Having a Becky Day

Lately, I've had my nose to the grindstone to pay for a new stove, to pay attention to a sick family member, and to read some books that I've been putting off reading. Oh, yeah, and then there's the work-in-progress (WIP).

The sick family member is approaching stability, the stove is in and by the end of this week I will have it paid for with my side-hustle job. So, in the middle of this week, I was surprised to find I had a full day with no appropriate articles to write, and nothing on the calendar. So I plopped my butt in my chair and had a Becky kind of day. I got to do exactly what I have been dying to do--get back into my WIP and then read one of my good friend's books.

It was a day to recharge, one which I sorely needed but wasn't even aware I was being dragged down.

So, I got a couple more chapters edited in my WIP, and got deep into my friend's book. I finished reading the book today, but can't say the same about the WIP. That will take a little bit longer. But I think I'll schedule a Becky Day once a week. It puts a different shine on the rest of the week.

Prioritizing or Procrastinating?

My work schedule has shifted over the past few weeks, for a variety of reasons. And just as with anything that you develop a routine for–exercising, dieting, writing, etc.–when your routine gets interrupted, it's hard to get back on track. As most of you know, I have a side-hustle job, which at times pays more than my royalties from all my books. When the stove in my house hid the skids, I needed to find money to buy a new one, or stop cooking. Trust me when I say the "stop cooking" option held some appeal. But since that wasn't feasible, I went shopping over Labor Day for a new stove.

I got a good Labor Day sale price, but I still had to find the money to pay for it. Which meant doubling up on my efforts with my side-hustle for at least a month. So I switched the order in which I put together my day. Instead of working on the WIP first thing, I've been writing my articles first, and then, if I have any creative energy left, I work on my WIP. But a couple things are hanging me up. First, when I had to put down the WIP, I was at a sticky part where I needed to spend time doing some research and then write a fight scene. Second, I started using the book Save The Cat Writes a Novel, so I'm rereading the chapters I've already written to make them better, and make them adhere more closely to the suggestions in this book. And third, I find my brain is only capable of coming up with 1,200 words a day, regardless of whether they are used in the formation of articles or as part of my novel.

So am I prioritizing or procrastinating? Once I accumulate the funds needed to pay for the stove, I'll let you know.

Save The Cat

For years, I've been using Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet from his Save The Cat book to formulate my novels. It's basically for screenwriting, but I've found it quite useful in plotting out the basics of my stories. I can quickly fill in a beat sheet and determine if I have enough of a story line for a complete 70,000 word product. If I'm successful in filling in all the boxes, I'll go forward.

I was in the middle of the second book in my Revolutionary War series when life interrupted my orderly days. I abandoned the project for weeks, and then, when I was finally ready to get back into it, I couldn't get a grasp on what came next. One of my writing buddies suggested I take a look at the next version of Save The Cat. It's designed specifically for novel writing, not screenplays. I bought the book, thinking I'd apply it to the story I had written thus far. I'm probably at 25,000 words, so I've got a lot of material to filter through. 

So, the other day, I brought up the first chapter. Following along with the Novel version of Save The Cat, I got through the setup for the heroine and moved on to the next part of the first act, where the theme must be stated. According to the book, "a character (usually not the hero) will make a statement or pose a question to your hero or heroine that somehow relates to what the person needs to learn by the end of the story." I was already in trouble. 

I already had a secondary character in the scene, so I used him to pose the question to the heroine. Reading through the scene again, I quickly saw how much stronger the scene had become by my additional words, which fleshed out the secondary character and put the heroine on edge with his summation. Now I have to do the same with the hero. 

For all you writers who follow this blog, I highly recommend this craft book. Save The Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody not only saved the cat, but may have saved my book. Thanks, MJ, for the suggestion. 

Back To Work

Following my forced hiatus to take care of the family emergency, things are getting back on track. And that means back to work for me. Whoever said retirement meant slowing down obviously has never been there. I'm working harder than ever, but for the most part, it's enjoyable work rather than the teeth-gnashing kind.

After all, one of my favorite places to plot my next scene or work through a knotty situation with my characters is while I'm floating in the salt water pool at my fitness center. It's a great stress reliever and helps me clear my mind of my daily problems and focus on my writing. If I go more than a few days without getting my swimsuit wet, I miss it.

It seems I'm not the only one getting my life back to normal. The golf course behind my house is back up and running after spending the summer recuperating from a bad fertilizer job. The temperature is coming down into the comfortable category and I'm looking forward to fall. As for my WIP, I'll figure out what Hawk's big conflict is (as if fighting the Revolutionary War isn't enough) and decide when to do the big reveal for Anjanette/Liberty (since admitting she made her money as a courtesan is not something you can just drop into a casual conversation). It may mean more visits to the pool, but I'm up for that.

Does this mean I can write off my fitness center membership as a business expense? Hmmm...

The Dark Moment

All of us who write romance know that a good novel has to have a dark moment. The hero and heroine might think things are going along swimmingly and they are in a happy place, but then the bottom drops out of their lives. They have to work hard, and fight for each other and their happiness in order to get to the happy ending. Here's the official definition:

The darkest moment in the book is when a character loses all hope - normally the protagonist. It's often towards the end of the book, because that's right before the inevitable happy ending (or not, if you're being cruel) will emerge from the dark.

My sister and her husband are in their dark moment right now. After months of searching for a place to live, they found a great house, and are scheduled to settle on their new home in a few weeks. Everything was moving along well until, as my sister calls it, what happened wasn't a bump in the road, but a sink hole. My brother-in-law developed serious, life-threatening medical issues, and is currently being treated in the hospital.

What will happen? Right now, it's all up in the air. I have my idea of what they should do next, my sister and hubby have a different idea, and her daughter and her husband have another solution. All I can say is however it plays out, and whatever happens, they will deserve the best, most elaborate  happy ever after ending.

Their story would make a great book. 

Kids Say The Darnedest Things

Mary and I are not accustomed to being around children, so having a visit from my great-niece and nephew has been an eye-opening experience. My brother-in-law had emergency surgery while staying with me and now his daughter, son-in-law and grandkids have come to spend a couple days with him and my sister. I am overrun with people of all ages. The little girl, Keira, especially, is full of questions about why I don't have any children of my own.

I won't detail all the embarrassing questions I had to answer tonight, but Art Linkletter knew what he was talking about when he said Kids Say the Darnedest Things. I've decided to enjoy this interlude in my life, immerse myself in being the grandmother I never had a chance to be and put writing on hold for a week or so.

Family Time

My month of August has been chaotic so far. My sister, her husband, and their two dogs, are between houses and are camping out at Chez Lower. Fortunately, the dogs are getting along fine. The people? It's been a challenge. Buying a house is a lot different than it was just a few years ago, and I've been helping get their paperwork in order for the mortgage company. That's as close as I've come to doing any creative writing.

Fortunately, I think the paperwork is finally coming to an end, and we'll just count down the days until settlement. At least I hope that will be the case. So maybe I can get back to work this week, writing the big battle scene from the Revolutionary War. Obviously, I need to be in the proper mindset for that. You can't just throw on a tricorn hat and be there.

So, while I do battle with the underwriter, and with the Battle of Machias, not to mention a printer upgrade no one told me about, I'll try to work in a massage and some pool time to keep my sanity. September seems a long way off.