The Three R's: Rest, Relaxation, Rewriting My Book

I love this spot. No computers, no cell towers, cut off from the outside world except for a gravel road. I spent some time here last week to fly fish along Penn's Creek. I caught fish, spent time with my brother and a mutual friend of ours who went to the same college we did. You would think time stands still here. But it didn't. I spent almost a week fishing and writing. Time flew by so quick it made my head spin. Time seems to do that as I get older. Time is fleeting like this humming bird...

Notice that the feeder is almost empty. We replaced it soon after this picture was taken. Sometimes I feel like this Humming Bird, so busy looking for places to find sources of nourishment. (More for the soul than the body.) This is the place where I recharge. Even when I'm recharging I gain ground on creative energy. I was able to edit eight chapters of my WIP (work in progress.) I wonder when I will be finished. Everybody wonders when I'll be finished. I've packed up and returned home. I've been pretty much constantly writing since I returned. I'm already contemplating my return next year. Perhaps I'll get to sit in this chair and think back to when I finished my book and found a publisher. Perhaps...

So until next year, I will write and dream of cool streams and Humming Birds. I'll try not to wish away the time, because every second is precious. I will borrow from the energy I found here.

May you find a similar spot to draw on the energy of rest and relaxation.

Don

Shaping a Character

When I was writing my novel, "The Touch Me Nots" I discovered I needed to create a lot of characters. I had to visualize them in every day situations. I determined what gave them meaning in life and had to install their passions and quirks so that the story flowed with their energy. I found the process to be very similar to this Dragon I carved about a year ago. I started with a piece of cherry wood a friend had given me and began to visualize the creature before making the first cut. As the work progressed things changed slightly here and there and it turned out differently than I had first imagined. I'm pleased with the end result.

My characters in my book were created very much with the same process. I just needed to discover what facets to emphasize in the story line to turn them into a hero, a villain, scary, friendly, powerful, controlled, male or female.

The interesting part of the whole process was trying to discover what influence I would have over a reader's feelings for the characters as they suspended disbelief and entered into the drama of the fictional characters. I used a focus group that would read parts of the manuscript and give me feedback. These folks were more than happy to read the story and at times, applied pressure for the next section of the book to be written.

I think it may be time for the next novel to take shape and emerge.