Here I sit on my fold out chair, listening to Ray Charles sing, A Fool For You, while drinking a green smoothie full of spinach, cucumbers, broccoli, and carrots made in my new Montel Williams fruit and vegetable emulsifier. Now, I ask you, who wouldn't feel cool with all that going on?
No need to answer. Consider it a rhetorical question.
Actually, the reason I'm so happy is that I've rewritten over half of The Second Life. Maybe you all are fast writers, but I am not. This is a huge project anyway. I'm changing tense, tone, adding more characters, taking the plot new places, etc. I like this process because it's hard. I'm developing new strength as a writer by doing something uncomfortable. Pain proceeds growth. Right? Sometimes?
What strengths do you wish to cultivate in your writing?
I want to be a better typist, for one thing. Geez, if I could just tear my eyes away from the keys! I'd also like to plot like a maniac. Oh, well. Remember what Browning said about exceeding your grasp?
Keep on reaching for the heavens, friends.
Should I switch to Matilda for my muse? Daniel Craig and The Mentalist aren't working out. Apparently, they have other things to do. Matthew Macfadyen is also busy.
Yes? No? What's your opinion? Remember: the dog is reliable and never asks for a raise in pay.
I'd like to be a better finisher. I've finished a few novels, even revised. But most times, I'm flitting so much I don't finish. I need to work on that!
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I'd like to borrow Matilda, please. Would certainly help!
ReplyDelete'Matilda the muse' - sounds good to me.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to get better at the opening of chapters. I feel like I have chapter endings working well. But sometimes that opening page... well, you have to do so much in so little space.
ReplyDeleteMatilda might have the answer. :-)
I'd like to be better at conveying emotion. I can do it in some situations well enough, but sometimes there's just no tension in my action scenes.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be better with scene descriptions. I can see it, I can feel it, but I can't describe it as detailed as what I feel. Characters and dialogue, and even plot are easier for me. Maybe I should be writing something else, who knows?
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
My muse would definitely be Hugh Jackman.... not just for his physical sweetness but also his heart and devotion to family. :O) OK, OK it's the eye candy mainly, but the other things are nice too.
ReplyDeleteAwwwww much as I adore Danny Boy, methinks Matilda wins it for me, hands, erm.. paws down! Yay!!!!!
ReplyDeleteErm.. I'm not so sure about your green (literally!) conconction though. Ahem.!!
Good luck with your wip!!!! Slow and steady and sure footed works for me too!
Take care
x
Congrats on the rewrite! Those can be so tedious and time-consuming. I bet it just sparkles now!
ReplyDeleteRoxy, you are cool. Ray Charles was definitely cool. All dogs are cool. I have cultivated many of my writing strengths, and I am never satisfied with my writing. I am also not cool, but I would like to help more people with their writing skills before I'm cold.
ReplyDeleteWow ... what a wonderful accomplishment ... must be all the antioxidants from that green smoothie!
ReplyDeleteA petable muse is the best kind. Nothing keeps you going quite like unconditional love!
ReplyDeleteI wish I were better at beginnings. I struggle so much to find the right jumping-in point. Short story writing is helping, though.
See what a green smoothie can do for you. :) Set em up Joe! Mathilda is my choice. Just her name would do it for me. It was my Grandma's name.
ReplyDeleteLove and Peace.
Congrats on your progress! Phew ok your post inspired me. I'm going to keep plodding on. I'mma doet! You're right. Sometimes we should do things BECAUSE they're uncomfortable and will help us grow...
ReplyDeleteSo yea I really mean it. I feel inspired now :)
Right now, I'd love to have a tell detector. Other than that, I'd enjoy having a flawless plot line builder which would allow me to use my thousands of characters without confusing anyone.
ReplyDeleteYour dog is adorable!
Matilda would be a reliable muse, you can just see it in her face. What a good post. It makes me think of my own struggles lately--I guess I'm trying new things. That's what I meant when I said it's hard to be flexible. To consider new things, to change everything that made you feel safe and grounded. You do grow. It's liberating when you finally realize, in doing it, how easily it can be changed. A whole new world of possibility opens up and the story becomes so much the better for it.
ReplyDeleteThat could be one cute muse! And I totally look at the keys when I type too!
ReplyDeleteA Montel smoothie... I don't know what to say. Oh yeah, it's rhetorical.
ReplyDeleteI'm a fast typist thanks to an 8th-grade typing class. But grammar slows me down during edits.
As far as the dog as muse, my eight-year-old daughter says, "Yes."
I'm a slow writer/revision too. Matilda is my pick for muse! =)
ReplyDeleteI think you'd miss Daniel too much. Athena's my muse. She picked me. She's powerful that way. Write on!
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