“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron (1941-2012)
Epiphanies, the Hero’s Journey, and a Nerd
I discovered something this morning. It just came to me as I was rushing out the door to go to work. It was something I already knew but hadn’t put into words, something so glaringly obvious that I feel pretty dumb for not realizing it sooner. I can think of a thousand excuses why I haven’t figured it out or why I haven’t practiced the lesson–my parent-diagnosed ADD makes my brain wonder; it’s not on my list of to do/remember today; pregnancy makes my crazy and forgetful–but at the end of the day the truth of the matter is that, well, I’m scared.
My thought was this: If you don’t stop thinking about the possibilities after you get your book done, you’ll never get your book done.
I focus too much on the future. And a happy future it is in my mind. No one rejects my manuscripts there. No one tells me my writing lacks originality, vision or a believable plot. In my head, I motivate young women to believe in themselves, I present literary role models, and I move people. But it’s the Real Life equivalent of whether to live inside the Matrix or break free to live in Zion. Living in the Matrix is way more comfortable than the fear infested city, but it’s all lies. Everything that happens in the Matrix is meaningless, as exciting as it may be, because it never truly happens. As I write this, I begin to realize that this doesn’t just apply to my writing but, sadly, many other aspects of my endeavours. I’m so happy with the results of the project I’ve concocted in my head, that I don’t finish things in Real Life. This is a detrimental pattern that is eating up what’s left of my life, a problem so easily pushed aside as “priorities” rear their ugly heads that it would be easy not to address it. But, now, I see that if I continue to push this out of my line of vision, before I know it, I’ll be dead without much to show for my life.
In my mythology class, I introduce the students to Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey. (Book: Hero with a Thousand Faces ) One part of the Hero’s Journey is the “freedom to live”. In (super) short, once the hero returns to his/her known world after the initiation, if the hero is able to live in the present without regretting the past and anticipating the future, he/she will have acquired the “freedom to live”. Joseph Campbell popularized the idea that mythological themes and lessons are universal and that they can be implemented in our own lives in order to better ourselves. I teach this to my students. We search for truth in the worlds of gods, monsters, and heroes. Have I ever even tried to change my own life? Have I ever really tried to be proactive rather than reactive? Or have I just done as little as possible so I could SAY I have no regrets, rather than pushing my limits so at the end of my life I can really BELIEVE it? Hmm… Honestly, I have some soul-searching to do.
*****
But enough of that drama.
To leave you with something uplifting and fun, here are…
Everyday Words that were Invented by Famous Authors!
For example,
Happy Wednesday!!
Characters, Voice, and Sweater-Vested Cats
I just got through reading the live event I missed last night. I was teaching a class, but that is irrelevant. I hate that I didn’t get to witness this as it occurred, but I gained motivation as well as knowledge from it that I would like to incorporate and, of course, share with you fine people. Figment and ThisIsTeen brought together Maggie Stiefvater and Lucy Christopher for a fireside chat about “The Voices in [Their] Head[s]”.
The authors, both Printz Honored, speak on character development and voice specifically as well as answer questions from the audience. The link to the conversation is here. I highly recommend it. I’m off, now, to reread and note things to remember from the transcript. Thanks to all who put this together and the authors who participated. These type of things mean a lot to me. 🙂
Oh, if you want to know about the sweater-vested cats, you have to read the interview!! I know. Evil, right?
Going to do this…
So, I was looking at Twitter and saw Jackson Pearce having a writing party (#writingparty)! I was intrigued. What is a writing party? Are there brownies? Am I invited? If there are brownies and I’m not invited, could I somehow acquire a brownie?
Come to find out, Jackson and Twitter friends would write for 30 minute slots of time and then come back together and celebrate…or make a sandwich or decoupage or something equally neat! (I just discovered I’m hungry.)
I absolutely love this idea and hope to practice it in the near future. If my critique partner is willing, of course. She is about to explode with child, so she might want to–might not. Depends on the comfort level for the day, but I am totally sharing this with her and will push for action.
Thank you, Jackson, for being awesome!
And now, my blogging dears, meet my new friend Remus.
Motherhood and Writing: Articles with Advice to Share
This blog has taken a bit of a turn since we’ve discovered Blue. Pregnancy has had a tendency to be all-consuming, but I don’t want to put off my goal of finishing the first draft of the book. My critic partner and friend sent me an article concerning motherhood and writing that I would like to share. As I gather more advice, I’ll add them to this post. I think it would be nice to refer back to these links as trying situations come up.
The List:
Maggie Stiefvater (I love, love, love her advice on time management. It’s just the right amount of encouragement and scolding that I need.)
Do you have any favorite articles with helpful hints on managing both writing and family? Comment below, and I’ll add them to the list!
This Week’s Post is Brought to You by the Letter “P”
Author and blogger Victoria Schwab provided an insightful outlook on writer’s block. I found this entry on procrastination v. percolation via author Tessa Gratton’s twitter and thought it was definitely worth sharing with whoever might read this. The message rings true, even though I’m not quite as published as Schwab and her commenters. Sometimes you can get creatively spent and you have to reboot–percolate. Or, emotions (fear and anxiety, for example) can cause us to anticipate failure, which we, of course, would like to put off for as long as possible–procrastinate. The thing is this: We are guaranteed failure if we never start or don’t finish. Guaranteed FAIL. But, there is still a chance what we do could be successful if we realize we are procrastinating and push through it. Beyond writing practices, Schwab has given her blog followers a life lesson. See if it pertains to you by giving her entry a look here.
