June 30, 2008

In the entire English language, are there any two three-letter words quite as beautiful as THE END?  Not if you're a writer there aren't. 

Yes, Dear Reader, tonight at 6:17pm Eastern Standard Time I typed those two lovely little words and completed the draft of my fifth novel which, if all goes according to plan, will arrive in a bookstore near you in one year.  Halllelujah!  

Now, before you (or I) get too excited, please understand that this is only a draft.  There are weeks of editing, three to be exact, left before this one hundred and twenty five thousand word manuscript is ready to be seen by my editor.  In that time I must clear up unclear passages, add a little and cut a LOT.  Whether you know it or not, the novels you read, by and large, come in at around ninety thousand words.  But, in my quest to make sure you didn't get stuck with a five dollar ending (see the next to last entry) I added an additional thirty-five thousand words.  But it was worth the effort.  This ending is worth a C-note at least.  When I wrote it, I cried and that's a very good sign.  

Okay, I know.  Some of you are reading this and thinking, "No!  Don't cut it!  Leave it all in!  I like long stories!".  I do too, but good pacing is essential in creating a good novel and believe me, I can cut at least ten thousand words from this you'll never miss it (maybe fifteen) and any word the reader wouldn't miss shouldn't have been there to begin  Trust me on this - I'm a professional.

On that note, after a very brief and satisfying celebratory glass of wine and some dinner, I'm back at my desk to finish editing the galleys for my next release, A SINGLE THREAD, which will be in your local bookstores October 28th.  Indeed, it seems there is no rest for the wicked, the weary, or the writer.  Aren't I lucky to love what I do? 

June 21, 2008

Yesterday was, of course, the summer solstice.  Even though I spent the bulk of the day B.I.C.H.O.K. (for you non-writers, that stands for Butt In Chair, Hands On Keys) in search of the elusive perfect ending to my next book, I did take a little excursion out to the garden where I made an exciting discovery.

My tomato plants are loaded with teeny weeny green globes!  Eureka!  

Is there anything as luscious, as luxurious, as decadent, as taking a salt shaker into the garden and eating a sun-warmed tomato right off the vine?  I don't think so.  And so, though it will take weeks of ripening  until that happy event, today I stand in praise of summer in general and tomatoes specifically.

Tomatoes - one of God's many and very good ideas. 

June 17, 2008

You know how sometimes you're at a party and start telling a story that, when it begins, seems pretty interesting/funny/relevant but halfway through the telling you realize it is none of these things?  But it's too late.  At that point, though you know you sound like an idiot, you're committed so you just go on and on, hoping to find an exit and soon.   

My niece, Molly, has found a solution to this situation.  Whenever she gets to that point where she realizes the story is going nowhere fast, she just says, "And then I found five dollars."  No, it's not particularly interesting ending and you're still going to sound stupid, but at least you've found a quick way out. And if it's early there's always hope that you'll be able to tell a more interesting story later, thus redeeming yourself and your reputation as a woman of intelligence and wit.

This happens to writers too - at least it happens to me.  There is a place near the end of every book where I'm suddenly unsure of where the story is going or how it is to end.  Sure, when I started it all seemed very certain.  I had outlines and chapter headings and notes.  But somewhere, usually somewhere after the ninety thousandth word, I suddenly lose faith in all of that because the story has changed so completely since it began that I'm no longer sure where it is headed; I just want it to be finished and soon.  That's where I am today.  I have been working on my current book basically every day since February 20th.  The ending I had planned on when I began no longer seems right but I am ready to be done.  Now.

I'm convinced this is why, every now and again, you read a book that starts out great but falls apart in the last four chapters.  The writer had been working on it for months, lost the thread, and didn't know where to go so eventually he or she just typed the literary equivalent of "and then I found five dollars", and sent it off to the publisher with hopes the next book would redeem her. 

I used to get furious when I read those endings, sometimes to the point of throwing the book across the room and yelling "Lazy, cheap, crummy ending!"  Now that I'm a writer, I have more sympathy.  Nothing about this is easy.  

