still alive!
Keeping up a blog, with remotely intelligible content, is hard! Especially with travel and taxes and trying to stay organized... Oh, and writing too...
The work I'm currently doing on my novel doesn't resemble writing as much as assembling a patchwork quilt--or the crocheted blanket I made for Rachel and Charity's wedding last year. The blanket is made up of crocheted granny squares. Here's an example of a granny square for all you in the dark:
The squares in this blanket are in a cornflower, eggplant, scarlet, and dark moss (= blue, purple, pink, and green). And I'd estimate that there's about 80 of them right now. The squares are quick to make, but then I have to make enough in the right colors and then attach them together. It's slow, so I decided that the blanket should grow over time, like their love. Aw, shucks.
Now, let me try to tie this metaphor together. The chapter(s?) of my book I'm currently working on is made up of assorted scenes and descriptions, pieces of the story that strive to:
A. move the action forward through several weeks of time, without losing the narrative thread.
B. break up, while gradually advancing several separate plot lines (Dad's growing attachment to the Church of LDS; Mom's continuing abuse of alcohol; Sam, Charlotte, and Ozzie's gradual decryption of Amber's coded music)
C. prevent the author from getting bogged down in any one particular plot angle in the interest of finishing this book this year.
Hopefully, the resulting chapter will be amazing and complete in itself, like Rachel and Charity's blanket. Right now, though, it's pretty heady. I spend a lot of time parsing out the data I wish to reveal and wondering how much time the teenagers would realistically take to dissect Amber's code. Trying to figure out what day of what week X and Y take place and in what relation to Z. Crafting what I hope are seamless transitions back and forth through time and place. I have much of the decryption scenes written already, which was exhausting in an entirely different way, but the scenes with the mom and dad are new. I really like writing those, actually. I really like writing all of it. But the snapshot scenes with the parents are quick writes and more or less self contained--like making single granny squares.
On that note, I invite you all to make your own granny square. They're super easy, and you can learn how right here. Also, for those of ye interested in my latest knit hat creations, I've put them on my MySpace.com page for the viewing pleasure of those of you who double as MySpace WebBots. Check them out!
The squares in this blanket are in a cornflower, eggplant, scarlet, and dark moss (= blue, purple, pink, and green). And I'd estimate that there's about 80 of them right now. The squares are quick to make, but then I have to make enough in the right colors and then attach them together. It's slow, so I decided that the blanket should grow over time, like their love. Aw, shucks.
Now, let me try to tie this metaphor together. The chapter(s?) of my book I'm currently working on is made up of assorted scenes and descriptions, pieces of the story that strive to:
A. move the action forward through several weeks of time, without losing the narrative thread.
B. break up, while gradually advancing several separate plot lines (Dad's growing attachment to the Church of LDS; Mom's continuing abuse of alcohol; Sam, Charlotte, and Ozzie's gradual decryption of Amber's coded music)
C. prevent the author from getting bogged down in any one particular plot angle in the interest of finishing this book this year.
Hopefully, the resulting chapter will be amazing and complete in itself, like Rachel and Charity's blanket. Right now, though, it's pretty heady. I spend a lot of time parsing out the data I wish to reveal and wondering how much time the teenagers would realistically take to dissect Amber's code. Trying to figure out what day of what week X and Y take place and in what relation to Z. Crafting what I hope are seamless transitions back and forth through time and place. I have much of the decryption scenes written already, which was exhausting in an entirely different way, but the scenes with the mom and dad are new. I really like writing those, actually. I really like writing all of it. But the snapshot scenes with the parents are quick writes and more or less self contained--like making single granny squares.
On that note, I invite you all to make your own granny square. They're super easy, and you can learn how right here. Also, for those of ye interested in my latest knit hat creations, I've put them on my MySpace.com page for the viewing pleasure of those of you who double as MySpace WebBots. Check them out!
Labels: crocheting, knitting, novel, plot, writing etc.
posted by Jess | 3:10 PM
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1 comments
