writing in place

Oh September, how I adore you!  The light, the ever so slight crispiness in the air, fresh notebook head, and so on.

Today is another meeting of the IWSG - and here from their sign-up page they say it best:

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

The optional question this month is - If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

I oft fantasize of the best place to write - that magic place where I will sit down on a cloud of ease and the words  will flow out of my fingers - or better yet, I will merely need to think about the story and there it will be - with no carpal tunnel, no fricked up shoulder (don't get me started - going into the third month of rotator cuff shite), no blockages of either a spiritual or intestinal variety - just easy peasy sailing through the plot - imagine!

But when I get real with myself and think about those places that have worked I know - it wasn't the place. Sometimes it has become even a search in the home I'm currently living in. Should I write in the designated office space or on the dining room table (that's where I am right now). Maybe my shrine room? It's full of good vibes.

I've been writing for a long time, over fifty years, and I've lived or visited so many places in that time. I've gone on some glorious solitary writing retreats. The photo of the typewriter above I took in the childhood home of poet Elizabeth Bishop in Great Village, NS. I got lots of a story written there but no magic. Just bum glue. 

I've gone to friend's cabins in the woods or by the shore. I wrote most of the manuscript I'm currently working on in our little house on the beach in Labrador. I've written plays with fellow writers in scuzzy rooms with too many dirty cups sitting about. 

I wrote well at a group writers' retreat in Newfoundland. 

So my answer to the question today is :

The one place in the world I'd like to sit and write in is where I am. I'd like to write right here in Prospect Bay, Nova Scotia, in the house I share with my fella and the pooch. I'd like to push back the vase full of sunflowers and start in. I'd like to get up and wander into the kitchen and do the dishes when I get stuck. I'd like to share the table (which I will be doing as you read this) with my writing pal, Gwen - as I do every Wednesday. I'd like to remember that showing up for the muse is more likely to bring her along than any other temptation one might offer. Sure I liked working on one manuscript in Cuba - how Hemingway - but did I get lots done? No. I did not. I kept my oar in and that is important, but no place has been any better than another. It is down to me. 

Here's a wee cabin owned by a friend in Labrador. You have to take either a boat or skidoo to get there (depending on the time of year). I did NO WRITING in this place but it would be great. No electricity though. Have to use the quill pen.

How about you? Where would you write? Where DO you write?

PS - I have contracted an editor to work with me on my current story Crooked Knife.  I have a few months to get a proper draft completed. Now that's a great fire under my butt.

Day Four - in-house retreat - reading aloud

Today, once I get going, I plan to read my manuscript aloud - start to end. I've got my synopsis done, the other material required by the contest I'm entering and now I'm going to read the thing aloud for about the twenty-fourth time - and then the package is going WHOOSH off to the contest. Then I might lie down for awhile.
Last night's guest teaching for Gwen went really well - a completely swell bunch of women - who seemed to like my teaching on structure and mindmapping. The three hours flew and I went home remembering how much I love teaching. I do teach psych residents every week - lots of fun - but teaching writing was great fun too.
All right, or alright, here I go!

a painting by my grandaughter, Hannah, of the wharf near her.

Day Three - In House Retreat or is that In-House-Retreat?

