I’m Cooking

I’m cooking – both literally and figuratively.

First, let’s take figurative.

We’ve been back in our still-not-quite-finished house for over a month now. I’ve finished a big -- no -- HUGE project at work. I also had the toughest part of the job's annual review, so now I’m just waiting on my new contract. I have a meeting from hell this week, but things are falling into place for it. I can take deep breaths without suffocating, finally. In relief mode (and still not over stress mode), my body shut down this past week. I think it knew it was that or get sick, which would have pissed me off. So, I caught up on sleep – getting 7, 8, even 9 hours of sleep per night – a feat I haven’t managed in a long time.

Yesterday, my frustration at being 30 pages behind on my goal of 35 for the week had me ready to kick and throw the computer. But, really, it wasn’t its fault, so I sat back, looked my three main characters square in the eye, and asked them (metaphorically speaking) what the hell they wanted and if they’d tell me their story. Just f&*$#ng tell me!!!!

And, they did.

My villain was pissed at first, but he’s a pissy kind of guy. He was mad that I’d changed him simply based on comments from an early reading by a friend. He said to go back to his story, beef him up. He told me who he was, which wasn’t at all who I’d thought. But, damn, if it doesn’t work. So, ok. Ray (villain), I’m sorry. I get you now.

Kat (my heroine) told me some more – things about which I had no idea. Oh, my! I hope she finds love, and comfort, and trust, and a shoulder that will provide honesty and hope. (Cris. Are you listening? She’s really a wounded soul that needs lots of care.)

And then there’s Cris. He’s the most true to my original vision. He’s wounded, but he’ll get more so during the story before he’s healed. (Kat. You listen, too. He’s not so different from you. He took a different path to get where you are, but he’ll end up there during the story – so far from love, comfort, trust, honesty, and hope. It will be your job to recognize that for what it is – for where you also are – and help him. Grow. You’ll have to.)

After putting away the MIP and opening a new document and letting their stories flow out, I have a better grasp on my own. I really think it works now. Finally. Before, it was okay, but it felt forced. Now – ah.

Of course, I’m back to the plot board again, but only for little snippets – one short sentence or two about each scene with room to play. Burdens be gone. I think the muses are cooking up a feast for a big party!

Then….

There’s the other type of cooking. Literal cooking.

First, I’m not a baker. I hate to bake. I’ll do it because I have to. Today, I have to make cookies for something. Can anyone say “slice and bake?”

What I like is cooking. I have 5 burners on my new cook top. I have a new convection oven. I have some new pots and pans and cool little cooking utensils. It’s fun. It’s creative. And the muses like when I make new dishes, so we’re all happy.

I have new cooking toys – a la Pampered Chef. (Yes, I broke down and had one of “those” parties. Not really my cup of tea, but I had it to help out my sister-in-law’s friend, whose family has had a hard time of it lately. I told my friends not to feel obligated, but to just help me christen my kitchen. The guys played Texas Hold’em and ate all the food. The girls brushed off my whispers that they didn’t have to buy anything, saying they wanted to. My sister-in-law’s friend sold more stuff at my party than ever before. And, did you know, I got free stuff? What a cool perk! All my friends are asking when I’m going to do it again. Go figure.)

Anyway, cool new cooking toys. Cool new ideas – and back to a lot of the original ones for my MIP. Rested.

Oh, yeah, I’m cooking.

Macy

Writing Goals -- A Review and Some Changes

I'm working my way back through my MIP, layering, editing, trashing, rewriting, adding new stuff. I'm determined to get it pretty and polished and neat and worthy to send to Harlequin as requested.

I posted recently on perfectionism and not being able to tell when it's good enough. And, yep, that's still a problem. However, I'm going to plug through anyway.

I started at the beginning last week, getting contest submissions ready. I sent off two. I have a couple more I'd like to get off this month, but I'm working forward. At the end of last week, I hit about page 35, thinking, "Yeah, not bad." By next Sunday night, I'd like to be at page 70, thinking, "Yeah, not bad."

At that rate, I should hit "done" in about 6 to 7 weeks. Sounds good, huh?

In talking to a local friend today, I came up with a new idea. I've been getting up this past week at 5ish to write. (Well, today I got up at 5ish to meet a work deadline, but that's the last big one for awhile.) I'm going to keep doing that. From 5ish til 6ish, I'll work on layering, trashing, and adding new stuff. When I get home from work I'll edit, which will also probably result in some more new stuff.

This week will be a trial run -- starting tomorrow since I blew today already --to see how the just write, edit later idea works. AM = Just write. PM = edit. (Repeat as necessary. It's my new mantra.)

Well, I better get writing. I need to get ahead. Those RITA nominations will be posted on the 26th and I'm bound to lose some writing time that day as I read reviews and traipse up to Books-a-Million to buy a few of the nominees' books.

Just write.

Macy

Long time, No write

Have you ever dove so deeply that the frantic swim to resurface clenched your muscles in cramps and exerted vise-like pressure on your lungs? Metaphorically speaking, that's where I've been lately. That's why it's been a long time without any writing.

