Ah, to be a troll!

Actually, I wouldn't want to be either of my trolls as they begin their journey! The way these two guys fight, you would think they were truly brothers, not just clan mates! I wish I had more time off from work so I could write more in peace and quiet, but perhaps I can get some done this week.

It's a busy week for all of us. Track try-outs will last all week for our oldest son. He has one hour between track and soccer two nights, and our daughter's soccer starts at the same time track ends one night! Add in Ash Wednesday services on the remaining night and...we'll do a lot of eating in the car, I think. (Of course, Ash Wednesday is a day of fast, so no eating then at all!) All told, I should have 4 hours of writing time in the car at practices. More if I write during the tail end of track tryouts! We'll see how it goes.

For now, I'm off to journey with some trolls. Fortunately for them, I'm invisible as I observe...otherwise I'd appear to be a giant! (And there are no giants in this story. Yet.)

Progressing with Trolls

Well, the trolls are about to begin their quest! Soccer practice is so good for me (although it'd be better if I was exercising like the team!). I'm working on the rough-rough-rough part of chapter 3, and I'm excited that these two young trolls are on their journey! The fun part of this is that the journey causes them to change their perceptions of themselves and each other. (They don't like or accept each other right now.)

I can't wait for them to meet the fairy and the dwarf! (So long as they don't attack the dwarf when they see him, he'll be a great help to them on the quest.)

Best laid plans of writers...

Well, I had decided to work on the YA novel until...as I drove to school on Tuesday these little trolls (literally) invaded my thoughts and began pushing me to write their story. Once I got to work (Thank goodness we were unbelievably early!), I hastily began to type as fast as I could. I actually got to page nine before the interruptions began. Tuesday night allowed more time during soccer practice so...by now I have chapter one's REALLY REALLY rough draft finished, I'm halfway through chapter two, and the outline for the entire book (plus a two page history preceding the plot so I know my characters' history) are done! WOW!

This is a MG fantasy novel right now, although it might lean a little more to a MG/YA combination. (Think a lower level than Eragon but above Spiderwick). The main characters are two trolls, a dwarf, and a fairy. (And no, fairies don't actually have wings; those who are attuned to the forces of air actually have invented mechanical wings for gliding on the breeze.)

Did you know that trolls love the mud? Well, most do. Unfortunately for his family, Noskaj is not a normal troll. His parents feel a lot of shame everytime he cleans his feet. :-)

Stay tuned! I hope to work more this weekend...the goal? A clean house, Girl Scout cookies delivered, to cheer a soccer team to victory, and to have finished through chapter 3. Your question is probably, "Can she do all that?" In the words of the immortal train..."I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!"

Writing

Well, now that I've decided what my next project will be...I just have to start. The MC is a girl, but I'm struggling with the age. She's probably in middle school, but the subject leans towards possibly high school. Unfortunately for this child, her life is not great. She's been through more in her short life than anybody deserves in an entire lifetime, yet she's resilient until...her teacher discovers that she is dying. That the strongest, most level-headed person in her world is sick, scared, and not going to be around throws the MC for a loop. Can she become the strong one? Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back, so to speak? I don't know yet, either. She hasn't let me in on that part of her psyche at this time; she doesn't trust me yet.

I guess that's one of my weird quirks as a writer. My characters are real in my mind. I get to know them quite well. When I wrote my adult suspense novel, I knew a character was going to die. He wasn't a very nice guy; in fact, he was a jerk, a bully, and a man who was easy to despise. Nevertheless, killing him off was something I felt grief over. Since he was beyond redemption, though, I didn't grieve too much. Do other writers do this with their characters, too?

Grrr

Tonight was going to be a writing night...leave work on time, enjoy dinner with the family, then work on my novel. Ah, the best laid plans of mice, men, and aspiring authors!

Instead I had a meeting after school that lasted for an hour and a half discussing stuff that should have (and would have if I'd been in charge) taken about fifteen minutes. But now, it's later, I'm tired, and the screen is glaring at me...GRRRR!

Thoughts on the day

It's amazing when a great idea makes its way from brain to paper and...it turns out to be a not so great idea. I began writing my latest idea for an adult dark humor book. While it's a very ROUGH draft (it doesn't even deserve the title "first draft"), I began to see a predictability in the sections to the point where it had too much in common. In fact, by the time you finished reading the sixth page, you would have known everything that would be happening in the book! (This was not a story, per se, with plot and characters. It was the day-to-day aggravations for a middle-aged woman.)

Besides seeing too much repetition in theme and emotion, I also realized this was not fun to write. In fact, it became aggravating and depressing simultaneously! I don't know about the rest of the world, but I don't read to get angry. I most definitely do not read in order to feel worse at the end of a story. (That's one reason I stopped reading Nicholas Sparks' books: every one could end happily ever after, but none actually do.)

So, although I've invested in 12 single-spaced typed pages and countless hours that could have been part of one of the other ideas/partially written books rolling around in my mind, this project is getting scrapped. I won't even claim to move it to the back burner...yes, it really is that bad!