A movie moment :)

So I'm working on my outline for the screenplay I'll be writing for school. It's edifying, but frustrating at the same time - I can be creative and adventurous, but I'll only ever be satisfied when I see my work portrayed on screen.

Like I said, frustrating.

Still, if I can visualize the scenes, at least in my own mind, then I have some sense of what the finished product will be like. But that's about the extent of it, right?

The other day, I was listening to the Florence & The Machine album for the first time when I came across a song that I totally love. I set it to replay and enjoyed the track for the next hour, considering my screenplay the whole time. Then, totally unexpectedly, I realized that the song would be 110% brilliant as the soundtrack for one particular scene. I'm talking make your knees shake and your neck sweat brilliant. I grinned like a moron and very nearly cried at the thrill of it...

So since then, I've been replaying the song and the scene in my head on a continuous loop. I've so got to get this thing written! Even if for no other reason than to give at least one beta reader the same rush that I got.

Any volunteers? :)

The Contemplative Post...

My book is sitting in a drawer (well not literally, but you get the point). Last night I finished reading a (rather disappointing) book that I got from the library earlier this week. And I have plenty of school sessions to keep me busy.

Still, I'm feeling that spark that tells me creativity is what I need right now. My own creativity. I need to write, and I need to write big. I need a new project!

Last night as I was falling asleep considering what my project could be, I had so many wonderful ideas to work with. But of course, because I was half-asleep, I didn't do anything with those ideas. And as often happens when I get a few bedtime epiphanies, I thought, "Oh that's a great idea! There's NO way I'll forget that by the morning!" And that's all I remembered when I woke up...

Which makes me wonder: How many amazing ideas have been lost to sleepy forgetfulness and our own over-confidence? If I've had so many of these flashes of inspiration, surely most other writers do too, right? And how brilliant might those ideas have been if given the chance to grow and develop?

Commitment time! I promise to always write/scribble/chicken scratch whatever ideas come to me when I'm in bed, no matter how tired I am. Sure, those ideas may sit around in the pages of my bedside notebook, untouched for months, years or forever. But I refuse to let them be lost to my own forgetfulness!

Hmm, I need a battle cry here...

Um.

CHARGE!!! :p

I've finally done it!

Last Friday, I finally finished the first draft of my first novel! It's such an amazing feeling to hold that manuscript in my hands, to flip through the pages, and know that I wrote those words! The elation that I felt when seeing my manuscript in print for the first time was unreal. (I'd give a detailed description of my victory dance, but as I'm sure you can imagine, whatever rhythm I have was lost in that moment...)

Anyway, I've got a lot of work to do until my book is ready for an agent. Luckily, though, I'm learning so much through my course that will make the rewrite better in the end. That's not to say it will be easy to get to the end. (I foresee a much longer future to this project than I initially expected...) Still, I know that I can do it. If not for the sheer power of my own determination, then certainly because I've already come this far!

I think I need some fireworks now:)

Ah, the joys of a deadline...

I signed up for this, right? So I can't really complain that I have WAY too much writing to do. Right? Yeah. I thought so.

Today's the deadline for a short story contest that I'm entering, and I'm feeling good about the piece I wrote. It's in a voice that's new to me, and I think I managed to get it just right. Although there are some tweaks that could be made if I hadn't procrastinated. Yet again. ;)

Anyway, I'm convinced I'll be swamped today (once I can safely say I've spent enough birthday time with my 4-year-old) with catching up on assignments that have been sitting around waiting for me to get them done. I have read through everything and made notes on my discussion posts, so it's not as bad as I seem to think. Still, it's pretty time-consuming to sit down at the computer and get them caught up. So that leaves no doubt as to what I'll be doing on my Saturday night:) (I say that like I ever do anything spectacular on a Saturday night...)

My book is on hold at the moment. The deadlines did it! :) Nah, it's good anyway. I've written to the point where I could just end it now if I wanted to, and it's a surprisingly emotional experience to realize that. All of a sudden, this book is my baby, and I don't want the ride to end yet! The last day I worked on it was...Monday? And since then, I've had a new fondness for my book that's totally new. How can I describe it? It's like I'm saying goodbye to someone I love for the last time. Yeah, that's it. Am I the only one here? Surely I can't be.

Right?

(Sorry for the rambling...early Saturday mornings are never my best time!)