10.24.13

Research day today. Part of creating a new book is creating the world the book resides in. And since the Brit in the FBI books are based in New York, there are housekeeping things to manage, like... where does everyone live. Where are the crime scenes? What do they look like? What's the neighborhood like? Where are the bars and groceries?

With the Taylor books, I know this stuff intrinsically because it's my backyard, and if something is questionable, I can just hop in the car and drive to the scene to see what things look like. Not so, this. I'm very grateful for the extensive New York real estate sites, and Google Earth.  

Had lunch today with my dear friend Blake (after being shot up like a pincushion at the Dr. - flu shot, measles booster, blood draw - OUCH!) and over a lazy margarita, we were discussing the whole it's hard to get started on a new book phenomenon. I was trying to explain it, and happened upon a decent analogy.

Starting a book is like moving house. It's a totally new adventure, exciting and fun, but there's also all the annoyances -- not sleeping well because of the creak of the steps and strange noises of the new house settling, having to find your way around your new town, finding a new doctor, dentist, hairdresser, school... All these things take time, and energy, and until you have them, and maybe even some new friends, you don't feel totally settled. And even then, it takes a while to really start fitting in, to feel comfortable that you're in the right place.

That's exactly how I feel every time I start a new book. Even unpacking my treasured items-- the characters I know and love--is a chore, because there is so much work to be done, and so much I don't know.

So it was fitting that today was consumed with finding everyone a proper place to live, n'est-ce pas? 

Big writing day ahead tomorrow, now that I'm finally starting to settle in. Now, where did I put those wine glasses?  

Sweet dreams!

10.23.13

Excellent writing day. Only 1000 words net, but realized what the problem was with the beginning. Cut that chapter entirely (ruthlessness is the only way to approach these things), reworked the rest, and suddenly, voila, we have the beginnings of a book. It's always rather amazing to me how a story will let you know when you're off on the wrong foot.  I have had this happen more than once - I am trying to force something into the story, and it's reacting like Mr. Yuck, spitting it back out at me.

Plus found some really cool technology that made its way in. I had already bookmarked a few things when I first started thinking about this story -- by bookmarked I mean ripped the page out of a magazine from a flight earlier this year -- but there have been advancements in this particular field, so I was able to learn a bit, and add it all together. Nicholas Drummond is a computer expert, a hacker extraordinaire, so it's a lot of fun to get my hands on the things he might use to enhance his work.

Still not back on US time. Went to bed at 7 last night and got up at 5:45 this morning. I will admit, it's rather fun to see the sun come up - not a normal state of being for me at all.  Things are rather quiet around here anyway. Once Randy left for the office, and the house settled into silence around me, I sat drinking my tea and realized I am missing my morning views of loch and glen. My neighbor's pool just doesn't have the same mystery about it.

Perhaps I'll go read something set in Scotland...

Sweet dreams!

10.22.13

1200 words today. Actual, quantifiable progress. I'm still not happy with them, but they're there. As I always say, you can't edit a blank page. I stopped early because I'm trying to train myself into a new writing schedule so I don't spend all day sitting in my chair staring at the screen.

This new schedule includes getting up earlier, working in the mornings, and stopping my writing day at 3:30 or so. Which leaves me some time in the afternoons to exercise, and read. I'm seeking a better life balance. I got myself way out of whack over the past several months, with frenetic 12 hour days trying to meet multiple deadlines and weeks at a time on the road. No more of that.  

I started reading Dani Shapiro's STILL WRITING at lunch today. I adore her style, her words, her perspective, her stories. Reading her blog is always like a breath of fresh air to me--she has a beautiful life perspective, yes, but is also a very quiet writer. What do I mean by that? She writes with great impact without drawing a great deal of attention to herself. When she speaks, I listen. She doesn't seem to waste any words; everything is purposeful, remarkable, meaningful. In short, she does something I can't, and so I respect her greatly. If I ever decided to write a memoir, she's the first place I'd go.

Sweet dreams! 

10.21.13

Nice day back to work, though truncated by wicked reverse jet lag. Wrote a bit, ran out for lunch, wrote a bit more. My count was negative, simply because I was cleaning things up, but for all the head fog, at least there was forward progress.  Only a few hundred words, but progress.

Beginnings are hard for me. I can't get the right flavor, tone, word choice. I struggle with the first few chapters of every book, which is a silly thing to do, because I know I'm going to go back and change things once the story really gets going. It's the same every time: I prevaricate and procrastinate, only get a hundred words here, a hundred there. It's fear and resistance; there's an element of beginnings that scare me on such a deep, subconscious level that it can be paralyzing if I'm not careful. 

What am I afraid of? I'm not entirely sure. I'm not happy with the opening. I have three written, and I'm not sure which I will end up using. Which tells me I should just go on to the next scene, and worry about the perfect opening later.Tess Gerritsen once said she forgets how to write a book every time she starts a new one, and that's definitely what I'm feeling. Right now, I have 5,000 words, I know I need 100,000 more, and it's daunting as all get out.  I don't feel at all settled until I'm at the 20,000 mark. Which I hope to be very soon. 

I'm not going to go to bed just yet, though my body is screaming for sleep. Will have an early dinner, get to bed as early as I can, and start fresh in the morning. And I'll try to get some pics posted. 

Sweet dreams!

10.20.13

Forgive the incoherence, it's 1 in the morning Scotland time and I've been crunched up in a seat on Delta for the past 8 hours. But we are back in the USA, for which I am most grateful. As much as I love traveling, there is always something nice about going through customs and getting that cheery "Welcome Home!"

It's been a long day, and relatively uneventful. It's seems rather odd that 17 hours ago I was staring at a Scottish loch, and now I'm in Detroit, awaiting the last leg of our journey. There is a warm bed and a good night's sleep in my future, that's for sure.

Tomorrow I go back to work in earnest on YARD OF GRAVES. I've decided to do NanoWriMo this year, so as of November 1, I am a writing machine. I've done NaNo before - the first time was for my 2nd Taylor book, 14, and I've participated several times since. So for the next few weeks, it's back to boring old word counts and (hopefully) writing epiphanies. I'm ready to get back in the swing of things.

Anyone else doing NaNo this year??? Want to keep me honest?

Sweet dreams!