February 23, 2012

I know! It has been a while since I have worked on my fiction. I sent in my first packet over a week ago and received feedback just a day or two later. My advisor is a man of passion. He either really loves something or really hates it...and he has no qualms about expressing either! I had both strengths and weaknesses in my writing that he pointed out...and I needed to step away from it to get some perspective...to come at it with a fresh mind, one not battered by its critique. So, I have been working on my reading and critical writing for the last week. I read Faulkner's As I Lay Dying wrote that critical paper. Now I am half way through Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. But, tonight, I DID work on a chapter that I plan to insert into my novel. It is a chapter that goes back in time to when Karley and Keith first meet (and begin to date). I feel really good about it, actually. I am getting a sense of what my advisor wants and how my writing should take form. I hope I am right. It is difficult to choose my "favorite" part, as I am trying not to overwrite. But, I will leave you with this:


“Maybe you didn’t see these white lines painted here to indicate the boundaries of your parking
space.” She gestured to the line that his tires were violating.

“I guess my starvation had me delirious, and I misjudged.” That made her smile.

February 9, 2012

Yea! I have completed the required amount of fiction for my first packet. So far, the reader gets parts of the story from Emma, Jean, Beth, and Keith. There is also one chapter from Beth's point of view that is from the past. I am really enjoying how it feels to see events from various characters, as opposed to just Emma (as originally planned). I hope that the reader is intrigued at this point in regard to what happened in Emma's past...and who is involved in Karley's disappearance. I also hope that the clues pique the reader's interest but are not too overbearing. Here is my favorite part from today's writing:

The rest of his mind meandered through the past,as a twig glides down a rushing river.

February 7, 2012

I have completed 16 of my 20 page requirement to send in my packet. I am so anxious to find out what my advisor has to say about my writing. So many changes have occurred in terms of my craft, so it will be interesting to get his feedback. Today, I worked on revision a bit. I also decided that I wish I could write as fast as my mind thinks. I have so many scenes in my head, but writing them out takes time. Here is my favorite part from today's writing/revising:


Jean turned from Emma, but it wasn’t until she had closed the door behind her and commenced her descent down the stairs that she relinquished her façade of composure. Tears spilled from her eyes as her dam of resistance crumbled.

February 2, 2012

Lately, I have been scouring over the novels I am reading to gather as much as I can on other author's techniques. One I have employed is telling the story through different characters. I was not sure if I would like this, but I have actually found it much easier to navigate through the story. Each chapter gives a fresh perspective, so I do not feel like I am having to sustain a certain character for too long. I never intended to write from the mind of Jean, the woman who Emma rents from (and also Beth's aunt). She will not have too many chapters, actually. But I decided to give her first appearance in the novel to her own mind. I like it; I think it works. It gives the reader some indication that she, too, has a past filled with secrets. Here is my favorite line from my writing today:

Unlocking the heavy door, Jean hesitantly stepped inside, preparing herself for the black memory, the one that promises its return to her, like the tide’s promise to the sand.