With Apologies to Mr. Hemingway

Well, I've clearly been a slacker.  To be fair to myself (which I rarely am), I did have a busy year.  But now a year of teaching my new prep, Art History, is under my belt.  [Fun fact: after writing that idiom, I suddenly realized I didn't know what it meant to have something "under my belt," so I looked it up here.  It largely has to do with drinking and consumption, which certainly seems to correlate to my experiences related to learning the history of art in one year, so I'm going to stick with it].

So even though I still have a long way to go with getting comfortable with Art History, I feel a semblance of predictability coming back into my life.  I am coming to the end of a summer "vacation" (think lots of staff development and planning sessions).  I've read some (I'm loving The Kingkiller Chronicle series by Patrick Rothfuss).  I've organized everything in sight (why didn't I make an excel spreadsheet of the paints in our house earlier?!).  And I've gotten to the point of the summer where I realize that I only have a little bit of time to really think about my life on a meta level before the inevitable daily grind of teaching reduces my ability to contemplate anything on an existential level (this usually happens after I've run out of new Property Brothers to watch). Part of that process was deciding to start working on this project again in earnest.

The idea took root again a few weeks back. After an evening of putting some Two Buck Chuck under my belt (see what I did there?), I woke up to an email notification of my Groupon purchase of something called "How to Write a Great Novel Online Course." (I'm not sure how since I deleted the app after some questionable purchases, including for yoga classes at a studio located 500 miles away).

At first, I thought I bought the chore of writing an online course on how to write the great novel.  Realizing that didn't make any sense, I rearranged the title to be more lucid, only to realize that my criticism of their title was essentially ironic. I mean, what legitimate, self-respecting writer got their novel started with a Groupon? Doing so would obviously limit my long-term industry credibility (do you see how I'm already imagining my industry cred?).  What would Ernest Hemingway say?

On the other hand, I thought, it's better than nothing. And why do you care how I get inspired, Ernest? I don't even like your writing. Not everyone gets to hang out with Gertrude Stein in Paris to get inspired...I'm just doing the best I can and taking advantage of the perks of living in the digital age.

I suppose it was my defensiveness from my imaginary fight with Mr. Hemingway--combined with my "public" failure--that pushed me over the edge. You see, I've been getting weekly Facebook updates about my page views since I started.  It's read zero for a long while and I honestly didn't mind when no one was looking at it.  My attempt was forgotten.  But it got embarrassing when I started seeing that, for some reason, people were looking at it again and seeing that I hadn't done a thing in months.  Even though they were probably just being supportive or had gone to it accidentally, I started to feel like a failure.

So I redeemed my Groupon, logged on, and started working through the process devised by the people at Industrial Scripts. Surprisingly, the program is working out better than I had anticipated. It started me thinking about my book in ways I hadn't previously.  It made me realize part of my writer's block and anxiety were some pretty major unresolved issues (chronology, the major plot point, my character's personality, etc.).  I still have a lot of the program left to work though (basically, it's a series of modules), and I hope to get even more out of it; so far, however, the best thing to have come out if it was the recommendation to purchase Scrivener.

The first time I started writing, my desk was covered in post-it notes, and if I've learned one thing it's that I can't function in a cluttered work space.  I tried note cards to organize my ideas but then couldn't access them readily. I couldn't keep anything straight and was too tired to put in the effort to do so.

Not now.  Character folders?  Virtual, searchable cork boards? Research files? Dual screens?  I could go on but suffice it to say that I honestly feel like writing a novel is achievable for me now.

So here I am publicly stating (to the 5 people that looked at my page last week, I guess) that I'm writing again not because I think anyone else cares, but because as I've stated before, public shaming is a great motivator for me.

So here are my goals:

1.  To write at least every Wednesday night when my husband is playing basketball.
2.  To post to my blog at least once a month, including a new chapter.
3.  To become a successful writer so Scrivener and Industrial Script Writer can say, "Allison KT started with us" and I can by the farm for foster dogs I've always dreamed of having.
4. To give Ernest Hemingway's novels another try because I really like his short stories so it isn't true to say I don't like his writing.  Plus, look how cute he was:

Hey, girl.  I think you should give For Whom the Bell Tolls another chance.

I'm baaaaaack.

All work and no play makes Allie a dull girl.

