transcript

Thankful Thursday: The I-Didn’t-Procrastinate-(Much) Edition

/ Tracy Abell

stevenwrightquote

I’ve started working again on a project that I put on hold in 2012 because I didn’t feel equipped to do it justice. I’m still not insanely confident about my abilities (after all, I am a writer), but I’m pushing ahead.

Last night my Writing Roosters critique group got together, and one of the members spoke of her current process as she drafts another book in a series. She said that for her, outlining and research could turn into a form of procrastination, and that it was important to just get writing and trust that that other stuff will sort itself out along the way. I realize that isn’t a new concept, but it was one of those right-comments-at-the-right time things, and it went ping in my brain.

That’s exactly where I’ve been with this project; reacquainting myself with the characters and plot, doing more and more research. Thinking I had to get most every detail nailed down. Obviously, that’s false. Because as it says in STOP THAT BALL! : Could this go on all day and night? It could, you know, and it just might.

stopthatballcover

One of the best read-alouds EVER!

So today I stepped away from the outlining and research rabbit holes, and started writing. I didn’t get a whole lot of words down, but I accomplished more than page numbers.

Take that, Steven Wright!

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About everything

/ Tracy Abell

Fiction is too beautiful to be about just one thing. It should be about everything.
~ Arundhati Roy
sedum

I absolutely agree with Ms. Roy. Fiction should include the smooth, the rough, the soft, the sharp, the bright, the dull, the everything. Right now, however, I’m struggling with a bit of overwhelm in regards to the EVERYTHING I’m contemplating for this current project.

The good news is that I’ve (temporarily, at least) eluded my panic, and am whittling away at one piece of EVERYTHING that I hope belongs in the story. If it turns out this piece doesn’t belong, I will still have learned something.

Disclosure: That mature sentiment will fade if this project turns into one long-ass process of elimination.

.

All thumbs

/ Tracy Abell / 2 Comments

I’ve written lots of stuff over the years and have quite a few thumb drives.

thumb-drives

Going back to locate an old project used to be a pain in the ass. Well, not anymore! I FINALLY took the time to index my various drives and to move files around so that none of those projects are on multiple drives. (In case you’re judging me, I challenge anyone to work on a project off-and-on over the years and still maintain a pristine filing system. And yes, I do know about the cloud. Much of this stuff’s out there, too, but that’s a task for another day.)

Right now I’m very satisfied with my little box of thumb drives and index. Never underestimate the power of organizational wizardry. The world feels very bleak right now, and little victories such as this can stop me from running into traffic.

 

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Friday Five: The Kathleen Duey Edition

/ Tracy Abell

ONE:
So what do you do when you’re more than a year into a project yet
still confused regarding the viability of said project?
Hire Kathleen Duey – Writing Consultant Extraordinaire.

Kathleen Duey pic

TWO:
And how does that consultation take place?
Via Skype in which you’re face-to-face across the miles,
looking into Kathleen’s friendly face below those flaming tresses,
as she shares her reaction to your opening pages and synopsis.

THREE:
Will she automatically like what you’ve written and advise you to
continue in that vein?
Not in my case. But that’s good because the reason
I contacted Kathleen was to jar myself from the space I was in with
that project, and to get me thinking in new and different directions. If she’d
told me I was on the right track I would’ve wanted my money back.

FOUR:
Did she share brilliant insights and suggestions?
Yes and yes! Kathleen offered a plot device I hadn’t considered which
will make the storytelling easier while adding complexity to the plot. She also
had oodles of general insights and if I had to choose a money quote from our
session it would be “I don’t really know this kid yet and I’m thinking you
don’t know him much better.” That was painful to hear but not unexpected;
it was the wake-up I needed. (She then shared techniques for
getting to know him, getting to know all about him…).

FIVE:
Well, it kinda sounds as if your project needs a major overhaul so aren’t
you a little overwhelmed?
Absolutely. But I also finally, finally feel as if I might be able to do this concept
justice (a concept Kathleen very much loved) and so am trying not to look
too far ahead as I begin at the beginning (again). This project is my Grow
and Learn and Mature as a Writer project, and I want to embrace the
experience.

BONUS:
If you get the chance to hear Kathleen speak at a conference, do it.
I heard her years ago when my energy and drive were flagging and
she made me not only want to write again, but to write well. She’s smart
and passionate and incredibly supportive of other writers.

Thank you again, Kathleen!

New Running and Writing Perspectives

/ Tracy Abell

           

I'm developing new perspectives 
regarding running and writing,
perspectives I hope will sustain me.