But don't worry, Dear Reader.  I won't do it.  There will be no "five dollar" ending to this book.  I've done this enough times that I understand the process and know the ending is out there somewhere, I've just got to keep slogging through the mud to find it.  But, especially on a summer day when the whole earth is awakening outside the window of my office, the temptation is there.

June 8, 2007

As any parent knows, the final days that wind down the school year are the reason summer vacations were invented in the first place -- we need some time to recover after these weeks of relentless activity.  I'm betting that if you're the parent of an 8th grader, my family's end of the year schedule looks pretty familiar to a lot of you....

Monday - Athletics Banquet, Tuesday - Exams, Wednesday - Exams, Confirmation Dinner, Thursday - Exams, Friday - Academic Awards Ceremony, School Dance in the evening, Saturday - Commencement Exercises, Sunday - 11am - Confirmation (reception following), 5pm - Sr. High Youth Group pool party, 7pm - Piano Recital (reception following).  

To say it was a busy week would be an understatement.  There were many opportunities to applaud my boy's accomplishment's this week.  However, of all the events we attended, I would have to say that Confirmation was the most meaningful.  This ceremony marked the culmination of two years of work on the part of the confirmands.  During that time, they spent one year studying the Old Testament and one year in the New Testament, meeting weekly with the Senior Pastor of our church.  Over these years, they had to turn in at least 25 sets of sermon notes, plus write an essay entitled "Why I Will Live My Life for Jesus Christ" and read aloud at the Confirmation Dinner.  They also memorized large sections of the catechism with supporting scriptures verses, as well as the Apostle's Creed and recited these before a packed crowd in church this morning.

All of the Confirmands did a great job.  And it was apparent to me that each of these young men and women did far more than simply memorize their parts and recite them by rote.  During these years they have delved deeply into the scriptures, studied the history of the church, the sacraments, and personally responded in faith to all they have learned.  Like all of us, as the years go by they will struggle with doubts, and sometimes they will reject God's highest and best of them in favor of something they will sooner or later realize can never satisfy. But the lessons they have learned will stay with them and remind them of the better Way.  

Today, my son's faith was indeed confirmed.  And, in watching him conclude this rite of passage, my own was reconfirmed. May it be so for all of us.  

June 1, 2008

You've probably heard the saying, "I'd rather have a root canal?"  Well, in my case, this is actually true.

For the last week and a half, I've been having terrible pain in my teeth which I tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore. Thinking it was a bad sinus infection, I finally went to my doctor, but that wasn't the problem.  My next stop was at the dentist's office.  I like my dentist; he laughs at my jokes.  Though, it just occurred to me that since I'm telling these comedic gems while my mouth is open wide and full of sharp instruments, there is a good chance he doesn't understand anything I'm saying and is only pretending to laugh at my jokes.  Hmmm.  But, I digress.

Anyway, after asking questions and poking around for a bit, he asked me to rinse.  The cold water practically made me hit the ceiling, which he informed me can be a sign of decaying tooth pulp.  Yech.  Next stop?  The oral surgeon for a root canal.  Now, I've never had a root canal but I've heard stories and soon learned that they cost roughly the same as an airline ticket to Europe - business class.  However, at this point, I was in so much pain that I didn't care.  My feeling was: bring on the novocaine and let's get this over with!

Well, I sat in the chair and the oral surgeon (a very nice, intelligent man who looked younger than some of the pairs of shoes in my closet) employed various means of torture, most involving putting cold things on my teeth and making me yowl and hot things that didn't seem to do anything.  After a few minutes, he told me he thought I didn't need a root canal and that my problem was caused by grinding my teeth.  "Tell me," he asked, "are you experiencing any stress?"  

Now, they say there's no such thing as a dumb question, but I beg to differ.  "Are you experiencing stress?" definitely qualifies.  Who isn't under stress?  Good heavens, even my cat is under stress!  (See May 27 post).

So, I didn't get a root canal and while that wouldn't have been a barrel of laughs, at least I'd be pain free by now. As it is, I get a muscle relaxant to take at night, a very attractive plastic mouth guard, and the extra large sized bottle of Advil.  The upside is that it's hard to chew so maybe I'll drop a few pounds but, all in all?   I'd rather have a root canal.