Voice Journal

I was supposed to post yesterday, but I remembered that fact at 11:58 pm, so I decided to put it off until a more appropriate hour today.

The Harry Potter film was good. I re-read it that week before the release so it was all very fresh in my brain. I think they did a great job – it was very exciting and epic. They glossed over some of the sub-plots, but I guess that is to be expected. I love going to the midnight showings with my dad. It has been a fun tradition. My mom and her friend decided to go this time too, since this was the last shot. We saw it in 3-D, but my mom thought that might make her sick, so they stuck to the old-fashioned way. I warned them not to worry about how loud the theater was, that as soon as the movie begun the theatre would be silent.

Afterwards, they said it was so quiet they were afraid to sniff! I loved the cheering when Bellatrix was finally snuffed out and the clapping at the end of the movie. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this fun again and have special Harry Potter 3-D glasses to boot!

On to other writing fun. I have been reading a handy little reference book called The Art of War For Writers by James Scott Bell. It’s a great easy read that has some wonderful tips for all stages of the writing process. One of the best suggestions (in my opinion) is the idea of using a voice journal to communicate with your characters. I have read other writers suggest this, but I love Bell’s suggestion of keeping this journal where you can dialogue with your characters. It helps to work out issues in the plot and helps to keep each character unique and less like you.

I’m starting one today for one of the characters in my wip. His name is  Charles and I’ve decided that he is the first character I’m going to tackle. I’ll be writing his arc first. He has been leaving me little bread crumbs about his background and his motivation, but I think the voice journal will open up the channel even bigger.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

How do you communicate with your characters?

The Eve of Christmas Eve

Oh blog, how I’ve missed you. I kept saying to myself, “I really should blog…” and somehow it just never happened. I have had so much that I wanted to post about too! But teaching, coaching and candy making has been taking up all my time. I am starting graduate school in January and my life is going to get even busier. I have to find time to write and blog on top of everything else and I’m a bit concerned. I am famous for taking care of others and running myself ragged, but I’m not so great at caring for myself. I’m going to work really hard to change that in 2010.

I smell resolution in the air! My resolution for 2010 can be expressed in one word – balance. I will be striving for balance in 2010. I have never been good at balance. I’m generally juggling way to many things and I usually wind up burning the candle at both ends. I’m crazy excited about getting my master’s degree and I’m loving the teaching,  but I have accomplished so much with my book in 2009 that I don’t want to lose any of my momentum in the coming year.

I also need more rest, more excercise and less processed food! So, yes kids, the word of the day is BALANCE!

Blogging will also be a part of my daily dose of writing. I need this as a daily check in. Even if no one is reading this, it is still important for me to write it and get it out into the world.

I’ll have some time off in the next week and I will post some pictures and talk about the book events in late November and December. I am so happy with all the wonderful things that TCC brought me this year. I’m also very grateful for all the obstacles I faced. They showed me how committed I was to making this work and taught me to be more flexible. I have a more realistic perspective for next year and I have eight to nine months to work at getting my baby farther out into the world.

A friend of mine is home for a visit after his first semester of college. He was congratulating me on the book and we were discussing some of the marketing strategies that I’m putting together for next year. He told me that The Sorcerer’s Stone took a year and a half to catch on. He also told me that when J.K. Rowling came to The Tattered Cover for a book signing, that no one came. It’s hard to imagine that, but humbling to remember that even J.K. Rowling had to start somewhere.

2010 will be a big year. I will be striving for balance in all of my endeavors, I will be starting a new career as a teacher, working hard to sell more books, writing daily and building my body of work and last but not least, I will be turning thirty.

I am looking forward to many things in the coming year. I’m also looking forward to some quiet moments in the coming days where I can take a deep breath and look back on the year. I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday, and can have some comfort from family or friends. I watched a special this evening on adoption and my heart rips for all those kids who don’t have someone to love them this Christmas. It kills me that they don’t have someone to love them any day of the year. If I could take them all home, I would in a second! In the meantime, I can send them all my love and hope that it finds them and brings them some warmth this Christmas.

Happy Holidays! Make sure to leave out carrots for the reindeer!

Harry Potter Chair

I have been obsessed again with all things Harry Potter. It started with the brilliant exhibit in Chicago. Since, I have re-read the series, seen Half-Blood Prince and watched a great documentary on Jo that was filmed the year before Deathly Hallows was published.

I am so moved by Jo and her story. I think she is funny, fascinating and I hope to meet her in person some day.

Today I saw that her chair is on EBay and it’s so cool! I believe that objects hold energy. Just as it was a once in a lifetime experience to sit in Hagrid’s chair, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to sit in this. Some lucky person (with loads of pounds) will get that chance soon enough.

I think I am so fascinated with her because she represents everything I am working for. She is the beacon at the top of the fourteener. She represents all the reasons I am scaling the mountain. She has such a Cinderella story. You can’t help thinking that if it could happen to her, it could happen to me too!

Working on Sat – Yeah!!!

It was soooo difficult to get up this morning, because I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept waking up for no reason. Unfortunately, the best rest I got was right before the alarm went off. I grumbled off to work and now, with two cups of coffee already buzzing through me – I am slowly turning into a human again.

Saturdays are ten hour days for me – but so far it has been pretty quiet. I have been working on revisions (shocking, I know!) and they are going really well. I think I will be done this week. I will be spending some time with the woman who is illustrating this weekend so I am excited to discuss her plans.

I just finished re-reading the first Harry Potter book. I hadn’t read it in a couple of years and I am still so blown away by it. I have been in HP mode after Chicago and with the movie coming out soon. It is hard to imagine what we did without Hogwarts and all that.

I am sure there are oodles of writers out there who feel this way, but I feel like I owe TCC to J.K. Rowling. I had all but given up on writing for children, writing in general until I read this book. Her imagination and genius really got my wheels turning. I hope some day I get to thank her in a more meaningful manner, but this will have to do for now!