Time with Family

The thing I love about three-day weekends is the extra time I get to spend with my family. That's the goal every weekend, but by the time I wash clothes, clean the bathroom, wipe the kitchen counters and run to Target and the grocery store, there isn't much time left for family.

We try to fit as much fun as we can in between chores and errands. During a marathon shopping trip yesterday, my son and I spent a good 45 minutes in Barnes & Noble reading books and playing with trains. I also stocked up on story, coloring and sticker books to keep him entertained when we fly to Iowa to visit my in-laws in late June.

After we ate lunch yesterday, we sat in the shopping center's outdoor amphitheater and listened to a blues band. Jack loves music. He was so riveted I had to push his hand to his mouth a couple of times to remind him to eat his chocolate chip cookie before it melted all over his hand. It didn't work. He still had chocolate all over his hands and face, but he also had a good time.

Today, we spent most of the morning and early afternoon at our friends' son's birthday party. Jack had a blast running around with friends he doesn't see often, riding a "big kid" bike and playing in the sand. After he and his dad had a nice long nap, during which I got to write for more than an hour without interruption (until I decided to go to the grocery store), we played outside this afternoon. While Jeff went for a run, Jack and I had a snack while he watched cartoons and I squeezed in another hour of almost uninterrupted writing.

We have another birthday party tomorrow afternoon, this time for my niece who's turning 9. (Nine! I can't believe it! Katie and our nephew, Orion, will be in the double digits next year.) We'll barbecue, swim in the pool and hang out at grandma and grandpa's house with our extended family. Those are the kinds of summer days I love. Life really is good.

Three Days!!!

Sometimes at night I think, "Oh, I just wrote on the blog last night or the other day. I can get by without writing there tonight." That's what I've thought the last couple of nights, apparently, because it's been three days since I've written anything here. So much for my vow to blog every day.

The good news is that while I haven't been faithful to my blog, I have been parking myself in front of the computer to work on my latest story.

But speaking of three days, I have the next three days off from work. Woo-hoo! So, I hope to write something here every day this weekend. As a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to it.

Third Chapter

I've been keeping it short here lately so that I can keep up the momentum on my latest writing project. I'm in the middle of the third chapter and counting.

It feels good to say I'm making relatively rapid progress, rather than struggling to write even one page. I've gone back and made a few revisions to the earlier pages here and there, but for the most part I'm trying to get the story written before the major themes disappear from my brain. I can always revise and rewrite later.

Once again, I have to say thank God for my supporting husband who picks up the slack and doesn't complain when our son is yelling, "Milk! Milk!" and I keep my butt firmly planted in the chair in front of my computer screen trying to finish a sentence or paragraph without completely breaking my concentration. And thank you to my "muse" or whatever it is that's helped me get this far in less than two weeks!

Good Weekend

I spent a great weekend with my son and husband. Between the park, library, shopping and the zoo, I even squeezed in some writing.

I'm not totally happy with my first chapter yet, but I made some revisions that leave me a little more comfortable with the beginning of my story. And I finished a second chapter that got a little shaky in the middle, but ended pretty well. I'm a few paragraphs into the third chapter and I'm feeling my way around the next direction of the story, but I feel pretty good about it, so far.

So, I'll keep writing tonight and see how much further along I can get in the story. Feels like progress!

Tiny Bits of Progress

Despite falling asleep sitting up in front of my computer last night, I managed to get at least one full page written. I consider that an accomplishment when I went to bed a half hour earlier than usual. Tonight, I'm hoping to write at least two and maybe four or five pages. Every little bit counts, right?

Quantity and Quality?

I haven't been writing much here the last few days, because I've been writing elsewhere. Since the story I'm working on seems to be flowing more smoothly than the one I've set aside, I've been trying to keep up the momentum by writing whenever I can.

While I'm being productive during the hour and a half I manage to squeeze in at night before I start falling asleep at my computer, I hope that what I'm getting on the page reads well. There is the possibility that I'm writing so fast things get lost in translation when they travel from my brain to my fingertips. And given the time of night, there's a pretty good chance that some things read better when I'm half asleep than they will when I'm wide awake.

