Books, Books, Books!

I almost forgot how good it feels to sit down and read a book.  

Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I don't think I finished more than 1 book (maybe 2?) between February and June because of how busy I was.  

So in August and September, I kind of exploded with reading, which has been amazing.  

And inspiring.

Here are the books I've read and recommend:

Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

It took 3 books before Anne finally had sense to see Gilbert the way she should see him, but it was worth every page to get there ;)

 Matched by Ally Condie 

Amazing.  

I'd compare this to The Giver and The Hunger Games in context and in it's ability to keep you turning pages to find out what happens.  

The sequel comes out on Nov. 1st!

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale is one of my favorite authors, and because I've been following her blog with updates on the new Austenland movie coming out, I thought I'd finally get around to reading the book.  

I wouldn't put this as my favorite Hale novel, but I was pleasantly surprised.  

Every Jane Austen fanatic should read this.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Ok, yes--I'll admit it.  

I've probably read this book about 2 or 3 dozen times because it's my absolute FAVORITE book ever.  

And even after this last reading, I fell in love with it again.  

The writing and fairy-tale plot really inspires my own novel.  

And sometimes you just need to go back to your happy place...

 

 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I actually read this one a few months ago, but never mentioned it on my blog until now.  

I must say, I'm a little embarrassed to have graduated with a BA in English and never have read this until last spring. 

Why did I wait so long?!  

It was a GREAT Gothic novel that had me longing for more.  

The ultimate love story.   

Seriously--read it if you haven't! 

(P.S. The new movie wasn't too bad either, if you haven't seen it.  But read the book first!)

 The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

I LOVE this book!

I actually listened to it on CD and really enjoyed the narrator.  The characters truly came to life, and the writing was fun.

If you like fairy tales or books that take place in the Medieval era, you'll love this one!

  The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I haven't actually finished this one yet, but I'm currently reading it and thought I'd give it a little shout-out. 

Even after the first page, I knew it was going to be good.  

The characters and voices suck you in right away, and then the plot as it unfolds.  

If life hadn't been in the way, I'd be finished with it. 

But soon, very soon.
(And then maybe the movie, which I also hear is amazing.)

Q: Point-of-view

Which do you prefer:

1st person point-of-view

"I/We said"

or 

3rd* person point-of-view

"She/He said"

and why?

(*I just found out I had written "2nd" person by mistake.  I officially fail as an editor--hopefully I'll be more successful as a writer ;))

Getting Over that Curve Ball

Well, here I am again working on my blog and NOT working on my novel like I'm supposed to.  I have to be honest, losing that chapter was a huge dent in the road of my writer's journey.  I know it doesn't compare to losing a loved one, but I seriously got emotional about it all day long.  It was a great loss to me, and I was frustrated with writing in general.  And I really did eat a bowl of ice cream while reading Ella Enchanted to make me feel better.

Yesterday, I went to the temple and felt at peace with things.  I guess I needed a spiritual boost after such a low day, and it really helped.  However, when I came home, turned on my laptop, and tried writing again, it was tough.  Like writing-a-semester-paper-worth-50%-of-your-grade tough.  I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to try to re-write what I had (based on what I can remember) or write something new and, hopefully, better.  I played with it for about an hour, never getting it to sound or feel right.  Finally, I gave up and moved on to where I had left off in the chapter (the few paragraphs that didn't get erased).  Although I enjoyed that much better, I still felt a nagging for those unwritten beginning pages.  I'm the kind of writer who may have later scenes planned out but still has to write from start to finish.  And my opening is far from being finished.

So there's the update.  I know it's like getting bucked-off a horse: you have to get back on.  And I'm trying to work on this novel without getting frustrated.  I love it a lot and feel strongly that if I work hard enough, it will get published someday.  However, the road to getting there doesn't always look so great, and I know it's going to take a lot of positive self-talk to get me to push through these first few chapters and into more exciting, new scenes.

Frustration

I am super frustrated and sad right now.  After doing my usual chores, running to the bank, eating lunch, etc., I came to the computer to start working on my novel.  As I opened the Word doc, which I had saved not only to my portable hard drive, but to my computer and email as well, I discovered that EVERYTHING I had written over the past week was gone.

GONE!!!!!!!!! 