Hyphens!!!! They drive me crazy. It used to be commas but I'm good with them now. What is hyphenated and what isn't? Please don't tell me because none of your answers will agree with any of the other ones. I know this. Think I'm going to go visit the Grammar Queen. I used to be able to find her.
So, here I am on Day three of my in house retreat.  I'm a bit sleepy. I went over to my friend Wren's house to watch the Academy Award. A small group of us have been doing that for years. About thirty - the group morphing and the host house changing. But the last couple of years it has been at Wren's. We watched two long hours of the red carpet, dishing the dresses, moaning about the camera work and the dopey 'personalities' who were wrangling the stars. Finally - the awards show - with Billy Crystal - our absolute favorite. And Cirque de Soleil (which is a Canuck company, y'all) and funny bits and terrible bits and entrancing bits and then - right after Cirque performed their magic and Billy was about to tell us something hilarious, it happened. The signal failed. The wonderful magic of Bell's fibre optic system went kahblouie and despite a long call with someone in New Brunswick, and Wren lost to us in the garage for forty minutes with him on the cell (the phone, the computer, the television were all down) we still had nothing. So the four of us sat and decided on appropriate measures Bell could take. We decided, after not much thought, that they should send us to Hollywood next year. Yes - where would the movies be without the likes of us? Nowhere, that's where. We can't regain those two hours - sure, I'm going to watch it all lonely today on my computer - but NO the magic was destroyed. And Bell must pay. We'll handle our own gowns and getting a cab to the Your Name Here Theatre (as Crystal called it last night) - but Bell must pay for flights and a reasonable hotel room. It is only fair.
Now - back to my life. I will continue working on my package. Ron went through it with a big red pen - he's good with grammar and even if I don't agree with all his hyphen rules they seem as good as any one's.
I can't bear the thought of going through the manuscript again, but I will. I will read it aloud. It should take me about four hours.
Do you know I killed over 10 thousand words in my revision! Man oh man, I pared that sucker down.

Tonight I'm going to the Writer's Federation to pinch hit for Gwen. She teaches a writing course there on Mondays but is away for three weeks in AFRICA!!! I'm on deck tonight and have plans to teach mindmapping with a focus on the hero's journey. I'm looking forward to it, as long as it doesn't snow...

Here's another gratuitous picture...a bit of colour in these grey feb days

Day One - In House Retreat

this is a photo I took yesterday through a huge broken glass at the hospital!

Today:

9:30 - 11:30 - work on manuscript

11:30 - 1:00 - spring clean one room & have lunch

1:00 - 3:00 - work on manuscript

3:00 - walk dog

4:00- 6:00 - work on manuscript

I have nine chapters left to revise - I would like to finish them this weekend so I can spend Monday and Tuesday on the package.
I'll report later...

First Report - Only 3 Chapters to go! These last chapters are in better shape than the middle ones so I'm zooming through. yeehaw! I'm going to go visit a few more blogs for a break and then drive on through to the end!

Second Report - at 3 PM - finished manuscript and working on four-page synopsis. YIKES! Now must go walk poor old dog. done a bare minimum of cleaning as I'm too wrapped up in this. so there.

another in-house retreat

Hello to all that have not heard from me in a long time! I am about to do another retreat - shorter by a day and perhaps more relaxed in some ways, more urgent than others. I have worked fairly persistently since my last retreat two weeks ago - meaning I have been ploughing through the revision around my other work of counselling etc... I have eight chapters left and still some work on my long synopsis and package for the contest. It is due on the first so the next four days will be spent on finishing the revision - giving it another quick polish and getting the package together. After it is done and dusted, I will turn my attention to the query packages to four agents. Whew!
I have been very busy with clients, for which I am incredibly grateful, and with family and friends. This is the Buddhist New Year and there have been gatherings and celebrations for that. As well, I attended my grand-daughter's assembly today - she did a great job, both on stage and handling the sound system. I loved the show - a story of Angus MacAskill, the Giant of Cape Breton...

here are three of the Canadian Babes making plans for our Florida adventure in April...

Hope to take a good run at visiting blogs tomorrow in my in between writing bits of time!

Day Five of my in-house writing retreat - ten thousand hours to success!

With only the briefest look at this schedule I know I am paying no mind to it. I will spend today, like yesterday, driving through the manuscript. The rest will have to wait. In fact, the only other time I will take today will be to carve out a few more days to focus on the packages before the month is out.

Last night's dinner was so wildly good - I won't tell you everything we ate but the main dish that I had, was roasted free-range chicken breast with greens, button mushrooms and fresh potato gnocchi. What that menu description doesn't say is anything about the sauce it is all nestled in. OH OH OH!   As soon as I took my first mouthful I remembered why it is simply worth it to go to a REALLY good restaurant. A reminder of what food can be when it is elevated far beyond the really good - for we eat very well, here at the ranch. They say that an expert is one who has done 10,000 hours of work on their craft. Well, I'd say that Fid's wonderful chef, Dennis Johnston, has done that and more.

