It is Wednesday, which means we are halfway through the standard full-time work week. Of course, if you are a writer, or a single mom, there is nothing standard about a work week. I get the fortunate task of being a normal working adult with a 9-5 type job and then I add in that I am also a single mother to an 11-year old who is often smarter than me and always moving, it is a bit like trying to pin down a cloud, and if that made you think I was bored, let's add that I also am a writer who is writing her first novel. Whew! I need a nap after typing all that out and just thinking of it.
The fun part of all of that is that it is always changing. Oh, the job is the same, the kid is the same and the writing is still getting written but the movements and tasks and feelings are changing. For my job in politics and fundraising you can imagine the changes that I can experience from one day to the next. All the interesting projects, creative campaigns and issue tracking that gets done. Then, if you have kids you will understand all the movements and changes that happen with them to keep a parent on their toes. Just watching them grow day to day is amazing. An 11 year old has school and guitar lessons and doctor appointments and science projects and interests that may not be yours that you have to learn to keep up with....well it gets pretty exciting. I have never known as much about mythology in my life and I credit all that to my son.
My son is also at the point where he is changing and almost a teenager but still a kid. His thinking is becoming deeper and his opinions stronger, his actions more aware and his desires heavier. He is on the edge of becoming a teenager but still looking back and liking the protection of being a little kid. He is almost ready to cut through the ropes and be independent but not quite. As a parent it is fascinating to watch the transition, and a little scary.
My writing is also at the cusp of being on a new point. The action is about to change. The location is about to cross waters and travel back in time. In a sense all the changes make me think it is like having a constantly moving job or a constantly moving kid. It also experiences changes and fluctuations. It grows up just as your child does.
I am in the middle of my novel now and as I was doing a little research for it found my original outline and creative plan for the whole novel. I had been on the phone with my mother later that day and laughed when I told her that it is not the same book almost. Oh, the premise is the same but the actions and sequences have progressed in a much different manner. Even, my characters are different than envisioned. My astute mother was quick to point out that characters become like real people and people are unpredictable and do their own things so why shouldn't a character.
I thought about what she said after that call and she will be so happy to hear but she is right. She doesn't realize how right she is. I dream about my characters as if they are real people with real lives. As I write this book I feel as if I am following along with their lives as well and have at times felt as if I were writing their memoirs than a fictional story. I can predict what my characters will do but until I start to write the story I really can give no guarantees.
So, I sit at my table looking at my old outline and I give a bit of a chuckle to myself. I feel that the story has progressed in a different direction but it is a better story. The characters have grown more than I had originally planned but they are more realistic and grown up. I was not upset by the changes in my story but rather revelled in them. My story is progressing and growing and that is when it hit me. My story is a teenager. I am in the middle of my novel now and the true action is going to start to take place within a couple more chapters. A teenager often feels that their lives start the moment they leave home and head out on their own as if this action packed life will suddenly befall them and be exciting and exhilarating. Well, my story is a teenager.
I am close to the point where the action will increase and change. The location will change. The characters will have to adjust. The story will have to move to incorporate these differences. The story itself is growing and revolving and moving. As I stared down at my writing last night I gave a small smile to myself because my novel is growing up. I welcome being in the middle of the novel and all the changes and will not forget where my story initiated but I welcome the teenager factor of my novel. Wish me luck, I have a pre-teen son at home and now a budding teenager novel. Life is exciting.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Warning: Writer With Realization
Happy New Year to everyone and thank goodness the holidays are done. We can all return to normal routines again. Of course, it is fun celebrating and people are nicer during the holidays but it is a stressful time also. Now of course, when you go to the gym it is packed full of New Year's resolutioners. I personally do not make resolutions during the New Year but try to make them throughout the year always to try and be happy or better my situation or even just get by.
In fact, as I looked back over 2011 that is why I started to write my first novel. Last year was a rather rough year for many people and I would be included in that list. I remember it was the end of July and I had already had the idea for my novel for a long while. Actually, I have ideas for many novels but I thought about this one idea the most. Sometimes it is easy to have a dream but the hard part is actually making it happen. I am sure many of the New Year's resolution people find that statement very true because usually by the end of January the gym is back down to the regulars and those that made their resolutions have gone back to their usual routines or have even forgotten they made a resolution. The hard part is doing the work.
For a writer like myself who wrote poems and short stories the idea of a novel was daunting. I had the idea but to actually start writing was a whole other issue. That is where the first word comes in handy. It was the end of July and it was very hot outside and I had the doldrums one day. I sat on my porch that evening and wondered what would make me happy when there is stress and frustration all around me. I went back inside and found a notebook. Luckily I keep notebooks and pens and paper always on hand. I went back outside and sat down at my porch table. My son was asleep inside and this was the time I usually took for myself. Of course if you sit there just thinking that can be dangerous.
Well, this night there was a light breeze for the first time all week and the stars were shining in the sky real bright. I opened my notebook and just started writing. I realized what I was writing was my novel and have not stopped since. It was starting the work of writing and making it part of my routine that helped get me through 2011 and made me realize another of my dreams in life. If you read my last blog you will see that I am also a single mother and I have a full time job so some of the hard part in writing is just finding a spare moment to do that. I have gotten a little better about finding those moments because I resolutely decided not to give up on this dream.
