So, the first five pages of my book are done, at least in draft fashion. Now, it gets tricky. I have a protaganist, who I want to give a voice too. Originally, I wrote his part the same as I wrote the first part of my novel, AFTER I had started! Don't know why I did that, clearly my brain is on some kind of feed back loop in this regard. Its only after I start, that I go, "hey, there's something else I want to put here, first!"
At least I seem to be actually getting into some kind of regular swing with 'making' myself write something everyday. Except for weekends. Because anyone with young children, will know that just when you think you have gotten them occupied with pestering their father in the garden, or set up with their barbie dolls and my pony's in their rooms. You sneek into 'your' room, quietly close the door..... hands are racing across the keyboard, almost in time with the thoughts zinning through the brain, when a little voice will go,"Muuum! I'm bored." Go away! your inner muse screams, I've got myself on a roll here, after much dilly dallying around. But you turn and say of course, "oh darling. poor you, what would you like me to do?"
well that's what you say, if your me and have only one child and no family within cooee and all the school friends seem to be constrained by parents reluctant to venture from the safety of 'town' out to the rural blocks. So back to square one!!
New rule for self. Writing to be done, Monday to Friday and if I can 'force' myself to do extra pages, to account for the two days, I 'have' to have away from the writing device....then I will at myself on the back for the superhero mother, writer woman I am!! Up Up and away.........
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Running true to Form
So here is how I spent the last two days....
emails read, check.
dogs feed, check.
dishwasher packed and started, two loads of washing put on, check. About to sit down and start writing.....
Husband brings in mail. Life comes crashing down!!!! It is the reason I NEVER check the mail. These days nothing good ever comes in the post. I only have one friend who still knows how to reply to a written letter and seeing as how, I just sent her one, I KNOW that I am not expecting anything good just yet.
Sigh......so my goal today, was to first write on my blog. Mission accomplished. Second goal today, to get out of nightie and into real clothes. Mission NOT accomplished yet and I would like to point out, this is not my idea, but idea of husband, who seems to think that my daily can't begin until I am out of the nightie and into real clothes. Which more often than not are twice as daggy as my nightie, but go figure!!
On another topic entirely, my DD came out of her the other night after watching Nemo (again) and asked in all seriousness....."how do those people, fit into those little fishy suits?" Hubby and I laughed, and laughed, which did NOT go down well with DD, who already thinks we are "weird" parents!! But we couldn't help it. There are days when I think I should write my book about her, I doubt if I would spend one minute staring at a blank page with nothing to write..........
emails read, check.
dogs feed, check.
dishwasher packed and started, two loads of washing put on, check. About to sit down and start writing.....
Husband brings in mail. Life comes crashing down!!!! It is the reason I NEVER check the mail. These days nothing good ever comes in the post. I only have one friend who still knows how to reply to a written letter and seeing as how, I just sent her one, I KNOW that I am not expecting anything good just yet.
Sigh......so my goal today, was to first write on my blog. Mission accomplished. Second goal today, to get out of nightie and into real clothes. Mission NOT accomplished yet and I would like to point out, this is not my idea, but idea of husband, who seems to think that my daily can't begin until I am out of the nightie and into real clothes. Which more often than not are twice as daggy as my nightie, but go figure!!
On another topic entirely, my DD came out of her the other night after watching Nemo (again) and asked in all seriousness....."how do those people, fit into those little fishy suits?" Hubby and I laughed, and laughed, which did NOT go down well with DD, who already thinks we are "weird" parents!! But we couldn't help it. There are days when I think I should write my book about her, I doubt if I would spend one minute staring at a blank page with nothing to write..........
Saturday, September 17, 2011
The big white
Ok, hubby occupied upstairs playing 'master chief', darling daughter occupied playing Barbie camping adventures in her room on a torn up sheet, dutifully supplied by moi and me........well....... I am alternatively staring at a brilliant white page, and playing the "sims" or the "dim sims" as the DD calls them!! Proberly very apt.
Its not that I have nothing to say, but every aspiring author KNOWS that the first sentence has got to grab the reader, make them want to read more, and keep turning the pages until they get to end with a satisfied thumb! and ask themselves, ' I wonder if that author has MORE books I haven't read! '
So I can see the scene clearly in my head, dim lit corridors, the hush, yet subtle movement of people quietly going about their business in the small hours of the night. The electrical hum, the shoosh shoosh, of life support ventilators, the tired, slow movements of the Intensive Care Nurses as they go through their routines as if in slow motion, on automatic, in need of sleep and coffee and not neccesarily in that order!
After deleting ten times, I finally go with, "The quiet hum of the life support ventilators are the only sound that could be heard....." i know, I know, not gripping, not scintillating, but a start and at least it got me going to the bottom of page one, until I was interrupted by DD calling me "Grandma!!" HA! I have only a mother for 5!! telling me that she is leaving her 'baby' with me for 10 weeks while she has a holiday in Hobart!! Maybe she should write my book, she certainly has an active imagination.
