A Novella

Wikipedia told me a novella is a work of fiction anywhere between 17,500-40,000 words.
Short stories: under 7500 words.
Novelette: 7500-17,500.
Novel: 40,000 words or more.

My latest project clocks in at just under 21,000.

Behold, I've written a novella.

Several months ago my editor at Covenant requested that I submit a short story for an anthology (around 17,000 words, so novelette-ish). I was happy to give it a shot. HANGING BY A MOMENT is set on a yacht rental in the British Caribbean. This was an easy choice. Last October my husband and I took a rare opportunity to escape to the British Virgin Islands with my sister, her husband, and some of their friends. I kept a journal, all the while considering that the experience might work into a story someday.

The only hiccup was, 10 days on a rented pontoon yacht does not a full novel make. Although I had a basis for a story-line in mind, I couldn't shake the feeling that I would have to add or force additional settings to make it longer. But really all I wanted to do was create a focused story centered on the trip.

And then I got the request from my editor, and lo, a light shone around my story idea and I said, "SO LET IT BE WRITTEN. SO LET IT BE DONE." A focused story the way I envisioned it. A novella.

I'd never written a novella before, but I had written a short story, and I'd also seen the benefits of outlining when writing any story. The main thing I learned in writing short stories is to start in the middle, or even near the end. Lose subplots. Keep the MC up front. These guidelines worked well for the novella, too.

I figured I'd write about 1500 words per "chapter" (I kind of used scenes instead of chapters when drafting this shorter story). I divided my end goal word count by 1500 and wrote a skeletal outline. Super skeletal. I chose a word or phrase per "chapter", numbered them, and went to work getting my characters from one scene to the next. Sometimes I flipped scenes around, or crossed some out, or added a new one, but for the most part I stuck to the outline, hit the chapter word count almost without trying (that seemed to be how my pacing just played out and my characters quickly began to lead me), and let the fun happen without pulling all my hair out. Only some of my hair got pulled out.

Mission accomplished.

*sigh* It's a bit of vacation all over again:

The driver answered their questions in his thick island accent and as she listened, Kendal watched a different world pass by the windows. So much color. Poverty, wealth, commerce, tourism, all packed together in a humid tropical paradise. Bicycles, motorbikes, limousines, rusty old trucks, taxis, and flowers everywhere flowers could grow.  They passed a school yard filled with cocoa-skinned children dressed in white shirts and black shorts running crazily after a soccer ball.

She found herself leaning forward, nose almost touching the window, taking it all in.

“First time here, Magic?”

Kendal pulled away from the window and faced Bret, who had turned in his seat, his arm draped over the back. She hadn’t been called that in a really long time, and she wasn’t sure she liked how it made her feel. She shook her head. “Have you?”

The Next Big Thing

I am not participating in NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) this month, but to all of those who are, get to it! GO, GO, GO! I have never done NANO for various reasons, the main one being that I've hosted Thanksgiving/company the last few years, and a lot of my energies go there. Also, I've only KNOWN about NANOWRIMO the last few years, so . . . Anyway, this year I have a different reason. I just finished a big novel and so I am between submitting that work and waiting on edits for my next book, THE ORCHARD. I didn't get to read all summer, so I am enjoying this limbo time reading other people's writing. Yay!

The other day I was tagged for The Next Big Thing blog meme by my friend, Jordan McCollum. So in today's post I will be answering some questions about the novel I just finished. I haven't been asked many questions about this book so I'm curious what the answers will be . . .

Thanks, Jordan!

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book? SILK. Or SILK: INHERITOR.

Where did the idea come from for the book? I wanted to write a YA, and wrote this opening scene of a girl chasing after her little brother and then they run into a stranger. It was contemporary, but I wasn't liking how it was going. After thinking about it, and apparently dreaming about it, I woke up and changed the whole idea to fantasy, and dove into world-building.

What genre does your book fall under? YA Fantasy. It's my first time writing fantasy, but I grew up on the stuff because of my dad's love for it. I've learned so much about writing in this genre. I'm sure I have much more to learn!

