Bingo

After struggling with that damned inciting incident for weeks I have finally come to a resolution. I am comfortable with the crack in Signy's world that is going to send her on her next adventure. How she deals with her new found responsibility will be interesting to watch. Where she makes effective choices and where she falls flat have all become clear in my mind. Yay!

For some mysterious reason, today was the day that ALL the voices started coming through loud and clear. Maitland is back in her full glory, Grace and Kim's tentative first meeting after four months apart came off exactly as it should and even Signy has coalesced once again into a real person.I am approximately one third of the way complete (perhaps even closer to one half) and it is interesting how long it has taken for me to feel 'in the groove.'

I'm sure that will change but for now I just want to celebrate the success. What's a good moment if you don't take the time to appreciate it?

The Downside of Bum Glue

On the other hand...bum glue has its disadvantages...

When Dumpy Grace sticks to her schedule the words flow across the page with the same speed as her bum spreads across the couch.

In this life...you just can't win.

Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of Dumpy Grace as she sweats through her 'Old Lady' Jane Fonda workout routines. That should be fun.

The Importance of Bum Glue

The American mystery writer, Elizabeth George, wrote a book on the art of novel writing called "Write Away". An excellent read for the aspiring writer with a lot of practical tips.

One chapter is titled "The Importance of Bum Glue" and notes that it is important to plant your bum in front of your computer every day and bang out your required word count, no matter what. Elizabeth George does this every single day whether she is at home, out of the country doing research or being wined and dined on a book tour. Rain or shine, good mood or bad, earthquake or nuclear meltdown, Elizabeth George completes her required word count.

My bum glue is defective....I am often distracted. Family commitments, work pressures, cake, noisy dogs, a sudden urge to go into town to buy a shower curtain, cake, Buffy the Vampire Slayer re-runs, Stumble upon, cake.....you get the point.

Does anyone know where I can buy some bum glue that is actually sticky?

Why Dumpy Grace?

Why Dumpy Grace?

I got the idea to draw little paint figures after reading the absolutely brilliant blog, ‘Hyperbole and a Half’, written and illustrated by Allie.  The adventures of her little character and the way she could manipulate so few lines and say so much was an inspiration.

Unfortunately, I am not an artist and only have one character that I can draw reliably. I’ve been doodling her all my life I have always thought of her as my alter ego – what I would look like, who I would be if I wasn’t so average. She had long, flowing hair, big expressive eyes (except I wasn’t so great at drawing eyes so they were usually demurely closed) and a killer body. This is what she looked like.

As I got older, I seemed to identify less and less with this stunning but remote Babe and my doodles changed. Her hair got shorter, her waist thickened and her boobs flew south. She was prickly, more opinionated, less concerned about the way others saw her. She was more engaged. She was less afraid. And for the most part, she had her eyes wide open (because I no longer cared  how hopeless I was a drawing eyes)

She was decidedly unattractive. When I tried to think of an adjective that adequately described her, the only word that felt right was…Dumpy.

I called her Grace because she had curly hair piled high over her head, like one of my characters in my books. But, she’s not that Grace – she’s an entity onto herself.

 I like her. Dumpy Grace with her eyes wide open. Dumpy Grace who can still be surprised by beauty.

I'm in Colour

Today, I got my 1250 words written before noon. They aren't very good - but they'll do for now. I'll go back and edit once I have a first draft complete. Maybe by then I'll have a better feel for....I dunno....setting?  Character?  Plot?  Dialogue?  Pretty much everything, to be honest.  I feel like I couldn't write my way out of a paper bag and yet I continue on. In some masochistic way, it's fun.

Meanwhile, I continue to play with Dumpy Grace...


 

My Agent Emailed Today

Why I Quit My Job to Write A Novel

I'm awake again. My mind is whirling. I'm thinking about VERY IMPORTANT THINGS! My boss said nothing about that project I handed in. She probably hates it. She probably hates me. I'm pretty sure the people who report to me think I'm stupid. My office is too cold. Why can't those jerks ever get the heat right?

Mostly I'm thinking about that guy in accounting....

I told him I needed those numbers for my meeting this morning but as usual, he didn't have them ready. In fact, when I hunted him down at his cubicle he wasn't there. Ten o'clock in the morning and he hadn't shown up yet! He had managed to rearrange all the icons on his computer desktop to spell THIS!

I had no choice. I had to go to the meeting and tell my boss that the bum in accounting didn’t get the numbers to me. She pulls out her hair and tells me it’s my fault, that I should keep my staff in line. I remind her that our company policy clearly states we can’t fire anyone unless they are a murderer (preferably a convicted serial killer)

Cry me a river, she says.

I trudge back to my corner office…

…And I wonder how it came to this. I’m 53 years old. I have 100% medical, 80% dental, 6 weeks of vacation and a pension plan. I only have to coast through the next 12 years to reap the benefits of FREEDOM 65!

AND I FINALLY SAW THE LIGHT....IT WAS TIME TO GET RADICAL...