Stories Untold

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.
~Maya Angelou

I believe this with every ounce of my being. I had the pleasure of visiting a good friend of mine last week and the added pleasure of hearing her idea for a novel. She's had the story in mind for years and now feels it's "the time." I hope she does write it; it's a fascinating story and she has the brights and passion to complete it. Writers should write and not let anything stand in their way.

I like cleaning?!

I don't actually...Love a clean house, dislike the cleaning process. As I remove the dust and grime from my novel, though, I can't help but wonder if Mr. Clean reaps similar satisfaction from polishing floors. Perhaps I've been saving my cleaning fervor all these years for this process.

I recently read Stephen King's, On Writing--a fabulous part-memoir, part "how to" writer's guide. He writes about his first mentor who told him that the first draft is for you (the writer); the revision is for everyone else (the readers). Though I'm polishing my revision, not my first draft, this insight rings helpful and true.

I'm surprised that I enjoy this tidying phase as much as I do...I get to enjoy my novel as a reader and experience the final draft as it reveals itself. Some days I feel like I'm dusting dirt away to find hidden treasures. When I come across Good Will giveaways instead, I'm happy to make cuts. (So is my editor.)

A few more quotes from On Writing I dig:

"Write with the door closed; rewrite with the door open."

"Fiction is truth inside the lie."

"The road to hell is paved in adverbs."

"A short story is a kiss in the dark from a stranger."

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

"A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar."

"Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

(All quotes from Stephen King)

Black Hole PC

Last time I dropped my husband off at the airport, my car battery died in front of LAX. Today after dropping him off, it was worse--my COMPUTER. Rather than the novel I was eager to submerse myself in while dodging rush hour traffic, I hit the power button and found nothing to pursue but a black hole. (Sounds to me like a cheesy greeting card, right?... "My lights go off without you!" In this case, it's tragically true...)

Long story short (not my strong suit, but this is a blog and I've exhausted myself in computer salesman schpeals (sp?) and "how to cut and paste in Mac" tutorials...which isn't as rough as Mac-loathers make it out to be, by the way...

You guessed it--I BOUGHT A MAC. Leaving my trusty...(more like DUSTY, bird feather/dog fur filled) old Toshiba at Best Buy to retrieve the contents the black hole ate made me sad... We've been through a lot together, the "shib" and me. *sigh*

But here I sit, all MAC-ed out, and digging it. I have lots to learn, of course...such as...how did the sales guy use it to take our picture during price check...and how do I make the internet screen and font bigger...and where do my documents disappear to after I upload them...and why is there a purple cup and saucer-type type thing (or is it a paintbrush?) bouncing around on my screen's bottom right now...?

If any writers have pointers on MAC's that might accelerate my learning curve, I'd appreciate hearing them. As for my hubby, I'm grateful I have someone to miss so much...especially in the dark. ;)

I had something deeper to chat about today, but it's long-since forgotten...or at least lurking in the "hole" contents, yet-to-be-recovered. More--hopefully--soon.