Balance?

It’s an old story. Everyone is looking for that work-life balance that makes them happy at home and happy at work.

Writers with day jobs try and add a third thing into this mess. Have you ever been on a three person see-saw? Me either.

Lately, I haven’t felt able to balance work, life and writing.

I get home late at night from work, try to eat something resembling a nutritious meal, do dishes, write and get to bed so I can get up and go to the gym before work.

I end up feeling bad at my job, bad at writing and terrible at life. And tired.

I suppose I either need to suck it up or cut something out, but right now I just can’t choose.

/whine

Post-conference

So, ummm, how is it already the middle of August?? I honestly have no idea how we got here. To say that my day job has been busier than usual would be a major understatement.

I haven’t even had the time or brain power to tell you all about the conference I attended!

The Northwestern campus was so beautiful. There were packs of children roaming the grounds taking tours. Based on how old they look I would have to guess NU has recently admitted a large amount of Dougie Howser types because they were seriously young. I refuse to believe they were college-aged.

Anyway, the actual conference was good. I went in thinking I would take pages and pages of notes and learn tons and tons. In reality, I learned somethings. I was sort of at the more in the know end if people there who knew about publishing, but definitely not the smartest.

I have no way to gauge, this being my first, but it seemed like a pretty small conference which was just fine with me, but I am looking forward to the next one!

My First Conference!

And hopefully not my last.

You guys, I am so freaking excited. I signed up for my first writers’ conference! It’s the Northwestern Summer Writing Conference. I’m only going to one day because I can only take so much time off from work. Also, these things are spendy!

But, I am really looking forward to it enormously. It includes a morning talk and two work sessions. Also,  I’m opted to have a personal critique.

Now, I just have to find something writerly to wear. . .

Get back to it.

Probably, you thought I disappeared into the ether somewhere (actually, more likely, you hardly noticed).
A lot has been going on with my writing lately, so I’ll post a couple of things about it over the next couple of days or maybe weeks.
Yesterday, I finished reading Second Sight by Cheryl Klein.
I’ve read a couple of books about the craft of, but none of them as specific as Second Sight.
I flagged about a million pages and now I’m going to go back and look at my WIP and use some of the exercises she describes.
But, I will say I would not recommend this book to someone who has not yet completed a first full draft. I don’t even know if I would recommend it to someone who hasn’t attempted some revisions. It really is big on the details, which is great! However, if I had read this after completing my first draft I would have been totally defeated. I would have looked at my WIP and said, “You piece of crap. You’re not even worthy of the exercises in this book.” And then I would have thrown it on the ground and spit on it.
Which would be so sad! Dear, WIP, I would never do that to him now.
So, I am glad that I’ve read this book now and not earlier. Now I am much more equipped to handle the level of advice offered within.

How sad

I haven’t written here in over a year!

I haven’t stopped writing all together. My WIP is still my WIP. (You might be questioning my dedication to it, but these things take time!)

Anyway, I’ve been writing on my tumblr a lot more. If you head over to katherinemarie.tumblr.com, you’ll see posts tagged “writing” and they’ll be all about the stuff I used to write here.

Not sure if I’ll come back here, but maybe I’ll start.
We’ll see!

More Reading

So I’ve been seeing these books in the YA section for a while; The Uglies, The Pretties, and a 3rd one whose name I am not going to look up at this time. I was intrigued. So I borrowed the first one from a friend.

I’m about 150 pgs into the Uglies. It’s a post-apocalyptic (a topic I love) world where everyone is natural and “ugly” until they turn 16 when they undergo a magical operation and are made pretty and allowed to live in bacchanalian pleasure for years until they are given jobs.

Honestly, this should be right up my alley. But I just . . . no, and I’ll tell you why in one word.

Purchase (as defined by MW, of course)

Main Entry: ²purchase

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 : an act or instance of purchasing
2 : something obtained especially for a price in money or its equivalent
3 a (1) : a mechanical hold or advantage applied to the raising or moving of heavy bodies (2) : an apparatus or device by which advantage is gained b (1) : an advantage (as a firm hold or position) used in applying one’s power <clutching the steering wheel for more purchase — Barry Crump> (2) : a means of exerting power

The book uses the word “purchase” as defined by the section in blue THREE times in one chapter. Now, if there was no other way to get this meaning across, I would understand. But it’s such a strange usage and I just hate it. That may seem rash, but it’s the truth. Yuck usage, man, yuck.

Besides that the story is great, the characters are pretty m’eh and the world which could be SO cool is not that well defined.

In other news, I am enjoying the pending holiday. I have decorated my apartment and bought 3/4 of my Christmas gifts. WOO!

Breaking the Rules

I know this blog is 90% about me and my writing, but I’m switching things up a bit today. Instead we’re going to talk about someone else’s writing.

I am currently reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Normally I’m too cheap to buy hard cover books but I’ve been in a book draught and so when I saw this on sale at Target, I decided to go with it. I’ve heard such great things!

It’s  a great book so far; told from the perspective of 3 women–2 black, 1 white–in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963. I was reading it today and just about fell in love with this paragraph:

We step out onto the black top, feel the heat cover us. I got the paper sac in one hand, Mae Mobley’s hand in the other and we trudge across the steaming black lot. Gridlines make it like we on a charcoal grill, roasting like corncobs. My face getting tight, burning in the sun. Baby Girl lagging bach on my hand looking stunned like she just got slapped. Miss Leefolt panting and frowning at the door, still twenty yards away, wondering, I reckon, why she park so far. The part in my hair get to burning, then itching, but I can’t scratch at it cause both hands is full then whoo! somebody blow out the flame. The lobby’s dark, cool, heaven. We blink awhile.

There are so many fun and interesting things to say about this paragraph. It’s like a whole story in just a few lines. I could spend an hour talking about it; however, I came into work early today to get work done and that’s what I need to go do now.

First Response!

I got my first response yesterday! By which I mean the first email of general comments from friends and loved ones who I barraged with my manuscript in the hopes of bettering it.

It was so scary and exciting to hear back. The first one can be scary. Luckily I got someone who knows what they’re talking about, who is kind and gentle and thoughtful.  And I am so excited.

Honestly, since I started Nano I’ve basically thrown Morocco from my brain and not picked it up again. Okay, that’s a lie, its back in there somewhere. In the way back, resting.

But now that I’ve gotten that email I’m chomping at the bit to get started again. I don’t love my Nano MC as much as I love L&O (Morocco’s MCs). And I’ve been replaying the comments I received in my head since I read it. I think the most helpful thing about having another person read your work is the perspective and emotional detachment they have. A few of the comments were things that, as soon as I read them on the page, I knew exactly why those comments were made and could see how someone from outside my brain would say that. It was almost as if I already knew what the issues were, I just needed someone else to say it for me.

Anyway, I’m really into organizational binders lately, so I think I’m going to make one for Morocco. That way I can organize all my character information and plot information and location research with fancy tabs and colors and such.

Organizing! One of my other most favorite things. Office supply store, here I come!!

A Day in the Life—Dream Job

Monday was Columbus Day and, because my company loves Columbus, we had the day off. In NY a lot of people seem to have this holiday off. In the fair mid-lands of Chicago, however, this is not so common.  It feels very luxurious staying home on Monday when you are not sick and most of your friends are slogging it to the office.

I decided to be incredibly productive on Monday to make sure I reach my October 31 revisions goal. But I didn’t want to push it, it was after all a day off from work.

So I got up and headed to B^2 for some coffee and light editing then headed home. At home I edited, watched Mad Men, did laundry and dishes, swept.

I kind of thought this is what my life would be like if I wrote for a living with no other occupation.

And, to be honest, by the end of the day I was kind of lonely. I love writing and often bemoan my day job but I wouldn’t want to be alone all day every day. I do like the social aspects of going in to work.  I was kind of shocked at how much I looked forward to heading in to the office.

Now if only I could work on my novel at the office instead of figuring out budget information.

Ah, well.

Plans and schemes

I bet you thought I’d forgotten my log in and password or that I even had wordpress account. Well, you’d only be partially correct. And none of the above reasons are excuses for why I haven’t written lately. I just have been busy with life. Honestly, I don’t feel like I’ve really taken the time to contemplate what I’m doing. I’m just doing!

But I do have a plan. A 3 month plan.

Here goes:

October: Revision Completion!

November: Revision Dissemination (If you want to read it, you can!)

And, NaNo! I have a fun idea for this year’s novel writing month

December: Presents and eating

So that’s the plan. I’m looking forward to finishing up this draft of Morocco. I definitely do not believe it will be my last. I’m also looking forward to hearing comments from people who want to read it and comment. This book hasn’t seen eyes other than mine in a long time. It’ll be good to get some fresh air in between those pages.

And I really like the idea of starting 2010 with a plan and new goals.