A Writer's Notebook, Day Eighty-Nine
The pattern of my working days has continued, with the mornings producing a small output of a few hundred words and then the afternoon following suit with similar smatterings. Then, this evening, with a bit of an effort, I wound up bringing my total to over 2000 words, getting me nearly on target for Nanowrimo. I am currently at around 23,000 words, which is a bit behind, but only by a day or so. If I can get myself more in the flow, I shouldn't have any difficulty making that up, but that flow seems a bit elusive much of the time with this book.
I did get through some rather significant scenes today, and feel that I have a handle on the direction that the book is heading in, and where it will end. I think it will be a fairly short volume, but I have a sense that it might be something very special. Certainly, I feel that the difficulty I am having is a reflection of the kind of work it is, and not the quality of it. I know that, at times, it can be hard to work on something if it does not feel genuine, but this is not that.
In this case, I feel that much of the difficulty is actually due to my own closeness to the material. Their is a rawness that has to come out, and yet it is a character that is also very sheltered in a way. It is a book that is quite different than those I have written before, and I know that is part of the challenge as well, since I am limiting myself within certain parameters. The fact that the book takes place in a more grounded and less warped reality is something that requires a different kind of imagination, and I am not in the knack of that.
I find, because their are real settings I am drawing from, that I need to check on certain details, and to make certain that facts are correct, in a way that is very different from the research needed in other pieces that take place in more distorted realities. I think that having to stretch myself in this way is a good thing, and will help me to develop in new directions. I also believe that I will have a certain kind of mastery over the narrative technique I am exploring, though a kind of mastery that will open up an understanding of just what is possible with that tool. In essence, I will have enough practice and skill that I will be able to ask deeper questions about the technique and see where it connects to other ideas.
There are a lot of symbolic elements in the book, and many of them surprise me when they appear. Much of it is not all that subtle, as it is often commented upon and discussed , but that too becomes a symbolic gesture of a sort. The book is very much about a character with a certain kind of self-awareness. He is also a guarded character with strengths that are covering his vulnerabilities. All of that comes out through the way the character thinks, though not always directly.
The place where I ended my writing today has a great amount of promise, and I have a strong sense of the direction that I need to follow when I start up again. Of course, I know that I felt that way in the past, and still had a great deal of difficulty getting going. Still, I can't help but feel a bit different about things today, as I really feel that I was in the middle of a passage that will go on for while. The character was thinking through some very important ideas about death and his situation which are going to be essential in his development as the novel continues.
I also have been thinking about my next project, which will very different again, though it will draw from ideas in my first book, W/R. The general premise is to write something that is probably a ghost story of sorts, but where the book is somehow for the reader. I was thinking of the first section as a sort of traditional narrative that sets up how the characters came to be involved in what they are doing, and discusses their need to recruit more people. I cannot really explain the whole idea yet, but I have a strong sense of it, and that seems to enough to get started. Besides, I still have two more weeks for finishing up the current project.
Anyhow, that was my day as far as writing. I feel quite good about the ultimate output, but I am hopeful that I can change things a bit tomorrow. I have to mention that I was close to just calling it a day and letting the word count suck, but I received a really nice email of encouragement from Blaise Allen who is a member of the staff for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival a nano writing buddy. She sent me a lovely email that was encouraging and supportive, stating that she had seen my word counts going up, and I felt really enthused by that. I don't know that I would have gotten back to work without that, and I know that I am really glad I did.
I did get through some rather significant scenes today, and feel that I have a handle on the direction that the book is heading in, and where it will end. I think it will be a fairly short volume, but I have a sense that it might be something very special. Certainly, I feel that the difficulty I am having is a reflection of the kind of work it is, and not the quality of it. I know that, at times, it can be hard to work on something if it does not feel genuine, but this is not that.
In this case, I feel that much of the difficulty is actually due to my own closeness to the material. Their is a rawness that has to come out, and yet it is a character that is also very sheltered in a way. It is a book that is quite different than those I have written before, and I know that is part of the challenge as well, since I am limiting myself within certain parameters. The fact that the book takes place in a more grounded and less warped reality is something that requires a different kind of imagination, and I am not in the knack of that.
I find, because their are real settings I am drawing from, that I need to check on certain details, and to make certain that facts are correct, in a way that is very different from the research needed in other pieces that take place in more distorted realities. I think that having to stretch myself in this way is a good thing, and will help me to develop in new directions. I also believe that I will have a certain kind of mastery over the narrative technique I am exploring, though a kind of mastery that will open up an understanding of just what is possible with that tool. In essence, I will have enough practice and skill that I will be able to ask deeper questions about the technique and see where it connects to other ideas.
There are a lot of symbolic elements in the book, and many of them surprise me when they appear. Much of it is not all that subtle, as it is often commented upon and discussed , but that too becomes a symbolic gesture of a sort. The book is very much about a character with a certain kind of self-awareness. He is also a guarded character with strengths that are covering his vulnerabilities. All of that comes out through the way the character thinks, though not always directly.
The place where I ended my writing today has a great amount of promise, and I have a strong sense of the direction that I need to follow when I start up again. Of course, I know that I felt that way in the past, and still had a great deal of difficulty getting going. Still, I can't help but feel a bit different about things today, as I really feel that I was in the middle of a passage that will go on for while. The character was thinking through some very important ideas about death and his situation which are going to be essential in his development as the novel continues.
I also have been thinking about my next project, which will very different again, though it will draw from ideas in my first book, W/R. The general premise is to write something that is probably a ghost story of sorts, but where the book is somehow for the reader. I was thinking of the first section as a sort of traditional narrative that sets up how the characters came to be involved in what they are doing, and discusses their need to recruit more people. I cannot really explain the whole idea yet, but I have a strong sense of it, and that seems to enough to get started. Besides, I still have two more weeks for finishing up the current project.
Anyhow, that was my day as far as writing. I feel quite good about the ultimate output, but I am hopeful that I can change things a bit tomorrow. I have to mention that I was close to just calling it a day and letting the word count suck, but I received a really nice email of encouragement from Blaise Allen who is a member of the staff for the Palm Beach Poetry Festival a nano writing buddy. She sent me a lovely email that was encouraging and supportive, stating that she had seen my word counts going up, and I felt really enthused by that. I don't know that I would have gotten back to work without that, and I know that I am really glad I did.
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