Balls!

That work thing I've been working on nonstop for a couple weeks is not going so terribly well. On the plus side, it can't last forever.

I hope to get back to, oh, a life outside of my office sometime in the next week or so. Until then, here is an illustration of what I've been muttering under my breath.

It's from Fort Point in San Francisco. I highly recommend a visit to the historic fort, unless you have a fear of narrow, steep, circular stone stairways. Then I recommend that you hang out on the first floor and enjoy the history and stay away from the roof, even though the views are amazing. Personally, the stairs freak me out a little but obviously I got over my vertigo or I'd be writing this from the roof of a historic fort under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Have a good week!

Not Much Else Going On, Might As Well Write A Novel

    In what must be an insane delusion, I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. I won’t be starting until my work commitment is finished, so I may only get a half a month to write a novel. I’m still not sure why this seemed like a good idea, but now that I’ve decided to do it, I need to figure out a strategy. Work on the novella trilogy that’s been hounding me? Or on the new idea that just surfaced? Or cheat completely and work on the 2/3-finished novel that I want to wrap up by the end of the year?
    I’m leaning toward the new idea – tentatively titled “Pacific Daylight Time.” If there is such a creature, I'd say it's going to be a noir romance. Now that I think of it, there is probably no such genre. But I’m going with it anyway. Since I have 48 hours before I have to dive back into work, I’m going to work on outlining so I have something to work with when I start writing in a couple weeks.
    While it’s a daunting task to commit to writing 50,000 words in a month (or fewer, since I plan to pro-rate my word count based on my schedule), I’m really looking forward to creating a new world and uncovering the story as I go. After the next couple of weeks at work, I’m going to need a vacation. I’ll just be taking it in my imagination.  

Vitamin ZZZZZ Deficiency

    I’ve touched on insomnia before, but it bears mentioning again because today I am suffering from a severe sleep deficiency. It must be severe because I just volunteered to host Thanksgiving at my home this year. Thanksgiving falls approximately two days after a major work event. This should be interesting.
    I’ve hosted Thanksgiving before, so in theory, I know what I’m doing. Not everyone one is convinced of this. The first time I hosted, my mother-in-law showed up with a turkey, stuffing, and gravy — “just in case.” Many people would have been insulted by this, but I just laughed. It was easy to laugh since my turkey was better (the secret:  brine that sucker). And then I filed that episode away for use in a future book.
    This year, we’ll probably have fewer than a dozen people, which is small for my family. My mother-in-law is going to bring green beans and an appetizer (ONE appetizer, I stressed. I expect a full buffet of snacks to emerge from her Buick.) Learning from past mistakes, I assigned my perpetually tardy sister-in-law to bring dessert. Other family members have volunteered to bring side dishes and I find that other than the turkey, my only task is going to be finding enough chairs and setting the table.
    I think this hosting gig is going to work out pretty well for me. But that could be the sleep deprivation talking. Stay tuned…

Inspiration Strikes Inconveniently

    I’ve been working long days — 10 to 12 hours — and doing a lot of traveling for work in preparation for a multiple-week work commitment. This not only requires prepping for that, but also getting everything else in the office in such a state that it can be neglected for at least two weeks. I’m exhausted and over-caffeinated.
    I want nothing more than to get a full night of sleep and spend a day or two working on my own writing projects. My imaginary people are waiting for me to get back to them and resolve their problems (they have no idea that things are going to get much worse for them before they get better). I’d like to wrap up one WIP by the end of the year and I can see that light at the end of the tunnel, if I can just find some time to sit down and focus.
    Of course, this is the perfect time for a new story idea to pop into my brain.
    A really good idea, too. One that I desperately want to write. A main character with a fascinating back story and an uncertain future. A setting that I know and love. I’ve even started compiling a soundtrack.    
    And yet, I have no idea when I’ll be able to explore this new world. Already on my plate are a romantic suspense novel that’s about 2/3 complete, and an idea and rough outline for a novella that has been haunting me since summer and which has since morphed into a trilogy of sorts. Not to mention that pesky full-time job.
    So what is it about a pending deadline that sparks my brain to start conjuring new stories to develop and uncover? Why does inspiration strike at the most inconvenient times? Or how can I channel that inspiration to the projects in front of me, so that they get completed?