Geez. Nothing like word to get in the way of artistic ambition. I hung in there for a while, but grading papers and entering data and consoling dramatic children and coaching soccer really got in the way of my writing time. But with the school year winding down and a sweet new writing laptop (ASUS Transformer), I'm ready to kick this quest to get a book written into high gear.  

I thought about writing a few times but was stuck on a major plot point. I just couldn't move forward, despite thinking about it pretty frequently. I finally realized to go forward that I had to go back. My story features a mystery that takes place in the past. Mystery is great, unless the author isn't in on the secret. I realized that without knowing what led my characters to where they were, I couldn't write them with any sort of certainty. So I just started writing their story from the chronological beginning and clarity emerged. I have a much better sense of what motivates my protagonist, my villains. With one week and school left, I'm determined to keep the book firmly in mind, with the goal being first draft completion by summer's end.  

A Tense Situation

I was working on my manuscript tonight, when I realized that at some point I had switched tenses; I had been writing in present, a decision I had never consciously made, and suddenly I was living in the past.  I pulled a few books off the shelf and realized that every one of them was in past tense.  Then I read a few articles on the issue and realized that I probably should be writing in the past tense. As  Novel-Writing-Help.com puts it the most succinctly: "If you aren't sure whether to write your novel in the past tense or the present tense, or if you have no strong feelings either way, take my advice and stick with the past."  Easy, I thought.  Since I'd never really thought about it, it obviously didn't matter that much to me. I decided to go back and change the tense.

Then, I made the mistake of reading the comments at the bottom. Comments! Why have you forsaken me?!  I mean, you think I would have known better--the comment section is usually reserved exclusively for trolls and zealots.  But here, a few people reasonable and effectively argued that present tense had its place, especially in terms of creating action.   I found myself agreeing with Julie Cater: "Surely it depends on whether the character is looking back in time regardless of whether it is the narrator or the character speaking?"  My story isn't taking place in the past, so why would I use past tense?

Great.  Just when, at the positive prodding of my friend Amy, I had finally started moving forward with my plot for the first time in a while, I was stalled.  (I just realized I'm writing in past now and it feels natural!).

This night, however, I would not be thwarted like my decision making faculty in the face of a Cheesecake Factory Menu.  I decided to do as the article had in order to demonstrate the difference:  I took one passage and wrote it in both tenses.  I felt pretty smart, until I remembered that was the first assignment a sixteen-year-old student did for me when she was revising her novel last semester.  Duh.  Anyways, wheel reinvention aside, here goes:

Exhibit A--Present Tense:

“I don't know why you aren't more excited, Persis. Cousin Olympics are the best!”  Ellie, brilliant, beautiful Ellie, is clearly full of enough excitement for the both of us.

I turn to Ellie, raise an eyebrow: “Says the girl who always gets a medal.”  It's not one hundred percent true, but Ellie’s name has been stitched onto the Champion's Quilt more than any other cousin's.  

She rolls her eyes and I turn and look back out the window, watching the green, rolling scenery of Abbadon, Georgia fly by.  I have my arm out the window, allowing it to rise and plummet with the wind that's coming in hot and fast.  Even though we're both sweating through our shirts, it's a tradition of ours.  It makes the lake water feel that much better.  This stretch of Jot-Em-Down Road is my favorite.  It's the last bit before we cross the bridge to the Jennings Family Land.  The river roars by at the far edge of the valley, while alongside the road the regular afternoon downpours create an ever-changing series of pools that reflect the green of the reeds, the blue of the sky, the white of the ubiquitous clouds.  I close my eyes, enjoy the tempered, red-warmth of the sun through my lids and the smell of wet earth, the last moment's peace before...

Exhibit B--Past Tense

“I don't know why you aren't more excited, Persis. Cousin Olympics are the best!”  Ellie, brilliant, beautiful Ellie, was clearly full of enough excitement for the both of us.

I turned to Ellie, raised an eyebrow: “Says the girl who always gets a medal.”  It's not one hundred percent true, but Ellie’s name has been stitched onto the Champion's Quilt more than any other cousin's.  


She rolled her eyes and I turned and looked back out the window, watching the green, rolling scenery of Abbadon, Georgia fly by.  I had my arm out the window, allowing it to rise and plummet with the wind that was coming in hot and fast.  Even though we were both sweating through our shirts, it was a tradition of ours.  It made the lake water feel that much better.  This stretch of Jot-Em-Down Road was my favorite.  It was the last bit before we crossed the bridge to the Jennings Family Land.  The river roared by at the far edge of the valley, while alongside the road the regular afternoon downpours created an ever-changing series of pools that reflected the green of the reeds, the blue of the sky, the white of the ubiquitous clouds.  I closed my eyes, enjoying the tempered, red-warmth of the sun through my lids and the smell of wet earth, the last moment's peace before...

