Friday, October 5, 2018

A Day's Difference


What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday I planned to write on the road. I had my computer bag stocked with my laptop, yellow pads and index cards. I wanted to work on how I want to change my website to show off my upcoming releases and I wanted to work on the synopsis for the proposal I’m working on and, I might add, just love. If all else failed I had a couple of books to read.

I ended up trying to work in the kitchen of one of our offices. The TV was blaring CNN which I discovered it very repetitious. The host of the show changes, but the stories are the same. The room is small with bad lighting – Harsh florescent which makes me feel sleepy and uninspired. On top of the noise of the TV, people kept coming in talking loudly as they got coffee. The only saving grace was that someone had left a bag of Halloween candy rumored to be from the special Mickey party at Disneyland. Wherever it came from, they sure gave out nice treats. I’d forgotten how tasty Hershey bars are.

I couldn’t even think in there, let alone write anything, so in the end I read for a while and had coffee and chocolate.

The next stop offered me a real office to sit in, though it always feels like the North Pole and there is no way to alter the temperature. Luckily, I travel prepared and wrapped myself in the pashima shawl I keep in my computer bag. Confident that I could really come up with those plot points, whipped out a pad of paper and tried to focus my mind.

I was coming up empty and I convinced myself that I just needed some time to settle in. But before that happened, it was time to leave.

I gave up hope on working on the synopsis today as I had other work to do. I had to print up materials for my son’s business, stuff folders and get everything together.

And then something magic happened. As I was sitting at the dining room table collating the things I’d printed, all of a sudden my characters started telling me about themselves. There were surprises about the relationship of two of them. Anyway, I had to stop my stapling numerous times to scribble down notes on any scraps of paper I could find.

It only continued as I stuffed the folders. There were more scribbled notes and mental pictures of my characters. And yes, important plot points showed up I hadn’t even thought of.

The obvious answer here is that when you try to hard, it never works and when you’re doing something boring, your mind tries to amuse you. Another bonus was I finished with the busy work amazed at how quickly it had gotten done.

And now I have to switch my attention to the release of INHERIT THE WOOL. I’m notoriously late in changing my website and book covers on Facebook.

Speaking of the cover, I absolutely love it. As someone on Facebook said, it really does look like Asilomar, which is the hotel and conference center that was the inspiration for Vista Del Mar. The story was fun to write because I the whole time I was working on it, I was on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula - in my mind at least.

And now the book will be out in the world.
 

1 comment:

Linda O. Johnston said...

Those characters of ours. They always seem to find times to either frustrate or help us, but they're always communicating with us! Glad they wound up helping you this time.