Its not that I have nothing to say, but every aspiring author KNOWS that the first sentence has got to grab the reader, make them want to read more, and keep turning the pages until they get to end with a satisfied thumb! and ask themselves, ' I wonder if that author has MORE books I haven't read! '
So I can see the scene clearly in my head, dim lit corridors, the hush, yet subtle movement of people quietly going about their business in the small hours of the night. The electrical hum, the shoosh shoosh, of life support ventilators, the tired, slow movements of the Intensive Care Nurses as they go through their routines as if in slow motion, on automatic, in need of sleep and coffee and not neccesarily in that order!
After deleting ten times, I finally go with, "The quiet hum of the life support ventilators are the only sound that could be heard....." i know, I know, not gripping, not scintillating, but a start and at least it got me going to the bottom of page one, until I was interrupted by DD calling me "Grandma!!" HA! I have only a mother for 5!! telling me that she is leaving her 'baby' with me for 10 weeks while she has a holiday in Hobart!! Maybe she should write my book, she certainly has an active imagination.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Getting Started
Hmm, well is there anything more daunting than a blank piece of paper, or section of screen on the computing device where you want to put the millions of funny, pithy, smart, hurtful, insightful, and stupid thoughts that buzz through your mind every second? Perhaps not. Or maybe, can be equated with staring at those last pieces of chocolate you are NOT going to eat, 5 seconds after you have decided to go on a diet!
Ok, well I have been re-writing a novel in my head for 10 years. I am probably not alone in this. I did once fancy myself as an aspiring writer. I sat down at my computer for 10 hours a day for 3 weeks and wrote 600 words, which is in fact, a book! I managed to do with with a supportive husband, no children. two obliging dogs who were quite happy to keep my feet warm in the wee hours of the morn and a full time job intensive care nursing! I know! How the hell did I do it? I certainly haven't managed to create that ideal situation since. I confidently, packaged it and posted if off to New York! Yes New York, USA! What was I thinking? Of course it came back to me rejected. There was alot of positive stuff in there, but all I saw was the rejection. Despite the confidence of my dutiful husband, I was sure this was a sign, that I was not a writer and was in fact just a regular registered nurse from small town Australia.
So 10 years have past and surprisingly, I am still NOT a published writer and that would be no doubt due to the fact that I have not actually sent anything else in anywhere to be rejected by anybody, since. But I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I will never be a 'published' writer, but that does not mean that I am not a writer. In fact I have many journals, notebooks, scraps of paper and letters to friends that indeed testify to the fact that I am a writer! So I am going to use this blog to inspire myself to set some writing goals and actually get my thoughts out of my busy head and on to the screen. And maybe if I am really good at actually following my own plan for a change, instead of putting it off I might end up with another 600 pages to send off to somewhere.
Somewhere along the line I have decided that there is no perfect time, perfect location, situation, computer or anything else that you let distract yourself from whatever goal you want to achieve. There is only fear, fear that your not good enough, no-one wants to listen to what you have to say, show, do or offer. I think in the end, like most things, you end up doing something because there is a need in you driving you to do it despite the odds. Maybe it will amount to nothing in terms of commercial success but it always amounts to something in terms of personal growth and achievement.
My plan, is simple mostly because I am a big fan of the Keep It Simple Stupid idea in life. Two to three pages a day. Sounds simple hey, achievable too I think........except for when faced with actually doing it and for the record, I am not counting any of the writing I do on here.
Ok, well I have been re-writing a novel in my head for 10 years. I am probably not alone in this. I did once fancy myself as an aspiring writer. I sat down at my computer for 10 hours a day for 3 weeks and wrote 600 words, which is in fact, a book! I managed to do with with a supportive husband, no children. two obliging dogs who were quite happy to keep my feet warm in the wee hours of the morn and a full time job intensive care nursing! I know! How the hell did I do it? I certainly haven't managed to create that ideal situation since. I confidently, packaged it and posted if off to New York! Yes New York, USA! What was I thinking? Of course it came back to me rejected. There was alot of positive stuff in there, but all I saw was the rejection. Despite the confidence of my dutiful husband, I was sure this was a sign, that I was not a writer and was in fact just a regular registered nurse from small town Australia.
So 10 years have past and surprisingly, I am still NOT a published writer and that would be no doubt due to the fact that I have not actually sent anything else in anywhere to be rejected by anybody, since. But I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I will never be a 'published' writer, but that does not mean that I am not a writer. In fact I have many journals, notebooks, scraps of paper and letters to friends that indeed testify to the fact that I am a writer! So I am going to use this blog to inspire myself to set some writing goals and actually get my thoughts out of my busy head and on to the screen. And maybe if I am really good at actually following my own plan for a change, instead of putting it off I might end up with another 600 pages to send off to somewhere.
Somewhere along the line I have decided that there is no perfect time, perfect location, situation, computer or anything else that you let distract yourself from whatever goal you want to achieve. There is only fear, fear that your not good enough, no-one wants to listen to what you have to say, show, do or offer. I think in the end, like most things, you end up doing something because there is a need in you driving you to do it despite the odds. Maybe it will amount to nothing in terms of commercial success but it always amounts to something in terms of personal growth and achievement.
My plan, is simple mostly because I am a big fan of the Keep It Simple Stupid idea in life. Two to three pages a day. Sounds simple hey, achievable too I think........except for when faced with actually doing it and for the record, I am not counting any of the writing I do on here.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)