Busy, busy, busy here, so I haven't had much time for my own writing lately.

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Point, July 2011.

Instead, here's a nice photo, so I can say that I'm still updating weekly. Or weakly. Whatever.

Soundtracks

    Taking the advice of Lani Diane Rich, whose Storywonk podcast is my new favorite discovery, I am putting together a soundtrack for my current WIP. She recommends a playlist of music that is new, so you haven’t already associated memories with the songs. The soundtrack should become an auditory signal to your muse, allowing you to easily slip into that creative state where your characters speak to you.
    Rather than go on a major spending spree on iTunes (yet), I’ve managed to come up with a playlist to start with. As I started compiling the songs, I realized that the titles were, well, rather appropriate to my setting and story.
    The story, a romantic suspense, takes place in Minnesota in the middle of winter. The two main characters are competing newspaper reporters who return to their hometown to cover a murder trial.
    And here are the first 10 songs on my playlist:

1. Ice Melts – Matt & Kim
2. White Sky – Vampire Weekend
3. Lies – Peter Bjorn & John
4. Someone’s Missing – MGMT
5. Miss Murder – A.F.I.
6. Cold Hands – A.F.I.
7. Anything Can Happen – The Finn Brothers
8. Home Is Where Your Heart Is – The Sounds
9. Antarctica – The Weepies
10. The Interview – A.F.I.

    Clearly, my mind has already prepared for a cold winter setting. For good measure, I threw in Small Town Romance, by Richard Thompson, and When I Write The Book, by Nick Lowe, among about two dozen other songs. I’m happy with the list, but may still tinker with it a little. And a short shopping spree at iTunes might still be in the works. 

Scrivener and the Art of Organization

    I use Scrivener to write. I use it because I LOOOOOVE it and every so often, even after using it since Summer 2010, I will learn something that causes me to exclaim, “oh my GOD, that’s so cool.” Like this morning, when I learned that you can easily see thesaurus alternatives by hovering over the word and hitting Control-Command-D. A little bubble pops up and gives alternative words.
    I learned that little trick by reading David Hewson’s book Writing a Novel Using Scrivener. It was so worth the $5.99. I will say that the book is much easier to read on a computer, using the Kindle program for Mac (or PC, if that’s your preference), than on the handheld Kindle device because of the many screen shots. That might have something to do with the fact that I have a 2nd generation Kindle and the latest version, I hear, has better contrast.
    Scrivener works for me because I can adapt it so that it fits my writing style. I’m not quite a plotter — my outlines are rough descriptions of scenes, some of which are out of order, and they only go about 3/4 of the way through the novel. But I’m not a pantser because I do like having a map, however sketchy, to guide me through the writing process.
    I set up my Scrivener projects so I have a folder called “Storyboard” that contains the scenes I expect to write. This is my outline. I can move the scenes around, especially in the index card mode, as things change. Then I have a folder for the actual manuscript, which contains a folder for each chapter. As I write a scene, it goes into chapter folder. I also have folders for character sheets and research, such as photos and articles. I like having all my notes, outline, research, and current draft in one place. It makes me feel organized, trust me, I very rarely feel organized.
    Anyway, my tips for today:
1)  Give Scrivener a try. It’s cheap and fun and who doesn’t like cheap and fun? Remember college? (No, I don’t mean you were cheap and fun. You were just popular.) It’s easy to get distracted with the many software options out there, and you don’t want to waste time learning yet another new writing program that isn’t going to write your book for you. But this one inspires me to write, the way a trip to the office supply warehouses does. (I am a sucker for office supplies. Your pens are not safe near me.)
2)  If you do try Scrivener, check out David Hewson’s book. He’s a working writer who uses the program to write his novels and shares what works for him. But what’s so great about Scrivener is that even if Hewson’s method doesn’t work for you, you’re not stuck with it. There are a billion (give or take) ways to change the program to suit your style.