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Rafe: Steve West. The wicked Elunid: Christina Hendricks. Myrick: Clive Owens. Alyra: Young Jane Seymour. But my main heroine, Jessamyn? So far she hasn't found a match for who she is in my head. Yes, I have pictures of all these characters and more.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A privileged silk merchant's daughter accidentally summons an ancient enemy and to save those she loves, and the world, she must accept that old stories hold truth and that magic runs through blood . . . and silk.

(I have no idea why that type is so small but it sounds good, huh?)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I'm shopping agents RIGHT NOW.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Two years. Two years ago I was having lunch with Rob Wells and his wife, Erin, and he asked why I wasn't writing a national. I couldn't answer him. And every time I began to give him an excuse he'd interrupt me and say, "Do it." I'd say, "But I--" "DO IT." He's so pushy that way.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? My other books are written in another genre (contemporary LDS romance), so that's an interesting question. There is definitely romance in SILK. And I always use at least two POV characters. SILK has FIVE. I think. Maybe six. Eep. I seem to gravitate to stories of hope against all odds.

Who or what inspired you to write this book? As I said, Robison Wells was a huge influence in getting me out of my comfort zone. I'm really glad he did. I heard somewhere that if a story idea scares you, that's the one you should write. This story scared the wahoozies out of me. I'm terrified of writing the sequel. And totally excited.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Magic, humor, danger, new mythology, battles with nature, men, and immortals, and umm . . . genealogy? Ha.

Did I mention Rafe?

Why I Play Games

Last night I listened to my favorite podcast (okay, I only listen to two, and the podcasters are my friends, but it's still my favorite), The Appendix, and as usual, they ended the episode with a writing prompt challenge to listeners. Now, when they issue the challenge, Robison Wells, one of the hosts, always says something like, "Now we have something for our lovely listeners," and I always think, "Well, that's me." Not because I'm egocentric, but because I'm the only listener to accept the writing prompt challenge in the comment box. I don't know if listeners make the attempt on a notepad at home, or if they think about what they might do with the crazy prompts, or if they roll their eyes and think, "Those crazy kids," and get on with writing their manuscripts or updating Twitter. I even thought that maybe nobody else posted their challenge story because I took up too much space or ideas or something, so I stopped for a while. Go ahead. Go look.

Nope. Nobody else plays the game and posts it in the comment box. So...does that make me weird? Well, that's always up for debate, but here's the thing:

I LIKE PLAYING THE GAMES.

When I first joined a writing group, we started our meeting with a writing prompt, fifteen minutes on a timer, paper and pen. We worked individually, quietly. It got our juices flowing, had us connecting seemingly impossible ideas, resolving problems, and opened up fun, provoking, haunting ideas in our heads.

One of my favorite games was choosing 5 random words out of a dictionary, writing them on the board (with their definitions if necessary), and then having to use them in our short story. That made for some pretty crazy ideas. We laughed a lot, and everybody's ideas were amazingly different.

I have a less structured writing group now, and we don't do the writing prompts, so I look forward to the games on The Appendix. They clear my head, especially if I've been at a long edit or I'm stuck in my WIP. Answering a crazy writing prompt reminds me I can do other things, allows me to laugh at myself, makes me stretch and try things I haven't yet, and then wonder, "Can I do that?" I've considered writing in other genres because of writing prompt challenges.

Some of my favorites are pretty goofy, but I was smiling as I wrote them. They're rough. I don't write them on paper first and then copy them into the comment box. I just go for it and maybe go back a couple times to make something connect, but it's pretty much an online freewrite. A risk, I know, but isn't that practice, too? If I can post this stuff up for anyone to see, I can certainly post the stuff I refine, put my whole heart into. So go ahead, go check them out. Remember, PRETTY GOOFY. But also short. Please remember that certain characters, items, or plot ideas HAD to be included.

Expected Wedding Gifts Online giving is so much easier.
LotR Fan Fiction Dragons, anyone?
Murder at Whiskey River Gulchwater Creek A mystery in the old west.
Casting Aspersions This was a fun one. I take some liberties using our hosts as characters. Arrr.
The Tortoise and the Ostrich A Tall-Tale. Move over Paul Bunyan. A little more. A little more.
Thank You, Thank You Very Much A wig can make all the difference.

There are more on other episodes, but don't just read comments. Listen to the podcast. I'm learning a lot from those three hooligans.





