Working Space

I read Stephen King’s On Writing years ago and took his advice on laying out a writing workspace to heart. I gave myself a small desk in front of a bare wall—to minimize distractions—and grew used to it.

However, the time came for a change. I gave up my tiny workstation and moved myself and my old laptop to a larger desk.

The goal was for me to have two computer screens at eye level and better posture while sitting.

With the help from my IT staff of one and Christmas gift cards, I ordered some handy gadgets to make this happen:

·        Portable folding table desk stand with adjustable angle legs

·        Wireless mini keyboard

·        Wireless mouse

My workspace now: bigger, I can spread out; better, I am sitting upright; and more modern, I think so. It certainly looks good, but every thing is still relatively clean. Will it improve my productivity along with my posture? That remains to be seen.

But seriously—I have to keep the blank wall. I am still prone to distraction.

Don’t think I can buy anything to fix that issue.

Seeing the Whole

Writing for me has been numerous rounds of building scenes, shaping characters, and forming plot lines. I work through bits and pieces and string them together. Then I let it all sit for awhile. Allow some time pass and come back to tackle it all again with a fresh eye. Maybe with a better understanding on how things fit together. Perhaps with a new insight or angle to explore.

During these breaks I’ll read something and a portion of it will stick out as perfect for me to use in my own work. It may be a word or two, something that isn’t in my working vocabulary. Sometimes it’s a clever idea of how a scene should go. Or perhaps a better way to strengthen a character or theme.

Something good always happens when I take the novel up again.

However, I’ve recently done two back-to-back readings and edits without any long breaks. It has given me a new feeling, a sense for the work as a whole. My novel has become familiar and friendly. Its own entity.

There is still much to do, all the fine finishing details, but I like the close, cozy feeling of experiencing the whole.

Endings

Endings are hard. I've read some that are disappointingly too brief, stopping short, a real let down. Some where confusing and needed more work. Some wrapped things up, but didn't leave a message.

My ending is still evolving. I want to get a message across. Two actually: preservation and forgiveness.

Back when I lived in Bishop Hill, I was walking past the columns of the 1854 Steeple building’s wood and stucco porch, past the hand made bricks of the 1851 Carpenter and Paint shop, and past the 1857 Blacksmith shop thinking about writing a book. I knew that preservation had to be a main theme.

There are so many ways to handle the preservation of buildings: precise, methodical, and by-the-book; caring, but limited by a budget; fast with modern materials; or doing nothing at all, letting it “go back to nature.” Saving wood and metal artifacts have a similar range of possibilities. Paper and fabric are the most fragile and need the most care. Paper documentation has the added dimensions of translation, interpretation, and censorship.

Forgiveness has been on my mind ever since I read about a Forgiveness Day in a Dear Abby column. I thought it was a wonderful idea and used it to help get some family members to talk to each other, get along, and move past the old hurts. It worked—for awhile. Whenever Forgiveness Day shows up again, I pay attention.

As I close in on a “good” ending for my novel, I've expanded my view of preservation to include personal relationships: between friends, between parents and children, within communities. 

I've likewise enlarged my scope of forgiveness to include actions from the distant past. They can set off chains of events that go far beyond any one person’s knowledge or control.

Preservation and forgiveness—important themes for me to explore.

Misspelling Misgivings

Fun facts: after numerous revisions and readings, both silently and aloud, mistakes are still being found. Some are small: like her instead of here. Some are huge.

Here are two beauties:

The first was pointed out by my husband and best reader—Copula instead of cupola. The first word refers to a connecting word, a particular form of the verb be. Add a couple of more letters and the meaning can enlarge into a whole of world of risqué. The second is an architectural feature. All kidding aside, it was a good mistake to find, since I was trying to describe a venerable old structure in an historic village with more than its share of prudes.

The odd thing, I swear I looked this up in the OED and online and I still got it wrong. I transposed the vowels while typing. Usually, I mess up the letters on the first word of a sentence. I used to catch myself shifting pronouns as well as letters. In general, it makes reading a little more difficult. I have to spend extra time going back over things to figure out what I’ve missed. What can I say; it is a unique talent to have and to live with.

The second was found by me after I submitted many, many query letters—Continuance instead of countenance. The first word as a legal term refers to postponement or adjournment. The second word, the one I really wanted, refers to a face or facial expression. Not as embarrassing, but still important for describing a portrait and major element of my novel.

