Acting Out

I talk to myself when I write. I get up and walk around or try to envision an expression, a movement, or a body language. Sometimes I use props or crayons so I can see a setting or gauge an action. Many writers do this, but most writers write in their jammies in the privacy of their homes. The bulk of my writing is done at home, too, and my family is used to my antics, but my children and I are out and about several days a week to group classes or music lessons. I have blocks of time when I'm waiting...perfect opportunity to write, right?

I get strange looks from people.

How else can I put the reader in the scene if I don't use these visualization skills? Visualization can be most effective. I use music to get me moving along on a scene, to get the mood right, or to find the right tone for the narrative. I try out different laughs to see which one fits my character. I read sentences aloud that aren't working, and try different inflections or words to get the sentence to flow. When I'm stuck, I really get vocal: I talk to myself and try to look at the plot point from all angles. If a scene is flat, I'll have my main character narrate what happened, past tense and off the page, speaking my character's dialogue as if I were him or her and I was relating the events to a friend. (It works - I can see what's missing or if the scene needs to be omitted.)

I try not to do these things in public, which is my point. If I'm in public, I try to work on editing or revisions. But when I'm getting the novel down or adding/replacing scenes, I'm in the creative process, hence the full-action writing.

At least, I hope it was my antics that caused the strange looks....

Tendonitis Frustrations

The tendonitis has been a deterrent to my writing. I have thoughts, ideas, even whole scenes coming to me (with dialogue!) that I can barely scratch out on a pad of paper. I've made cryptic notes in my manuscript file on the computer. Typing left-handed only? Well, that had to stop. My south paw is too slow and I end up getting frustrated and typing with both hands, hence, the continuation of the tendonitis.

Preparing for home renovations hasn't helped much, either.

Tendonitis aside, the story must go on or I'll go crazy. I love my family - my husband and children come first in my life - but even they are aware (perhaps the most aware?) that I must write or lose my sanity. So I have tried everything: writing left-handed (like deciphering a physician's scrawl), left-handed typing (argh!), and even a typing schedule of 15 minutes on/15 minutes off (apparently, 15 minutes rest isn't enough). And slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y, despite the tendonitis, I am making progress on my novel.

But I'm excited about the story and I want to be able to get it all down! This is very frustrating.

From breakthrough to setback

Tendonitis in the wrist has a way of hampering noveling progress. Could there be a better form of torture for a writer than the physical impairment of her writing hand, especially when the story is flowing?

Due to the inability to type, I have been spending mental time with my characters as I go about the necessary tasks for remodeling preparation. I think brainstorming and daydreaming are vital to my writing: without them, I don't have the zest for the story or the infatuation with the characters. Sorting and classifying household items that I haven't used in a decade is a good exercise for pondering plot lines and character sketches, story arcs and titles. The beautiful 70+ degree weather we've had here in the Seattle area the past two days has made the task of culling the useless accumulation in my garage much more bearable, but I admit to wishing we were out enjoying the day at a park or the beach. And speaking of beaches...

Our passports arrived and I am waiting to hear from my mother on the date of her upcoming surgery. A trip to Mexico is not far off. Undoubtedly, I will be taking my laptop, hoping to find some quiet moments while I'm away to write the scenes I've been daydreaming about, though my experience has been that if I'm not writing daily at home, I won't be writing daily away from home.

Still ruminating on a title, as well. For now it is still Falling Short.