the well of providence is deep ... it is the buckets we bring to it that are small ... Mary Webb



Friday, February 26, 2010

i am going to write a novel

I am going to write a novel.

It will probably take me ten years to write it.

I'm being dramatic, both because I'm mainly a dramatic person and because I know nearly nothing about writing novels.

So I will just have to teach myself.

I have started researching this, and of course, there is a lot to learn on the internet about writing. I found one site that suggests The Snowflake Method to outline my novel. Apparently outlining a novel is key, though there seems to be a fair amount of folks who just sit down and write. I have tried just sitting down and writing and I often get lost, so I am going to try The Snowflake Method, designed by Randy Ingermanson, who calls himself, "The Snowflake Guy."

http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php

I think this is funny for some reason.  Maybe I am just giddy at the idea of committing to this process.

I am going to write a novel, really.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

the steel rod - two

The steel rod returns.

I am caught like a spear-stabbed summer trout immobilized in its migratory path, words scattering, mind darkening to despair, fingers trembling above waiting keys.

I name this killer of creative pursuit and it releases a little, a small vibration as shoulders fall, chest muscles relax, and the heart opens.

And from the heart the words leak.

I want to cry with sheer relief at the curtailment of certain dread that nothing exists above the steel rod.

Meantime, my good friend writes at her school of fine arts, receiving encouragement and instructions, while I sit alone receiving lessons from only that which has no name.

I must press. There can always be edits. Always.

Another deep breath. The trout escapes with a wiggle and a thrash, swiftly swimming upriver, eager to tell the rest of the story.

Monday, February 1, 2010

making my first submission

I made my first submission today.

I pushed "send", got up out of my chair, went into my bedroom, looked at myself in a full length mirror, head to toe, and laughed ... deep belly laughter. It was the best feeling.

"1200 hundred words, baby, and it only took you a year to finish!" I said with a smile on my face and with total acceptance.

If you ever wonder how many words a writer really writes, here you go. 1200 words - 12 months - 100 words a month - 25 words a week - 3 or 4 words a day.

Of course, 12 months to FINISH a 1200 word essay doesn't really translate to "I only wrote 3 or 4 words a day for a year."

But some days it is the best I can do, and I am learning, sloooooowly, that writing is not about numbers but whether the hand ever picked up the pen or the fingers touched the keyboard.