School Trip or Family Day?

Recently, Daughter talked about going back to school. The idea of high school as portrayed in shows like Saved by the Bell and Degrassi thrill her. She remembers why we stopped traditional schooling but truly believes High School would be different. I believe it, too, but my thoughts of how different things will be don’t exactly thrill me. And so, I’ve decided to nix the idea of sending her back. At least for another year. After that? I don’t know. I’ll have to decide that as the time draws nearer.

The homeschooling lifestyle is just that – a lifestyle. I enjoy getting up in the morning without having to rush or worry whether homework has been completed and put away. I love not worrying about my daughter carrying a 15 pound book bag on her back all day. And I love not worrying about how much homework she’ll have and when she’ll have the time to just ‘be’.

It’s not pure bliss. I won’t lie. But it works for my family. In fact, the beauty of it is being able to adjust the learning methods as we grow more comfortable with the process. And of course, there’s the freedom of participating in activities with other homeschoolers. Like recently, when we went to Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay and covered both American History and Art.

The owner of the house, Samuel Townsend, was a Patriot when the population of Oyster Bay area was mainly Loyalists.  The children – ranging in age from 6 to 14 – were given an in-depth description of how a family whose loyalty was so firmly embedded in hope for this infant country had to live a lie when, after the Battle of Long Island, the British army occupied their home. They saw a letter written in 1777, from George Washington. Read it, ooo’d and aaaah’d at being so close to that original and recognizable piece of history. They were told how people lived during the times – day to day activities and chores, including the methods and necessity of candle making. They were shown entries in a diary from one of the Townsend girls who fell in love with one of the British soldiers occupying her home. Heartbreaking in it’s honesty, it clearly expressed how she knew she loved an ‘enemy’ but earnestly hoped – no, prayed – their differences could be overcome and they could one day be together. That day would never come and Sarah, or Sally as she was called, never married, but instead lived the rest of her life pinning for the one man who’d stolen her heart.

 At the end of the tour and lecture, the children were given quills to form into pens. Using it to write and draw proved interesting… and, for some, quite messy. They gave a valiant effort though not one of them came close to the billowy and ornate flourishes contained in Sally Townsend’s diary or even in the hasty yet fluid lines from George Washington’s letter. 

They came away from the tour excited and enlightened and with an appreciation for the advances we’ve made in our day-to-day existence – as well as with a deeper understanding of how vital  and personal the fight had been.   

Sure, public schools have field trips, too. I know that. But there’s something magical about being there as a family, about learning together and sharing those wondrous ah-ha moments. Of course, as I said, it’s a lifestyle that’s not for everyone, but it works for us and my only regret is that we didn’t start the homeschooling process when Daughter was in elementary school. I would have loved to witness the ‘ah-ha’ moments she had during those wonderfully innocent and exciting years.

The State of Our Union

I recorded President Obama’s speech last night. I did watch it, but knew from his previous speeches this one would be invigorating enough  to watch again.

With the economy as it is, day to day routines are clouded in uncertainty. How do you go to sleep at night and rise refreshed when your dreams are haunted by dollar signs floating out of reach before your eyes? Your children are asleep in the next room and you wonder how they’ll handle the sudden move when you lose your house. Or you know they’re hungry because money is so scarce that meals have gone lean. You try to sleep because you want to look respectable in the morning – at least enough so to be taken seriously when you go searching, yet again, for work.

I am safe for the moment. As are my friends and the rest of my family. But, I listened to the President speak and understand how much longer it takes to rebuild than to demolish. I understand community service and I get spreading hope, helping yourself, rising to the occasion and helping others. I get it. When my confidence falters, I will replay last night’s speech and feel it lift my spirits again.

But what about the kids in the next room of the house that might not be theirs in the morning? How do you spread hope to them? To their parents? How do you help when what they need is so much more than what you can give? They can’t wait for a stimulus to take effect. They need help now. Tomorrow, before breakfast. Or breakfast might not be served.

The saddest part of all this, I think, is that there have been people in this country struggling, worrying about their children and their next meal since well before the economic crisis. They’re called America’s Poor. They hurt, they hope and they dream just like the rest of us and yet somehow, it wasn’t until the diseased economy hit the masses that it was addressed in such an urgent way.

