State of Mind

After a hectic week, I ducked into my local bookstore, collected books and magazines and ordered my favorite breve with a shot of hazelnut in the coffee shop. (I've spent a lot of time lately in the Seattle area where I picked up this coffee addiction!) This past week I accomplished a lot and it taught me that if I push myself I can do much more than I thought possible. I also learned that sticking to a strict schedule is really essential. It's now 2 a.m. and I'm about ready to quit for the day. It's a bit early to pat myself on the back but my alarm is still again set for 7a.m....

I enjoyed my late Sunday afternoon at Books-A-Million. It was a treat to sip my breve and decide which book or magazine in my stack I'd reach for first. I'm careful about book and magazine buying because I'm a pack rat. Once I bring it home, it stays and, frankly, I'm running out of room. But couldn't resist purchasing the February issue of Writer's Digest. I especially enjoyed the article by author and literary agent Laurie Fox titled Double Identity. It's about "how one agent applies her on-the-job training to her own fiction writing career." Okay, I'm not an agent but I, too, lead a double life so totally identified with much of what she wrote. I was also surprised that she, too, felt that a laptop was a wonderful solution for helping her to get away from all the demands of her regular work. It's portablity makes escape to a less demanding space possible and so much easier to focus on just one task.

Also the article writer is a believer in writing the draft and spending time on revision. This is rather a new concept to me as I tend to write and then polish a section before I move forward. So I have a really good draft when I've finished. That's been my habit but one I'm changing. Right now I'm strictly concentrating on getting the draft written and then I'll go back and rewrite, filling in all the details I've glossed over and doing any necessary research.

I'm challenged to do this for several reasons. Avon author Elizabeth Boyle has a tip on her website regarding her own success at making this transition. She's become more prolific since she began quickly writing a first draft. Also I read The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks and absolutely loved the book. In the author note at the back of the book, he says it took eight drafts to get just the right balance between the two major plot lines. I enjoyed the book so much that the fact that he spent this extra time to get it just right appeals to my own Virgo mindset. Although I'm not sure I'd like to do eight re-writes!

I spent one day last week with author Heather Graham. It was one of those really rare fun days spent at a luxury hotel catching up on each other's lives. We both thought it was something we should do more often. One of the subjects we discussed was my own recent interest in an Elvis impersonator in the Seattle area. I've seen Steve Sogura perform four times in the last six months and I was trying to explain to Heather why I find sitting in his audience so enjoyable. Besides the fact that he's handsome, talented and has a voice very similar to Elvis, the whole experience makes me feel like I'm young again. Rather like re-capturing a slice of my life. My sister, Shirley, got me hooked on Steve (not to mention low fat breves!) and we've had a lot of fun this past year re-connecting via Steve. As I write this, I'm listening to a TV show called "Elvis: The Men Who Would Be King" and wishing Steve was on instead as he's so much better than the impersonators featured on the program. I was surprised to learn there were only 150 Elvis impersonators in 1977 and today there are about 35,000!

Then I learned why. One impersonator explained that he's "keeping the magic alive."

I suppose Steve helps me to remember the magic when I was much younger, single and, later, newly married. I'm recapturing the same pleasure now with writing. Trying a new method and routine. Writing a quick draft with the intention of filling in more specific details in the second draft. Embracing the challenge of revising and rewriting.

My own way of keeping the magic of the writing process alive.

A new state of mind.