You may think, based on my last post, that I’m spending the next two months hiding in a dark room with my laptop. I *may* have exaggerated. A little.
I am working hard but the work is fun. Also, I’m beginning to see the fruits of my labour, and that’s gratifying. I received the proofs for Meriel’s Brownie from Leading Edge this week. Complete with illustrations! Seeing the print version with my name at the top — that felt good. Issue #59 of Leading Edge will be available soon. I will keep you posted.
I’m still having a summer. There’s still time to play at the Granville Island Water Park. There’s time to stop by the Market for fresh local raspberries to put on my cereal and Maui ribs to put on my BBQ. There are, occasionally, long lunches with old friends. There are evening walks on the beach.
And I may not be swinging in a hammock, but I did just spend half an hour rocking in a chair while my child’s head grew heavy against my chest. Which is at least as good as a hammock session. Probably better.
Kim Family life, Vancouver goodness, Writing life better than a hammock, exaggeration, Granville Island, I love Vancouver, Jericho Beach, Leading Edge, Meriel's Brownie, summer
When did that happen? Wish I were spending the next two months doing the above. But I’m behind in my work, so instead I’m calling on grandmas and aunties for babysitting help and putting in more writing hours than ever.
June, wow, June. It passed in a blur of exhaustion. In my last post I wrote about illness. Well, after I nursed my family back to health it was two more weeks of sick for me. I did not get much done this month.
My goal is to have The Glass Doll ready for beta readers by the end of August. I’ve got a ton of work ahead of me, but I REALLY want to finish this novel before the year is over. So, no summer for me. Good thing I got all that awesome lazy beach living out of my system last year.
Kim Writing life Illness, summer, The Glass Doll
It’s been a long, gooey-eyed, feverish, sleepy week. Cass came down with viral conjunctivitis (aka the dreaded pink eye) which morphed into a vile sinus infection/flu thingy, variations of which have now assaulted the rest of us. Other than the grocery store and four trips to three different medical clinics, I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere.
Lots of inside time has its advantages. I got reacquainted with my novel, for one. Finally, forward motion. Progress! I also dove back into some earlier chapters. It’s amazing how one small change in a character’s motivation can change the entire direction of a story.
And Cass made her own leap forward this week. She learned how to draw. This is the cat she made last night.
This picture fascinates me to no end. Because until yesterday, she had only ever scribbled. If you asked her, she’d draw a circle, or a line, but that’s it. And a day later, she’s making actual pictures. As I type this she’s back at the chalkboard drawing birds at a bird feeder. Kids are awesome.
Kim Family life, Writing life Family life, Illness, kids are awesome, The Glass Doll
Having a hard time getting into the noveling zone this week. Most of my writing time this month has involved work that is not related to The Glass Doll. And, thanks to some fine weather and a lot of consulting gigs for Shane, I’ve spent almost as much time at the playground as I have at my laptop. As a result, I am further from finishing the second draft than I’d planned.
It’s always a good thing to have money coming in, and I never regret a single moment spent running through tunnels with Cass. But my novel and its characters feel distant to me. Is it odd to miss imaginary people? To feel guilty for neglecting them?
Enough stalling. I shall go visit them now.
Kim Family life, Writing life excuses, Family life, imaginary people, not writing, The Glass Doll
Recently I realized I’ve got a folder full of stories but only three are out on submission. Rather silly. So I resolved to polish all the ones with potential and send them out. I started with a novelette I intended to ruthlessly cut to short story size so as to render it an acceptable length for publication (there are very few markets that will publish 14,000 word stories).
Try as I might, the story only wanted to get bigger, not smaller. All I could see were characters that deserved more time on the page and subplots that needed developing. Really, it would be much better if expanded into a novel. So, fine. On to the next one. Same problem. It’s not so much a short story as a chapter in a novel I haven’t finished writing.
I soon realized why these are all languishing in folders. Perhaps I should stop forcing brevity on myself and admit that I prefer to write novels.
And yay! Now I have my next four novels lined up.
Kim Writing life short stories that want to be novels, submissions, Writing life
This is the title of the last assignment for my photography class. For a change, I wanted to stay away from my customary subject — my daughter. So yesterday I went to the park and took many photos of ducks in motion.
I ended up with a few nice ones. However, organizing my 200+ duck images and trying to find five that worked for my assignment was a bit laborious. While I worked, I heard my family out in the front yard, playing with the bubble machine my daughter got for her birthday. Naturally, I had to go take more pictures.
I figure photography is a lot like writing. When your subject fascinates you, it shows in the final product. If there’s no love, that shows too. When I began writing I didn’t intend to write fantasy. But magic and oddness always crept into my stories. I stopped fighting it a long time ago. I write what excites me. I think I’ll do the same with photography.
Don’t get me wrong. I like ducks. But I just can’t get as excited about them as I do about watching this girl play with bubbles. Sorry, ducks.
Kim Family life, Writing life bubbles, ducks, Family life, I love Vancouver, love my kid, photography, Writing life
I’m writing a blog post to avoid the above project. My daughter’s third birthday party is this weekend. She wants a space theme. So I decided to make a model of the solar system out of balloons covered in papier mache. It’s one of those ideas that seems great until you realize just how much time it has eaten up, and how misshapen and lumpy your planets are.
This is what I’ve been up to lately.
Also, revising that novel, which is coming along. If writing a novel were like a movie, I’d be at the point where there’s a montage. You know, Rocky’s training hard, Eye of the Tiger and all that. Stuff is happening, but it’s not very interesting to watch. Or read about, which is why I haven’t been boring you with the details. All is well. Soon I will be ready for the big fight.
Now, off to make my planets a little more…round.
Kim Family life, Writing life birthdays, Family life, making magic, papier mache, revision, solar system, stuff you do for your kids, The Glass Doll, Writing life
This morning I was thinking about a new short story I’m working on, and it occurred to me that I have an obsession with missing persons. People are always disappearing in my stories. I wonder why that is?
On a completely unrelated note, I came across this photo I took almost exactly one year ago. This is what PEI beaches look like in the wintertime. Desolate, no? It reminded me how much different last February was for me. Oh, how glad I am to be back on the West Coast.
Kim Writing life I love Vancouver, PEI, vanishing, Writing life
Weeks like this are a challenge: warm weather, cloudless skies, cherry trees in bloom and my city alive with wild Olympic energy. It’s extremely hard to remain disciplined, stay indoors and work. The only way I can manage it is by bribing myself with a tea latte at the Corner Cup Cafe and the promise of an afternoon walk on the beach with Cassandra.
Kim Vancouver goodness, Writing life discipline, I love Vancouver, Writing life
I’ve spent hours thinking about the first draft I wrote and how to turn it into something beautiful. I’ve written a synopsis. I’ve drawn maps. I’ve outlined all my scenes. I’ve deleted 35,000 words and now I’m staring at half a novel. There’s nothing left to do but start writing again.
Writing is always scary for me, but now I’m terrified in a new way, because now it’s for real. I’m using half my family’s productive work time to write this novel. Time that could be spent bringing in actual income so we can keep this lovely roof over our heads.
I don’t want to waste my family’s time.
Kim Writing life revision, sucking it up, The Glass Doll, Writing life