by Charlene Teglia | Sep 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
I’m well over halfway done with Wolf, and it suddenly dawned on me that the whole thing is in the heroine’s POV so far. That wasn’t deliberate, it just unfolded that way. It’s surprising, though, because I usually have the hero’s POV in there somewhere pretty early on, and some stories are almost hero dominated, or close to 50/50. It’s kind of interesting seeing him through her eyes, though, and having him reveal himself through actions and dialog. But I envision at least one scene in his POV, so we’ll see how the rest of the story shapes up.
by Charlene Teglia | Sep 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
I got over a thousand words yesterday, more than my goal. Fill the well and the well becomes a fountain. I’m shooting for a thousand words a day lately because it seems to be the amount I can easily fit in without strain. It’s never good to work at your maximum and try to keep it up day after day. That’s okay for short sprints, but not for the long term. A thousand words a day seems to be a pretty sustainable pace for me, so until things change significantly that will continue to be my goal.
I used to go by pages, but when I started writing in the EC standard format it threw me off because it was a lot more than my previous page count but not quite an even multiple so it was hard to measure how much I was actually doing. Then I started noticing how many words I tended to write in any given session, and that’s around a thousand words, which is how I arrived at my present goal.
I don’t really believe in being a production Nazi (you must do so many pages/words a day) because I think it varies radically from person to person, how much is comfortable and sustainable. Sustainable is really the key. Find what works for you and keep it up is my motto. And be flexible because life will change and you may have to change with it. For now, with two small children, I’m happy with my present pace.
Anyway, I forgot to mention in the blog that the rescheduled booksigning (had originally been early September, got moved to Sept. 17) also had to be cancelled because the books are in transit but not in store yet. So I’ll see what I can do for that now, and in the future I won’t try to schedule anything until after books are already in store. Lesson learned! (Yes, that means Love and Rockets will actually be on shelves in stores sometime this week or near the end of September. Let me know if you spot it!)
by Charlene Teglia | Sep 17, 2005 | Uncategorized
Yesterday I got a good reminder on the importance of refilling the well. It’s very easy to get priorities mixed up and start pouring out energy and effort, and then suddenly run dry because, well, the well ran out. Doing those things that refill the well are essential in order to keep being productive.
Things that recharge me include writing, reading, and working out. Yep, writing refuels me. Should be the opposite, I know, but I find it’s true. The more I write, the more I have to write about.
Thanks to Paperback Writer’s book discussion, I found out that a book I’ve wanted to read for months was on Project Gutenberg. I promptly downloaded it, put it into my eReader software and transferred the book to my handheld. I find it easiest to read on my handheld while holding the baby, much easier than a “real” book which requires me to turn pages. I can hold and thumb the page down button with one hand. I’ve now read three chapters of my long-anticipated book during feedings. Good for the energy well.
The book, btw, is “Three Men In A Boat”. I read Connie Willis’ “To Say Nothing Of The Dog” which spoofs this book (and has the characters from it appear in one scene, too) several months ago and put it on my list of books to look for. Never crossed my mind to look on Project Gutenberg, but there it was! If you enjoy P.G. Wodehouse, the style and setting are very similar. I recommend “Three Men In A Boat” for a fun, light read.
How do you know your well is running dry? The symptoms are discontent, tiredness, lack of enthusiasm, feeling like everything is Work and Drudgery and finally stewing resentment and exhaustion. My agenda for today includes catching up on household tasks and writing another 1K and the usual child tending but I’m also going to read as much of my book as time allows. Be good to yourself today, too, and fill up your well!
by Charlene Teglia | Sep 16, 2005 | Uncategorized
Is it just me, or has blogland become really quiet lately? I imagine netizens hunkered down in front of their solitary computers like cowboys camping on the plain, the distant lights from lonely campfires dotting the landscape of cyberspace.
Well, if you wander into my camp today, sit down, have some coffee and swap stories with me. I’ll tell you about the dream I had last night: I was at an awards ceremony reading off the winners, and I was one of them. I won the John W. Campbell award for Ginger 31. I had no memory of writing Ginger 31, but before I could read it to see what I’d written that was so great, I had to hand back the winning entries.
What’s kind of interesting is that after I woke up and thought about it, I realized Ginger 31 was an android in a SF short I wrote a while ago. Maybe my subconscious is telling me to go dust off some more of my stuff that’s laying around. I slated several of my shorts to rework as longer stories a year ago, but that was one I left alone.
How about you, any interesting dreams lately? And do you ever find that they point you in a useful direction?
by Charlene Teglia | Sep 15, 2005 | Uncategorized
I’m back to timed writings as my m.o. Going without sleep makes me nonproductive and resentful, so the answer is use the daytime hours and go back to the “if you have five minutes, WRITE” way of living. I’ve been doing timed writings all week, getting a good flow established, and I’ll just keep it up. For those who haven’t tried timed writing before, you pull up your WIP, set the timer for however long you’ve got, and write nonstop until the time is up. I always tell myself “I can revise or cut if it’s crap,” but it’s honestly surprisingly how much of it is good as is, or just needs a little polish and refinement. Try it, you might be surprised yourself.
On the Read for Relief front, while I’m in love with the idea I’ve come to realize a couple of things. One, it’s badly named to have ongoing viability and I also don’t really have the time to spare to get a new business established. And two, people are on Katrina overload. So I think the best way to achieve my long-term goal of ongoing support where it’s needed (and it WILL still be needed five months from now) is to go ahead and pull Catalyst, re-release it with Cerridwen and continue to send all earnings from the book to help rebuild.
Shannon Stacy had contributed a book which is absolutely outstanding, and I’ve begged and bullied her to submit it to CP as well. Go bug her about it, too. The Second Time Around is a terrific read, an emotional and deeply convincing story about two (or rather, three) people who get a second chance to be a family. Usually I find reunion stories unconvincing; if they were so perfect for each other, why didn’t it work the first time? The answer to this central question tends to get glossed over. In this case, there’s a very clear and understandable answer to that question and the way they resolve their differences and come together in the end is so thoroughly satisfying that even non-reunion fans will enjoy the journey.
If she doesn’t submit it elsehwere, we can go ahead and put it up on RFR because readers need a chance to enjoy this story, but that will be the end of the site and we’re closed to future submissions. I highly encourage others to make a long-term commitment to helping in the aftermath of Katrina, because in spite of media saturation which has us all numb and lots of trumpeting about FEMA and the Red Cross taking care of everything now, the reality is that help is still needed and will continue to be needed for some time.
Recent Comments