Well, that only helped a little.  I guess because I've been writing in present tense, that seems more right although now I can see the past tense, too.

Help!  What do you think? I guess unless you think the present tense is way better, I should go with the past, right?!  Interrobang! (That's a new phrase I'm trying to get going.  Kind of like "whaaaaa?" but hopefully not like "fetch.").

Time Mismanagement

^Be a friend:
don't let my book
end up like this^

Just finished the first week back at school. It went great. I think coming back to writing has helped re-ignite my creativity and passion. BUT...it's also majorly cutting in on my writing time. I've been stalled out moving forward with the book, and now I'm not even blogging. I think I'm just going to have to carve some time out for myself because even though it's fun, it's also hard.  My friend Michelle says that every work day, we have two jobs 1) to go to work and 2) to go to the gym. I think I'm going to have to add a 3) write something. Otherwise, I'm not going follow through on this book and end up burying it in my graveyard of unfinished projects, next to some photo albums I started for my mom seven years ago, the cross-stitched Winnie the Pooh baby blanket for a child who is now six, and my yet to be digitized vinyl collection--to name a very few. So please, check in on me, shame me, support me...whatever. Maybe I'll write you in as a genius or model or super athlete.

Guest Blog Post: Cindy Ray Hale

Bonus!  Cindy Ray Hale is also doing a cover reveal today:

Destiny Clark, a young Mormon girl living in Tennessee, is wildly infatuated with Isaac Robinson, the headmaster’s son at her Baptist high school. When they’re cast together in the school’s production of Les Misérables, Destiny is horrified to find that she has to be publicly humiliated by acting out her true feelings of rejection onstage.
As their rehearsals begin, Destiny realizes the unimaginable: Isaac has developed deep feelings for her despite their religious differences and the fact that he has a girlfriend. But will they be able to find their place amongst the backbiters of their ultra-conservative world?

Weaving around Destiny and Isaac's alternating viewpoints, Destiny is the first book in a series inspired by the characters of Les Misérables and explores heartbreak, self-discovery, intolerance, and love.

About the Author:

Cindy Ray Hale lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with her husband and four children. In addition to being a writer, she’s an avid reader and a social media junkie. She starts her morning by writing with a freshly-blended berry spinach smoothie next to her. She’s obsessed with Les Misérables, playing the piano, and stalking up-and-coming musicians on YouTube. When she’s not writing, she’s singing. Like the characters in her book, she sang in the elite choir in high school. She went on to join the choir in college. She’s a member of her church choir today and belts her favorite songs while she folds laundry and does dishes. Her kids could tell all about it. 

Her Destiny books are very near to her heart because they were heavily influenced by her own life. She’s Mormon and attended a Baptist school for seven years where she faced the same intolerance Destiny faces in the series. Several scenes from the story were written word-for-word from her own life experiences. While her life hasn’t been completely miserable, she’s still seen her fair share of trials. Her motto is: “When times get tough, throw your head back and laugh.” Destiny is her first novel and is Book One of the Destiny Trilogy. 

Destiny will be available for purchase November 2013 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo. It will be released as a paperback and an ebook.
The title of the next book in the Destiny Trilogy is Synchrony and will be available for purchase next year.

Enter to win @:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6741d42/

Check her out @:
Twitter: @CindyRayHale
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindyrayhaleauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7126606.Cindy_Ray_Hale
Website: http://cindyhaleauthor.wordpress.com/
Blog: http://destinybycindyhale.blogspot.com/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/110885225723205225750/posts

Guest Blog Post: Yesenia Vargas

Here is a teaser and cover reveal for Yesenia Vargas's upcoming book Unbreakable Love:

Ariana is almost seventeen years old, and her parents won’t let her go out with friends or do anything else that’s fun. She can’t wait until her birthday, when she’ll finally be able to get her driver’s license, her car, and hopefully, a little more freedom.

Meanwhile, she’s met Carlos, a hot senior who mesmerizes her. Ariana lets first love sweep her away after she finds out Carlos feels the same way about her.

The problem is she’s not allowed to have a boyfriend.

With the help of her best friend and reluctant younger brother, Jimmy, Ariana finally experiences what everyone else in high school has already gone through: love, parties, and not telling her parents everything she’s up to.

