Spencer, 1928 – the novel (excerpt)

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In 2020, I adapted the Spencer, 1928 screenplay into a novel. It was time to write another book in the Behold the Eye series (for middle grade readers), and I love this story!

Unfortunately, once I finished the adaptation, I ran into a problem.

I couldn’t rewrite it. Every time I sat down to change the first line, my mind would go blank.

I was beginning to worry, and I mean really worry, until I finally had a breakthrough and was able to change:

It was quite the epiphany, that Edwin had.

There were two kinds of fun!

-TO-

“It’s my birthday and I’m having fun! It’s my birthday and I’m having fun!”

The words of Edwin’s little song danced around in his head, and only in his head, which was okay with Edwin. He was a quiet boy who tended to keep his thoughts to himself. Never would he dream that he should, or even could, open his mouth and belt out a song, just because he felt like singing.

No, singing aloud was not Edwin-like at all.

Instead, he smiled a secretive little smile as he shoved his trowel into the hard dirt and gave it a little twist to work it loose.

“It’s my birthday and I’m having fun!”

The smile grew slightly wider and more secretive as he carefully moved the scoop to a nearby dirt pile and dumped it on top.

“It’s my birthday and I’m having fun!”

And he was having fun, too. The fact that his head was full of music showed just how special this day was to him.

He moved the trowel back to the hole to dislodge another scoop when an idea leaped out of the sky and struck him like a bolt of lightning.

There were two kinds of fun!

Phew! That was close!

That poor little novel almost had to sit on my computer, undressed with rewrites, forever!

After a break

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At the beginning of summer ’22 I realized it had been more than a decade since I’d taken any real time off from writing. So, I pledged to put writing aside for a bit and focus on living life.

You know, family, travel, food, laughter…the good stuff!

I also chose that time to give up coffee. If I wasn’t writing, there was no real need to jump-start my brain in the morning. I would let it take the slow road to wakefullness.

At the end of summer I got out my computer, found a nice place to sit, and…nothing. My mind was a complete blank.

I’ve experienced writer’s block before, but this was something else. Something bigger.

In the past, when I was hit with writer’s block, I was still be able to catch a glimmer of ideas flitting about in my head. Sure, it was rather like playing hide-and-seek with ghost flies. I could hear them, I could feel them, but I couldn’t quite grab hold of them. Still, I knew if I kept at it, I’d eventually catch those elusive ideas as they got comfortable and tried to giggle their way into another part of my brain.

But not this time. Days, weeks, and even months went by, and I’d barely begun my newest screenplay. I tried doing rewrites on a few novels I’m working on as a way to get things going, but I couldn’t get past the first page on any of them.

I was stuck. Well, and truly, stuck.

Until, in a moment of weakness, I made a cup of coffee before I sat down in front of my computer. I took a sip as I opened the empty page that was supposed to be my beat sheet. I must have either had an out-of-body experience or been abducted by aliens, because the next thing I knew I had mapped out three quarters of my story!

It was magic.

Unfortunately, it was the magic of coffee.

So, now I have a new plan. I’ll allow coffee back into my life, for a bit. Just long enough to get me back to my normal writing routine. Then, coffee and I are going to have a long talk.

I have no intention of being held hostage by that little cup of magic we call Joe.

Christmas

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May you be blessed this Christmas!

It’s more than Merry Christmas that I am wishing you from The Miriam And Ira D. Wallach Division Of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection published by George C. Whitney Co. Original From The New York Public Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Killing your darlings

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“To be a writer you have to be ready to kill your darlings.”

I’m sure every writer has heard that phrase, or some version of it. It’s a favorite of how-to-write books and writing professors alike.

Personally, I detest that phrase. It makes me shiver with horror. My darlings are my family, and I would rather lay down on a railroad track with a train coming than put them in harm’s way.

Of course, I know that the phrase has nothing to do with people, and everything to do with a writer’s tendency to become infatuated with his or her own writing. A witty turn of phrase or well-crafted dialogue can hypnotize a writer into believing that a mundane piece of writing is really a work of genius.

Writers need to be reminded, and often, that if the writing doesn’t move the story forward, if it has no real purpose or slows down the action, it has to go.

That’s why when I had an epiphany in the shower that my protagonist doesn’t make an appearance until page 10, I knew I had work to do.

So, I spent the morning rewriting the first twelve pages of a new screenplay. I deleted multiple pages, removing a number of characters entirely.

Goodbye irrelevant characters who don’t move the story forward! It was fun getting to know you, but your time here is done.

Then, because there was still too much clutter, I reduced the dialogue of another character and restructured what I had left.

Suddenly, there she was. My protagonist. No longer hidden by unnecessary characters and storylines, she timidly stepped into the action at the top of page 3.

Better. Much better!

Sigh. I still don’t like the phrase, but I guess there is something to this killing your darlings thing.

To un-break

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An entire summer.
That’s how long I’ve gone without doing any serious writing.

It was a planned break. I was rather busy this summer and keeping my regular schedule of writing would have complicated things.

So, I decided that since my brain needed a good vacation anyway, I’d give it a nice, long break. That way, when I returned to my normal writing routine in the fall, I’d be able to dive into a new project refreshed and revived.

Taking a long break is not easy for me. Writing is an important part of my life. Its tentacles are wrapped around my brain so tight that for the first month I had to fight the craving to write every day. It took a while, but I finally broke free and could go about my day without that urge to record the stories that were playing out in my head.

Fall is here, and now that it’s time to get back to my writing routine I have to deal with the rebound effect. I did such a great job convincing my brain that it could live without writing that it now has no desire to write.

But I’m not worried.

I have my computer out, and I know that all I need to do is go through my many projects until I find THE ONE. That special project that my brain won’t be able to resist.

Time to un-break!

Florida Pics

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Highlights of my trip to Florida.

Alligator Park
Alligator Park
Alligator Park
Alligator Park
Alligator Park
Alligator Park
Orlando
Orlando
Orlando
Orlando
Ripley Museum, Orlando
Ripley Museum, Orlando
Miami
Miami
Ft. Lauderdale
Ft. Lauderdale
Boca Raton
Boca Raton
Boca Raton
Boca Raton
Lakeland
Lakeland
Lakeland
Lakeland

Can’t tell from these pictures, but it’s HOT!
The sweat pouring down your back within two minutes of stepping outside kind of HOT.

No more censorship!

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To Congresswoman Jayapal,

Thank you for responding to my message, but you are confused about the definition of censorship.

America does not want, nor will tolerate, a government that censors us. Censorship is a bully’s weapon intended to obliterate any opinion that does not match his or her own.

I’ve never liked bullies, and never will. Just as I’ll never tolerate the practice of shutting someone down just because they happen to have different views, beliefs, or way of seeing the world.

Our country is built on free discourse. It is the way civilization works best. Which is why no one can be allowed to stifle our freedom of speech, whether they are Big Tech or the Department of Disinformation.

If you’d like to have a discussion about this, just let me know.

(Sent to Jayapal today. Let’s see how long it takes her to respond!)

UPDATE: Today is June 15, 2023, and I still haven’t gotten a response.