Book 2 – a non-excerpt

In my BGDD2 working files, I found a file called “Darlings – Feb 2010″. Based on that bit of advice about having to “murder your darlings” as a writer. Apparently I found the process of cutting material painful and held onto the hope that I would be able to bring a few back to life. Not the case here.

So here it is, a sneak peek of something that will not be in Book 2. You are the first ones to not-read it this non-excerpt, aren’t you lucky?

Non-Excerpt

Dad pointed at me. “Behave.”

“But that would really interfere with my plan to be an unwed teen mother,” I said, and Dad pantomimed a heart attack.

1 comment June 24th, 2010

Off and running on revisions!

Book 2 notes are in from the Delightful Editor! So I’m going to spend a week or so doing a preliminary plan and then start revising. I’m so excited. As usual, her insight is great and she has a fabulous way of pulling me back when I “cheat.” Her suggestions and questions force me to look at the root of the problem and deal with it, rather than patching over it. There’s something about an additional point of view that energizes me!

In preparation for the rewrite, I rearranged my sewing room. The room is a decent size, but the space is kind of awkward, so I’ve always had problems finding a place for my desk and sewing table. I think I came up with a good configuration… my little sister approves, so that’s good!

Speaking of Little Sis, she’s been here for two weeks and is doing wonderfully. She’s still looking for a job, but I love having her around. We have the same goofy sense of humor, and she puts up with me very nicely. She must be a saint. I keep thinking of “Emma,” where Mr. Knightley apologizes to Emma for always telling her what’s what and what to do. I’m like a less apologetic version of Mr. Knightly, ha ha. If she would just learn to close the garage door when she drives away, life would be perfect!

Thank you all for your comments, and I’m sorry I haven’t been good about replies. I don’t like feeling invisible at a blog, and I don’t like the thought of making others feel invisible. So booooo on me. I will make a real effort to get better!

I’ll wrap this post up with a quote I just read that really resonated with me. It’s from the introduction to the book Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers by Stephanie Wellen Levine. The line itself is from Carole Gilligan:

Americans place a high value on individuality and independence, but these values quickly become hollow in the absence of practices that cultivate an inner voice and relationships that encourage its expression.

This really struck a chord with me. Lately, the thought running through my head has been, how many more Jennifer Anistons and Elin Nordegrens and countless other women have to be mistreated in their relationships for our culture to realize that good looks and money don’t equal the promise of a happy life?

6 comments February 11th, 2010

BGDD Book 2 update…

Just having a crazy day trying to get some stuff crossed off my to-do list… More like to-DOOM list! Har har.

Do you ever have those days when you know you could literally be busy from the moment you wake up until bedtime? Today is one of those days for me. I have errands to run, things to pick up, drop off, exchange, buy, mail, and write. Not to mention that the husb and I are sharing a car because mine is in the shop, so I’ve had to drop him off at work and pick him up, too. I wanted to vlog this week, but it wouldn’t be kind to subject you to me in my current disorganized state.

Book 2 is coming along pretty well these days. I hit a hundred pages yesterday, which is a little behind where I wish I were. What happened is that I totally backed myself into a creative corner and got stuck for about a week, a few weeks ago. I had to go in swinging, pulling stuff out pretty mercilessly. But the good news is, doing that “unstuck” me, and I got to use some of it later in a way that didn’t totally derail the story.

I’ve never written to such a detailed outline before. It’s a really different an interesting process for me. I’m typically more of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants”er, but in this case, since we do want to get these books published before the start of the next decade, we decided to really nail down the story in advance of the writing.

The Delightful Editor, for all her delightfulness, is also a bit of a tough cookie, so she really asked all the hard questions until the story stood up on its own. As a result, unless I take wandering digressions like the one I tried a few weeks ago, the story is moving right along in a very clean manner, and I’m having a very good time writing it.

I keep expecting something to jump out and ruin my progress, but it’s starting to dawn on me that maybe that’s not going to happen.

Hallelujah!

Hope you are all well!

k.

6 comments August 27th, 2009