Teetering on the Writer’s Brink

(Click photo to enlarge)

Teetering on the brink. It’s a cliché, but apt, because I’m getting ready to fall head first into March. I’m gonna be swamped; I just know it! But sometimes taking a deep breath and leaping is what it takes to get somewhere, and I definitely need to be somewhere other than where I am.

I’ve been complaining to anyone who’ll listen that my current w.i.p. is lagging. Of course the complaining isn’t doing anything to help. What I need is a burst of enthusiasm – something to get my BIC (butt in chair) and keep it there. I’ve reluctantly decided accountability might be what it takes.

So, beginning tomorrow I’ve committed to participate in two very public, wild writing endeavours:

 

Seekerville Speed Book, aka Speedbo, is, in Glynna Kaye’s words, “an opportunity to fully focus on that new story idea or current Work in Progress (WIP). It’s a chance to join your fellow ‘Friends of Seekerville’ (both pubbed and unpubbed) in an energizing month of fun, hard work and productivity.”

 

The other, March Madness, is Denise Jaden’s challenge: “If you have a writing project you’re ready to start, or a work in progress you’re ready to finish, come and join the fun. Accountability is our main aim and the more support we have, the easier it will be to sail on through the month of March, bouncing along on each others successes.” In addition to cheering us on toward our writing goals, Denise has arranged for daily check-in sites and prizes to be won.

Care to join me? I’ll be here on my usual schedule, although I probably won’t make it around to other blogs quite as often while I’m scrambling to gather my novelling words. But if your output needs a little boost, you’re welcome to join in either or both endeavours, by signing in at the appropriate website — just click on the logos above to get there – today.

Or, for something less formal, check in here throughout the month and let me know how your writing is going. I’m a good listener.

Either way, I’m determined March is going to be my month to take the leap and make it past the wasteland and back into the verdant land of productivity again. Beginning tomorrow morning I’m adopting author Robert Dugoni’s battle cry: “This day we write!“ (By the way, if you need a powerful shot of motivation, click on the link and scroll down to hear Robert’s audio clip.)

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The psychology of colour in novel writing

Life is full of colour. It affects how we perceive our environment, and influences our emotions.  The psychology of colour comes into play in selecting décor in hospitals, schools and correctional institutions, and also in the shades of paint we choose for our homes, although sometimes the latter is an unconscious factor. We decide on a particular paint chip because we like the colour, but don’t necessarily know why.

Although there are three primary colours on an artist’s colour wheel (red, blue and yellow), colour psychology is based on four main colours (red, blue, yellow and green), each with various positive and negative characteristics. Red relates to physical properties, blue to intellectual, yellow to emotional and green to balance. You can read more about their properties here.

The question I have is whether we give enough consideration to colour in our writing. We struggle to choose character names that reflect the era and personalities, but what does the colour of their clothing choices, home furnishings and vehicles say about them?

I wonder what the colour choices I make say about me when I select my boxes of facial tissues. I had a miserable cold when I chose this one!

RED – Physical


Positive: Physical courage, strength, warmth, energy, basic survival, ‘fight or flight’, stimulation, masculinity, excitement. 

Negative: Defiance, aggression, visual impact, strain.

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Do you make use of the psychological properties of colour in your writing?

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Still Saturday: Complementary Opposites

“Complementary colors make a strange pair. They are opposite, yet they require each other. They incite each other to maximum vividness when together; and annihilate each other when mixed.”

[Johannes Itten]

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Scripture is full of opposites, and seemingly contradictory statements that teach us simple truths:

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

[Matthew 5:4-7]

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Linking with Sandra Heska King for Still Saturday:

Disintegrating stories, unlike buildings, have little heritage value

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Old structures intrigue me. I’m not really sure why, but I suspect it’s a bit of nostalgia that causes me to pause when I come across one, and wonder about its origins or history.

This one is the original log cabin built on our Cariboo property by my father with the help of a neighbouring trapper. I know its history. It’s one room that housed my parents and me during summer holidays and hunting excursions. It still stands, although I think packrats are the only residents now.