I am a creature of habit
and while there's no harm in my many years 
of ordering aloo gobi at Indian restaurants
or my drawer filled with black shirts,
black shirt   black shirt   black shirt

I'm realizing I do myself a disservice when I,
for example, get so focused on how fast I can run a certain
trail that I get locked into that one workout.

Last summer I ran three or four times a week
on the trails in the open space,
trails that include lots of rocks and inclines.
When it came time for the annual road race 5k to benefit my kids'
high school I was sure I'd kick butt.
Well, I did cut some time but nothing close to what I'd hoped for,
and I didn't know why.

Now I think I do.

Every run was on the same couple loops,
starting from the same place 
and ending at the same point.
My muscles got used to those runs and settled in at that level.

Here's what the trail system looks like where I run:
Hayden Green Mountain trail map
image from BigDaddyMaps.com

While it's true there are many trails, 
not all those trails are great for running.
Many are so steep I'd be faster hiking them than "running."
So I gravitated to the trails that had long sections of tolerable inclines,
wanting a decent-length workout. 

This summer I'm trying something new:
I go off on tangents, even if those trails are short or quickly turn steep.
I'm keeping my muscles on their proverbial toes as I mix up my workouts.
As a result, I'm not obsessed with my time and allow myself the luxury of 
watching coyotes or jumping sideways at the sight of a snake.

Jim Fixx cover
Every step I take is a good step.

So what does this lengthy screed have to do with my writing?
I'm back working on the project I set aside in April in order to focus
on other revisions, the project that's different from any other book I've written.

This project intimidates me and I really have no clue whether I'm hitting the mark.
But I'm using new writing muscles and that can only make me a stronger writer 
(assuming I don't run screaming into the night).

Something else I've learned?
New perspectives are not only good for the muscles but nourish the soul.

                       

Friday Five: The Catching Up Edition

/ Tracy Abell

1)  Zebu turned 16 this week and got his driver’s license.
Knowing him, that’s what he was dreaming about in this old photo:
passport Harlan 001

2)  Zippy is training for the MS 150 Colorado Bike Ride next weekend
and has been going on looong rides in the 90+ degree temperatures plus
commuting to work via bike which means a return ride of 12+ miles uphill.
(It’s a good cause and he’s low on fundraising so if you have a couple bucks
to toss his way he’d be thrilled).

3)  Wildebeest is living with Casa Bonita workmates and enjoying
the freedom of a home so messy he temporarily lost his phone.

4)  I am waiting to hear back from a critique partner on my revisions
before I can finally, finally send them off. In the meanwhile I’m revisiting the project
I set aside several months ago and tweaking the synopsis with a new perspective.

5)  The nest cam is still running at Cornell University and here’s the youngest
hawk looking quizzical on her return visit to the nest the other day:
Hello #3

I’ve been out of the loop here but hope everyone is doing well.
Wishing you all a great weekend!

A Tip from John Irving

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments
“A writer’s job is to imagine everything so personally 
that the fiction is as vivid as memories.”   ~ John Irving                        
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                          

Snowy Day Visitor

/ Tracy Abell

Most days the Dark-Eyed Juncos are chased from the feeders
by the other birds (mostly House Finches) but today the juncos
are holding their own.

I had great fun watching this one hop and dance about the tree
(I know it’s crazy but it seemed as if s/he was clogging).

© Tracy Abell 2012

And now I’m headed back into the revision cave although I’d prefer hanging out at the feeder. . .


Snowy Day Visitor

/ Tracy Abell

      

Most days the Dark-Eyed Juncos are chased from the feeders
by the other birds (mostly House Finches) but today the juncos 
are holding their own.

I had great fun watching this one hop and dance about the tree
(I know it's crazy but it seemed as if s/he was clogging).


                                                                                    © Tracy Abell 2012

And now I'm headed back into the revision cave although I'd prefer hanging out at the feeder. . .

               

Friday Five: The Round-and-Round Edition

/ Tracy Abell

1)  As mentioned before, I’ve had to circle back and work on opening chapters some more  and have been mostly pleased with my progress.

2)  Then yesterday I hit a bump and realized I needed to circle back yet again to tweak a scene so brainstormed characterization and plot issues to prepare myself for today’s work.

3)  This afternoon I revised and revised, then printed out the pages and congratulated myself on a job well done.

4)  Except when I began jotting notes about a tangential issue on my enormous whiteboard, I started doubting myself regarding the characterization and plot line I’d supposedly just wrestled to the ground.

5)  So I went outside and shoveled very heavy snow while talking out loud about all this stuff and came up with this answer: there’s such a thing as over-thinking a story and it would be wise to relax and enjoy the ride. 

image from morguefile.com

Wishing everyone a whirly-twirly, fun-filled weekend!

