Day 13: July 14, 2013

What I realize is how much focus means to the creative process. Having 13 days of focus is definitely the missing ingredient for me. I am not one to squeeze in creative time between other responsibilities. What I need to address now is how to incorporate this into my real life.  I'm ready to put the finishing touches on the "novel" and start new work. I plan to try my hand at a personal essay, and draft some short story ideas that I need to scribble on the page. Tonight rather than post photos I offer this . . .

To everyone at Dorland, to my family, my friends, and my students.

THANK YOU!

 

Day 12: July 13, 2013

Now I know another reason why the Temecula Libray is so crowded. The quiet sitting area is like a furniture showroom filled with comfortable chairs, a huge work table, and good lighting. It was so peaceful that I was conscious of turning my pages for fear of disturbing someone. A few people in there had lap tops and ear phones, others silently read. As for me, I slowly read 50 pages and addressed pacing issues as well as typos, etc. My new blue pen scratched my notes and slashed some of my darlings. After a few hours I packed up, treated myself to sushi, and drove back to Dorland. Tonight I finished reading, scratching and slashing. Still not finished . . . Now I input the changes into the computer, read it again, and then put it to bed. Let's hope it's done!

Tried to capture the fog and hot air balloon rides very early this morning.

Early evening rocking (reading) chair and sky   . . .

 Sushi Saturday . . .

Day 11: July 12, 2013

4 nights and 3 more days. I will be burning the midnight oil (oh no not a cliche?). Well at the very least I'll be taking advantage of this time. Sunny & hot today, which helped me stay inside and work. Today I focused exclusively on Chapter Ten, which resulted in two more versions for the ending. I also read it OUTLOUD, even though I despise the sound of my voice. Tomorrow I plan to print out the entire manuscript again-now 136 pages, and as recommended by the experts, go to a different location than where you write and read it with blue pen in hand. I may go to the library, which has comfortable chairs. I'll strategically sit in the fiction section and visualize my novel on the shelf.

And speaking of books. Here are a few more titles that have inspired me this week . . .

Day 10: July 11, 2013

If you were waiting for me to hit the wall today was the day. One would think with today's cloudy, cool weather, and a surprise drizzle that this writer would find inspiration. Unfortunately, no. Who ever said endings were hard is correct. Now don't get me wrong, I have written the ending, but this is time for the REWRITE, right?  My dear friend, J.G., once said when we were discussing reading fiction that short stories pose questions and novels answer them. As a reader he preferred novels, and at that time I existed on a diet of stories. So now I'm challenged by his exact theory-writing the right answers to all the questions. For now I'm going to let the current draft sit overnight. Tomorrow I will tackle it again, again, and again . . .

And speaking of endings . . . The end of the day her on the mountain.

Day Nine: July 10, 2013

Overcast and cooler day up here on the mountain. Up very early and was greeted outside my window by a mother deer and her baby. Yes, reminded me of Bambi, but no I did not pet them.

Before sunrise . . .

So today I picked up where I left off. The "3 Rs." Rewriting, rearranging, re-vising. I examined Plot Point Two, which takes place at the end of Chapter Eight, but in order to do that I first had to comb through Chapters 6 and 7. Expansion, compression, and deletion. The "3 ions." Questions posed: How does PP II connect to the climax? How does it relate to the midpoint?  Upon examination indeed they do. More questions: How many scenes in PP II? Answer: 3. How many subplots end? Answer: 1.
 In addition, at the word choice level it's about ACTIVE verbs.  You don't want to read boring, passive sentences and neither do I. So there you have some of the ingredients that we use in the recipe to rewrite a novel. Trust me, there's plenty more . . .

And speaking of recipes, all this work makes me hungry. The most delicious, juicy, full breasted rotisserie chicken--buttery garlic flavor--the best in Temecula comes from none other than Walmart.
She will sustain me  for several days . . .

Day Eight: July 9, 2013

Revised, expanded, rearranged, and cut. That's what today was about. Math involved too: I can tell you there are 9 scenes in Chapter One, and 6 scenes in Chapter Two. I can also tell you that the first two pages contain 40 objects / concrete nouns (some repeated), and 12 body parts. What's missing are landmarks, which I may go back and add. The hard part is cutting. especially when you like what's on the page. But, alas, if it slows the narrative, and doesn't move the story along, thus not serving the piece, then goodbye. As of this minute I'm at the midpoint, Chapter Five. I will continue with the same strategy and see how it goes.

Early this evening when I peeled my tush out of the chair I snapped a few photos of the interior of the cottage. Pardon my housekeeping . . .

Day 7: July 8 2013

Day 7 = half way. Time is going way too fast. Just starting to get a rhythm and routine going. Finished reading the entire manuscript today. Did you know writers are architects too? I've now drawn the structure of this novel. With the help of Robert J. Ray's The Novelist Re-Writes the Novel I've plotted the 3-act structure, identified Plot Points I and II, the Midpoint, the Climax, and of course THE END. It may sound easy, but seriously it's not. Especially since this is the first time I've examined the draft as a unified narrative. This is arduous work. In addition, I've traced every object throughout the novel and noted recurrences. Why do this you ask? Because it lays the foundation for the REWRITE. Yes, I have a 133 page draft, but to rewrite is more than fixing grammar or changing a word here and there; it's "fixing the subplots," which involves several characters' core stories and how they collide with the protagonist and the plot. Now I have a blueprint, a complete arc from which to revise. So tomorrow the fun stuff begins . . . This may look like scribbles, but it's my map to the buried treasure.

