In my first book, I had quotations at the beginning of each chapter that in some way had to do with the theme of the following pages. I have since removed them because I found that the quotes were in most cases more helpful and meaningful to me as a way to regroup my thoughts and pin-point exactly what I wanted to say and less important to the overall impact of the novel. But there are a few that remain so inspiring to me that I thought I'd share them here:

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge." -David Boorstin

"Truly it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us." -Meister Eckhart

And my personal favorite:

"For me, writing something down was the only road out." -Anne Tyler

And just the other day, a friend told me "the surest way to be happy is to really, really want what you already have..." Big aha moment for me. So you see, I'm a sucker for a great quote if you have one to share!

How do you research?

I'm finding that my current WIP is requiring quite a bit of research on two specific topics. Up to now I've been doing a combo of writing/researching depending on how the mood strikes me and what my day is like. For instance: if I'm at home with my daughter napping, I write; but if I'm spending the afternoon running taxi service for piano, soccer, scouts etc...I just pack up my research and head out to do it on the fly sitting in the car or wherever I end up. But lately it seems I'm being less than productive. In fact, I've been researching so much that I'm feeling guilty for NOT writing. But WOW am I learning a lot!

It occurs to me that perhaps I need to pick one or the other. Perhaps I should just research day in and day out until I'm confident about my material and then sit down to write. Or maybe I should just write as it comes and then research later and fill in where necessary. I'm leaning toward the first, but I can't shake the nagging feeling that I'm wasting time.

So I'm wondering: how do you handle topics in your own work that require research?

Woo-hoo!!

Done.

Yes, I know I said that before, but this time I mean it. I have FINALLY finished my third and final edit - including changing all my spacing from two to one after all the periods...ugh!!!! It has taken me almost a full 7 months longer than anticipated, but I feel so happy because I truly feel that it is a tighter, stronger manuscript the way it now stands. In my gut I always knew it wasn't ready to sprout wings, but I also wasn't ready to do the necessary work and cut here and chop there. I wasn't ready to let go of one little word. But I did (almost 13,000 of them) and I'm glad.

So here's the newest stats: 16 queries sent, 3 rejections (or "no thank you's" as I prefer to call them) and more on their way out.

Now it is finally back to my WIP that I left simmering on the back burner all summer to re-edit the first work. Mind you, it has been simmering and I do believe it is downright steamy now and ready to take off the fire! I'm so excited, can you tell?

So it's back to work...thanks to all of you that have been patient while I meandered my way through the last couple of months!

Where have I been?

I realize I took some time off from my writing while my oldest two kids were small, but I'm surprised every day by the little editing things that have changed over the years...where have I been?

My latest frustration: the fact that only one space now follows a period! Yes, I do think it is more eye appealing but my fingers don't want to just type one space...they are conditioned from years of practice to put two spaces after each and every period! Even more frustrating is trying to go back and edit my novel with the new rule (okay, it may not be THAT new but it is to me!)

So if this rule has changed, it makes me wonder: What other little rules have changed in the past ten years?

Yikes...where have I been? Well, let's see: back to school shopping, planning an insanely hectic Luau party for my 8 year old's birthday, breaking a toe (yes, you can say ouch!) and editing, editing, editing...

Still, no excuses. Now school is back in session Monday and my daytime will once again be my own...well, if you subtract the time necessitated by a 16 month old...okay so nap time will once again be my own!

Can't wait to sit down and delve into all the wonderful blogs I follow and have been missing...talk to you all soon!

To prologue or not to prologue - that is the question!

I've been pondering this question for a while now and then decided who better to poll then my fellow enthusiasts!

My first novel, which I am currently about to finish editing, begins with a flashback. In actuality, it begins with two flashbacks which I consider more of a double prologue. You see the story is told from the POV of a daughter who finds her mother's body after she commits suicide and then follows her along the path of self-discovery as she searches for the reason for her mother's death. It becomes apparent during the course of the novel that her mother and father's relationship was doomed from the beginning and the two flashback sequences - one told from the father's POV and one from the mother's POV- foreshadow this revelation.

I love this beginning (of course, I do since I wrote it!) but have been advised by a few readers (mostly other writers) that I shouldn't begin this way. I realize it breaks many rules: begin with heavy action, keep the same POV throughout etc. But I am reluctant to scrap it because it felt right to me...but am willing to do the old heave-ho if it is truly in the best interest of the work. Mostly I'm afraid that it will turn off the agents I am submitting to if they only read the first chapter or two.

At the moment, I'm thinking of compromising and only including the flashback of the mother. It is shorter more action packed.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm desperate to get this right!

My reading dilemma

Here's the dilemma: Once I begin a book, I cannot stop - even if it is REALLY, REALLY bad!

Does anyone else have this problem?

Last night I got all the kiddos to bed and climbed into my bed looking forward to a couple hours of uninterrupted reading before hitting the hay. As I reached for the book on my bedside table (the book I've been reading for a week now and am on a whopping page 150!), I groaned a little. This current book I've committed to has proven to be less than exciting and even less inspiring.

Why don't I just put this book aside (or swap it on my favorite site: paperbackswap.com)? Because I can't. I can't bring myself to stop reading until the very last word has been duly noted and processed. I've made it through many a novel this way, all the while wondering when it would get interesting and begin to captivate me.

Often, I've been bountifully rewarded with a great ending or a story that finally grabs me in the middle. It's how I made it through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and Fortune's Rock by Anita Shreve - I hung in there and am ever grateful that I did. But just as often, I struggle through the beginning pages of a book and reach the end only to be thankful that it is over and I can move on - my commitment to the author complete.

And of course there are countless books that I sail through, greedily devouring each word from beginning to end - like the Kite Runner that I read large parts of while stirring macaroni and cheese on the stove because I was so busy reading that I almost forgot to make dinner!

But what irks me is my misguided need to finish every book I pick up. Even now I feel confident that tonight I'll choose a new book and put to rest the current one (which shall remain nameless), but I know that when that fateful time comes, I'll likely be consumed by guilt and fear that on the very next page - the very next one that I'll never get to - there will be the great break through: those awe inspiring words I've been waiting for.

Hmmm...what to do...