Friday Five: The Round-and-Round Edition

/ Tracy Abell

     

1)  As mentioned before, I've had to circle back and work on opening chapters some more
 and have been mostly pleased with my progress. 

2)  Then yesterday I hit a bump and realized I needed to circle back yet again to tweak a scene
so brainstormed characterization and plot issues to prepare myself for today's work.  

3)  This afternoon I revised and revised, then printed out the pages and congratulated myself on a job
well done.

4)  Except when I began jotting notes about a tangential issue on my enormous whiteboard, 
I started doubting myself regarding the characterization and plot line I'd supposedly just wrestled to the ground.

5)  So I went outside and shoveled very heavy snow while talking out loud about all this
stuff and came up with this answer: there's such a thing as over-thinking a story
and it would be wise to relax and enjoy the ride. 


                                                             image from morguefile.com

Wishing everyone a whirly-twirly, fun-filled weekend!

               

Revising in Circles

/ Tracy Abell

My awesome new critique partner read the first seven chapters of my book
last week along with chapter summaries of the remainder.
He was the first person to read this new project.

Waiting for his response was flutter-inducing,
and when it came, it was like an AHA! explosion in my head
because he put into words stuff that’d been simmering in the dim regions of my consciousness.

So now I’m reworking the opening of my story – again.
Revising chapters just a week ago I thought were grand while
battling feelings I’m not making any progress
because
I
keep
circling
back
to
the
beginning.

But when I went to morguefile.com and put “circle” into the search,
this is what jumped out at me:

So, hey! It’s cool I’m back at the beginning! (okay, maybe “cool” is a stretch).
However, it IS completely truthful to say this circling back represents
an opportunity to create a stronger core.

Today I am weaving words I hope will sustain those that follow.

Revising in Circles

/ Tracy Abell

     

My awesome new critique partner read the first seven chapters of my book
last week along with chapter summaries of the remainder.
He was the first person to read this new project.

Waiting for his response was flutter-inducing,
and when it came, it was like an AHA! explosion in my head
because he put into words stuff that'd been simmering in the dim regions of my consciousness.

So now I'm reworking the opening of my story – again.
Revising chapters just a week ago I thought were grand while
battling feelings I'm not making any progress
because
I
keep
circling
back
to
the
beginning.

But when I went to morguefile.com and put "circle" into the search,
this is what jumped out at me:

So, hey!  It's cool I'm back at the beginning! (okay, maybe "cool" is a stretch).
However, it IS completely truthful to say this circling back represents
an opportunity to create a stronger core.

Today I am weaving words I hope will sustain those that follow.
 
                      

Feeder Face-Off

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

      

I. Must. Stop. Looking. Out. The. Window. 


                                                                          © Tracy Abell 2012

Yes, there's blue sky and sunshine and oodles of birds and crazy squirrels . . .

But I have an opening chapter to rewrite.  Again.

               

Everybody Dance Now

/ Tracy Abell / 16 Comments

            

Yesterday I printed out the first eleven chapters (about 80 pages)
from the second draft of my middle-grade,
and am quite pleased with how it's coming together.

It's the first book I've written from an outline
and I must say it's a more civilized approach to writing a novel.
Ahem.

Anyway, because this sense of well-being will certainly fade
in the not-so-distant future, I'm documenting my current emotional state.

Please join Batman and me as we do the
Check-Me-Out-I'm-Feeling-Pretty-Damned-Good-Dance!

(And yes, that is red lace. Thanks for noticing.)

              

I Can’t Let This Manuscript Die!

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

        
This second draft is giving me fits 
and I'm suddenly the Queen of Procrastination
as I look for something, anything to do besides revise.

But my project is like this shark:
if I don't keep moving foward
there is a good chance the book will die.


                                                                                        image from morguefile.com

Must. Give. It. Oxygen.

                  

Friday Five: The Determination Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 14 Comments

1) I am ever so slowly making my way through the second draft of my middle-grade,

2) revising, rewording, reshaping, and re-visioning the story

3) that seemed so straight forward when it whispered in my ear, begging for attention,

4) but for some reason is now taunting me and laughing at my attempts to rein it in.

5) But the joke’s on my feisty muse because I WILL COMPLETE THIS SECOND DRAFT!


image from morguefile.com

May all you also prevail in your wrestling matches, literary or otherwise!
Have a grand weekend!

Bird on a Wire

/ Tracy Abell / 9 Comments

             

It's a whole new week filled with possibility.
I've got blue sky and sunshine outside, and a manuscript to revise.
Time to get to it.

How about you?


                                                                                               © Tracy Abell 2009

Wishing everyone a fabulous week!