So this evening I drove to the library. Temecula's library is the jewel in the crown among all the Inland Empire's libraries. It's open every night and I must say it's a good sign when you can't get a parking spot at the library.

Day Six: July 7, 2013.

What a day! Printed out the entire manuscript, 133 pages, which is not long for a novel, in fact it's quite short. Today is the first time I called it a novel. For years I've considered it stories, loosely a novel-in-stories. It's a strange feeling that I liken to looking at your child one day and seeing him or her as an adult. This epiphany required an additional journal entry this evening.

I'm about half way through reading it and making margin notes. I'm also studying "structure." Been identifying plot, and a series of sub-plots. Working on the three act model divided by two major plot points. Diagrams and numbers = plot.

Here's what it looks like . . .

Was able to do some more reading. Can't get enough of William Trevor stories.

Day Five: July 6, 2013

All this fresh air makes me hungry. Thank goodness for my Nutri Bullet. Although I have a full kitchen no cooking here. Healthy uncooked food, except a rotisserie chicken to throw in salads. Fresh greens, fruit, protein powder and coconut milk. Who needs a fancy kitchen?

So with all this power food here's what I did today: Finished rearranging Chapter Eight. This was structural and somewhat done using cut & paste. Arduously tore apart Chapter Nine, and this afternoon and tonight revisited the last chapter, Chapter Ten. I'm still not happy with Nine, although Eight and Ten are improved. Tomorrow I'm considering printing out the entire manuscript and reading it straight through, making notes along the way.

Squeezed in more reading, which I do at all hours on the back porch. Started the day with Story by Robert McKee. Although it is about screenwriting much of the content is applicable to fiction. Regarding the elements of story McKee says: "A beautifully told story is a symphonic unity in which structure, character, genre and idea meld seamlessly. To find their harmony, the writer must study the elements of story as if they were instruments of an orchestra--first separately, then in concert" (29).

Reread a William Trevor story, "Cheating at Canasta." Studying Trevor is better than going to grad school for an MFA.


Here's what Dorland Mountain looks like "After Sunset."

Day Four: July 5, 2013

Busy day in Temecula. Up early to read before heading out to spin class. This writer needed to move her body. Found a place very close. I must say, exercise (SWEAT) gives me energy all day long. Will go several more times.

So I reread the slim book that I've used as a template to structure my fiction. Monkeys by Susan Minot is a hybrid of short stories and a novel. There are arguments on both sides, which begs my question: has my fiction evolved into a novel or is it a story cycle?  As I contemplated the last two story/chapters (9 & 10) I found myself going back to Chapter 8 because the ending has to be earned, it has to be at once surprising and inevitable. That's what re-vision (to see again) is all about.

Day Three: July 4, 2013.

Day Three: July 4, 2013. Happy Fourth of July. Quiet here up on the mountain. Up early read quite a bit this morning and worked all day. Combed through the penultimate and last chapters, and they need a great deal of work. Considering completely rewriting the final story/chapter and will sleep on it tonight.

Thinking about Flannery O'Conner's essays on writing in Mystery and Manners: "I think the way to read a book is always to see what happens, but in a good novel, more always happens than we are able to take in at once, more happens than meets the eye" (71). As a writer (and reader) I try to experience the narrative on more than one level. But when one writes it's an organic process and ultimately what's underneath surfaces.

My brain is like a sponge . .  . We'll see what I've absorbed tomorrow.

BTW: Had to break out the Caladryl and spray insect repellent.

Day Two: July 3, 2013

Day Two: July 3, 2013.  Collapsed from excitement and exhaustion last night. Despite a slow start I had a productive day. Using previous notes I combed through Chapter Seven: At the Door and tweaked, revised and edited.  The thrilling thing about revision is that's where the real writing occurs. Once the  characters take over anything can happen on the page.  For example, when a character has a choice to make and you think you know what he or she will do he or she does the opposite.

Had company this afternoon, not a rattlesnake or Bobcat. Dorland's caretaker, Robert, and his wife Janice knocked on the door, coincidentally as I worked on "At the Door." Both visual artists who paint and teach in the studio here, they also make sure the residents have everything they need. Well

you know I now have a radio thanks to Robert.

Other tools that writers need: Yellow highlighters and mosquito wipes. Yes, I'm so sweet the bugs have bitten me up already while reading craft books, which require me to highlight in yellow and annotate in pen.

According to the late William Sloane, author of The Craft of Writing, "I believe that fiction is as much of a reality as any other experience a reader undertakes. Call it vicarious if you like, but the reader is not a spectator, he is a participant" (40).

Here is tonight's real sunset for you to enjoy . . .

Day One: July 2, 2013

Highway shooting snarled traffic what seemed like forever. Arrived late. Once I settled in it felt like slipping into an old shoe. Some changes in Cottage 1, Markham House.  No radio, will find one tomorrow and AIR CONDITIONING. One window in the main room has been fitted with an air conditioner. What hasn't changed is the peacefulness on the porch and the brilliant night time sky.

My rolling suitcase brims with books and my work space is cluttered with chapter files, computer/printer, journal, etc.

But thanks to KK, my friend and fellow writer, Picasso's "Woman with a Book" reclines on the easel never far from my view.

Night Before Dorland

July 1, 2013. I'm in LA tonight on my way to Temecula tomorrow morning. The heat wave will not keep me from hunkering down with my books, revisions, and self-reflection. I wonder what it will be like to return to the mountain after two years. Will the "sound of silence" welcome me? How long will it take me to calm down and focus? I have only 13 days so I plan to make every minute count.