The old water wheel on the hill overlooking Fort Steele in BC’s Kootenay country always garners a glance as we drive by. Tourists are invited to “explore tomorrow today” in the heritage townsite that dates back to the mid-1800s.

And I love this old gate, even if it no longer serves anything beyond a decorative purpose. It’s picturesque, although nobody sees it anymore. It leads to an abandoned log home accessible only via a bridge that collapsed years ago.

Then there is this old chair. At one time it served as a desk chair in my parents’ home office. Eventually it found its way into our cabin, and resided there until it was replaced and relegated to the woodshed. Someone toted it down to the lakeshore where we occasionally sat to reflect on the view. When it became unsafe, my hubby took it apart, and a portion was salvaged to be wall art.

But this … this old hay shed caught my attention for a different reason. It’s not far from Monte Creek , a small rural community in south central  BC. I’ve driven past it innumerable times and am always surprised that it’s still in use. For what and why, I don’t know. Anything stored inside is destined to be just as affected by the weather as it would be outside. I’m not sure one could even call it picturesque. It’s simply old and worn out.

That roof reminds me of one of my stories – with a plot full of holes, holding together a shaky structure. I keep shoring it up because I hate to admit I’ve let it reach this stage.  Thinking of abandoning the hard-won words and letting them disintegrate into the ground like so much compost fills me with melancholy. I have so much time and effort invested in the writing. But I’m disillusioned if I believe it serves any legitimate purpose.

Then again, I suppose I learned things during its construction. And maybe the printout would make a good doorstop. I know one thing for sure: it will never have heritage value!

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What about your early, now-abandoned manuscripts? Did they serve a purpose? Did you learn anything from them?

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The Impossible Dream: what keeps you from giving up?

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If you were on Google’s home page anytime Wednesday, you will have noticed the German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz’s 155th birthday was being celebrated by Google, who turned its logo into an undulating frequency wave.

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

What I didn’t know about Hertz was that he died without realizing the significance of his research.

Wikipedia says, “While his discoveries would eventually lead to the inventions of the wireless telegraph, radio and television, Hertz didn’t realize the importance of his work at the time. After an experiment that helped establish the photoelectric effect, he commented that, ‘It’s of no use whatsoever.’”

He died at age 36, and it wasn’t until thirty-six years later that the hertz was established as a standard unit of measurement.

As writers, we sometimes downplay the importance of our efforts. We write,  revise and refine with the ultimate goal of publication, but we realistically understand that it’s a dream that might be beyond our reach. And, like Hertz, there are days when we feel justified in saying, “It’s crap… no use whatsoever.”

The thing is, just like Hertz, some writers never live to see the success of their endeavours. There are many books published posthumously that go on to great success — The Trial by Franz Kafka, Queen: The Story of an American Family by Alex Haley, Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf, The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien – to name a few.

Consider what the world of literature would have missed if these writers had given in to the despair that is typical when the internal critic creeps in under the radar and sabotages morale — if they had destroyed those manuscripts instead of allowing them to collect dust on a shelf somewhere. Or if they had completely given up on writing before ever finishing the first draft.

There are undoubtedly many excellent writers who never see their dreams realized, not because they couldn’t find a publisher, but because they stopped too soon — stopped writing, stopped querying, stopped dreaming.

Are you ever tempted to throw in the towel … to give up writing and find something else on which to focus your time and energy? If you aren’t, what would you say to encourage those who are?

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I. Am. A. Writer.

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K.M. Weiland says a lot of things that grab me when I think I can sneak past with a cursory glance at her site. It’s that moment when time is limited and I promise myself I’ll just snatch a brief look at her topic du jour and get back to work. She never lets me get away with it. There is always something that captures my attention.

What was that???

I have a section in one of my writing binders with quotations and excerpts intended for inspiration and encouragement. Some of the entries are gleaned from her websites. One favourite:

“Writing is both a gift and an art.

As a gift, it must be approached with humility: the writer is only the vessel through which inspiration flows.

As an art, it must be approached with passion and discipline: a gift that’s never developed wasn’t worth the giving.” 

