“…the mere consciousness of an engagement will sometime(s) worry a whole day…” quote of Charles Dickens, declining an invitation from a friend.
July’s writing work has been influenced by the inclusion of teamwork. During this month, I reviewed my novel ‘The Hiding Kind,’ put a final polish on my short story ‘A Gentle Sort of Love,’and submited ‘Mergansers; The Path Unwalked’ to The Virginia Writers Club’s Golden Nib contest.
‘The Hiding Kind’ is my first novel. I agonize sometimes over how long this work has taken me to complete. Like Charles Dickens, I find it difficult to focus on writing when there is something else on the calendar, a ‘nagging worry,’ and July’s calendar was full of wonderful family events.
Recently, I teamed up with another writer, Madeline Slovenz, who is also working on her first novel, also a contemporary YA. Her website is https://madelineslovenz.com/ Madeline and I video conference once a week to pace each other as we work on our novels. We set goals, discuss craft, and swap industry information. We each have found this process very helpful in keeping us on course with our work.
I was intrigued to read that Pixar, that producer of wonderful films, takes an average of seven years to produce a new story. The bulk of that time is spent developing the story. Those experienced story creators work as a team and still take nearly seven years to get the story right. Perspective is great. The reading of ‘THK’ is now complete and revision is underway.
‘A Gentle Sort of Love’ will be published in an anthology this summer. Teamwork has played a big part in the production of this anthology. (I’ll call it Discovery until we have an official title.) Each writer has critiqued each of the other stories, helping each one become more clearly what the author intended. This collaboration reminds me of how The Inklings’ helped their members, including C.S.Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, to improve their work.
‘Mergansers,’ a poem, is the result of a personal challenge to write in a new form this year. It has advanced from local judging to state level. I’ll share it with you here when contest results are announced.
Until next month, I hope you find some friends to share your hopes and joys with. Happy reading.
Cathy