So now I'm sitting at the desk crying (literally) and not sure what to do.  Maybe no one else can relate (although I'm sure if you've had to write papers in college, you had at least one incident where your computer crashed and you lost everything you'd been working on...been there, done that), but my story is like my baby.  And I lost a piece of it that I've put my heart and soul into.  This past week I focused on the first chapter again and cut a ton out.  In fact, I re-wrote almost all of it, and I was feeling great about it.  No, seriously--an agent was going to read the first page and call me up immediately to ask if they could represent me great.  And now it's gone.  All those hours of work gone.

I don't know what I should do at this point.  Trying to re-write what I had feels like pulling out my own teeth.  I'm so frustrated that I'm ready to throw my hat in and forget about the whole thing.  It was perfect, and now it's gone.  And I have no idea how.  Obviously, something was pushed or touched that deleted everything I wrote, or track changes somehow rejected my changes, and then it was saved that way without me knowing it.  And not only was it saved that way once, but three times in three different places.  For the first time in my life, I wish I weren't such a "click on the save button" paranoid person.  Not saving it could've saved my story.

I spent 3 days trying to write the first sentence.  How am I supposed to re-write it?!  Ahhhhh, sometimes being a writer is tougher than it sounds.  Sorry for such a negative blog post, but I had to vent.  Now I guess I'd better take a walk or read Ella Enchanted or watch Pride and Prejudice while eating Udderly Chocolate ice cream to get my mind off of things.

The Distractions

Yes, it's true--even a committed writer gets preoccupied now and then.  

Some call it writer's block.  

I call it those day-to-day distractions and inconveniences.  

And now that I have the time to write, one thing after another seems to get in the way.  

1. Broken Power Adapter

Yes, this little (IMPORTANT) guy snapped over the weekend, leaving me laptop-less.  

Luckily, Richard has a monitor and laptop he's letting me use while he's at work.  

I'm already worried about my computer dying at any moment and need to buy a new laptop soon.
Why, power adapter, why?!?

2. Summer

   No, I can't say I walk out my door everyday to this, but my apartment complex DOES have a nice pool and lounge chairs calling my name.  

Bring the computer outside with me, you say?  

Nah, a book is so much lighter.  

And cooler.

3. Vacations!

 Along a well-known road called Route 66 is a small, Arizonan town called Kingman.

I spent Labor day weekend there with my husband and his family.

In a week, I'll be off to Oregon as well.

These vacations are great but awful for a trying-to-stay-on-a-schedule writer.

But I'm still trying to write at least a little every day--even if it's for only 10 minutes.

4. Household Chores

 

Right.

As I walk from the bedroom to our office, I have to pass the kitchen.

Passing the kitchen reminds me that I still need to do last night's dishes.

After 20 minutes of washing, I'm again walking to the office...and pass the living room.  

DVDs are all over the floor, couch pillows are in disarray, and the carpets are filthy.

And passing the washer and dryer remind me of all the dirty clothes piled high from our last vacation.

Oh, and don't forget those bathrooms.  Uggh.

Four hours later, I might make it to the office, where my computer waits for me to start typing.

But, what's that?  Distraction number 5...

5. ...Blogging

Yes, it's very true.  

I can't seem to get on the computer without checking my blog...or other people's blog.

Then I start working on my design.

Check my email.

Facebook?

Start searching the web for who knows what.

And another hour or two go by without me even opening my novel in Word.

I'm doing it right now, in fact.

So there you have it: my top 5 distractions/inconveniences that seem to pull my time and attention away from what I SHOULD be doing:

Writing.

Working on my novel.

Getting this 2nd draft done.

Submitting to agents.
But I'm so grateful to have this time to write and live the writer's dream.

And posting on my blog is writing, is it not? ;)

"New" Blog

Well, as you probably just discovered, I have a "new" blog.  Basically, it's all the history/ past posts of my old writer's blog with a new URL and look.  Honestly, I'm still playing with the design, so it may change from time to time.  But my writer's blog was definitely in need of an update since my name has changed and I created a new family blog (richardandallisonmathews.blogspot.com (it's private, so send me your email address if you'd like an invite)) a few weeks ago.  Now it's time to focus this blog on my writing again.  This blog is where I'll keep my updates about my novel(s), publishing, writing and editing tips and facts, goals, books I've read, writing exercises, etc.  Hopefully it won't bore you too much, but in reality, it's more for me than anyone else.  But I do enjoy hearing from you, so please feel free to comment as much as you'd like!