MERRY CHRISTMAS

I'm having a bit of a break from writing and blogging, but I just wanted to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas.

I hope your days are filled with family, good friends, great food and awesome books!!!

I'll be back again in the New Year.

CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE

Well, I've done it again, done a disappearing act. I can't quite believe it's been another two weeks since I last blogged. I've been busy getting everything organised for Christmas and for the first time in years I'm totally organised before the school holidays start, which is a wonderful feeling.

The tree is up:



 

And my favourite angel ornaments are gracing the piano:

By the end of this week everyone in the family will be finished school and six long weeks of summer holidays await us. We're hoping to complete a couple of projects in the garden, go for day trips in the car and find some new places to explore on foot. And for the inevitable cooler, rainy days there is a pile of books and another pile of movies to get through. What are your plans for the holidays?

The writing has taken a backseat for just a little while (just for the Christmas season), although there are the results of a couple of short story competitions coming up at the end of the month. (Fingers crossed!)

Wherever you are - knee deep in snow or basking in the sun - I hope you have a blessed and peaceful time leading up to Christmas.

HELLO SUMMER

Today is the first day of summer and it is a perfect hot sun-shiny day. This morning I took a scrubbing brush and hose to the table on the deck to remove all that winter had thrown at it. Then I pulled up a chair and ate breakfast under the sun. A couple of resident fantails swooped around me and I spotted a large dragonfly. A lovely start to the day.

Along with the coming of summer is the end of the school year. This week my oldest finished school - forever. Second son has spent the week performing in the school show, playing a mighty mean bass guitar. Last night we went as a family and it was loads of fun. And my youngest is winding down her last year of homeschooling. She's off to high school next year and we are both looking forward to the change. There will, hopefully, be a much more prolific writing schedule for me next year.

An almost completed first chapter got an airing on Tuesday night at Mad Scribblers (the awesome critique group I attend). It received favourable reports. So with that boost to my confidence I'm dying to get stuck in and write up a storm!

I still have no title for this new novel, so I'll refer to it as Tegan's Story for the moment. I must admit to thoroughly enjoying writing a modern story. There is very little research needed, which is a nice change, although I do need to interview a friend with the same illness as Tegan's brother. I've never interviewed anyone so it will be another learning curve.

And I'll finish up with a big shout of CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to all those who have completed NaNo. Well done to you all.

CHASING AFTER CHARACTERS

‎"It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does."  William Faulkner
 


A perfect quote for where I'm at. I really am chasing after new characters, watching how they react with one another and how they cope with what I'm throwing at them. Exciting stuff.


When creating characters, I fill out questionnaires that tell me things like what they wear to their greatest fears and everything in between. I find these really helpful.


The other day I came across a unique idea in an email from Writers' Digest. It was to put your character on the witness stand then interrogate them from both the prosecutors and defenders point of view. A good way to bring out the worst and the best of your character.


But despite all the preparation, for me, the best way to really get to know my characters is to just start writing. That's when they leap off the page and start to tell me their story. 


So how do you create your characters?




  

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

Well, I could tell you I've been on a dream-come-true trip to Italy, or a road trip across Australia, but I'd be lying! Truth is I've been here all along carrying out all the normal, slightly predictable routines of being a mother and wife. The one difference being: Internet issues!!!

Now I could rant and rave about a particular internet provider, but that won't get any of us anywhere. Instead I'll say a big HELLO to all of you wonderful loyal readers who are still stopping in despite my absence. I must say the Stats button on Blogger is a wealth of interesting information. It seems that for every New Zealander that pops over for a visit, 3 readers from USA come by. This is a new trend in the last week or so. Not sure why, but hey, it's good to have you.

Since this blog is supposedly about my writing journey, I should catch you all up with my latest doings.

My latest short story, written for a speculative fiction competition, failed to get a place. It's a gothic historical tale entitled The Scent of Lilies. I really enjoyed trying a different genre. I've had good feedback on it and will rework it for another up coming competition.

It is now four years since I started on this great adventure of writing, and therefore I've spent the last four years with the characters in my novel, Blackbird. I had put it aside earlier this year and dabbled with a different story, then went back to it. Big mistake! But we're allowed those, as long as we learn from them and I have.

One of the most important things I've learned is where to start a story. I have a real tendency to start early, to set the scene etc etc. Three times I have cut the beginning chapters off, once I needed to trim about ten of them. And now I finally have worked out where the right beginning should be and what form it should take. I just have to write it.

And that's the rub. I can't find it in me to write another word. I'm just so tired of the story. So, with a sigh, I have consigned it to the bottom drawer. Do I feel like I have failed? No. I've learnt to write on that story. I've moved from the 'truly terrible' to the 'almost there'. Will the novel ever see the light of day again? Yes. With a long break I hope to pick it up and rewrite it from scratch, because I still love the characters and I believe in the story.

So what will I do in the meantime?

Well there's this techno savvy girl, who's found herself in the black blocks of Central Otago, and she's whispering her story in my ear.

photo of Ida Valley from the Otago Daily Times