My dive wasn't into the water but into the all-consuming task of moving from one house to another. The house we moved back into is the house we've spent the better part of a year and a half renovating. We lived in it for a long time during renovations, but at some point, we said "enough" and moved out. What we moved back into was only 80% finished. I still have no closet or master bath. It's a work in progress that I frequently wonder if we'll ever finish.

It's alot like my MIP, which fluctuates between being 80% done and teetering on the edge of the trash bin.

Friday, I took a day off from the bill-paying job. I devoted my day to making sense of the mess I call home. I have to admit that I stood in the living room for a solid 15 minutes trying to decide if I should just sit down and cry or pick a point, any point, and dig in. Dozens of dust covered boxes filled the space. Haphazardly packed belongings littered a zone that smelled of paint fumes and sounded like power saws. Realizing there was no way out except to dive in and hope I was able to surface later, I grabbed the nearest box and said, "Ok, you're all going somewhere." I proceeded to unpack it and dozens like it. I rearranged furniture by sheer force of will, pushing and pulling across towels and sheets so that I didn't scratch the floor until I successfully found places for all the things I love. At times, I'd discover that where I'd put something wasn't quite right or that an arrangement just didn't work, so I'd redo it. I also chucked alot of stuff. I filled garbage bags with items that had outlived their usefulness, were never useful in the first place, or just plain didn't fit our lifestyle anymore. I still have more of that to do. I have more shopping to do, too, and empty spaces to fill with just the right find. Some of the things I need are big and some are small, but they all are necessary for the home I want to create. I'll likely continue to throw things away and shop, alternately, for several weeks to come. But... the bones are done, and I can see where I'm going.

It struck me that perhaps I needed this adventure (er, torture) to give me perspective on my MIP. I could easily have written the paragraph above about it. I really just need to grab hold of it and get started again. I need to unpack it, get rid of the parts that aren't needed, and add to it the good and beautiful stuff that will make it shine. I need to realize that, like this house, it is a work in progress. The fumes and noise and aggravation are still going to be there, but underneath, it is beauty and a sense of accomplishment and something worth doing and a product worth showing off.

I made it through the house thing. This week, I'm moving in again ... into my MIP this time. I'm gonna push up my sleeves and just get dirty. I'm going to purge and add and build and touch up. I'm going to get new things and let go of others. I'm going to rearrange and then do it again if needed until it's polished and presentable and amazing.

I guess this moving thing wasn't so bad afterall.

Macy

PS. When I find the camera, I'll post pictures.

MIP

Received recently via email:
I want to thank you for entering the 15th Annual Heart of the West Writers Contest, and congratulations on your First-Place finish with Cold Truth. We had many entries this year, and submitting your work for others to review takes courage. I commend you for your efforts and hope that you receive valuable feedback.

Attached are the pleminary round judged entries. You will receive the final round judged entry in the mail. Our final round judge this year for Mystery/Suspense was Allison Lyons of Harlequin Intrigue. She requested to see your project along with a synopsis and SASE for a reply. Congratulations on this request and good luck with the submission!

What to do? What to do?

I had originally planned to target Harlequin Intrigue. Then, I decided my story was ending up bigger than that, that it needed changing, needed more, needed to be single title. I started tearing it up, writing new POV's, adding depth to secondary characters. Then, I got this email.

What to do? What to do?

After much thought, quite a bit of stress, feelings of inadequacy, and some conversations with some pubbed writers, I've decided to refix it and send it to Harlequin Intrigue. (They did ask for it afterall.)

I reread parts today. I took a hard look at the first 20 pages. I added quite a bit. I tried to show the external conflict more clearly and quickly. I set up my heroine a bit differently. Why hadn't I seen her that way before? Anyway, I think it works better now.

I decided to look at the book in four acts instead of three. Wow! That helped, too. I see how I can rearrange a few big scenes to use a great scene I already have as the Supreme Ordeal (Hero's Journey). This scene will lead to the Supreme Romantic Ordeal. They will overcome their issues with each other long enough to act on that lust that's growing. No, they won't make love yet, but ....

I'll have to add a few early scenes. I need my heroine to share what she knows -- well some of it -- with the hero. She is a secret keeping kind of girl, afterall. Then I need to flip-flop some scenes. Then I need to get those new ones written.

Then what? How does one get a manuscript ready for that submission process? Do you hire a proofreader? Do you do it yourself? Yikes. Yikes. Yikes.

Ah.... After a month of feeling bad about my MIP (that's MASTERPIECE in progress, hehe), I feel good about it again. Why? I'm back to my original vision for it. I originally planned it to be a series romance. I'm keeping it that way, at least for now. If Intrigue says "no", then I may tear it apart and see how it looks as single title, but who knows.

I do have that other story -- the one I've been thinking about for longer than I've been writing this one -- that I'd like to tackle. That one will be single title.

For now... I'm closing the MIP for tonight. I'll tackle the next 30 pages tomorrow. However, I've got to go read an Intrigue book now and prepare an email for a local writer for that line. Whatever she can tell me will be helpful.

Macy