My best writing game story? I mean a story about what happened from accepting a writing prompt challenge? I'm not sure I remember the prompt, but I think it was "Martha Stewart gets an unexpected visitor" or something like that. I wrote a story about a frazzled perfectionist woman who'd had a bad day and was about to leave to tackle another necessary errand, then opened the door to find a unexpected visitor on her doorstep: her younger runaway sister, who was crying. The story itself wasn't one of my best, or even one of my favorites.

But the idea became a major plot point two years later when I wrote my fifth novel, my first published novel, GRACE & CHOCOLATE, coming in 2012, through Covenant Communications, Inc.

So maybe you can understand why I'm sold on writing prompt games. You just never know.

Monday Mess: Who Put A Sonnet In My WIP?

So I'm working on this new project that has invaded my brain space and I'm writing along, minding my character's business, and BLAM, she needs a sonnet.

A. SONNET.

I know, right?
But I don't question The Muse.

So I Google "how to write a sonnet" and I get Sonnet Writing For Dummies or something like that. Click here if you'd like to see for yourself. If not, these are the bones of the idea:

• It must consist of 14 lines.

• It must be written in iambic pentameter (duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUH). Every line.

• It must be written in one of various standard rhyme schemes, like the following Shakespearean scheme:

A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
E
F
      G
      G

Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes with every B, and so forth. This one is made up of three quatrains (four consecutive lines of verse that make up a stanza) and one couplet (two consecutive rhyming lines of verse). Shakespeare was famous for his rhyming couplets. Like I have to tell you.

But that's not all, NOOOO that's not all. The sonnet has to be built up. The main idea is presented, often as a metaphor, pondered, and then built into an argument. Complications, twists, conflicts are thrown in, tearing down the initial idea. And then, the rhyming couplet comes to the rescue. These last two lines are meant to swoop in and save the day, like a ray of hope. They might introduce a new line of thinking, or prove the complications as nothing to despair over. Yay.

My answer to the question, "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" has always been Tirelessness. Not as in cars, but as in having boundless energy. It's a bird, it's a plane, no! It's Indefatigable!

I'd also wear jammies like this. Because even though I'd never have to sleep, I still like to wear jammies.

But if I were to have a second choice, I think I would be Rhyming Couplet. Coming in at the point of hopelessness and proving the villain wrong. Yup.

In your face, Misery and Woe.

But I digress. Would you like to read my sonnet? I'm not going to say much about it, except it's the protagonist's favorite, and she doesn't know why, exactly. But she will. *smiles mysteriously*

Ahem. I give you Sonnet 11, and a little more, from Silkener, by Krista Lynne Jensen.

What hath removed itself will come again.

‘Tis promised in the arms of Heaven’s clocks.

Tho in the throes of dust you may have been,

Yet counted ‘midst the sweet beloved flocks.

What love is this to crumble fixed stone?

And satisfy love’s yearning for return?

Nay, you cannot see its flesh and bone,

Nor feel love’s truth and light within you burn.

For man is hopeless, cruel as he is blind,

And taken in by power, greed, and lust.

A selfish beast can lure with truths unkind,

Will offer falsehoods, honeyed in their crust.

      And yet would love’s true light taste sweeter still

      Through dust and blood, returned by Hope’s pure will!

This particular sonnet always left Jessamyn a bit dizzy. She had no idea who it was by, as it was accredited to “Love’s Last Hope”, which she found a touch melodramatic. She pictured some romantically tortured monk sitting in his dimly lit cell, furiously writing of his forsaken lover.

TA DA!
I have to admit, it was kind of fun to write.

Why not try writing a sonnet of your own? Sonnets For Dummies suggests writing a sonnet does all the following:

• Shows you how much you can pack into a short form.

• Gives you practice with rhyme, meter, structure, metaphor, and argument.

• Connects you with one of the oldest traditions in English poetry — one still vital today.

Have you ever written a sonnet? Do you have a favorite?

Explore

I won't have time to blog for the rest of this week, but I will be back on Monday with a whole new mess to discuss. In the meantime, please feel free to explore past posts, starting with those recommended below, and leave a comment. I love getting to know you better!

Enjoy your week!

International Women's Day

In celebration of International Women's Day, which I never knew existed until today, I am listing three international women who have influenced me and my writing. Isn't this exciting?

