Novel Struggles

And This on the Semi-colon

The semi-colon is back. Read about it here. Here's an excerpt:

The NY Times salutes a subway notice demonstrating the proper use of the semicolon. Apparently it’s all too rare a sight nowadays; this bit of punctuation is generally considered an archaic has-been.

The Ultimate Rejection Letter

The Ultimate Rejection Letter from http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/humor/reject.html

 Herbert A. Millington
Chair - Search Committee
412A Clarkson Hall,
Whitson University
College Hill, MA 34109

 
Dear Professor Millington,

Thank you for your letter of March 16. After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me an assistant professor position in your department.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of candidates, it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Whitson's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore, I will assume the position of assistant professor in your department this August. I look forward to seeing you then.

Best of luck in rejecting future applicants.

Sincerely,

Chris L. Jensen

 

Self-Defeating Behaviors

Haven't heard from me in a while. I have lots of excuses but not nearly enough to cover the vast gap of time since I've posted or written.

Just what WAS my novel about? I actually remember.

And since I have humiliated myself in public over my novel struggles and little progress, I'm taking an on-line course at WritersU on "Overcoming Self-Defeating Behaviors." First lecture is very good. Just what I need!

To start, we're supposed to look around our desks and get rid of the clutter, something Margie Lawson, the teacher calls "Dung Shui." If you're interested, you can probably still sign up here.
It's WriterU at Yahoo Groups. Looks like a great group of serious writers.

Slow Down -- and Speed Up!

Is there a way to balance productivity and quality? When I read what I've written so far, it has a hurried quality to it. (Like all my blog posts.) I have a lot to do. I must hurry. Faster, faster, faster.

While that is all true (and I feel like a first draft is good enough for a blog post because that's all I have time for), I'm making a mistake with my novel. I may not have time right this minute while I'm working on my novel to churn out a chapter, I do have time to truly get into the scene and the character. Walter Wetherell (W. D. Wetherell) once told me to spend more time in my scenes and not hurry on so much. That's exactly what I'm not doing.

It's harder to add in things later. It's easier to cut than to add. I need to slow down. Not spend less time, not produce fewer pages. I need to slow down while I'm writing. I might be in a hurry because time is so precious, but the words are even more so. If it takes me several months longer to get my first draft completed, that's okay.

So, having decided that I need to slow down, what have I done? Why, signed up for Nanowrimo, which starts Thursday.

I feel like I've decided to slow down -- and speed up. That makes no sense. So how I'm trying to use it is to slow down because I'm going to spend more time working, which will coincidentally result in 50,000 words by November 30. If I feel I am killing myself or my novel, I am allowed to jump ship but not allowed to stop writing.  Anybody else done it or going to do it?

Carnival of Christian Writers Today -- Good Stuff to Read!

Today is the Carnival of Christian Writers, and I'm honored to be included. Click here for some inspiring and helpful words from working Christian writers.

Those Other Ideas for Writing Projects

Why is it that when you are writing one WIP, you get a great idea for another WIP? Multiple projects are not the answer to completing the first thing you set out to do. I do know this. I really do.

So what to do with the other idea?  Make a note. If ideas keep coming, make a notebook. Save it for later.

Why does the brain work like this? You say, "Pay attention and write about this person and situation." And suddenly your brain says, like a trick dog that's been cooped up too long, Is that all you want? Look at all the other things I can do. And then, while it's showing you how it can count to three with its paws and fish the dog biscuit out from under the sofa, it has distracted you from the fact that neither you nor your brain have a great deal of confidence in your current WIP and are about to abort and go to another planet.

NO, brain, no. Sit, brain, sit.

So it sat for me this morning. And we're still going, my pea-brain and I. I will respect all those fun and distracting ideas, keep them documented, and keep going.

Good brain! Have a brownie.

Making progress

Just a quick note to let you know that if you (me) will put your behind in the chair, you (I) can indeed make progress....

It feels wonderful, but I'm scared to read it.

Pre-Planning Your Novel and Getting an Agent

You won't believe it and I don't either. An agent -- a real agent with a good reputation and a nice roster of clients -- once contacted me after reading one of my short stories to find out if I had representation and, if not, did I have a novel he could see?

And this is even more unbelievable: I never wrote him back!

Oh, I always meant to. I composed many letters in my head, clever little things that usually involved my offer to sleep with him if he would hang around until I got around to starting and finishing my novel. I tried a few real letters, but none of them could overcome the fact that No, thanks for asking, but I do not have a novel.

My mother raised me better than this. At the very least, I could have written him back to say I have never been so flattered, overwhelmed and encouraged in my whole life and of course I'd be glad to sleep with him for that alone. Actually, that's not exactly what my mother would want me to say, but you get the idea. Common courtesy would have dictated that I write this genius, this most brilliant of all agents, back to say a mere "thank you" and "can I send you one if I ever write it?" But no.

For my excuse, I was having a bit of post-partum depression and he probably wouldn't have wanted to sleep with me anyway.

So why am I telling you all this? If you want to know how to blow-off an agent, ask me. If you want some encouragement on getting an agent, visit David McMahon's authorblog. Today's post (or maybe it's tomorrow's -- he's in Australia) touches on that question as well as a question I asked him a while ago about how he pre-plans his novels. I think you'll find it interesting reading. Penguin Books is putting out his next novel, which is due on Halloween.

A Fluid Start

The alarm went off and at first I couldn't figure out what that noise was. Then I remembered. Then I remembered I had set it to get a head start on my novel, because the first thing I do in the morning is usually the only thing I can be sure will get done during the day.

But I am allowed coffee, so I padded into the kitchen in my sock-feet and got an extra surprise when my feet got wet. Water on the floor is never a good thing. Either the refrigerator or dishwasher has broken, or maybe just some plumbing somewhere. Water everywhere.

And I had the first line for my novel: They call me Noah.

Not the novel I want to write, though.

My first thought was, DANGER! DEFEAT! YOU'LL NEVER WRITE YOUR NOVEL! THERE'S WATER ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR. OH NOES! And as I was mopping it up I thought, "This book I'm going to write must be really good because look at the trouble the Forces of Evil have gone to to stop me."

Then I wiped up some more and thought, "Maybe God knows what a shambles I'm going to make of this so He flooded the place to keep me from wasting my time."

Then I thought, "Maybe you just have a leak under the sink. Wipe it up and get writing!"

Sometimes a leak is just a leak.

So, I was slightly delayed to my first writing appointment but the detour gave me more inspiration and I ended up writing more than I planned, more than I expected and enjoyed it more than I feared. I want to find out what happens next.

A great start, though I may throw away every word. And I left myself notes for tomorrow.

Write for Yourself. Here's How Much We Should Care About Fame.

Doris Lessing shows us how much to care about fame: