New project, clean space

BEFOREFor the last year, I've been pouring myself into a complex, big-idea, multi-charactered novel. It's stretched me to the limits of my skills and it's exhausted me. And now, having gotten some honest, helpful feedback from trusted readers... I'm setting it aside for a little bit. 

I'm not giving up, but I am easing up, seeking light and magic and fresh air. I'm going to spend the next few months on drafting a little gem of an idea, a simple idea, one that's been knocking on the door for the last 6 months and I've had to ignore. When I finish that, maybe I'll return to The Big Hairy Novel. 

Since I find visuals so inspiring, the first thing I did was to dismantle my "Beautiful Mind" inspiration walls, as my sister calls it. Down came dozens and dozens of photographs (one of the walls is pictured at left... this is the wall above my desk). As I worked, I listened to one of my all-time favorite podcasts, "The Upside of Quitting" (a Freakonomics episode). Yes, I actually have listened to that podcast a number of times!

Not much has gone up, yet: just a framed print of winter woods in twilight (I bought it years ago and never had a place for it, until now), and two things I always have hanging above my desk. One is a beautiful photograph of the labyrinth at Mabel Dodge Luhan house, by my talented friend Marnie Brooks. The other are two things I scrawled one long-ago day, as reminders to myself, and I still read them daily:

AFTER1. Just because it's hard doesn't mean you're bad at it.

and 2. Degree of difficulty is not inversely related to worthiness of effort.

By the way, if you like that cool mobile hanging in the corner, it's from Pozie Poems. You get to write your own word on the top strip of wood. My sister gave it to me and I love it! Right now my word is POWER.

The next few days will be about inspirations, discovering tone, and getting to know my characters just well enough to start telling their story. I'll also do some outlining, too. And then... I write. 

It feels great to be diving into a brand-new project. I'm going to ride that "baby love" as long as I can!

Tiara and confetti in hand, I write...

My long-time friend, co-conspirator and critique partner Viv sent me the COOLEST care package to help me whip my work-in-progress into shape. 

I thought I'd snap a few photos while I opened it:

Some day, I will have lovely handwriting like Viv. Also, my hair will have more volume.

Oh, the sweet sixteen tiara. So, so needed to finish this story right--and one of my characters would agree, though likely she'd rip it off my head and take it for herself. And the confetti. Shiny. Pretty. Imperfect jaggedy slippery edges.

If you like my stories, never fear... I am not going over the the light side with this new novel. But let's just say that sometimes things are scarier when you add a sparkly gloss to them. 

Besides. Who doesn't like to wear a crown?

Here I am in my office, in front of the wall plastered with dozens of photos to inspire me, too. 

Writing to film scores

While not everyone likes listening to music while they write, I love it. I think the music distracts a part of my brain that otherwise would contribute such useful thoughts as this, whilst I write:

This sucks.

Quit now.

Hey, don't you have a new Project Runway on the DVR?

Sometimes I write to songs with lyrics in them, but at times I find the lyrics or voices too distracting. That's when I pull up film scores in iTunes. 

Music written for the movies doesn't fool around. It's got to convey a certain emotion, and quickly. It has to hook you and keep you listening. And it doesn't go on for ever and ever. 

(Kind of sounds like a YA book, huh?)

Sometimes I pull up certain songs and play them on loop while I write, depending on the mood of the chapter. I had Hans Zimmer's MUTINY (Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides soundtrack) on major repeat while I wrote the start of my latest, because it starts with a battle of sorts. And when I'm working on something wistful or lonely, I put on HAND COVERS BRUISE (Social Network soundtrack). A warning on that song: it will worm into your subconscious and color your entire day. Which is OK so long as you don't mind channeling Trent Reznor.

Other times I just listen to the whole soundtrack. Right now I'm listening to the one I bought just a few days ago, to coax me back into writing: the score from How To Train Your Dragon. I also love the entire soundtrack for On Stranger Tides, as mentioned above, and the Batman Begins score.

Do you ever listen to film scores while you write? Which ones?

What fitness videos taught me: "go get it"

I'm a hopeless fitness video addict. For awhile, I subscribed to Netflix JUST to get new fitness videos, for I also have very short-lived enthusiasm for most videos. These days I'm obsessed with the dance fitness classes at my local YMCA--Body Jam and Zumba--so the videos are getting a little rest. 

(And may I say that the new Body Jam workout kicked my butt this morning?)

But I always return to videos by this one instructor, Amy Dixon. The workouts are hard but not impossible and she manages to exude a totally inspiring attitude without being annoying. There's this one thing Amy says that has wormed its way into my daily thoughts: just as you're about to start a round of difficult moves, she says, "go get it".

OK, I know, probably cheesy as all get out. But it gives you permission--permission to do your best. And it's a reminder that we're not spectators in our lives. We're in charge. So we need to go get what we need, now. Don't just stumble your way through things half-heartedly. 

I thought of this today because I have the rare chance to spend an entire weekend afternoon on writing. My husband's home supervising a playdate, so all boys are occupied and only hazily aware of my absence. I could fold laundry or write overdue thank-you notes. OR... I could go get it.

So I'm writing and already 1,500 words in. Partly because I can hear Amy Dixon in my head. 

Music to kick-start writing

Every year I take two weeks off from writing, at the holidays. Now I'm back and I'm having a hard time getting back in gear. 

So I've got a word goal of 1,000 for tonight and I'm blasting some good psych-up-and-write-it music. Here's my own little weird mix:

--DOG DAYS ARE OVER (Florence + The Machine)

--JOHN THE FISHERMAN (Primus)

--BAD REPUTATION (The Hit Girls)

--GIRLFRIEND (PIED PIPER REMIX) (B2K)

--HOLOGRAM (Katie Hirzig)

Got any other faves to recommend? Because I'm thinking it's going to take a few days to really kick into action!