I guess it's a matter of quality vs. quantity. But given the struggle I was having on my last project, where I kept going back to read and rewrite every little bit of scene or dialogue, it's a welcome relief to feel like the words are coming to me easily and in pretty decent shape the first time around without needing to make major revisions.

Of course, I may feel differently a few months from now when I finish this project and read the completed manuscript. But at this point, I look forward to having a completed manuscript, no matter what kind of shape it's in.

Busy, Productive Day

Before my son and I went to play at the park, get the oil changed, grab lunch and shop at the grocery store this morning, I finished the first chapter in my new project. I wrote 20 pages this week. Yay!

So far, the story is humming right along. The characters don't feel as forced as the ones in the other story that I put on hold. Their voices are crystal clear in my head. And every time I open the story, I don't feel like I need to go back to the beginning to rewrite what I typed up the last time I was in their world.

I can't decide if it's best for me to stick with what I know with characters and settings that I can relate to or to make up people in situations and locations that I know little to nothing about. On the one hand, it's easier to envision and describe things that I have some experience with. On the other hand, it's my book and I can make up whatever details I want.

This new story is somewhere in between. The first book I attempted to write and gave up on a quarter of the way through involved teenagers and I felt like I wasn't getting their voices right. It didn't sound authentic. The book I finished involves adults a few years younger than me. The one I've put on hold is dominated by a 23-year-old woman. This new one is about teenagers, but I don't feel the same kind of disconnect I did with the first story.

Only 20 pages in, it's too early to declare victory, but I feel pretty good so far. I'm actually looking forward to staying up late and working on this new story tonight. It doesn't feel like such a chore. That's a victory in itself.

Proud of Myself

I'm quite proud of myself this week. I've worked on my new story every night and I've produced 14 strong pages, so far.

While my son's in the bath and after I get him in bed, I plan to write more tonight, even if all I produce is one page. I made the mistake of having wine with dinner and now I'm very, very sleepy.

I'm glad I decided to change projects for a while, because this new one doesn't feel like such a struggle. I'm more confident about my main character's voice and I can see clearly where her story is headed. My vision is much more cloudy with the story I set aside.

So, now dinner is cooked and eaten, dishes are washed and my son's bedtime routine is in progress. All I have to do is make my lunch for work tomorrow and I can focus on my writing for a few minutes until Jack's finished his bath and I can settle in front of the computer until my bedtime. It's nice to feel relaxed while I'm writing again, rather than frustrated and tense.

Some People Never Learn

For the last two days at work I've been luxuriating in two stories for my newspaper without a deadline for either one. I've been tracking down my last few interviews and data points and taking my time writing the articles I plan to turn in tomorrow and Thursday. It's been a nice, easy pace for a daily newspaper reporter.

But guess what happened today? Breaking news that I need to respond to quickly.

I'll have to finish one of my stories in progress faster than I'd planned and put the other on hold so that I can pick up on this new news.

I learned a valuable lesson today, which I've learned before and still failed to heed it. I shouldn't take my time on these less timely features that I normally write, because something might come up at the last minute that is extremely timely and eat up all that extra time I had. Maybe this time the lesson will sink in.

Another Writing Hiatus

OK, I'm really serious this time. After a week-long hiatus, I am going to focus on writing again.

Unfortunately, I have decided to abandon the project I was working on in favor of a new idea. With the previous story, I could see the journey, but not the final destination. I was struggling to move forward on a discernible path, because I wasn't sure exactly where I was headed.

With this new idea, most of the steps along the way seem pretty clear to me. I can hear my main character's voice and it sounds truer than in the story that I'm abandoning -- or at least postponing temporarily. It feels like time to head out on a new trail and see where it takes me.

So, here I go again. Wish me luck.

Reading, Reading and More Reading ...

Haven't been writing much lately. Been reading mostly. On the third and final book in the Mortal Instruments series. Addicting stuff. Off to read to the boy, then read to me!