Rosamunde Pilcher, Great Britain
I read her book, Coming Home, at the latter part of each of my pregnancies, and before writing The Lake. I love everything about it: strong, defined characters I relate to, excellent pacing (especially for a 900+ page work spanning 8 years), twists, conflict, pain, strength, values, arcs, romance, I just love this book. I've read others by her, but this is my favorite.

Jane Austen, England
Do I really have to say anything? Oh my. A treasure.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, United States of America
I don't know that there was much influence here on my writing, but definitely on my reading. This was my first series I ever read. I was thoroughly interested in Laura Ingalls and how she grew up. Finishing each book only compelled me to find another, in or out of the series, just another book to read. Where could I go next?

Some more honorable mentions: JK Rowling, Agatha Christie, Charlotte Bronte, Stephenie Meyer, Louisa May Alcott , George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), Jan Karon, Mary Stewart, LM Montgomery . . .

Thank you, ladies. You are fine examples to me and hold a sweet place in my heart.

What women have influenced your writing or reading?

Commandments for Writers Series: #8

Moving along with Sol Stein's Ten Commandments for Writers, from Stein on Writing...

8 Thou shalt have no rest on the sabbath, for thy characters shall live in thy mind and memory now and forever.

It's true, figuratively and literally. Giving life to characters is akin to creating family. That sounds insane. I don't think I'm insane. I do know that Alisen, Elizabeth, Amanda, Chloe, Jill, and Kirianah are like sisters to me. Okay, maybe I'm insane. The asylum's in my head. Shhh, don't tell anyone.

I know of writers who choose not to write on the Sabbath day. But I bet they think about it.

I have been jolted with inspiration for a plot line in the middle of Sunday School class. My jaw has dropped as I sing the words of an unfamiliar hymn, appropriately depicting my character's feelings. A comment, a quote, a scripture catches fire in my soul, burning to be written down as soon as I get home. A fix to a scene, a turn of dialogue, an expression of emotion. The rest comes after the words are down.

But yeah, I'm still thinking about them.

Thursday Authorial: Inspiring People

I don't mean this is a post on how to inspire people. This is a post on people who inspire. People who feel a desire, an urge, a prompting they can't let go of, and act on it with full heart. With passion.

“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” Mitch Albom

There's so much discussion about aspiring authors who feel the urge to write something important, but they don't follow it through. Excuses can be valid, I know, but if you feel such a pull, feel you might have what it takes, feel your idea or dream would be something special if you only... Well, why do you feel that way? Is that for nothing? Or is it for something?

These people are some examples to me, to follow my dream with passion.

Jessica McComas at I Am What I Do

I have the blessed fortune to have known this woman since her birth. Jess is my cousin and we share the same shy giggle and dimple. When I hear myself on a home video, sometimes I hear her. It makes me smile.
Several years ago, Jess was touched by the story of babies in China in desperate need of homes. To Jess, they are in need of love, and I think she'd give just about anything to supply it to all of them. Her story is an incredible journey of passion. And it's not over.

Stephanie Nielsen at NieNie Dialogues

I don't know Stephanie personally, but it almost feels that way. Whether you think her decision to stay or go was right or wrong, she has followed her prompting, no holds barred, as much as she is capable, with full purpose of heart, fighting every inch of the day, loving.
And lives are touched many times over because of it.

Shelli Larson at HAPPY GIRL

This lovely would ask why in the world she is on this list. I don't care, I'm the big sister and I'm putting her on here. She's been through a lot of the same crap the rest of us have, and she is one of my biggest inspirations in living this life.
She may or may not mind that I am telling you that at 38 years this week (Happy Birthday, Shell!), my sister is one heckuva tennis player. She played in high school, loved it, but then she got busy with college, marriage, 4 kids, an assortment of animals, jobs, moves, etc... and then about 3 years ago she picked up a racket again, because she remembered how much she loved it. She took a class, and was persuaded to join a team. Now she's in championship games all over the Northwest. She rocks. She's my rock. She's grounded, compassionate, wise, and will cry with you or laugh her cute little butt off. Passion.

So, we worry about priorities and the value of time and effort. But if what you haven't recognized as passion is culminating into one thought, one urgent desire to manifest some semblance of creation by your hands, your power, isn't it worth something to see where it could take you? It might be worth more than you ever imagined. Or maybe you have imagined.

