. All basically the same question from different angles. It feels like she didn't have 12 weeks worth of exercises so she's cheating.

Yes, I am balking big time this week. Which is the week she says we will start making big changes. But you may not feel like you're changing or growing. How convenient.

Fate Also Abhors A Vacuum

It always seems that just when you unload one job, three other rear their ugly heads to fill up the space. That happened this week.

Fleur very kindly offered to take The Writer's Life column in the PPW NewsMagazine off my hands. Not a lot of time open, but one less thing to worry about. Then I finished my rough of HM. I want to let it sit for a while before I make a few changes I know it needs. Then I will give to any Pirates who wish to read it.

This should mean that I have time to work on D&D now. My lighter, probably even more marketable than HM, cozy. Instead, I am dealing with plumbing. Yes, you read right. Plumbing.

A while back I posted about the danger of letting little problems grow into big problems. In this case, there was very little warning. A leak under the kitchen sink on Saturday. I used Plumbers Putty to fix the seals on either side of the trap. 24 hours later the leak was back. I then replaced the washers. Another 24 hour reprieve. As I was adjusting the pipes, my thumb poked right through one. It seems the pipes are as old as the house.

I planned to leave work a few hours early today to await delivery of my comfy recliner. Now I'm taking a half day so I can go home, take out all the pipes under the kitchen and bathroom sinks, and go to Home Depot for replacements. Then as I wait for the delivery truck, I will be replacing metal pipes with PVC.

The good news is that this may be fodder for future installments of HM. Maybe even a short story. But right now, it's time I am not writing.

Artist's Way Check In - Week 2

I did finish Week 2 along with Morning Pages, Tasks and the Artist's Date. I actually did 9 of the ten tasks. After reading Week 2, I realized that there were tasks I'd like to do that built on tasks from the first week that I hadn't chosen. In order to avoid that in future, I went back and completed the other 5 tasks from Week 1 and then all but one of the tasks from Week 2. I had planned on doing the last task, but just ran out of time. Maybe this week.

The Artist's Date for this week was a trip to American Furniture Warehouse. It's been a while since I had a comfortable chair. My rocking chair looks good, but it's wood. Even with a cushion, it's not good for the long haul. The chair that matches my living room set is twenty years old like the rest of the set. Again, not comfortable. It doesn't even look good. So I sat in chairs. Many chairs. I decided on an inexpensive, but very comfortable, recliner. It should be delivered by the end of the week. Not only did I have fun looking, but I'll have something to keep.

I'm seeing one of the down sides of The Artist's Way when the writer has a full time job. Sometimes the tasks leave little time for actual work on your project. I know the program was designed for people who are blocked. I would assume that most who start this are not working on anything at all. I also know that I am experiencing a bit of cognitive dissonance about the whole thing. So I am going to keep going.

Week 3 is titled, "Recovering A Sense of Power." John had posted something about ending up on a comfortable couch in an office somewhere. Week 2 and Week 3 feel as if they are substituting for that couch. It may be the way the whole thing feels. If it works, I won't mind having some of these issues dredged up. If it doesn't......I don't know. Maybe I still won't mind.

Artist's Way Check-in

Completed Week 1.

I did morning pages every morning. There were a few mornings that I was surprised by what I wrote. I have to admit it was fun.

I also did my five tasks. Each week, she lists ten possible tasks and you pick five to do. Those were interesting. They definitely brought up some old issues with people from my past. Having read Week 2, I think we're going to be revisiting some of those issues.

Read the Basic Principals and some of the affirmations daily at Deb's suggestion. These seem pretty hokey. I have to say this turned out to be the hardest for me to do daily.

Forced myself to go on an Artist's Date, and surprised myself by really enjoying it. Old Colorado City is now a tourist area of Colorado Springs, but there are some neat restaurants and different shops there. The kind that are locally owned. I went there yesterday afternoon and walked around, but I forgot that in the winter most of the shops are closed on Sunday. It didn't matter. The Soap Box was open so I bought some of the lotion I like. Holly Berry House Crafts was open, too. They've changed their stock a lot since I was last in there--hardly any cross stitch, but so many different kinds of yarn that the skeins almost spill out of the store. Then I found the bead store, also open and having a sale. The containers of beads that look like small prescription bottles were buy five, get one free. Then the woman working there let me use a coupon for $8.00 off my purchase. I bought nearly fifty dollars worth of beads for thirty dollars. Between open stores, I window shopped. Just a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

So far, so good. I've read Week 2 and will decide which tasks to do.

More Conflict!

I am very close to finishing the first draft of HM. Almost too close. At the rate I'm going, it will be less than 200 pages long. However, I suddenly realized yesterday that I still need to add more conflict. The good news it that I know exactly where to add it. This time I will finish it as is and go back and add a little later--just prior to letting people read it.

I did not have my revelation during Morning Pages, which I am continuing to write daily, but not long after finishing them. Connection? Possibly. I am just happy to have had it. I think the more conflict, the better.

I think it's interesting studying one's own process or processes in some cases. The Writing Nag posted the other day about writing being like sculpting. You start with a large block of marble and chip away the extraneous. Someone commented that they write skinny first drafts and add on as they revise so they thought the analogy did not apply to them. I, obviously, build as I go. I know Deb does, too. Deb responded that the sculpting analogy applies if you look at it as working in clay rather than marble. Sometimes you add on, sometimes you scrape away.

Is your writing process more like sculpting in marble or clay? Or is it more like painting a picture, with daubs of paint layering one on top of the other?

The Artist's Way

I started reading The Artist's Way. A lot of it makes sense. Some of it seems like some over-the-top New Age/Christian hybrid mumbo jumbo. I guess I have nothing to lose except the money I paid for the book and a new notebook. And a little time every week. That seems to be the best part--it shouldn't take more than a few hours a week.

The strangest thing she requires is a weekly Artist's Date. I'm supposed to go out, on my own, and treat my "inner child artist" to something fun. Okay. Seems ridiculous to me. I understand "filling the well" or "blowing up the balloon" as I called it. But why do I have to go by myself? And why is it mandated? If my well feels full, what good does it do to add more water to it? I realize I'm whining a bit. I will do it, at least for the duration of the course, but I don't have to like it.

Even though I have been doing what I thought were Morning Pages, I found that I wasn't writing them in the spirit of AW. I was thinking about what I wrote. You are supposed to just write. Stream of consciousness. That was different.

If nothing else, this will give me something to post about each week.

2008

Goals. This is the agreed upon time of year to set annual goals, make resolutions, exam one's life, etc. I've been doing the evaluating, but have been having trouble looking ahead. Possibly because the goals I set last year mostly have not been met yet.

If I use last year as a template, I can maybe add fifty pages to HM this year. That's unacceptable. How do I change the pattern? I'm not big on anything new age-y, but results speak for themselves. Deb and Jenny are both big fans of The Artist's Way and morning pages. I can devote 12 weeks to trying it out. Writing every day also seems to work for most of the Pirates. I am setting aside an hour a day just to write, in addition to morning pages time. That's not a lot, but more than I have been doing.

I have heard goals described as dreams with deadlines. The dream part is to finish HM, submit it to the group and get it ready to send out. Another is to write a D&D and, possibly a second HM. I will also learn more about jewelry making and figure out who my protagonist in that series is.

I also will get back to updating this blog at least twice a month.