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I'm in California now, in the basement apartment of my father's house. Tomorrow is my sister's wedding: the Big Day. Yesterday I got my toes and nails done, and took Dad to a barber to get trimmed up. Today I'll find a card, which as any woman knows is a time-consuming task, necessitating reading every card on the rack. The card store I have in mind is close to two of my favorite clothing-shopping stores, so will I be able to resist? (Doubtful.) A very good bookstore used to be in this block too, but the last time I was here, it seemed on last legs. If it's still there, I'll browse there, too.

I've been reading Elizabeth George's Write Away, and I like it. I love the quotes from her journals, her fears and struggles. She has a very matter-of-fact way of putting things. I'm almost finished with it, in part because I don't read the excerpted examples included (never have, never will).
Here are some quotes.

"...your setting should be a place that you want to know about, a place you are interesting in exploring, a place you want to describe, a place that resonates with you ... " [24]

"What you should keep in mind is that anything in a character's environment can serve as an indicator of his internal landscape if you use it wisely." [38]

She makes it clear that you need conflict to have a story, and that events must occur as the conflict unfolds, and that these events "must be organized with an emphasis on causality." (Like dominoes.)

Which made me ask: what is the central conflict in my story?

I like this especially:

"Skilled writers know that what you're supposed to do is continually open up your story. You do this by creating scenes in which you lay down — but do not answer — dramatic questions. You do this by making sure that if you do answer a dramatic question in a scene as the novel progresses, you've already laid down another. You do this by making partial disclosures instead of giving out all the information you possess." [43]

In other words, the writer is a tease.

On character (which is where she begins):

"I believe it's critical to know the basic need each character has in his life because the denial of that need leads directly to the second area that I consider crucial in developing a character. This is his pathological maneuver. Better said, it's what the character does when he's under stress. The supreme stress he's ever under, by the way, is having his efforts to meets his core need thwarted." [50]

"The final important area that I include in my analysis is to decide what the character wants in the novel. (I make this decision about each scene as well, giving an agenda to each character in a scene.) [52]

More on voice and plot to come ...

And no, I haven't been getting to my scenes. Thinking of them, but coming up short.

(Having written that, I wrote the five.)

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I'm in the middle of so many books it's crazy: The Hour of Our Death (a history of attitudes toward death—excellent); The Plot against Pepys; a book on 17th century French cooking; three or four books on writing; a novel; a book of short stories. Like a bee in the honeysuckle, I fly from one to another.

I'm also ordering books, because fall is coming, and we're approaching that period of time when we move to Mexico for the winter, where it costs quite a bit to order books in. The problem will soon be deciding which books to take, and which to leave behind. I need to finish some of the research books I'm reading, and (this is the hard part) record notes onto computer.

I've complained of this before. The day before yesterday, I recorded notes from two text pages to the Timeline and the Research Notes — it took an hour. (In large part because I became absorbed.)

I'm going to try a new method: computer dictation. I've ordered the software, but will it help or hinder? That remains to be seen. If it does work, it might also prove way to rewrite a second or third or zillionth draft: by reading it into the computer. I always find reading my work out loud changes how I see and hear it. I hear the redundancies, the unnecessary phrases. I've read pages from a work in process out loud, but never an entire draft — although, with every book, I tell myself I should.

Today: packing. I'm going to California for my sister's wedding: my sister and her female partner of over twenty years. It's a joyous summer in California this year, so many couples leaping at the window of opportunity to legally bless their union. Certainly, Robin and Betsy's wedding is going to be a big "hats off!" whoop of joy. People are flying in from all over. My blind, 90-year-old dad will be proudly walking (hobbling?) my sister down the aisle, my brother's band playing.

I will try to blog while away, but I might disappear for a week or so. My father doesn't have Internet (torture!) and even the connection at the local Starbucks is slow and frustrating.

Did I write my scenes yesterday? No. Have I written my scenes today? Yes.

Still catching up

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I'm keeping to the scenes. Today, being Sunday, I thought: just one. But it ended up being five index cards. They are stacking up.

I'm also filling out the Timeline with respect to La Grande Mademoiselle: I've read many books on her, "T" marked in the margins — this is my code for "post to Timeline." Posting facts to the Timeline is a big job, engrossing but time-consuming, and also somewhat hard on my body (in spite of all my ergonomic equipment).

My intent is to get the facts about La Grande Mademoiselle's life down and then print the significant events onto cards, and sort them in with the scene cards. Before I do that, I'd like all those "T" notes posted. I question the wisdom of this: am I procrastinating in the guise of research?