However, everyone around her soon realizes her boyfriend, Carlos, isn’t such a great guy. But she’s fallen in too deep and realizes Carlos isn’t all bad. He just has a troubled past and needs help, someone to be there for him.

But if Ariana doesn’t find the courage to finally leave him or help him change, she, her best friend, and Jimmy could be placed in harm’s way.

*Looking for something different? Good because Unbreakable Love is not your typical YA romance. It also showcases and tests the bonds of friendship and family.*

Unbreakable Love will be released September 2013.

Want to find out more? Check out these links: 

• add Unbreakable Love to your TBR pile on Goodreads here (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18209604-unbreakable-love): 
• sign up to get a free advanced review copy here: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1R5sg7LI2gO6tDqWtNbJFXrxXsuF_-HXFuWxr_BHJxrg/viewform): 
• sign up to get info on future releases, sales, etc. here: (http://mad.ly/signups/81917/join): 
• look here for all other info about me and my books: (yeseniavargas.com)

Writing Who You Know

A while back I told my grandparents that I was writing a book, featuring a large dysfunctional family.  They assumed it was autobiographical.  I told them, not really.  Then they read it and this call happened:

^My Paternal Grandparents^

Grandpa: "Hello, Allers?  Is that you?"

Me: "Yes, Gramps.  How are you?"

Grandma: "I'm here, too!  It's Granny! We're both on the line."

Me:  "Awesome.  What's going on?"

Gramps:  "Well, I have some good news and some bad news for you."

Me:  "Yes..."

Gramps:  "We read the first chapters of your book.  Now, I'm not going to sue."

Me:  "That's nice to hear."

Gramps:  "But your grandmother is."

Grandma:  "I guess that Board of Education really got to you, huh?"

Me:  "Uh...yea."

The conversation went on from there, with them guessing who the various cousins in the story were meant to represent in my family.  At first, I tried to deny it.  I had purposefully tried not to make too many connections because I didn't want my family psychoanalyzing my book.  After I thought about it, however, there's quite a bit of merit to their argument.

My family is large and loving but we also give each other a lot of crap.  Many have names that start with the same letter, like the Jennings Family.  My family is much taller than the national average and are generally athletic--three of my cousins have played college volleyball. I am the runt (though I'm even shorter than 5'7") and I did once play in a volleyball game with my cousins and somehow got blamed for us losing, something my Grandpa still razzes me about.  Many others played varsity sports, while others are very intelligent, participating in National Robotics Competitions or crushing their Biology studies.  Some are both (you know, like me).  And my cousin Josh is a Sasquatch, who would definitely throw me in a lake. 

But some of the story only represents partial truths. My grandmother was adopted and does have a paddle called the "Board of Education," but I don't think she's ever used it on anyone.  My grandpa was an only child and is a learned man, but while he is a gifted landscape architect, I don't think he's ever done any home-building.  My cousin Karissa, the "perfect" one, is a lot like Ellie but she's way less aggressive, studying Speech Pathology not War Philosophy.  A couple of us have tried to get Cousin Olympics going, but with my family and one cousin in Georgia and Florida and the rest in California, we haven't had the chance to all get together lately. I'm still holding out hope, even though I, like Persis, would probably place near the bottom.   

^How all twins look to me^

However, there's also so much that isn't true.  While lots of us have done well in school, we've never had a Valedictorian in the family (yet!--pressure's on kiddies!).  We don't have a Sarah--thank goodness! In fact, that's my brother's girlfriend and she's the exact opposite.  I probably gave my character that name to rile her up.  We've never had twins or triplets in the family (unless I ate a sibling or two in utero), which is good because I think they only belong in horror stories.  And so far we're only talking about my Dad's side of the family.  My mom's side is also pretty interesting (though smaller and less obnoxious), and no autobiography would be complete without mentioning my Grandpa Ron or my Grandma Chic.  

In the end, I do want to write what I know because I want my writing to feel as authentic as possible, but I don't want my family harassing me any more than they already do. And I don't want to force myself to kill the author within (a la Roland Barthes), but I do want to step outside my comfort zone, a major aim of this writing project.   I'm not sure how I'll achieve that other than to have my grandparents and some strangers as my beta readers.

So thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for providing source material AND for making me over-think the writing process more than I already am.  And fair warning to my family and friends--cross me and you might just live forever in my literature--as an evil twin.