                

Friday Five: The Comes and Goes Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 13 Comments

1)  Yesterday as I revised (again) Chapters One and Two it felt like a losing battle to make this book what I hoped it could be, and I experienced despair

2)  but when I read those revisions right before bed, I realized I’d made huge progress and found the tone of the story amidst all that rubble, and I felt rejuvenated.

3)  Yesterday morning Wildebeest was crabby and negative as I drove him to school

4)  but this morning he was laughing and happy with life and the day ahead.

5)  Today I’m grateful for the knowledge that the Good and Not-So-Good come in waves, and that whatever rolls in eventually rolls out only to replaced by something else that just might be Very Good or even Excellent.

                                           image from morguefile.com

I wish everyone, at minimum, a Very Good weekend!

In Search of the Aha Moment

/ Tracy Abell / 10 Comments

                   

I'm working with a premise I think is timely and thought-provoking
but cannot seem to wrap my head around the story's tone.

I'm on the second draft and have written and rewritten
the first two chapters a whole bunch of times,
each version feeling incrementally closer to
what the story needs yet not close enough for that Aha moment.

Part of the problem is I'm used to writing funny 
and this premise doesn't easily lend itself to humor
although it could probably be done; I'm just not sure I want that tone.

Another issue is maybe this story would be better told
as a young adult novel rather than middle-grade.

So.
I've already switched from first-person to third
and now I'm thinking maybe go full-blown creepy dystoptian YA
rather than slightly funny middle-grade.

Sigh.
I need to focus, dammit.

                                                             image from morguefile.com

Because I spent MANY hours in pool halls, I'm channeling my inner shark 
in hopes of zeroing in in on what needs to be done.

However, if anyone has sage advice on how to successfully wrangle a story idea,
I'm happy to put down the cue and listen.

                   

Power Salute

/ Tracy Abell / 12 Comments

            

I'm having one of those days.
Perhaps you know the kind,
the sort of day filled with blue thoughts and questions of worth.

But I'm fighting back
and taking a cue from Batman.


                                             © Tracy Abell 2011

I've put on my Big Girl pants and am pushing on through.

                      

Friday Five: The Time-for-a-New-Plan Edition

/ Tracy Abell / 7 Comments

                  

1)  Last weekend I read I the first draft of my latest middle-grade novel after letting it sit awhile.

2) All week I've jotted notes and zeroed in on characters' motivations and reconfigured the plot.

3) I followed editor Kendra Levin's Five-Step Revision Plan, and created a
"one paragraph summary" that inexplicably mushroomed into multiple paragraphs.

4) I swing between moods of exhilaration and freak-outs about my chances of pulling this one off.

5)  And then today I realized that, despite the first draft being written in first-person,
the story needs to be told in third-person.

Here, Tracy, gaze upon the starling to calm your nerves:

                                                                                                 © Tracy Abell 2009

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend filled with epiphanies and maybe a few feathered friends! 

                 

PSA: Use Paper!

/ Tracy Abell / 4 Comments

                  

As mentioned here and here, I've been using Scrivener to write a first draft
and while I love the program for many reasons,
I got caught up in my chapters being (easily accessible) separate files
and so never printed out anything.

As a result, I got a wee bit confused on plot issues
and came to a screeching halt when I felt overwhelmed by the whole process.

This past weekend I printed out all I'd written and read it again.
Wow.
Hard copies are awesome. 
And helpful.
And absolutely vital to the writing process.

So, friends, don't scrimp on your paper usage just because it's better for the planet.
The planet does need our love and care, but so does our mental health.                                                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                            © Tracy Abell 2009      

Bwak!
What she said!      

                       

Some Updates

/ Tracy Abell / 8 Comments

        

A little over two weeks ago I shared the sad tale of my old juniper tree,
and today finally summoned the courage to call an arborist.  
He just left after telling me (1) the tree will survive and (2) there's nothing to be done
for another year or so except (3) to pray for forgiveness. I thought he meant the tree
forgiving me but realized he meant me forgiving  my neighbor.

I feel somewhat better although still cannot look at that old tree without flinching.
And tearing up.

In regards to my stuckness on my work-in-progress, this past weekend I printed out
everything I'd written so far (30k words!) and read it in one sitting.  After taking some notes,
I knew I needed to go back and rework some stuff before moving ahead. I'm struggling
with the rewrites but am no longer panicked that fixing stuff will slow my momentum
to the point that I'll never finish the draft.

I will finish this draft!  Hear, universe?

As for my web site, nothing's happening there. I still don't know how to proceed.
I guess two out of three ain't bad.

Now, here's a gratuitous squirrel shot:                                                                                                                                               Massively oversized image by Tracy Abell