Going For It

"Story is characters in conflict. Characters with impossible dreams. Characters willing to do anything to reach their dreams." Randy Ingermanson

Last weekend I went to hear Kristan Higgins, NYT bestselling novelist, speak on writing. She gave a great presentation that helped me see some issues in my current novel. That was good and bad-- good that I saw it, bad that I had to address it once I saw it. Definitely messed with my rigid, self-imposed writing schedule. You can't very well keep writing if you know you've got big trouble in River City (or Sunset Beach, as it is in my novels). I've spent this week trying to deal with the issues that were present before I wrote another word.

But that wasn't what I wrote this post to talk about.

One thing Kristan said in the presentation really stood out to me. She said that everyone knows the things they would need to do to achieve their dreams, to realize the person they were meant to be. But very few people actually do it. She said that that's why certain characters resonate with us as readers. They're the characters who go for it.

I'm still thinking about what that means. On one hand, it means that there's stuff holding all of us back, and that's sad. But on the other hand, it means that I learned something about how to make my characters stronger, more heroic. The best, most memorable characters are the ones who go after their dreams. It's made me think of the characters I've loved, and why I've loved them. It's made me delve into how I can have my characters do that. And also examine how I can be a person who does that... who realizes the full potential of what I was intended to be. I don't want to just write about it, I want to live it.

The Voices In My Head

Change those voices in your head
Make them like you instead

Pink
Perfect

I heard this song the other day while writing and had to stop and write down this line. Because it's so true. The voices in my head can be the meanest voices in my life. Who needs enemies when you've got yourself?

One of the things I always liked about Anne Lamott is she talks in a couple of her books about speaking kindly to herself. She showed me that's something I need to do. Sometimes I will catch myself pushing myself too hard, not giving me a break-- which is so crazy, but there it is. And I will have to remind myself that I can either be my own worst enemy or my biggest ally. And a lot of times it involves that subtle shift of simply speaking kindly to myself, using a gentle tone, easing up. Changing those voices in my head, making them like me instead.

Someone needed to hear that today. If it's you, I hope you'll listen to my voice instead of the ugly ones in your head. And then change those voices. Because you can, and that's the part we forget sometimes.

Love A Good Love Story

Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true
Bruce Springsteen

Whether it's The Vow or Valentine's Day (which was a stupid movie that I made my poor husband sit through), Notting Hill or The Notebook, I love a good love story. When Harry Met Sally or You've Got Mail or Sleepless In Seattle or... you fill in the blank, I can lose myself in a love story. I get so excited when a new one comes out. These stories totally fuel my creativity and send me home ready to churn out some love stories of my own, which is always a good thing.

So I'm looking forward to the newest Nicholas Sparks movie-- The Lucky One, which comes out in April. I'm hoping Zac Efron comes off as a leading man and I can put the image of him dancing around in High School Musical out of my head.

Here's a summary of the story, and a link for the trailer:

U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault (Efron) returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, with the one thing he credits with keeping him alive—a photograph he found of a woman he doesn’t even know. Learning her name is Beth (Schilling) and where she lives, he shows up at her door, and ends up taking a job at her family-run local kennel. Despite her initial mistrust and the complications in her life, a romance develops between them, giving Logan hope that Beth could be much more than his good luck charm.

The Law of the Garbage Truck

You know those cheesy forwards you get via email and you just delete em? Well, I do. Maybe you're nice and feel obligated to read them, or worse you believe the chain mail threats and actually forward them on to your so-called friends. Not me. I am all too happy to send them into cyberspace oblivion. And I don't lose a minute of peace over it, either.

Except this one that I'm posting today. I did read this one for some reason-- I guess because the idea of a philosophy about garbage trucks drew me in. (Hint to writers: think of an interesting title to make your intended reader actually read.)

And after I read it, I thought about it. And this morning I saw this woman nearly ram her car into this other woman and then proceed to scream and gesture at the woman while we (the other drivers) all looked on in horror and confusion. (Why was the woman whose fault it nearly was going off on the poor unsuspecting driver who just happened to be in her vicinity when she decided to execute a poorly-timed unprotected left hand turn? None of us knew.) The first thing that came to my mind was the garbage truck metaphor. And that's when I knew I would share it with you all. Because if it stuck with me, it might stick with you too.

Admit it, now you want to know what it is... well wait no more!


Law of the Garbage Truck


One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'


This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run aroundfull of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

And so that's my shared wisdom for the day. It's one of those things I just know I'll be sharing with my kids at the earliest possible opportunity. I realize it's not Nietzsche or Plato or Aristotle or any of those other philosophers that get quoted a lot that I have a theory none of us have actually really read.

