Sep

22

Tweets for 2009-09-22

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  • I wonder how long it will take for my vision to go back to normal after getting the eye dilation exam. #

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Sep

21

Tweets for 2009-09-21

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  • My sink is not shiny right now, but that's because I'm soaking some stuff in vinegar and water to get rid of hard water stains. #
  • But, I'm dressed to shoes (even put on a little bit of perfume), and am up to Day 5 of FlyLady's Baby Steps. #
  • Trying a new recipe: Banana Peanut Butter Spent Grain Muffins. #
  • The muffins are almost ready to take out of the oven. They look delicious! I can hardly wait to try one. #

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Sep

10

Working through Writing the Breakout Novel, Part 1

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As I mentioned last week, I’m going through Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook with an eye towards The Morgan Affair. Rather than writing directly in the book (and there are spaces in the book so you can do that), I’m writing it all out in a spiral-bound notebook. That way I’ll have it all together in one place, and can eventually stick it into the “bible” I’m building for the novel (and, hopefully, more books about Alex and her friends).

I’ve finished the first three “exercises” of the workbook, and I’ve already learned something new about Alex: what it is she really wants. It’s not what I originally thought it was going to be, but it’s something she will never be able to have. How’s that for inner conflict?

The workbook recommends reading Writing the Breakout Novel (which I will refer to in the future as WBN) first, so you can learn about the concepts before trying to put them into practice. I’m glad I did that. While each set of exercises are prefaced with examples from actual books in print – ones Maass has identified as breakout novels – there’s not a lot of explanation there. WBN has pretty thorough explanations of the characteristics of breakout novels, but really not much in the way of practical advice on how to do it. And that’s what the workbook is for. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to attend one of the workshops Maass runs in person, so I’m using the workbook as a surrogate.

Okay, enough procrastinating. Time to fold some laundry then get back to “class”. :)

Sep

1

Where has all the time gone?

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Has it really been that long since I last wrote here? June 1st?

Wow.

A lot has happened since then, and I’d like to think most of it was good. I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes (and a couple of other things) shortly after my last blog entry, and it’s meant a lot of changes for both me and my family. We’re still adjusting, but things have worked out pretty well. Most importantly, I’m finally in a state of mind where I’m able to write.

Part of the reason for that is my having gotten Writing the Breakout Novel and the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maass for my birthday. Those two books are pretty near the top of the list of books recommended to me by other writers. I’m glad I finally decided to listen to them. :)

With that said, I’ve been stalled for months on a particular scene, and I’ve figured out why. So much has changed since I first started writing The Morgan Affair that I’ve lost my way. I’ve read Writing the Breakout Novel, and I’m going to be working through the Workbook to get things back on track. It’s something I’m really looking forward to, so we’ll see how things go!