While we try to pick ourselves up, give back and fight to keep our jobs and our homes, I can only hope some of the daily gifts we have – like a DVR to record the president’s speech live on cable news, from a 32″ TV screen in the living room of my own gas-heated home with lights on and a late night snack in my hand - are no longer taken for granted but are appreciated as hard-earned and easily lost. I hope when we, as a country, can finally stand on our feet and brush off our knees, we remember how hard it was and that some of us… maybe even the same ’some’ from before… are still worried about how to silence the grumbling from deep within our children’s stomachs.

Starting again… and loving it.

As I work on the query and synopsis for my completed story, I’m also working on the next one.

It’s actually quite exciting. In the past I’ve struggled with “starting”. It seemed the story I just finished – and its characters - had taken hold of my heart and mind and wouldn’t let go. I’d try to work with my new characters but hear the old character’s voices.

So… starting this new work immediately after finishing the first had me a little on edge, wondering if I could do it so quickly or if I had to let some time pass. Well… so far, so good. I think I’ve finally worked out a system that blends the needs of my muse, me and story.

I was a workshop diva – signing up for every and any workshop that came my way. I’ve modified some of them, taken parts of each that ’spoke’ to me and blended them into a method of plotting and creating character that I enjoy. For my past work, I was a true pantser. Just typing away as the story came to me. I’m very happy with those stories. And I love the memory of writing them. The thrill of hearing the character’s voices in my head, seeing them move and interact, then rushing to the computer to get it all down. So exciting.

But I spent a lot of time revising those stories. A LOT. Pantsing like that just wasn’t working for me the way I thought it was. I, apparently, need some direction. My Gemini spirit is too flighty and must be guided – though not restrained.

And so… I now work with Laurie Schnebly Campbell’s Fatal Flaws, Sue Viders Character Diamond, and Karen Docter’s W-Plot (the latter of which, closes by incorporating a subdued ’storyboard’ that, when properly done, transfers beautifully into a synopsis). I highly recommend each of these workshops. For me, parts of each of them make the characters come to life. With a little work, their deepest desires are revealed along with the conflict they’ll face trying to achieve those goals. Finite details are not disclosed, that happens during the writing process. What’s left is a planning stage that’s not only fun (for me), but also edges me closer to writing the story.

My synopsis and query are nearly ready to go. And this time, while I wait for a response, I’ll be doing what I love most – writing the next story with my notes there to help keep my excited Gemini muse on track… or at least close to that track.

Whiskered kisses

There’s one thing I can count on at the shelter and that is the warm furry greetings I get at the door.

Walking in there and seeing all those bright eyes and whiskered faces makes me smile somewhere deep inside. Every day, a precious bunch of cats line up by the door, each vying for the highest perch. And they wait their turn to be greeted by name, with a loving scruff between the ears, a scratch on their back just before their tail, or for some, no touches, just brief eye-to-eye contact. In return, I’m serenaded with a perfectly tuned chorus of purrs. I’m butted by adoring little heads, forced to stand still as furry bodies wind themselves around my legs and my most favorite greeting of all, given wet little whiskered kisses on my cheek.

It’s the whiskered kisses of one I’m going to miss. The whiskered kiss I always saved for last because it was the most adoring, the most innocent and unassuming of all.

Frannie, I’m stunned and saddened. For a small boy, you certainly filled the space… and my heart. I won’t be the only one to miss you, and I’m not the only one confused by your passing. Never a day went by without a contented spring in your step – especially when you set off to spit out your pill somewhere “private”, or a laugh at the way you grumbled while scratching your ears – as if you hated having to scratch them yourself.

You’ll be missed by human and feline alike and you will always, always be loved.

    

The Synopsis – “Tell” don’t “Show”? Really?

What is one thing I learned during the multi-draft process of synopsis writing? That the job of a synopsis is to sum up your story in a way that engages a cold reader and fills them with a desire to read more. Not more as in, “I want to know what happens next”, but more as in, they want to SEE your story play out. They want to meet your hero or heroine, not just hear about them.