Spell check was no help in these cases. Another pair of eyes attached to another brain might be useful, but that can’t always be depended upon either.

I listened to the Feb 6^th edition of The Writer’s Almanac and when I later looked it up online I found this quote:

“Every worthwhile book contains many faults, and every worthwhile writer commits them.” –Eric Partridge

I think I’ll try to keep that in mind as I just keep slogging away.

Plot Holes, etc.

It never fails to amaze. I can still come across plot holes, annoying lapses in continuity, the nonalignment of facts, and spots where I divulged too much information, too soon. After all this time, all the readings, and all the revisions, they are still there to be found.

I was tweaking a paragraph near the end when suddenly a word, a name actually, was obviously out of place. I had to think for a minute and acknowledge that the problem with continuity I’d discovered had its roots way back in the beginning of the story and probably snaked its way throughout all the scenes involving my oldest character and her interactions with my protagonist.

This was no small problem. It involved important points and aided in the resolution of one of my themes.

Why did it take so long to find this faux pas, this blunder? Beats me. My brain can be slow to make connections.

At least it happened now and not before someone else found it.

I went zipping back and forth through pages and pages of text, rooting out the string of changes I had to make. Not a huge problem thanks to the computer. Makes me so glad I have it. I shudder to think how I could manage without it. I am quite spoiled by technology: computers, sticky notes, Google. Great inventions for the organizationally challenged with porous memories such as myself.

I made things right, but it took time, in this case, a whole afternoon.

I guess I should be happy I am finding the mistakes. Better me now than a paying reader later.

In that case, it is a good thing.

Reading Out Loud

I’ve made my revisions, yet again. I’ve reached the end of my manuscript, yet again. So now what do I do? I start over. But this time, I’m reading everything out loud.

I’ve been told how important this step is, how essential, and I’m a believer.

So, I’ll close the door to my private space and get into the zone. This would be that special place where I can hear my characters talk to themselves, to each other, to me.

I need to hear the words flow. Find what mistakes I can. Make little changes. Add the little bits of business to make the prose better, make my people seem more alive. It’s the final polishing stage that I always disliked when I was making jewelry.

I won’t get my hands dirty or wear down my fingernails for this version of polishing. This is different. This tests me. Stretches me. It presents a challenge. Can I measure up to the novels I’ve read and admired?

I think it will be the stage that makes the most difference. The stage where I make this product my best effort.

I’m looking forward to the work. It’s so close to the real end. The point where I’m sending out the next round of query letters. The point where I can start focusing on other projects and planning the next book.

Maybe, just maybe, this will be the most fun.

The First One

My youngest son has begun a new phase of his life. He and his soon-to-be life partner have begun the process of buying their first home. A major undertaking that will test their coping skills, but, more importantly, will give them an enormous opportunity to grow.

It has me thinking of our first house in Austin, TX. It was small, probably the smallest on the block, and situated at the head of a T intersection that gave us a nice view of a high school. We used to walk the track for exercise.

Although small, the house had three bedrooms, a kitchen, one bath, and a great room with a high ceiling. Lots of room for a young couple starting out.

That house taught us a lot of lessons:

·        How to fix the small things

·        How to deal with the big things, like termites and flash floods

·        How to replace some of the darkest wood paneling ever made with drywall

·        How that new drywall made the room structurally stronger and visually larger

·        How to start your first business out of one those small bedrooms

·        How spilling red Kool-Aid on orange shag carpeting isn’t really noticeable

·        How not to yell at your first-born for spilling the Kool-Aid

We eventually replaced the orange shag for a beige Berber when it was time to sell and move on to other houses and other lessons.

I am reminded of how important that first house was.

I’ve been told by many books on writing and at many conferences how important it is to finish that first book. Just finishing.

Getting close to that goal, I can look back and see how far I’ve come and how many lessons I’ve learned. 

Such as:

·        How to fix the small things-like punctuation and spelling

·        How to deal with the big things-like verb tense agreement, dialog, and story development

·        How to replace some sentences and paragraphs with better ones

·        How those sentences and paragraphs made the story stronger and the themes larger in scope and continuity

·        How to start the first subplot

·        How spilling the beans on motives and major plot points too soon is bad, bad, bad

·        How not to yell at people and be generally disagreeable when they make constructive comments

Yeah, I can see the similarity to that first house. From here, it looks like a good view.