But the next time you encounter someone spewing garbage, maybe now you'll see them differently and not let them rattle you or detour your day into THE BAD PLACE. (I don't know about you, but I have lots of shortcuts to get to the bad place-- I can go there faster than most.) But not anymore-- oh no! Now I will smile, wave, and drive on, intent on getting where I'm going.

Ok, and-- no lie-- as I finished writing this, Carly Simon's song "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" came on Sirius. Perfect song for this post!

Some Well Written Books

Sometimes when I'm reading I just want a good story. If the writing is passable that's all I need because I'm just there for the story. It's kind of like watching Law and Order-- I have a cousin who gets on me because it's not realistic. (She's an ADA so she knows.) "I don't care," I tell her. "I just want to know who did it." Sometimes it's like that with a book-- I don't care about the writing. I just want to know what happens-- that's what has me turning pages.

But sometimes it's about the writing, and the story isn't the driving force. While I'm engaged in what's happening, I'm more in awe of what the writer is capable of. It's like watching Cirque on the Oscars the other night-- to witness that kind of ability is pretty amazing and more than a little inspiring. So today I'm going to share a few recent books that have been that for me:


The Weird Sisters: I love Eleanor Brown. She can write. The Weird Sisters is a book about sisters and how birth order dictates our place in the family-- but also our place in the world, to an extent. When three sisters return home ("We came home because we were failures.") to help care for their mother who has cancer, they find themselves reverting to who they were, but also striving to break out of those roles-- to redefine themselves beyond who their family says they are. The Weird Sisters isn't a book where a lot happens per se. Not on the outside. But a lot of change is going on inside these three sisters. If you're a person who likes really strong writing, I recommend savoring this book for two reasons-- this is a book where the author took her time to write it. It never once feels rushed or hurried. And also the use of the interesting "We" narrator-- it is the sisters, plural, telling the story. While it's been done before, it hasn't been done much and Eleanor did a great job pulling off this unique point of view.



Alice Bliss: I loved Alice. I loved her pluck. I loved her outlook. I loved her resilience. I loved how she survived even when her world was coming apart. If you've ever been a teenage girl, you will identify with Alice. Laura Harrington is another author who worked to make this book good. She's not just there to spit out a story. She's there to show what a well-written book can elicit in its reader. Each character was real and memorable, developed to the point that I felt I knew them. Like Eleanor's book, Alice Bliss didn't feel rushed. I could tell Laura Harrington worked to choose the right word, to make each sentence pack all the punch possible. Again this story is less about what happens and more about how the characters are changed by what happens. A novel about a young girl whose father is deployed, and how she and her mother and sister cope with his absence and the fears of letting him go, I dare you to read this novel and not be moved by Alice, and by Laura's talent.



The Arrivals: There are lines from this novel I still think of. I loved the writing, how the tension in the house seems to hum along the lines of prose. A story about empty nesters who, through several different turns of events, end up with all their adult children back home for a summer, this was another novel where not much happens. They're all just sort of existing in this house, dealing with their stuff, as they learn to live together again. But again, it's the writing that powers this novel. You're not there to turn pages quickly. You're there to read and to think, to be those characters in that situation-- father, mother, daughter, wife, husband, daughter in law. You're there to decide what you would do if it were you. Because that's what the best fiction does-- it engages you to such a degree that you become that character. That's you in that struggle, you making that decision, you feeling that doubt.




I recommend all of these novels to anyone who's looking for strong writing. It's fun to see writers flex their muscles on the page. That's what you'll get with these.

It's Wednesday!

On Wednesdays I send along a little reminder to check out my weekly post at Southern BelleView. This week we're celebrating our love of reading, and the writing process. I reposted a post I wrote for She Reads about why I love reading so much. Perhaps you'll venture over and share what you talk about when you talk about reading.

And speaking of reading, don't forget to venture over to She Reads and hear from Erica Bauermeister, our author of the month. Her book Joy For Beginners is one to read if you haven't. And her other book The School of Essential Ingredients is just delicious. Very soon we're announcing our March pick-- one we're very excited about. The author is a Christian who has ventured into the general market with her newest title. Stay tuned to find out who it is!

The Half Page To Do List

Sometimes a full page to-do list is just too much. Because you are tired or hormonal or angry at your spouse or it's raining outside. You just don't have it in you to tackle that looong list of stuff that needs doing. Looking at it depresses you.

Yet there's still stuff that needs doing.

That's when the half page to-do list comes in handy. Take a normal sheet of paper that you use, and literally fold it in half. Then write your bare bones, have-to-do-this-or-the-world-will-stop, list on that half page. Write the other stuff on a longer list another day. A day when you have more energy, more happy, more motivation. But don't beat yourself up about the half page days. We all have em.

(For you techie types who have all this on electronic gadgets, just ignore this advice-- this will not apply to you. I still love paper, paper, paper. I realize that makes me backwards and I fully accept that. Embrace it, in fact.)