[K M Weiland]

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I found another gem in her post today that has already been printed out and added to my collection for days when I need reassurance — a reminder that, regardless of what I may think of my ability on any given day, I am a writer and my writing is important to me. I love what I do, and I will write with joy.

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 Do you sometimes need a reminder that what you do as a writer is worthwhile?

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Still Saturday: Embers

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Amid the ashes embers still glow

Former heat faded to warmth

But remembered

In the pile of firewood

Waiting to rekindle

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“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,
which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

[2 Timothy 1:6 - NIV] 

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~ Sharing “Still Saturday” with Sandra Heska King

The Concept of Aging and Time in Novel Writing

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Cute, eh? That’s me, more years ago than I’m prepared to acknowledge. I think I was barely two.

Then I was five … 

… and suddenly eighteen.

And now? Let’s not even go there! I’m looking back through the years since then and shaking my head at all the changes they’ve brought. Aging means more than accumulating a few grey hairs (okay, so it’s more than a few), and arthritis. I like to think there have been significant accomplishments and contributions along the way, and perhaps a smidgeon of wisdom gained, too. One sure thing is that time doesn’t hover motionless as the calendar pages flip.

Authors are confronted with the need to provide realistic aging in stories and series that span large periods of time. Consider Alex Haley’s ROOTS, a multi-generational family history written in 1976, and the Cleary family saga, THE THORN BIRDS, written in 1977 by Colleen McCullough. The latter covers more than sixty years while four-year-old Meggie transitions into a mature woman.

J.K. Rowling didn’t face that dilemma to the same extent, but when it came to filming her HARRY POTTER series, the actors were challenged to retain the aura of school children over a period of several years. There’s an interesting video here that shows the ten-year aging process of Daniel Radcliffe.

Historical fiction may take us into a previous era, but a contemporary series must deal with the element of time, too. Which brings me to ask if you’ve written novels that require you to cope with the passage of time, be it in a character or a community.

What things would need to be taken into consideration when writing a saga or series?

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♥ Happy Valentine’s Day! ♥

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Cherry Chip Cupcakes

I’ve nothing profound from a writing perspective to share, but with all the focus on love today, I thought I’d give you a peek at the Valentine goodies I made for my hubby.

I’m not a creative cook — nothing like Ruth Logan Herne at her Yankee-Belle Cafe (go check out the guest post on brining a romantic turkey… I kid you not!) — so he doesn’t get anything fancy. But since I seldom bake at all any more, his sweet tooth should be happy with these.

Super-sized Chocolate Brownies

Of course a little chocolate (or a lot) is imperative today, don’t you agree? I cut generous hearts out of a pan of brownies, and afterwards made the still-warm leftover bits into balls and rolled them in sugar, too. Extra yummy bite-sized goodies. (What? You didn’t expect I wouldn’t sample them, did you? Be reasonable. We’re talking chocolate here!)

Wishing you an abundance of love in your life today … from friends, from family, and best of all, from God.

♥   Happy Valentine’s Day!   ♥

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“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your strength.”
[Deuteronomy 6:5 – NIV]

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 “… and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” 
[Ephesians 5:2 – NIV]

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“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.” 
[1 John 4:7a – NIV]

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“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

[Romans 12:10 - NIV]

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Roses for Remembrance

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On Sandra Heska King’s blog, her “Scripture Sunday” post today is entitled “Bouquets of Roses”, and quotes Isaiah 61:2-3 where it is announced that God will comfort all who mourn and give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes. Her post brought to mind the roses and petals that were placed in memory of my brother-in-law at the memorial services held in Canada and Taiwan.

There are many symbolic gestures used to remember loved ones during the celebration of their lives — lighting of candles, laying of wreaths and flowers, the display of a meaningful possession. Too often they remind me of Job 14:2 …

“We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of a cloud.”

Thankfully, there are also promises of things more permanent …

“But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
[1 Peter 1:25]

“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
[Exodus 15:18]

“Splendid and majestic is His work,
And His righteousness endures forever.”
[Psalm 111:3]

“…the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man
who trusts in Him.”
[Psalm 32:10]

Such words are of great comfort!

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Do you have a favourite bible verse that brings you comfort in difficult times?

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