Phew! Haha! So that Sunday Circle thing, am I right? Yeah… So it’s been a while. But I have been working, so that’s something. About mid-December I hit the wall on the summary rewrite draft and realized some of the basic assumptions I’d made in the Original Draft just wouldn’t stand, and that obliterated the logic of the summary draft I’d been working on. Then Christmas hit. Then New Year’s. I actually had a wonderful holiday season. I got to spend some quality time with my sister and brother-in-law visiting from California, and got to meet my adorable, awesome, hilarious baby nephew for the first time (he’s eleven months). It was great fun, and Andy actually got the holidays off this year, which was a nice change of pace. Writing-wise, after the draft collapsed, I decided not to stress out about it over the holidays, and that worked out well enough because I had no idea where I was going to go or how I was going to restructure the project.
But! Almost two weeks into the new year, I’ve got a healthy new summary draft for the rewrite going that makes much more sense, sets up a healthier pace of action, and actually saves a LOT more of the original content from the rough draft, so that’s kind of encouraging. We’re getting into the sticky bits now where all those multitudes of secondary storylines are all coming together and I’m definitely having to do a lot more thinking, but all in all, I’m pretty pleased with where it’s going so far.
This week, I’m working on: Continuing to chew away at the summary draft. I’m past mid-point now, which means I need to spend a little time thinking about the next major plot-point in order to direct everything towards it. I’m hoping to get the summary draft wrapped up by the end of this month.
What’s inspiring me: I finished Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert week before last, and I’m finding it’s still resonating with me. I’m sure it’s approach to creativity isn’t for everybody, but for some reason, it’s precisely what I needed to hear right now. It kind of rang in on the same frequency as Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, which I’ve also found very helpful. Just contained a number of useful ways to keep the mind’s criticisms and obsessions at bay.
I’m also starting to do some really rudimentary urban sketching about the house (I’m calling it “suburban/domestic urban sketching”), which I’ve quite enjoyed, though am still very much learning the skills. But it’s a great way to squeeze at least a little art into the day-to-day.
What action do I need to take?: I’ve actually been really dedicated this week, putting aside my typical TV habits for reading in the evening which has really helped up my reading hours (and that feels so good!). Mostly, I need to kick this wretched cold that’s been plaguing the Slater household for a week or so now. Sleep and healthy eating. :)
Maggie Slater 