Find your passion. Make it for something.

A Time to Skimp; A Time to Pluck

My husband likes to call it

 However, he is sometimes referred to as

No matter how you spell it (because he DID take me to Washington DC for six days), Hotel Room Internet Fee+My Husband=No Internet.

Well, we bought a couple of hours one day. But I was pretty much out of the net loop for the week and between walking Capitol Hill and the Mall, navigating the Metro, finding the fun dining spots, getting dolled up for the Gala, and my husband's conferences and meeting with legislators and such, I found myself with a little time for introspection. And rubbing my feet. And reading Brandon Sanderson's Elantris.
I was too tired to write, but I did have a dream one night. A dream story. A dream story with a main character with a name and a purpose and an antagonist, and a setting that will work, and dialogue I remember. I only need to make dinner and take my daughter shopping, play my volleyball game, participate in Family Home Evening and fold the laundry, and then probably drop because we got home at midnight last night. But maybe not. Maybe I'll dive in, build a world, and create a character to fall in love with. I just. Need. To get. It out.

Maybe Me+No Internet=Subconscious Creative Juice Flow.
That pear is getting pretty dang ripe.

Juicy.

Riding Currents

"The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible." 

~Vladimir Nabakov

As I read excerpts from upcoming novels here and there, as I anticipate the release of new friends' books for 2010, and smile as announcements are made for sequels I am reading, or hear the Whitney nominations, and for the first time ever, the titles are familiar or even well known, as I read how author's are grappling with their plots and letting their characters lead, cursing or finding their muse, I can't help but shiver at the current of imagination, intelligence, and creation in the air. It almost shimmers.

If I stood in a field, and raised my hands and face to the sky, reaching with my spirit, could I collect the current?

Or would I just get honked at?

Can you feel it?

Maren's Review

I just watched the latest BBC version of Sense and Sensibility with my 7 year old daughter while we (meaning I; she did gymnastics on the couch) folded laundry. She asked a few questions along the way and made sure she was caught up with things between the three episodes. When it ended and the final credits rolled, she asked, "Is it over?"
"Yes, it is."
"Oh wow. I feel so... happy." She bounced from the couch and into my lap and gave me a big squeeze.

And that is how I want to make my readers feel when they finish my books.

Find It

I love writing.  I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.  ~James Michener

I am reading a book I won in a blog contest called "The Fairy Thorn", by Dorothy Keddington. I am only on chapter 3, but as I read today while waiting for my son's piano lesson to finish, I was reminded of the above quote. Dorothy's language is lovely, rhythmic.
Her opening sentences:

I stood at the edge of the drive with poems by Wordsworth and E.E. Cummings running through my mind and a bittersweet yearning inside. It was "just spring" and there were "daffodills fluttering and dancing in the breeze," and the world really was "puddle luscious" because it had rained softly during the night... And here I was, feeling the soft air and the fragrance and all the stirrings of spring, standing on the edge of things the way I always did.

And later:

Straight ahead, the massive steel girders spanned the deep gorge in a solid hand-clasp of metal arches and cantilevers, while far below, the restless waters made their own way.

It's just a portion, but being a Washington girl for the most part, her entire description of the bridge spanning Deception Pass takes my breath away, as does the memory of standing above those girders and looking at the swirling currents of ocean a very long way down.

I have heard so many writers share what music does for their voice, their expression of emotion, the tempo or pace of their scenes. "...the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotion."
Find the music in what you read, what you write. Writer's are given the opportunity to not only paint pictures, but compose as well.

Confession

 A word is not the same with one writer as with another.  One tears it from his guts.  The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.  ~Charles Peguy

