Edged Teeth, v.2

Okay. We've established I am just a crank masquerading in an exceedingly pleasant person's body (i.e. conflict-averse). So you won't be surprised to discover there are myriad things that annoy the heck out of me. The latest one: teenage girls going out on the street in their cutesy flannel pyjamas. You know, the pants made of thin material with pink monkeys or naughty angels or some other kind of overly-sweet crap patterned all over them?
Now, I know this is not the point, but how freaking hard is it to put on jeans? Because honestly, girls, you don't have the butts to be wearing those thin, flowing pants. You, your butt and your legs wobble and wiggle underneath and you look dumpy, too. Your butt looks fat. And you look as if you're too freaking lazy to put jeans on. JEANS, for goodness' sake, not PVC or even a skirt that requires thought about leg covering and shoe choice. So why do you do it??

Silver Linings

This is school vacation week, so yesterday I packed my five year-old off to visit his grandparents. I returned home and my heart is hurting for missing him. Since it is one of my own moral imperatives not to take anything for granted, I decided to make a list of positive things that could happen while he was away:

-sleep later than 7:00am.
-not have to make an explanation when I wanted to go get a hot beverage or pee. Although I do find myself announcing said to the empty room.
-seeing movies without animated fish. Plans are in the works to see Sin City, Kung Fu Hustle if I'm lucky.
-going outside AFTER DARK!
-making plans for self without frantically checking for childcare.
-sleeping naked.
-and, of course, writing for long hours without interruptions to see what Pikachu just did.

I miss you, honey.

Superfluity

My agent recommended this book: Self-Editing For Fiction Writers (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060545690/qid=1114446787/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-8440592-4840112?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). I got it this weekend, and yowza! An epiphany!
That is, of course, if you are prone to droning on and on, totally in love with your own directionless prose (ahem.). I've edited and rearranged and removed and I think my book is already much better. I'm up to 135 pp., only 270 to go. Barring any sudden lapses into superfluous writing, I think I'll be done in a few months, as planned.
I like reading books about writing, but I like actually writing better. Must go do that now.

Thanks for reading,

Megan

Trees vs. Forest: Discuss

Do you think Jane Austen or Henry James or Neal Stephenson ever sat down and just said to themselves, I think I'll write until I've written a book? Lord, I hope not, because that thought is completely daunting to me.

But I have written a book -- albeit just one -- and am in the middle of writing another one. I do it by setting goals. Rather than even thinking about writing an entire book, I concentrate on moving from scene to scene. On writing days, I promise to finish at least 1,000 words. When I do think about completing the book, I make realistic promises to myself about what I can do or get when I'm done: a few snazzy t-shirts from the Pemberley site (www.pemberley.com), a Benefit BADgal eye pencil, maybe a scone from the pricey muffin shop.

Back when I ran regularly, I would run from tree to tree. If I thought about my total mileage, I would want to stop. If I targeted that next tree, I'd make it until I finished the run (now I'm a gym rat, and so much happier).
When I sold my first book, I immediately went out and bought what I had promised myself in those long months of querying: a red Brooklyn sweatshirt. $40. Not a lot of money for making a goal, but every time I wear that sweatshirt, I remember what I did to get it. And it inspires me to do more.

I like not seeing the forest for the trees.

Thanks for visiting,

Megan

Edged Teeth

There are many, many things that annoy me. Because I loathe and fear conflict with every fiber of my being, I seldom mention any of these things except for in my head. Which is abuzz with nastiness.

So yesterday I went to the local Salvation Army, where I peruse the bookshelves for books (uh, duh) periodically. I've scored a few times (category Crusie, way-old Layton, some trade paperback literary fiction), and it's a stop on the way home from the gym.

But this always bugs me: people who donate dated regional restaurant guides. Would anyone spend $1.99 for New York City's Best Restaurants 1998?? Just throw it in the trash! Recycle it, for goodness' sake! Don't waste poor Salvation Army's time by donating your seven-years-out-of-date review book that they have to sort, sticker and shelve.

Geez. Don't people think?

Blooming Flowers

When I was little, I used to go into my parents' room to wake them up. My mom would open her eyes and sing this song first thing almost every morning:

the flowers that bloom in the spring
tra la!
bring promise of merry sunshine

Which is a fragment of a Gilbert & Sullivan song, a big favorite around my house growing up. I've been singing it lately too. I never realized until the past couple of years just how important the warmth of the sun is to me. Which reminds me, of course, of a Stevie Wonder song "Happier Than The Morning Sun," another big favorite at el casa de Frampton.
The book I'm writing begins in February at the lowest point in my heroine's life. The weather improves as she begins to rebuild her life and her confidence. It's a cliche, but it's a cliche that works.

Thanks for reading, and blooming,

Megan

More writing...

...And reading; boy, the romance blog world is like a little Peyton Place right now (and did you notice PP's author, Grace Metalious, has all five vowels once and only once in her last name? Read Stefan Fatsis's Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players to know why that is so important to me. Oh, and share my OCD).
My agent got back to me with the word that she likes the direction in which I am heading. Cool. And the much-delayed, is it actually here, arrival of Spring is making me way more enthused about everything.
So I'm off; off to write, to chirp with the birds, to go out of the house without a coat.

See you soon,

Megan

Goals and Motivation

I'm almost up to 100 pages in Courier New (I write in Times New Roman, but CN is closer to 'true' page count, so I switch to gauge my progress), and wrote another two pages today, which I was convinced were terrible. I was feeling all discouraged (variations on I suck/Why do I bother?/This is hard and I really should be cleaning the bathroom), but really, that kind of reaction is part of the process. And the two pages aren't that bad, I just have to figure out the point of the scene.
My problem is I can write pages of clever, sharp writing that goes absolutely nowhere, but I don't realize it because it just sounds so good. So my question to myself now is "what's the point?" If the scene doesn't have a point, it should go. No matter how cleverly I tread water, it's still treading water.

See you at the deep end,

Megan

Waiting . . . and Writing

Once someone attains the status of a Published Author (no matter if said person might only ever publish one book. Ahem), it seems as if she is a lot more popular. Or maybe it's because that kind of validation makes one more confident? Anyway.
This past week I've been critiquing a couple of other authors' work. I also finished judging some contest entries for the Hearts Through History contest. I entered it last year, and got some great feedback, so wanted to give back a little. All that critiquing and judging has been both fun and educational. Because of all that, however, I haven't been sticking to the 1500 words a day thing, but I have been writing steadily.
I've found when I take the story a place it absolutely should not go it eats at me until I remove it. Even as I'm heading to pick my son up from school, hanging out in the playground afterward chatting with the other moms, it's in the back of my mind, taunting me. I had to come home the other day and yank it out right away, even though it really didn't matter.
What all this does teach me is what kind of writer I am. That information is invaluable, and will serve me as I try to proceed with my new career.
I've been on a medieval kick, and have plowed through some Deborah Simmons books (although I actually bent the cover back of the Maiden Bride, the cover was that embarrassing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0373289324/qid=1112801330/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl14/103-3271099-7026263?v=glance&s=books&n=507846). And this from a woman who vowed never to be embarrassed by a cover again.)
I also picked up Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver last night, a book I am loving, but am finding hard to stick to for more than a couple of pages. It's hardcover and over 900 pages, so it's impossible to tote around with me. I tend to read it at night, which means I'm sleepier than usual. I'm expecting to finish it sometime before old age.

Thanks for visiting,

Megan