Playing Catch Up

I've been swamped lately, but that does not mean I have been slacking!!!

First the linkage:

http://www.culturefeast.com/how-to-avoid-becoming-an-irresponsible-pet-owner/

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/Jennlee/a-teaching-philosophy.html

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/Jennlee/focusing-on-the-positive.html

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/Jennlee/unsupervised-trip-to-borders.html

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/Jennlee/having-a-foster-fid.html

http://www.raintiger.com/storyhall/features/movingon/?ID=000028

http://www.redgage.com/blogs/Jennlee/nightmares,-life-and-reality.html

 

 

 

 

 

I received some kudos:

http://www.blogher.com/what-there-say-about-single-women-and-valentines-day

 

 

And finally a fiction update:

Have you ever had one of those really creative nights of writing, only to look back on it  the next day and wonder where on earth it  came from? I had one of those recently. I had all these weird ideas and emotionally charged story ideas. As I read them over, I began to realize that these notes would never fly in mainstream writing. Even if I cleaned them up, filled in some gaps and gave them structure, the story would be one twisted hot mess. There was way too much drama, totally unbelievable and beyond suspension of belief moments. It was simply just too much for one story line. Yes you want your story to be compelling, to have some drama and have more conflict that the average person's day to day life. I mean why would anyone want to read about an actual average person. However, you have to find a balance. If a piece jumps from one highly improbable instance to another, it is hard to keep your reader from just giving up.   Still after reading my notes one thing was clear: with a little work, the true base of this story might just work. Yes it will still be a little twisted, but lets face it: I'm a little twisted.

That is what I'm doing now. I'm taking all the ideas, dialing down the crazy, putting things into some kind of a timeline and taking it from there.

It all started with two characters. I like these two characters, but the first thing I tried to put them in just didn't work. I just didn't know enough about the setting I was trying to put them in. It just seemed like I wasn't creating anything that hadn't been done to death. Then I tried plugging them in to a story line I have had for years, but it just never works out. My last attempt just left me hating my female lead, so I thought maybe if I tried it with characters I liked it would work. At first things looked good, but after a few chapters it just wasn't working. Some elements worked really well, but others just didn't flesh out well.

That brings us to the present. I took some of the elements that really worked well from the last try and in a insomnia induced frenzy, all these out there ideas came to the surface. Like I said, some of it was just a hot mess. I could still see promise in parts of it.

Now it is time to take a look at the basics, take out the trash and make changes as needed. Of course I've changed things and it has made more issues. Initially I had the female lead gets her graduate degree before the storyline shifts. Instead I have her just getting her bachelors, getting into the grad program, but not getting the grad assistant spot. That has created some timeline issues. It makes her younger than I wanted her to be (grad school gave me at least two years to work with). If I keep the age timeline, it leaves the male lead being engaged for seven years. I also have to find gainful employment for her after she graduates. I had a job for her when she had her masters degree, but now it complicates things. It sucks because story wise it is better to only have her there through undergrad. Otherwise she was just becoming martyr like. She was almost like a consummate victim. Yeah life sucks sometimes. Some people are more prone to being kicked while they are down…it happens. Of course in fiction piece it is going to happen more frequently. Still, there is a point where it just gets ridiculous. If the story is simply this girl getting overlooked and under appreciated, it is going to get old fast. I want her to be happy and strong and somewhat normal. I feel it is better to make the point and move forward with the story. Dwelling on it for too long just makes the story stall and makes the character into something I do not want.

 
 

Now it is back to brainstorming and reworking. Maybe I'll have a draft soon? I'm not going to rush it though. I would rather have a good story than one that just happens to make my own timeline.