Now to get to my ten thousand hours of work.

Udate - 5:30 PM - and I'm thinking this retreat is here-by over! Man oh manly man, this was a rough day. Like walking through mud. All because I had to change a major plot point - no, a minor plot point - I had to change something and the something I had to change was hard to figure and it led me into a veritable mare's nest of new research - did you know that First Nations people are far more prone to having their bones broken than us other North Americans? Well, yes they are, and heart attacks, diabetes, and so on and so on. I did some more research on residential schools (for those of you in other lands - over 150,000 kids were taken away from their parents from the mid-1800's to the late 1900's) Residential schools, with the aid of church and state, obliterated languages, abused many, many children- physically and sexually - many suffered malnutrition and other problems not normally seen on these fair shores. Yep. In Canada we've been undergoing a wonderful painful but beautiful process called :

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

"the truth of our common experiences will help set our spirits free and pave the way to reconciliation."

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has a mandate to learn the truth about what happened in the residential schools and to inform all Canadians about what happened in the schools. The Commission will document the truth of what happened by relying on records held by those who operated and funded the schools, testimony from officials of the institutions that operated the schools, and experiences reported by survivors, their families, communities and anyone personally affected by the residential school experience and its subsequent impacts.

The Commission hopes to guide and inspire First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples and Canadians in a process of truth and healing leading toward reconciliation and renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.

The Commission views reconciliation as an ongoing individual and collective process that will require participation from all those affected by the residential school experience. This includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis former students, their families, communities, religious groups, former Indian Residential School employees, government, and the people of Canada. 

Since my book is about the karma that in part led from residential schools, it is important that I fully grok this. That means that although this day was hard, I have met my mandate to proceed with care and my novel will take the time it requires.

I've already started blocking out more all day writing retreats. GAAAAH!

Day Four - sailing into the mystic

Today my intention is to work on the manuscript only. I had a great day yesterday and think this one will be likewise - so I'll just plough on through. If I get enough done, I can focus tomorrow on the packages. If not, we'll see. I may stop from time to time using my one-page synopsis attempts as breaks. Who knows. It is Valentine's Day and my sweet patootie and I are stepping out this evening, meeting our dear pals for dinner at Fid, a wonderful place to eat. We don't go often but I'd rather go there once or twice a year than a cheaper place every month. So it goes...

Day Four (this will be an all manuscript day I think)

meditate
read manuscript for one hour
breakfast
finish reading manuscript
lunch
manuscript changes
walk
manuscript changes

check-in - 5:06 PM - well, I'm done for this day.  The man and I are leaving shortly to do some tasks and the meet our friends for dinner. I did a whack of work today - all on the manuscript. And you know that thing I said the other day about thinking that the early chapters would take more work. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. oh oh  I can't stop. I'm hysterical.
However, I did get as far as half-way through Chapter 26 (which used to be 29). The manuscript goes up to 48 and it will continue to get smaller as I go. Tomorrow I will decide if I'm going to continue in this vein or stop to work on synopsis. I think I probably won't. I'd like to get this done while the heat is upon me.
later... my valentines...

Day Three of Inhouse Retreat - I'm going to look at the landscape

Today, now, right now, it is snowing. In the parlance of the South Shore it will be a heavy snow as it is 'little snow' and the saying goes 'little snow big snow' and of course vice versa 'big snow little snow'. What this generally means is if the snow flakes are tiny there will be a large accumulation and if they are big fat Hollywood snow flakes - not so much. I'll let you know what happens. The weather is being most kind to my retreat as it invokes the desire to stay put.