Imagine, your best friend tells you the most exciting story about her guy and how they spent their weekend… say… with him convincing your water-phobic friend to swim with dolphins. He held her hand, promised he’d be right beside her the entire time. And then following through on that promise, he even cut the swim early when she grew too frightened and didn’t berate her or sulk about it. She grew so comfortable with him that she dared to enter the water again and, this time, completed the experience to the reward of his praise, not his gloating. That evening, after a divine candlelit dinner, they strolled the shoreline, hand in hand, and danced by the moonlight, the music only in their heads and hearts. The rhythm theirs and theirs alone. And then afterward, they snuggled close and sipped Chablis by a warm, glowing fire where they shared secrets and dreams. One of her dreams, it turns out came true  that glorious weekend – the ability to stop being a chameleon for a man. When he cradled her in his strong arms and carried her to his bedroom, she knew it was where she was meant to be. She could be herself and he’d accept her, and in being accepted, she learned to step out of her comfort-zone and plunge into uncharted waters.

Now I ask you… do you want more details? Do you want to see this guy? Hear his voice? Experience the thrill of the ocean, of the fire, of his strong arms…? 

Her story was the synopsis. It was an overview. She ‘told’ you what happened, but the thrill of it, the way it moved her, changed her, ’showed’ in the way she told it.

So it is with a synopsis. It’s not all ‘tell’. Not really.

A synopsis must get to the point of the story. It must TELL the plot in a somewhat bare-bones style. No melodrama, no purple prose (though, purple prose shouldn’t be in the story itself, either). But a synopsis also must SHOW the emotion and character growth.

Show and tell – both in story and in synopsis. In synopsis, tell me what happens, but tell me in a way that takes me right to the edge of that ocean… make me close my eyes, eager to feel its spray.

Onward…

I have successfully completed five synopsis versions. Note, I did not say I have completed five successful synopsis versions.

I’m happy with the final one, though I’ve gone according to the 1 page per 10,000 words rule. I’m going to let it sit for a couple of days then get back to it… mainly because I’ve signed up for some one-on-one synopsis help with the wonderful Mary Buckham (who gives wonderful in-person and online workshops), and am waiting for feedback from her.

Not one to simply kick back and wait, I figure it’s time to look ahead to the next project. I have an “Ideas” file loaded with… well… ideas. There are stories in there waiting to be written, characters eager to be brought to life on the page. And then there’s me - just a little gun shy after having completed a book only days ago. 

I’m not exhausted. If anything, I’m energized from the ride of the last story. I’m not numb creatively. I have new and interesting scenes playing out in my head.  

I am however, torn.

Which story do I work on next? The ideas pull me in all directions. I want to write. I want to get back to what I was doing just a week ago, and hammer out the story, feel the very last rush of words spring off my fingers and onto the page.

Alas… that’s called “finishing”. 

This… is called ’starting’.

Plotting – whether in detail or denial – is a long process. I’m in denial right now – insisting I’m a pantser through and through when actually, I desperately need a balance of plotting and pantsing.  So, while I’d rather sit here and type away, showing my family how busy I, as writer, can be, I’ll be thinking and no doubt convincing them I’m simply goofing off.

I’ll spend the next couple of weeks turning scenarios over in my mind, picturing the worst obstacles I can throw in my new hero’s way, measuring how high my herione can leap and building hurdles twice that height. I’ll be plotting without paper. Watching the story develop. Seeing the sway of my heroine’s hips, the swagger of my hero’s purposeful gait. And I’ll be dreaming, hearing their voices. Eager for the moment a blank page turns into the first page of a brand new chapter.

Synopsis Hell

Want a laugh? Mention the word synopsis to a writer and watch them break into a sweat. Or hives.

Isn’t it funny how writing a 100,000 word story doesn’t create the same sense of panic as a 2-5 page summary of it creates? I mean, really, what’s the big deal. We’ve gotten to know our characters on the most intimate level. We’ve watched them struggle over increasingly mounting obstacles. We’ve seen their wit, their courage, their weaknesses, strengths, failures and triumphs. And yet, when it comes down to telling our story in the most basic terms, we freeze.

For me, I suppose, it’s wanting to insert all those precious details. The sights and scents, the mood. Balancing ‘tell’ with passion is a tough thing to do. No melodrama in a synopsis. No ’show’. Just the facts, ma’am.

Of course, we want a bit of our voice to shine through. I mean, if the story is humor and your synopsis is full of droning prose, then it’s little more than a poor example of bait and switch. Yet, you can’t really ’show’ your voice since this is about ‘telling’ your story.