I hope you guys have a great weekend, and if you are in the Hattiesburg area, HubFest is Saturday!!! Yay!
Happy News
I know it seemed like I dropped off the face of the earth for a little while there, but I promise I’m alive and kicking. In fact, I’m doubly alive, if one can be, because I am now housing another living being.
See what I mean? This also makes me doubly tired…and nauseated BUT SUPER HAPPY! Husband and I have been married for 6 1/2 years, and now we’ll have three children.
Here are our first two, Winston and Gabby:
They’re going to be great siblings.
And thanks to ya’ll for letting me gush a bit.
On Writing–
So, my March 31st deadline for the rough draft is coming up quickly, but as I explained in a past post, I’m going to have to alter that. What better time than the present? Answer: None that I know of.
I have about 19,920 words with which I am rough-draft happy, which means that I have approximately 70,080 words to go. I think I could conceivably move the rough draft completion date (Goal #5) to August 1, 2012, leaving extra room for preparations and vomiting. Yes, that’ll do.
This is going to move my yearly goals around a bit as well.
Goal #6-revised: Complete revisions by October 21st.
Goal #7-revised: Ready query letters and publisher packets by December 17th.
I hope these changes will stick, but I don’t know how Blue (what we call Baby because when we found out he/she was the size of a blueberry) and I will get along these next few months and beyond. Hopefully, swimmingly.
How about you guys? Are you on target? Falling a bit behind? Have some news to share?!
On Showers, House Elves, and Basements
I thought with Husband away for the week, I would be able to pour words on paper. HOWEVER, I’ve squandered my alone time catching up on all the Husband-unfriendly movies/shows that I’ve wanted to see. I still have tonight, Thursday, and Friday to reinstate my self-control. Will I prevail or sink miserably in the lake of self-pity? Tune in next week to find out…
On Writing—
I get really good ideas in the shower. The problem is…I am in the shower, without pen and paper. And even if had access writing utensils, I’m covered in water. So I’ve pondered ways to solve this problem (none of them very good):
-A voice-activated recorder.
*The sound of the shower would initiate recording. Also, I sing there. Loudly. Tonelessly. Nobody wants to hear that, not even me.
-Have Husband or house guest accompany me to bathroom and jot down inspirations.
*Unfair and impractical. Plus, what if Husband is unavailable or I don’t have company? Back to square one…
-The best option I have so far is–duh, duh, duuummm–Employ a house elf.
*I think we all know the problem with this option, but just in case… *whispers* They don’t spell well. Besides, I’m a muggle. I can’t hire one anyway.
Thankfully, I do remember the idea of an opening scene for another book idea. It’s plot is developing.
Side Note: I have folders dedicated to each book idea, so I can write it down and tuck it away until the appropriate time. I have a feeling I would combine all my characters’ traits if I tried to write more than one novel at a time now. Maybe when I’m more practiced… I just imagined a nebulous, cloud-like character blob, a concentrated fog hovering in my fictional little town. *Mea shutters* Definitely one book at a time for me. My attention deficit tendencies writhe in agony, but I will not yield.
It’s really the poetry that suffers from lack of writing apparatus in the shower. I speak the lines, feel the rightness of them in my bones, and then immediately forget them. I can’t help but think that it was the most amazing thing I’d ever write, and that it’s gone.
Do ya’ll remember the episode of “That 70s Show” when the characters think that they come up with the most incredible ideas while they are, um, sitting in a circle in Topher Grace’s basement? Then, they record their conversation, and it’s all so very stupid?
I just applied that to me and the poetry/shower paragraph… and laughed. So. Hard.
Later, PenPals! Too, cheesy? Yeah, I’ll work on that…
Memorial
I’m going to try to write a bit today, but I’m having a bit of conflict. I want to write a short story concerning someone who has passed a year ago this month. I don’t have regrets or guilt or spite, nothing but love and mourning, but knowing that he’s not around and believing it are two different things.
I talked to my mom yesterday. She knows someone with the same terminal illness and was asking me questions about the signs of departure. I was glad it was a phone call. I thought she was being callous at first, but as I thought about it, I don’t think she knew how close this man and I were. In the eight years I knew him, I had adopted him as a paternal figure and loved him as unconditionally as he loved me. Of course she didn’t know. I couldn’t tell her that. She is very close to her friend who will die soon, and she just wanted to know how to prepare herself, how to make the situation as peaceful as possible. I’m not angry anymore.
As people who write, we know that writing makes us pry into ourselves, for good or ill. Am I ready to face this? It would be inevitable if I chose him as subject matter. Do I want to stop knowing and believe? Even now as I write this, just alluding to him…
I think I need to postpone my memorial story.
Another day, then.
Picture Window
Here are the pictures I’m considering entering.
When Crabs and Spiders Collide Train a Child
Tennessee’s Hill – Vintage Tennessee’s Hill
Ringside Blues Welcome to Progreso
Facing a Phobia Crescent Clouds
Children’s Shoes Brick and Metal
As Old as Coke
Mea Smith 