Day three - oh my. I am trying to give you a flavour of this process without being too tedious. In that vein I will tell you what I'm doing when I'm not doing what is on my little list. First of all I am wearing ugly but comfortable clothes - the same ones every day - leggings with what my friend Marion's German mother would call 'schlobbin hosen' which I take to mean sloppy pull up pants. On top I'm wearing a t-shirt and a sweater that belonged to my dad. I'm warm and comfortable. When I take a break I eat something good - yoghurt with walnuts and blueberries and other fruit in the morning - eggs for lunch or soup and something light for dinner. I am not taking long for breaks but even if I do I read one of my many books that keep me in the revising head-space - Koch's Writer's Workshop, or Lamott's Bird by Bird or etc... These are to keep me from freaking out - not so much for the technical info though it is good to read over Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell and spend some time on his very particular check-lists!
The biggest obstacle is that my back isn't very good. I try to remember to stretch and so forth every hour but still it just doesn't like sitting very much. Ron is being a peach - working away at his own thing and letting me prattle on about what I'm doing. In the evenings we watch a movie or Holmes and Watson and early to bed where I dream and dream and dream.

Now - here is today's schedule:
Day Three

meditate
1 page synopsis - one hour
breakfast
manuscript work - two hours
lunch
meditate
finish two synopsis - two hours
walk
work on manuscript - two hour

We'll see where I get to...

I'll check in later on.

12:30 Check-in - hmmm...no big snow - though it appears to be snowing a bit right now and the sky is clear - this must be fox wedding season!
I worked on my one page synopsis - ARRRRRRGH! Really, it makes me nuts but I won't give up.
I am just about to start chapter 15. I am making hugish changes which I'm more than happy about - but it makes the work oh so slow. My hope at this point is to get half the manuscript work done by the end of day five - that would be ten more chapters. Can I do it? I think so. Then I can safely send off packets (should I also get my query letters and synopses done) at the end of day five. I will then have two weeks to do the next 25 chapters. I'll just have to chip away at them, one or two a day...more on the weekend.
OK - back to work with me now....

6:35 Check in - still a snowy day. Well, I ploughed through more of the manuscript than I thought I'd get to. I'm on chapter 21 and that includes combining some and taking one out in its entirety. At this rate I think I'll get about 30 or more chapters done, out of 49. Hard to say what percentage I'm at - almost half-way but I'm chopping as I go so might be further! Tomorrow I marked for an all manuscript day but will play it by ear. Ron's made corned beef and cabbage for dinner. We are drowning in brassicas. Drowning.
Okey dokey - I'll check in tomorrow for day four.

Day Two - foxes wedding

Today, as I meditated, I noticed an unusual occurrence. There were snow flurries but the sky seemed clear and sunny. This is what we call a 'foxes wedding'. I just went and found the wiki bit on it:

Other stories tell of kitsune (foxes) marrying one another. Rain falling from a clear sky — a sunshower — is called kitsune no yomeiri or the kitsune's wedding, in reference to a folktale describing a wedding ceremony between the creatures being held during such conditions.^[62] The event is considered a good omen, but the kitsune will seek revenge on any uninvited guests.^[63]

^{So that is good news for my day. I need a good omen for today. I had a very disturbed sleep. I was anxious and restless... I couldn't stop thinking about the plot and what I'm doing. I had that anxiety that nothing was right in it - and that people who had seen it were just being kind, as anyone would be to a poor mentally unhinged person, who imagined they were a writer. I feel better now that it is morning. I've got a good start. As soon as I've posted this I will get to work. I'm glad we don't have to go anywhere, for though it looks lovely out - sunny with a dusting of snow, the man tells me everything is frozen solid. He had to heat the hen house hatch to get it open - all the birds trotted out, most impatiently, then had a look and trotted back in. The roads must be impossible. So, all in all, a good day to buckle down to it.
Here is my schedule, already revised as I have more of an idea what I'm up to now.}

Day Two

meditate
write up notes on changes I need to make - a letter to self
breakfast
manuscript work - two hours
1 page synopsis and a start on a query letter
lunch
meditate
manuscript wrk - one hour
dog walk
manuscript work - two hours


I'll check back in a few hours with an update.

