Derichos, lightning, and full binders... Oh my!

Wow! It's been a while since I've been able to blog. Sorry 'bout that. :(

Between the dericho (a hurricane that forms over land) hitting our town and lightning striking and frying a lot of our electronics, things have been hectic that last few months to say the least. We're just now finishing up the new roof from a storm that happened in early May...

The therapy has been going really well for our son and we'll be starting up at a really good autism center later this month. In essence, I think things are finally settling down... (looks left and right, waiting for something new to hit...)

And since things seem to be settling down, it's time to write!!! Today, I printed off a hard copy of my first draft, all 239 pages of it (my poor printer... I had to restart the laptop twice to clear the memory so it could finish printing.). With all of the ideas spinning around in my head, I think this is the only way I can sort them out right now. Well, that and it's amazing how many errors jump out at you on paper that are invisible on a computer screen (how does that work anyway?). I hate wasting paper and that's why I haven't printed it out before, but this was important. It needed to be done

Have any of you ever printed out a 239 page book you've written and stuck it in a 3-ring binder? It's amazing. It's crazy. It finally seems "real". Before, it was all just pages in an electronic document, but now... WOW! It filled a 1.5 inch binder nearly full. Seeing it in hard copy like this is major motivation to get it done so that maybe it can appear in a different hard copy format someday.

The portability of the binder will help things out too. I write on a laptop, but it's a big laptop with a widescreen and a full keyboard. In order to take it with me to work on the story when we're out and about, I have to pack up not only a toddler and diaper bag, but also the full laptop case and hope I have an outlet nearby since the battery doesn't last very long. Now, I can just toss a few pens and pencils and the binder into the diaper bag and head out.

As for the content of the book, I think I know most of the major changes that will occur, but am keeping an open mind knowing that the characters will probably voice their opinions as well. The first chapter is definitely going to change, that's been decided finally. I was uncertain about this change at first, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. It will make the beginning a lot more interesting and hopefully make the reader feel the need to read the rest to figure out what happened.

I'm not sure if this new chapter will be a type of epilogue or what. I'm really not sure what to call it. The first chapter will be a scene that actually occurs towards the end of the timeline and the rest of the book will be showing the events leading up to that scene and then continue from that point on to the big ending.

I'm 99.9% sure that my current first chapter will remain in the book, I'll just move it to a different location. I really like how it introduces several of the characters and sets up some running jokes used throughout the book by the friends.

I'm also 99.9% sure that my favorite chapter, my baby, will be cut. It's one of the funniest, most relatable chapters that I've come up with I think, but would be really hard to pull off without breaking copyright laws or having some popular musicians suddenly become really generous. The only to salvage the chapter would be to write some lyrics to original songs in order to include them. I might even give that a try even though writing songs and poetry isn't something that I think I do well. Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens if my writing gremlin or I get inspired.

Another writing-related issue that's caused my work on Instinct to slow down is the prevalence of another one of my non-Instinct characters in my daily thoughts. A while back I created a character named Lisa with a pretty cool backstory. Love, love LOVE this character! Well, she's been making herself really well known in my thoughts as I've been processing hundreds of possible storylines for her. I know the basics of what her story will be, but there's still a lot left unplanned and she doesn't like that one bit. I've been playing around with her character, putting her in different situations and seeing what turns out the most interesting and still haven't decided anything. She's just going to have to deal with the fact that her story isn't ready yet, even if her character is pretty much fully developed. Now to break it to her so I can get back to my other favorite character, Casey.

But anywho, that's what's been up with me and my book lately. House repairs, replacing fried electronics, and therapy for the toddler. But the important part is that I'm finding ways to make writing a priority again by making it easier to access.

So, until I blog again...
Talk 2ya later...

~Willow