As well, I found a down-loadable version of one of La Grande Mademoiselle's novels, which I now have on computer. It would be a worthwhile project to attempt a translation. (Reminding me now of the lost project, the "translation" of the 17th century book on horsemanship.)

All this helps to explain, I think, why it takes me so darn long to write a novel.

Am I doing my taxes? NO.

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Am I doing my taxes? NO. I'm reading writer blogs. I so totally relate to this post on revising on C.W. Gortner's blog:

At times, I honestly thought the book would crumble apart and found myself ruing the day I decided I could tackle such a difficult subject. Catherine led a long, eventful, and unbelievably complicated life; the decision during this revision rapidly became one that often put me, as they say in Spain, between the cape and the sword. I had to make very tough decisions between what must stay and what must go; and when you're writing a historical novel that covers an actual person's life, that is not an easy thing to do. In fact, I had an agonizing few weeks when I wondered if I could even do her justice, given the constraints.

I'm very much looking forward to reading this novel, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici.

Books on writing

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I love reading books about writing, especially when I’m somewhat stuck, or balky. Yesterday I took a load of unwanted books to The Bookstore in Golden Lake, run by my writing friend Jenifer McVaugh. In exchange, I brought home a load of new books, a number of them books on writing. The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri is a classic; a number of people have mentioned it. The Practice of Poetry by Behn & Twichell is a book that Jenifer loaned me, a book she recommends, and one I’m looking forward to exploring. The Sound of Paper; Starting from Scratch by Julia Cameron looked interesting. I got a great deal out of her book The Artist’s Way, but haven’t connected with any of her newer books. This one might suit; I don’t know. I'm skimming it — I'm a little annoyed, already, by her predictable list assignments, but, as is always the case with a book by a writer on writing, finding bits that resonate.

The book I started reading right away was (heh) Write Away by Elizabeth George. I like it. It’s nudging me to do things I know I should be doing, like character analysis.

“ . . . you cannot bring a character to life in a book unless he or she is alive before the book begins.”

I’ve always been a bit lazy about this, I confess, allowing a character’s eccentricities to emerge during the writing, or during a 3rd or 4th draft emergency analysis.

I like this about setting:

“Your setting should be a place that you want to know about, a place you are interested in exploring, a place you want to describe . . . "

And further:

"But it's tough to make a place come to life unless you've been there . . . "

I find this to be true, and it's a key reason for my research trips. But it's not only the sensual experience of a place that matters — for me it's the deep conviction that something happened, and that it happened here, on this spot.

One thing I like especially is that George heads each chapter with an excerpt from her writing diary.

"I am filled with doubts. Why isn't Steinbeck filled with doubts?"

Yet Steinbeck was filled with doubts while writing Grapes of Wrath. I suspect that every writer is filled with doubt, most of the time.

As for today: after writing in my journal that I was entirely dry in the scene-creation department, I wrote out (in brief) my allotted 5 scenes. Which pleases me greatly.

And then, on discovering that my reader mailbox was again 3-weeks deep, answered emails: one to the German translator of Mistress of the Sun, whose glowing email I treasure. One to a woman seeking a relative who may be related to Josephine (I get emails of this sort regularly) — I need to do a little research to answer. Several heart-warming letters from fans.

And now: taxes, which I hope to finish today. Beyond that, perhaps a walk on my horse, some research recording, some Q&As to work on, preparation for my European research trip (coming up).

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I’ve been spinning my wheels, but this is not entirely unproductive. Mucking about on my computer this morning, filing things away, discovering things missing, giving some thought to how things might be better organized. This is important in terms of research, which generates so many files — files that need to be found quickly, as needed.

In general, I use Notebook as a repository for most all information, but it has limitations. (Too, it’s possible that I’ve not learned to use it perfectly. )

I also store larger documents in DevonThink – but I’ve never been at ease with Devon, in spite of all it’s qualities. I keep thinking I will spend some time with their on-line tutorials – but that requires a high-speed link, as well as time. Also, now that the Mac OS is so searchable, why not simply keep these documents on my computer?

All of this mulling (and hair-pulling) has come after a discovery that a “translation” of an 17th century horsemanship manual I worked on for years is no longer to be found on my computer. When my new computer stopped working, and I had to move back into my old computer, I needed throw off lots of data to make room. Surely, it’s somewhere.

Sideswiped

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I've been sideswiped by summer, family matters ... and now: taxes. All good intentions have been forgotten. Not that I haven't been busy — with writing-related and other work — but as for scenes ... ?

Writing is so like exercise or dieting or any of those things that require resolve. You just have to keep at it.