Update: It is 11:30 and I've been at work for three hours. What have I done? One more chapter, notes on things that need changing and ideas I had over the course of the night and I'm looking at the STUPID one page synopsis which is so boring I could rip my own head off and throw it at the computer screen. But I won't. I'll go check out the wonderful Writer's Knowledge site (check side-bar to go there) and look up one-page synopsis and probably do one totally insane one to move me out of this stiffness.
later...

Now it is a bit after six and I am done for the day. I am up to 13 chapters - I somehow think it might get better later on as most of my big changes are front-loaded. As I write this I realize I have no idea if that is true or not. Perhaps I am simply without the ability to see anything about the thing right now. I did a one-page synopsis but it isn't quite where I want it. I walked the dog and I didn't meditate a second time. My darn back is killing me so if I do meditate it will be lying down. Walking was NO fun as every pebble is coated in ice so it was treacherous walking. Hey! I sound like  big fat complainer. I am still loving this process - I'm simply tired of my own mind right now. So I'll be leaving you now...

Day One of Retreat

I have decided as part of my carrot or stick (not sure which) to post my goals here and let you know as the retreat wheels on where I am with them.

notes:  I will be interspersing all my work with walking and meditating. When I'm doing either I consider it part of the work but am only counting desk time as part of the seven hours.

Day One
Checking in at quarter to two!

Checking in at five pm!
Meditate   did this before coming to office
Prepare office - clean up that which doesn't pertain, put up visual board of images and words, find supplies (markers, poster board, reference books for this project, etc...) - yep, not perfect but good enough and I have an inspiration board up on the wall with NOTHING on it... ha!  Took some time to put images on my visual board - prairie scenes, a photo of a woman that seems to look like my protagonist, hawks, pow wow picture- it is helpful.
Breakfast - check
Mind Map of structure - mostly did this in preparing my office - a big mind map of the hero's journey - easy because of all the work I'd done on this notion
Start manuscript work (making changes both large and small) - this may be where I get into trouble! I've finished two of my 51 chapters. aaack. I need to get to ten a day if I'm to be completely finished by the end of Wednesday. Now, I may be spending longer on the first two chapters because other than the contest - no one will see the rest of it unless they ask for more, and realistically I know that will be quite a ways down the path. So, I am going to continue with my plan and not just keep picking away like I want to. I'm going to go up and meditate now and then get to my four page synopsis. The dog will not be walked as it is pissing down.
Lunch - reheated Borcht. yum...
Meditate  - another small stint
Work on 4 page synopsis - hour -worked on this - seems to be getting near done.
Walk dog nope, it is raining buckets, he is sleeping...
2 hours manuscript work - I would say I've done more than two hours. I've got five chapters done. Would like to do at least two more before I call it a day. That leaves me a bit behind but hey! I can't seem to zoom through it just hitting the main points. I have to revise as I wrote, ponderously from one chapter to the next. OK.
meditate


I'll post here from time to time today to let you (and mainly me) know where I've gotten to.
Later....
Maybe Later or maybe tomorrow!

My last report of the day - it is nearly seven PM and I am pooped! The man is making a steak dinner, I'll have some wine, we'll watch some Holmes and Watson, and I'll hit the hay earlier than later. I did six chapters and I've probably cut the manuscript by a thousand words. It is still near 85 thou and my aim is to get it to 80. I think that'll be fairly easy. I seem to have zero tolerance for anything the least bit off the plot - think that is because of all the structure-thinking I've been doing the past few weeks. I know what the plot is exactly now and any meanders are simply irritating.  So, although I've only gotten a tenth of the way through, I feel confident that I can do this. I will be able to have a package ready for the four agents and if I don't have the entire manuscript done by the fifth day - I still have fifteen days to get it done.I'll have enough momentum to do so.
Later dudes. I'm going up to do my last meditation for the day...