It would probably be assumed that most LDS authors, maybe especially those who write in the romance genre, are long-time LDS author readers. They have one or two favorite authors and know the names of most others, know what style to expect, and are eager for the writing of any new author that comes into the fold.
I have a confession to make:
I have read Weyland's Charly and Sam (when I was at my aunt's house in Spokane at the end of one summer and my cousins all started school during my stay-- I didn't know there were books about fictional Mormons the way there are books about fictional everyone else... Kennewick, WA was not a hub of LDS literature for 12 year olds at the time), Yorgason's The Greatest Quest (in college), and Card's Lost Boys (when my oldest was crawling, borrowed it from my dad). My mom-in-law hesitatingly gave me Evans's The Christmas Box after we lost a baby girl. The Secret Journal of Brett Colton, by Kay Lynn Mangum and one called Place of Sage by someone else, and Wright's Christmas Jars were introduced through a book club I belonged to in Walla Walla years ago, and Lund's The Fire of the Covenant (got it for Christmas). That's about it. Oh, and his first 5 books of The Work and the Glory, and Kingdom and the Crown. Oh, wow, and the amazing Great and Terrible series by Chris Stewart. I have read lots and lots of LDS non-fiction. We inherited piles of it. Not so much fiction, especially LDS romance. It just wasn't available to me in the areas we have lived, and so, unfamiliar.
When I took the challenge to write fiction at my writer's club, and then completed the first draft of The Orchard, I gave it to my friends and asked, "I have no idea if this fits with what others have written. I feel like I should be reading other LDS romances to compare."
"No," was the reply. "Not yet." Carla suggested it might be better if I didn't until I was sure of my voice.
So, it wasn't until last spring, after I completed the Finding Home trilogy, that I borrowed Stansfield's Gables Faces East, and Gables Against the Sky, then Nunez's Chasing Yesterday. Then, I bought Stansfield's The Sound of Rain, to get a feel for her modern romance. Next, I ordered Counting the Stars and it's sequel, All the Stars in Heaven, by Michele Paige Holmes, after learning about the Whitney Awards and that she had won Best New Author for Counting, and Jennie Hansen's Beyond Summer Dreams, because she has written SO much and I was curious. The Last Waltz, by G.G. Vandagriff, rounded out my exploration, for now. All, new names to me.
I am very glad I waited. It was fun and interesting, reading the words of these women. I found myself, instead of comparing, just reading and enjoying these stories with a new appreciation for the craft. That these women succeed in pursuing their love of writing gives me hope. Their styles are unique. Of course they are.
So, that list to the right, of LDS Authors? I don't really know them, and they certainly do not know me, although G.G. and I have sent happy and gracious emails to one another, and M. Gray knows I love to travel and she doesn't, and she likes my rhythm (thank you, M.). I am unpublished (for now... thinking positive), so why would they even check me out?
The list is for me. I read their blogs, learn about this business, find great tips and links, and sometimes comment, like I did when I read G.G.'s book and let her know I reviewed it here. I am getting to know these authors and adding to my reading list. I sense their apprehension in sending out a new book, relish their excitement when the box of new copies arrives on their doorstep, and pay attention to their marketing strategies. I like how their names appear frequently on one another's blogs. These women are friends and weave a tremendous support network for each other. And, they're funny. I feel refreshed and inspired after my weekly "stalking", running down the list.
And this is only a fraction of LDS authors I could add. I am still exploring, listening, and hoping.
Has this had an effect on my voice? I don't think so. It encourages me to stick to my own. Following is only good for Blogs and Commandments.

Chapter One

I have now posted all of chapter one of The Orchard, as it now reads. The publishers are still in the review process, but I thought I would get over a little fear and just post the entire chapter for you (are there three, or four of you?). Enjoy!
Click here, or at the link to the right. *NOTE: Because THE ORCHARD is now under contract, I cannot post the first chapter without the publisher's permission. I will post it again if permission is granted. SORRY!

I was able to spend a few days in Jackson, Wyoming, while my husband attended a conference there at the beginning of this week, and I was very anxious for two reasons. One, I hadn't been away from home without the kids for a very long time, so it was a nice retreat. Two, the sequel to The Orchard, The Inn, is situated in Jackson, at this very time of year. When I wrote it last year, I hadn't been there for several years. It was so fun to trace Elizabeth's steps and find out I was right on in some instances, a little off on some, and that I could add more detail and exactness to the setting. And it was nice and quiet in the mornings, before I hit the boardwalks of town, so I could sit in my hotel room and go back over The Inn, adding and fixing what I had discovered.
It rained. A lot. But I had already written that in my book, so it felt right.
Mountain weather.