What’s your story about? Quick! Answer that in 500 words or less. Easy-peasy, right?

Yeah. Right.

As you can tell, I’m in the thick of it right now… attempting my own balancing act. No one said synopsis writing was easy, but we all know how vital it is. And one thing is for certain – the manuscript took months to complete. The planning hit several brick walls and climbing those walls became more and more difficult… and more and more exciting as the story took shape. All that effort is forgotten when The End is reached. It’s only when we (I) sit with a synopsis waiting to be written that I think I’m first struggling to tell this story.

So… the synopsis is no different than the story itself. Both are a challenge. Both are part of you. Both will help determine the future for your characters and for you as their creator. A synopsis, therefore, deserves the same amount of attention, patience and enthusiasm as the story itself.

And on that note… I’m going to make myself another pot of coffee and have at it. Again.

I have crossed the finish line!

You would think when the finish line is in sight, you’d pick up speed, put all the pent-up energy into the drive to get there, raise your arms in triumph and barrel full-speed ahead. There would be a cheer from a crowd of onlookers, confetti maybe, and a trophy, or at the least, a hug and a high five.

Well…

My victory – finally typing ‘The End’ in context – wasn’t quite so energized. In fact, it was the polar opposite. Everything led up to those final moments. Final moments when the characters’ struggles had to be shown as worth it, as life-altering.

Stitching those last high-energy scenes together was tedious work. Intense. I spent a lot of time staring unseeing at the blinking cursor, deep in thought, watching the scene play out in my head, forming the perfect string of words to show that scene as I saw it. Burrowing deeper into the minds of my characters than I had in a while. I had to navigate their subconscious, locate their ah-ha moments and then slap them into action, realization. All they’d fought for, all they thought was lost was finally there for the taking. They had only to realize how they got there, what they’d overcome and what it meant for their futures… as individuals and as a couple.

They’re off making love somewhere right now and I’m… left behind to write their synopsis.  <shudder> I need to find a real title, too, and of course, I’ll work on the query. Rejections will start to flow in and I’ll sigh and file them away. But then maybe, just maybe, someone out there will fall in love with my little creation the same way I did. In truth, I hope lots of someones out there will fall in love with it. But then, isn’t that the hope of every writer? Isn’t that why we do this in the first place? To take people into our worlds for just a little while? To take them on an adventure? To surprise them and make them cheer for our characters… and then sigh in satisfaction when they reach the finish line?

If we’ve done our job right, the reader will know that The End is nothing more than a new beginning.  And we, meanwhile, will start the entire process once again.

With the end in sight…

…why am I here blogging?

Seriously. I am up to the final scenes before those two amazing words: THE END

I can’t wait to type them in context. And yet… I’m also afraid to. I’m in love with the story I’m writing. I’m always in love with a story I’m writing. The characters become friends, housemates, secret whispers in my ear at all times of day and night. I see and hear them, feel their angst, their relief. And then… I have to say goodbye to them. It’s a bittersweet moment. 

Maybe that’s why I’m here instead of there. I’ve always had trouble with ‘goodbye’. I suppose I’ll just have to remind myself that ‘goodbye’ won’t really come for quite some time. These characters and their story will stay with me well into this new year. I’ll have to write up an intriguing query and condense my 300-page manuscript down to a 5-page synopsis.  I’ll have to determine which agents I’d like to send that query and synopsis to. And then I’ll have to wait for their reply, hope a request is made…

Funny. Suddenly, the end seems WAY in the future. But that’s okay. It’s the process, and, to be honest, it’s very exciting.

Meanwhile, as far as story goes, I have 15 Chapters and the Epilogue finished. All that’s left is Chapter 16. Yes… I wrote the epilogue before I wrote the climax. <shrug> What can I say, I’m a rule-breaker. And once 16 is complete, I’ll be playing with all the titles I’ve thought of since my working title just isn’t going to do it.

I found a way to distract myself when the writing gets too intense.

Okay.

Fine.

I’ll rephrase.

I found a way to procrastinate when I should be writing but am not doing so for whatever reason. It’s this quirky and fun little ‘romance cover’ generator. Too cute. Too addictive.

Here’s the “cover” of “my book” with one of my title ideas…

  Oooooo! And here’s another one!  

Go play… you, too, can procrastinate like me.

Oh, and because I just can’t seem to get enough…