When you start to write your first novel it is exciting. One of the things I have noticed though is that most people encourage you and the ones that don't or try to make you face reality often ask, "So what kind of writer do you want to be?" Well, even if they are trying to throw ice cold water on your warm blanket dream it is an important question to ask yourself. So as I reviewed last year and my writing recently I thought about that very question:
"What type of writer did I really want to be?" or "Why do I really write?"
For me the simple answer was easy. I write because I have to. When you dig deeper into that though...ok I feel like I need a couch and Dr. Freud sitting over me with a notebook right now...but the answer may make you a better writer. At the end of the day we can not all be a Danielle Steele or J.K. Rowling. I use those examples because they too were single mothers fighting to pay bills and sat down and wrote and are now world renowned. In an ideal world we can all write one novel and then quit our job and become famous and rich and just spend our time writing and going to book readings of our own material. For me fame was not the end goal or why I write. Not that it would not be nice but really I write to entertain people. I do want people to read my work so I would like to be published. Some people write and have no intention or care for being published. I will admit I would like to be published and would love to be sitting on the train commuting into work one day and look over and see someone reading my novel. I realistically have kept that full time job but I also continue to write and love that I get to share it with a fellow commuter into work.
So the answer is that I write because it makes me happy and is a large part of myself and my personality and character but also because I would like to entertain and tell a story. I may not sell a million novels or get printed overseas or even make a lot of money but maybe there is at least one person out there who will read what I write and be entertained. I am a storyteller with a pen. I may not be as big as Paul Bunyan in the writing world and may ever only be as small as The Littles (one of my favorite cartoons when I was little about a family of mice) but I am writing and getting my stories out and now I know what kind of writer I want to be.
Warning: Writer has reached realization...prepare to be entertained. At least that is my wish. If you are not, well, don't worry I will continue to write and may win you over eventually. So, grab a comfortable chair, a warm cup of tea, and enjoy because I have a story for you to read.
In fact, as I looked back over 2011 that is why I started to write my first novel. Last year was a rather rough year for many people and I would be included in that list. I remember it was the end of July and I had already had the idea for my novel for a long while. Actually, I have ideas for many novels but I thought about this one idea the most. Sometimes it is easy to have a dream but the hard part is actually making it happen. I am sure many of the New Year's resolution people find that statement very true because usually by the end of January the gym is back down to the regulars and those that made their resolutions have gone back to their usual routines or have even forgotten they made a resolution. The hard part is doing the work.
For a writer like myself who wrote poems and short stories the idea of a novel was daunting. I had the idea but to actually start writing was a whole other issue. That is where the first word comes in handy. It was the end of July and it was very hot outside and I had the doldrums one day. I sat on my porch that evening and wondered what would make me happy when there is stress and frustration all around me. I went back inside and found a notebook. Luckily I keep notebooks and pens and paper always on hand. I went back outside and sat down at my porch table. My son was asleep inside and this was the time I usually took for myself. Of course if you sit there just thinking that can be dangerous.
Well, this night there was a light breeze for the first time all week and the stars were shining in the sky real bright. I opened my notebook and just started writing. I realized what I was writing was my novel and have not stopped since. It was starting the work of writing and making it part of my routine that helped get me through 2011 and made me realize another of my dreams in life. If you read my last blog you will see that I am also a single mother and I have a full time job so some of the hard part in writing is just finding a spare moment to do that. I have gotten a little better about finding those moments because I resolutely decided not to give up on this dream.
When you start to write your first novel it is exciting. One of the things I have noticed though is that most people encourage you and the ones that don't or try to make you face reality often ask, "So what kind of writer do you want to be?" Well, even if they are trying to throw ice cold water on your warm blanket dream it is an important question to ask yourself. So as I reviewed last year and my writing recently I thought about that very question:
"What type of writer did I really want to be?" or "Why do I really write?"
For me the simple answer was easy. I write because I have to. When you dig deeper into that though...ok I feel like I need a couch and Dr. Freud sitting over me with a notebook right now...but the answer may make you a better writer. At the end of the day we can not all be a Danielle Steele or J.K. Rowling. I use those examples because they too were single mothers fighting to pay bills and sat down and wrote and are now world renowned. In an ideal world we can all write one novel and then quit our job and become famous and rich and just spend our time writing and going to book readings of our own material. For me fame was not the end goal or why I write. Not that it would not be nice but really I write to entertain people. I do want people to read my work so I would like to be published. Some people write and have no intention or care for being published. I will admit I would like to be published and would love to be sitting on the train commuting into work one day and look over and see someone reading my novel. I realistically have kept that full time job but I also continue to write and love that I get to share it with a fellow commuter into work.
So the answer is that I write because it makes me happy and is a large part of myself and my personality and character but also because I would like to entertain and tell a story. I may not sell a million novels or get printed overseas or even make a lot of money but maybe there is at least one person out there who will read what I write and be entertained. I am a storyteller with a pen. I may not be as big as Paul Bunyan in the writing world and may ever only be as small as The Littles (one of my favorite cartoons when I was little about a family of mice) but I am writing and getting my stories out and now I know what kind of writer I want to be.
Warning: Writer has reached realization...prepare to be entertained. At least that is my wish. If you are not, well, don't worry I will continue to write and may win you over eventually. So, grab a comfortable chair, a warm cup of tea, and enjoy because I have a story for you to read.
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