Devlin, the evil muse

My muse is evil. Faithful blog readers will remember that I dubbed him Devlin. His recent actions have given me vindication for my choice of a name.

He's engaged me in a short story when I should be concentrating on taxes, or at the very least, I should be concentrating on my novel. Thus far, I don't think it's a very good short story, either. If he's going to interrupt me, the least he could do is tempt me with something better.

Before assailing me with new characters, Devlin allowed me an exercise from the book Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot by Peter Dunne. Though this book is for screenwriters, much of what Dunne has to say applies to novel writing. I thank my writing friends Celine Shinbutsu (Writing from Japan) and Madison Leigh for the referral to this book. (Both of their blogs are on my link list.)

Celine and Madison encouraged me to try the 3 sentence summary exercise from Emotional Structure for The Art of Deception. I did, and this is what I came up with:

One of Rebecca Allyn's art gallery customers has been murdered and homicide detective Erik Thorne put Rebecca's name at the top of his suspect list. But Erik appears to run hot and cold whenever Rebecca sees him, and she has to scramble to prove her innocence while at the same time fighting her attraction to him. When the case against her unveils past wrongs by one of her family members, Rebecca finds out she must rely upon the very man she wants to run from.

Devlin then allowed me an exercise from Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. Funny how I always return to that book. I highly recommend it to my writerly friends. Emotional Structure is new to me, and I'm sure I will find it quite useful, but Plot and Structure is a book I cannot do without. I applied Bell's "L-O-C-K" method to Deception and ferreted out plot details that needed to be found. I can't post the results of that exercise here as it contains spoilers for the story, but the result of my efforts was a one-page summary.

I'd like to apply both of these exercises to my other novel Falling Short as soon as I finish the taxes. And finish Deception. I'd sure like to have the mystery done before I continue Heidi and Dave's story.

What I find most haunting about my muse is the fact that he insists on being heard when I have little opportunity to follow him. Where is he on those days when I need him? Why does he insist on showing up when I need to concentrate on something other than my writing?

Writing while life is in progress

In the midst of a hectic time for homeschooling, some sad and happy family events, home remodeling, and tax season, I've hardly had time to think about my writing. I had to make a choice: let go of the story or shirk my responsibility. The writing had to be set aside and eventually I became detached from my story.

Now is when my writing buddies are the salve for my pains. One ruthless friend helped me fill in the holes in my plot. A practical friend mentioned an exercise from a writing book that summarizes your story to help you gain focus. And a brave yet determined friend went through said exercise with her own story at the same time I was doing mine; her encouraging feedback has fueled my determination. I'm still working on the summary (you know it has to be perfect for me to move on), but it's giving me a better foundation for Deception and a desire to use the same exercise for Falling Short. The point is the story is fresh in my mind now. Probably any exercise would have done that, but not any group could have provided that kind of support.

Writing groups and/or writing buddies can be inspiring and supportive, or they can be a drain on your creativity. I'm fortunate to be among the inspiring and supportive. There are numerous writing books available -trust me, I have my own favorites - but when you lose your grip on your story, you need a good slap across the face and a shove in the right direction. Who better to do that than your writing buddies?

In the "Bummer" column: I received the results of a contest I entered, and my story "The Painting" was not among the winners, the finalists, or even the honorable mentions. Ouch. Time to set it aside for a while and think about what is missing from the story.

Onward ho! I have writing students waiting for critiques, homeschooling lessons to plan, airline reservatiosn to make, taxes to file, a variance report to fill out...oh, and a story to write :)

New faces, lots of love

February is over and I'm rather happy to see it go. 'Nuff with the sadness. March has been very good so far. Alan's memorial made for a wonderful day, one I won't likely forget. The forecast was rain but we had sunshine and fair temps. Lots of love, lots of laughter. And I am blessed with two new arrivals to the family.



First is our new dog, Frederick Von Zack the 27th Junior, otherwise known as Fred E. (Don't ask.) He's a loveable, scruffy, mixed breed 5 year old with good manners and a happy disposition. At times, I find myself thinking of Sadie when he looks at me with all that love and trust. His paw print is already indelibly etched upon all of our hearts.

The second is the birth of my new niece, Berlin Rae, brought into this world by my husband's baby brother and his wife. Berlin is TINY! 6lbs 6oz. We thought she might be born on leap day but she decided to wait until March 3rd. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well. I'm going to meet Berlin on Tuesday and I can't wait to hold her. Um, and give my brother- and sister-in-law hugs :)





Finally, March has brought the return of Devlin, my muse. Perhaps all he wanted was a name.