Monthly Archives: March 2014

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Waiting for the grout to dry…

seesaw

As I grout between the new tiles in my kitchen on this cold, rainy Saturday, I am struck by what a balancing act life can be.  We working mothers struggle to give our children everything they might want or need while trying to convince our employers that nothing is more important to us than our work.  We wives give our all trying to stay interesting, sexy, and engaging for our husbands while attempting to find time for ourselves.  We aspiring writers try to find time to edit our newest book while waiting for the grout to dry.  Today, I am doing all of these things.  Answering a text from my boss, maintaining stimulating conversation with my husband to alleviate the boredom of a kitchen reno, explaining to my grown son why he CAN NOT take my easy chair to his home, and stepping aside every few minutes to add/delete/change my not-quite-completed book–this is a normal day in the life of a part-time writer, full-time woman.  Back to work–the grout is calling.

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Creating Conflict

I am the most non-confrontational person you will ever meet.  I will walk a mile out of my way to avoid facing conflict.  In fact, my secret power is the ability to hold grudges.  I could do a lecture series on how to hold grudges for amazingly long amounts of time.  So you can see why one of my biggest challenges as a writer is introducing conflict into a story line.  There are times that I find myself writing pages and pages about how wonderfully the main characters are getting along.  Twenty pages later, I think to myself, “Who would want to read this crap?”  We want harmony in our own lives but we need conflict in our books.  We want to see our main character face challenges and learn how to lift herself/himself above them.  We have nothing to cheer for if the character has not been given something to fight for.  So, while others might daydream of upcoming vacations, the love of their life, or winning the lottery, I am imagining conflicts and satisfying resolutions.  Everyday me could probably learn something from writer me.

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Getting in the mood…

Sometimes I have trouble slipping completely in to the world of my characters.  When I’m unable to shut the door on work or family and dedicate myself wholly to writing, I find that I can have difficulty writing with the proper emotion.  So what to do?  I get myself in the mood.  I immerse myself in music, movies, and books that make me feel.  Sometimes, I cry, sometimes I laugh–it doesn’t really matter what emotion is elicited.  This method takes me beyond the stress and over-stimulation of my world and places me solidly in my literary universe. What I choose varies with what I’m writing.  When I was working on “The Happiest Day” I listened to Ludovico Einaudi, an Italian pianist who plays absolutely haunting pieces.  It just seemed to fit with the historical aspect of the book.  When I was working on “Saved by Grace” I would pop in my ear buds and listen to Passenger, an English folk-rock singer songwriter.  The poetic verses helped me get in touch with the angst that I felt Sebastian must be experiencing.  The new book I’m writing, Second Chance, begins with a near tragedy for the main character, Ellie.  I didn’t believe that I was quite in touch with what she must be feeling, so I watched the scene from the 1994 version of “Little Women.”  That’s right, I cried through Beth’s death scene.  Painful but necessary.  If I find myself in the same dilemma again, I know that I can always turn to “Steel Magnolias.”  The scene where Sally Fields drives to see her grandson after Julia Roberts dies gets me every time.  Excuse me, I need to go find a tissue.

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Finishing a novel…

Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.- Truman Capote

I probably would have found a different way of saying it (Capote and I have different writing styles!) but I had to laugh when I read this quote.  Despite the “ouch” factor, his words are true.  It is so difficult to write the ending of novel.  You are saying good-bye to your friends, your enemies, and your family.  You want to do them justice and give them a deserving send-off, all while figuring out a way to live without them.  I will admit that I cried while I wrote the end of “The Happiest Day.”  All right, I sobbed.  I wondered how Rachel could go on.  Fine, I wondered how I could go on.  I usually go through a bit of a withdrawal after finishing a book.  Remember when you were a teenager and after a boy broke up with you, you drove by his house a few times?  That’s what I do with my finished novels.  I go back and read bits and parts.  I’m just visiting, I tell myself.  However, usually within a few days, there is a knock at the door of my brain and a whole new cast of characters moves in.