Friday, May 13, 2011

Writing and Other Hard Things

I spent a couple of hours last weekend writing a post on writing goals and a bunch of personal stuff that I didn't end up publishing. In the end, it was too long and too personal. Writing bits of it made me cry. I saved it in my archives because it was something I needed to write down for myself. Do you ever wonder which struggles are appropriate to share and which aren't?

Around the very beginning of March, my dad had five-way bypass surgery. It was supposed to be seven-way, but they had such a hard time getting through his ribcage and then to the places they needed to reach that two of the fixes ended up not being "bypasses." Evidently, lifting 100 lb bales of hay on a daily basis builds bone density.

Then his favorite horse, an arabian stallion he bought from Wayne Newton twenty years ago this summer, somehow managed to get his leg stuck on the top pin (holding a couple of corral panels together) of his corral. My brother-in-law and a neighbor helped Silver down, but not before he'd torn all the way through his leg. I found out about it on my way to work and called my husband to have him go out and look at it, but when I got home, I found out that Silver hadn't let anyone near him. So, I grabbed two apples (his favorite treat) and headed over to see what I could do. 

I took care of Silver for over a month, lots of work and bonding, and he still had to be put down (this was the long, personal part that made me cry). 

My writing went surprisingly well in March and April. I wrote 12,000 words in March and 11,000 in April to finish my rough draft (barely) by the deadline I gave myself at the beginning of the year. I'm not ready to let go of this one though (or maybe it's not ready to turn me loose). I started the second draft on Monday, May 2nd, but it's been slow going. I've also been thinking my way through the setting and plot of The Fourth Path (my sequel to Star Swans) because these stories build on each other. 

My plan is to take The Binder's Web through at least a second draft before I tackle revisions of Star Swans. I promised my favorite CP I'd query Star Swans before the end of the year, and from what I understand, the querying year ends before the holidays start.

And to end this post on a funny, I'm sharing Kurt Vonnegut's lecture on the shapes of stories.


Have a great weekend!  

8 comments:

  1. Interesting that we both have the words writing and hard in our blog titles today. And goals are good. You'll make your query deadline.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry you had a rough couple of months. Using the video (which was great) as a reference, hope that was a low point in your story/life and that you are on an up-curve now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Barbara, I also noticed the similarity in our blog titles. Thanks!

    Thanks, Ryan! I hope so, too. I'm definitely not on a Cinderella curve though ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, Myrna, I'm so sorry about Silver. He sounds like such a special horse, and such a treasured member of your family. I'm sure you'll see him again someday.

    Good luck with all your projects. I'm sure they'll turn out beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Krista! He was a character.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is haaard figuring out what to sahre, because we all do get sorta close to each other in the writer blog world. Well, I for one, just try to send good thoughts out to people all the time, because I know that everybody is struggling with something. And I'm sending you good thoughts right now.
    P.S. I'm so excited to watch the video...will save it for after the first load of laundry!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I saw that video on Facebook. I'll share it on my blog as well. Vonnegut is genius.

    I hope your dad is better and I'm so sorry about Silver.

    I wrote some personal pieces that I find hard to share on my blog. Maybe when I'm ready....

    Have a wonderful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I know how you feel. I wrote a post about my dad but realised it was not something that I was meant to share with the world. It was good to get the feelings out of me and down in words. Lots of tears but worth it. It is saved in my archives and will stay there. Poor Silver. Arabian horses are magnificent.

    ReplyDelete