A Search

I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.  ~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977

I have half a dozen spiral-bound notebooks around the house. They are mine. There has never been a formal announcement, but everyone knows. I write down to-do lists, project needs, phone numbers, recipes. And I write down anything of note, any thought, any event, a dialogue for a novel, a point I want to make, figure out the words.
I was looking for something this morning and came across this entry. I had just spent the first week in a quiet house... my youngest had started all-day kindergarten, the house was clean, everything was (for the first time in years) checked off my to-do list. I had picked up my seldom read copy of works by William Wordsworth. Questions weighed heavily on my mind. What am I supposed to do... be? What do I do with my "talent"? Do I go to school? Do I go to work? Do I have more to do than my kids? If I did, I wanted to find it. Despite my gratitude for being able to be home all these years, I was very frustrated. Lost. I read this:

8/23/07

"If thou indeed derive thy light from Heaven,
Then, to the measure of that heaven-born light,
Shine, (Krista)! In thy place,
and be content..."

"These words struck like lightning, and my tears broke, startling me as I read them.
How am I to shine? I feel the light, but it is held within, without escape. Is it foolishness to pursue release... as if to swallow the moon whole, so that its light shines out my eyes and fingertips, like Jimmy describes in It's a Wonderful Life?
I wish to shine... and be content."

Only a few weeks later, I joined a new writer's club, and started my first book, Sudden Storms and Sunlight. It's a real story. Truth. Three rejection letters and five and a half fiction novels later, I am still working on Comes The Sunlight (the title has evolved) and it will probably be the most important thing I have ever written.
Am I content? No. And that is good.
But, I am content with the direction I have been given. Something more to do... to be.

All Who Do Brain Work

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." Louisa May Alcott

I just watched the Hallmark adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's The Inheritance and came across an article at The Writing Spirit blog.

To read about writing methods of classic authors in their time (this article was written only five years after Alcott's passing and just at the invention of the typewriter) is amazing, and to connect with those methods is pretty cool. Little Women was the first "big book" I ever read. I still remember sitting on my bedroom floor in front of my open closet, running my hands over the green linen cover, feeling its weight, then opening it up and plunging in, quickly carried away to a different time and place in the language. Love it when that happens. You know those kids whose mothers yell, "Get outside and enjoy the summer!" I was that kid, because I was inside, lying on my back on the floor, my knees up and bent over the bed, my ankles crossed on top of my quilt, reading about Jo and Laurie and another world I wanted to be a part of.

The Writing Method of Louisa May Alcott
(by Dr. H. Erichsen, “Methods of Writers,” The Writer Magazine, June 1893)

The method of Louisa May Alcott was a very simple one. She never had a study; and an old atlas on her knee was all the desk she cared for. Any pen, any paper, any ink, and any quiet place contented her.

Years ago, when necessity drove her hard, she used to sit for fourteen hours at her work, doing about thirty pages a day, and scarcely tasting food until her daily task was done. She never copied. When the idea was in her head, it flowed into words faster than she could write them down, and she seldom altered a line. She had the wonderful power of carrying a dozen plots for months in her mind, thinking them over whenever she was in the mood, to be developed at the proper time. Sometimes she carried a plan thus for years.

Often, in the dead of the night, she lay awake and planned whole chapters, word for word, and when daylight came she had only to write them down. She never composed in the evening. She maintained that work in the early hours gives morning freshness to both brain and pen, and that rest at night is a necessity for all who do brain work.

She never used stimulants of any kind. She ate sparingly when writing, and only the simplest food, holding that one cannot preach temperance if one does not practice it. Miss Alcott affirmed that the quality of an author’s work depends much on his habits, and that sane, wholesome, happy, and wise books must come from clean lives, well-balanced minds, spiritual insight, and a desire to do good.

Very few of the stories of the author of “Little Women” were written in Concord, her home. This peaceful, pleasant place, the fields of which are classic ground, utterly lacked inspiration for Miss Alcott. She called it “this dull town,” and when she had a story to write she went to Boston, where she shut herself up in a room, and emerged only when she could show a completed work.

What are your writing methods?

• Do you prefer writing in the sunshine, or by artificial light?
  
• Do you use a lead pencil or a fountain pen?
• Do you create a skeleton first?
• Do you use any stimulants to spur the creative process?
• Do you compose the sentences and stories to completion in your mind before committing them to paper, or let your ideas flow out as they may?