Quote #57 - Gustave Flaubert

"Love art. Of all lies, it is the least untrue."
- Gustave Flaubert

Random #47 - Blank Space and Beginning

from here

Where do I start? I have the time and the energy. I wouldn't call it "writer's block" exactly. If I moved on to something that was already started, I could (and have) kept going. The problem is when I want to start something new, a new scene, chapter, blog post and I don't know how to begin.  It is the beginning that is the hardest. Staring at that blank page, on a screen or in a notebook, it is the same. It is the blank space that calls to you, but also makes you want to run away. It is the intimidation of nothing. The words destroy that nothing, by creating something. What did you create today?

Last Week #30 - Feeling the Flow

...of words.  Last week brought words, more than I've had in a while.  I don't know what it is. I've never completely stopped writing, but I've been trudging along lately. In the past week, I've added scenes, fixed my outline (thought that's still not done) and changed a character's name. (Character names are a big deal to me.)

'Was there a blush in his cheek or was that the chill wind?'

I'm thinking about the story all the time and I love it.  I'm loving it more and more.  I want to write it more and more.  That should be the feeling, right?

Quote #56 - Arthur C. Clarke

"Any sufficiently advance technology is indistinguishable from magic."
- Arthur C. Clarke

Random #46 – Writing In My Head

Do you ever find yourself folding the laundry, cooking dinner or some other every day task, then you suddenly hear the words in your head?  I have written entire scenes in my mind while chopping vegetables or washing the dishes, only to have the words disappear once I finally get a pen and paper or get to a computer. Why?! Why does this happen to me ALL THE TIME. How do I solve this? Why can't the inspiration come to me when I'm sitting with a pen and paper or computer, when I'm ready to write?

Last Week #29 - My Daughter Is Turning 6!

It's been a busy week.  My daughter's 6th birthday is tomorrow.  I am spending all day shopping, cleaning, baking, cooking.  I spent most of the week doing housework.  I managed to get in a little bit of reading and some blogging.  The most writerly part of my week was going to the freeflow writer's group I am a part of.  It was fantastic.  I felt so connected to my words.  Going is such a boost to my creativity.  Even if I don't work on my novel, anything I write feels goods.  It is raw and real and I love it.  I thought I'd share one of the pieces I wrote.  It is totally unedited, so please excuse any messiness.

“A field of daises covered the shore on the south side of the lake.  A dense forest covered the north.  The lake reflected the mountains and a sky thick with clouds.  The item was in that lake, sunk to the bottom by an old woman, who has since disappeared.  You need to retrieve the item.”

Amala sat back.  She was trying to picture all the lakes she knew.  Were any of them surrounded by daises and a forest?  “Delia you saw all this?”

“Yes.  Last night in my dream.”  The dreams wore themselves on Delia’s face.  She looked almost a decade older than she was.  Her once dark hair almost all grey, wrinkles around her eyes from squinting, lines across her forehead from worry.

“Was this a real dream or a dream like everyone else has?” Amala grinned, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “I don’t want to have to trek all the way out of the city for no reason.”

“Amala, don’t play with me.”  Delia smiled.  Amala was trying to lighten the mood that often came with these dreams.  “Maybe everyone else’s dreams are real too, they just don’t know it.”

“I hope not.”  Amala rose and walked to the front window, drawing back the curtain, peaking out into the night.  Neon lights invaded the candlelit room.  Cars whizzed by.  Towers twinkling high overhead, making patterns in the sky, blocking out the stars. “I don’t want my dreams to be real.”

Just reading it through once, there's a lot I'd like to change, but the writing group is about being spontaneous; that what this is.  I'd like to show more, less telling.  I'd like to keep working on this, but I have other projects already on the go.  Maybe I'll come back to this piece one day and we'll learn more about the item, Delia's dreams, and the towers that block out the night sky.

That's been my week.  How was yours?

Quote #55 - Lemony Snicket

Temper tantrums, however fun they may be to throw, rarely solve whatever problem is causing them.
- Lemony Snicket

Random #45 - Continuing A Series After The Author's Death

The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, The Wheel of Time and The Millennium Series, all have something in common (besides being on my bookshelves); after the death of their authors, someone else has continued the series. Why does an author feel compelled to do that, finish someone else's series? Is it love? Why does a publisher go ahead with this? Is it money? Is it also love?

Though all these series are in my home, I haven't read them all. The Wheel of Time is my Hubby's. I'm not sure if I'll read it one day or not. I want to, but the books are huge! I have read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and recently The Girl Who Played With Fire (finally), but not The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I don't know why, I suppose I just haven't gotten around to it. I have read the five Hitchhiker books and loved them. Was I a fan of the ending? Not necessarily, but it felt like an ending; it was complete. When I heard about Eoin Colfer's book And Another Thing, as a continuation, I was excited and hesitant. I managed to pick it up (a long time ago - my son was an infant) at a charity book sale. It still sits unread on my shelf.

I've been thinking about this lately. I've also been making an effort to read the books that have been on my shelf for a while, like And Another Thing.  I'm so hesitant to read it, but I want to and I want to love it.  I'm concerned that my expectations are too high. I know Hitchhikers isn't for everyone, but I loved it. What if I hate this "sixth" book?  Would it ruin the series for me? Would my ire be worse than normal? Am I over thinking this?

What do you think about authors who continue a series?  I know I mentioned The Wheel of Time, but that was a different case, right? From what I understand, the series was clearly not finished and Brandon Sanderson worked from Robert Jordan's notes. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.  That is not the case with Millennium, as the author is creating a completely new work, not using the partially finished manuscript Stieg Larrson's girlfriend controls (not that I expect anyone to ever have a chance to finish that novel).  I don't know if Douglas Adams left notes for another book.  Did Eoin Colfer write a book to give himself and fans a better ending to the series? I thought the end of Adams' fifth book was pretty final.

I should just read them, right? No? Do I want to read David Lagercrantz's The Girl in the Spider's Web? I don't know. Yes and no.  If I ever decide to read The Wheel of Time, I will read the books written by Sandersen. That case is different, right? I would go into the series knowing it would be finished by someone else. I finished Hitchhikers years before Colfer wrote his book.  I started reading Millennium as a trilogy. I love reading, and I want to give authors a chance. My fear is that they will change how I feel about Larsson and Adams' work. Though at the rate I'm going, it'll be years before I get around to reading these books.