Music Theory

Normally, I have my radio set to one of the two "alternative rock" stations in San Diego, but lately I've been listening to a local pop station and I find myself gravitating to Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson maybe even more so than the White Stripes and Dead Weather.

I have a lot of excuses. For instance, I don't like the morning talk show that's invaded my favorite station or the idiotic DJs on the other alt rock station in town who have segments called "What's on the Internet" and "F**k that guy." Then again, I'm equally annoyed by the gossip and American Idol recaps on the pop station.

I have a theory about the real reason for my lighter musical tastes lately. I've been writing so many articles about tough subjects at work and then struggling with so many other every day pressures elsewhere in my life that it just feels good to get in the car and listen to Taylor Swift sing about being a 15-year-old in love for the first time.

Who doesn't feel better after singing along with Kelly Clarkson at their top of my lungs in the car with the windows rolled up so that nobody can hear you? I'll take that over drugs for a quick high any day. And I'll follow it up with a glass of wine at home when it's time to relax.

Story Idea Dilemma

Since I keep writing a few pages here and there for my most recent project and then giving up to read or work on something else, I keep wondering if I should put it off indefinitely and focus on other story ideas that keep springing to mind.

Part of me thinks that's a wise strategy until that story rings true again. It seems like it shouldn't be such a struggle to string sentences together. The other part of me feels guilty for even thinking about giving up. Sometimes that part of me feels small when I have other story ideas springing to mind.

Maybe as a writing exercise I'll try to work on a different story or pursue one of my new ideas, just to get the creative juices flowing. Otherwise, the story that I keep picking up and putting back down feels like tiny spurts of juice rather than a steady flow.

I know it can't feel like a smooth float down a lazy river all the time, but it would be nice to make my way down a raging river with lots of obstacles in the way instead of sitting in the middle of a dry creek bed like I am now.

Bad Headache

I have one of those headaches that makes me want to hide under the pillows of my bed and go to sleep, but I'm not quite tired enough to go to bed yet.

It's one of those headaches that feels like my temples are gripped in a vice while someone is jamming an ice pick into my eyes. Light makes it worse.

So, I made an effort to write something here, but that's it for tonight. Instead, now that my son is in bed and the house is quiet, I'm going to curl up on the couch with my book and read until it's time for bed. Fortunately, the publishers of "City of Ashes" printed the book in a very large font so I don't have to strain my eyes and make my headache worse.

Here's to hoping for a clear head tomorrow and great words to fill it, so that I can make progress on writing my own book.

A Brief Hiatus

Wow. It's been five days since I was on the blog.

At first, I was stewing from a bad day at work. But since Friday, I've been so wrapped up in family, chores and reading a new book that I've happily stayed away from the computer. I took my son to the zoo with a pair of friends yesterday. Today, Jack, my husband and I met another friend and her son for a picnic and play date. It's been a great weekend.

I've also been absorbed in reading "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare. It's something written for the "Twilight" young adult audience. My sister-in-law gave me the three-book series for Christmas, since I liked Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series and I hadn't read it yet. I was reading "Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold, which is good, but slow moving and very sad, so I decided to see what I thought of "City of Bones."

I never thought fantasy fiction was for me. After all, I don't necessarily like those kinds of movies. Unlike most people, I have no interest whatsoever in seeing "Avatar," for instance. I read "Twilight" for the love story after seeing the movie and convinced myself that I was only into the books because of the romance between Bella and Edward. That's what I liked most about Meyer's "The Host," too -- how she dealt with the romantic entanglements of the story.

But now that I'm reading "City of Bones," maybe I do like fantasy, I just never tried it before. Or, maybe I'm just moving backwards in age, since the book is labeled "14 and up." But, the story is compelling and fast moving. There is a romantic element that appeals to me, I have to admit, but it is interesting to see how all of the fantastic pieces of the Shadowhunters fit together and make up a story. It's not the best writing in the world, but the story is interesting.

So, maybe when I finish reading, I can work on writing my own story again. Then again, there are two more books in the "Mortal Instruments" series ...