Celebrate the Small Things 5-6-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

Despite being a short week, it felt like a really long week, so I'm glad for the weekend.  Especially since I'm away on tour most of next week.  Which is always fun, but also a lot of work as you try and squeeze a full workday in around travel and concerts.  But it's a beautiful concert.  Prokofiev is my favorite composer, so I always enjoy concerts featuring his work.

No new rejections this week.  I think I'm going to wind down querying Stranger at the end of the month and dive into some revisions on Street Smarts so I can start querying that one.  I need to do some major shifting around of some of the entries, I think, to try and get the REAL inciting incident closer to the start of the book.  Even though I don't think doing that will really do the book any favors.  The reason that incident works as a catalyst is because by that point, you really understand Arlo's desperate loneliness, even if he doesn't acknowledge or even recognize it.

I have four more stories to write for my anthology and 24 days to do it.  Possible, I think, but it's going to be tight.  If I can get one written this weekend, I'll feel better about it.

I'm going to see my favorite Douglas Sirk film on Sunday as part of the Film Society's 80th birthday celebrations.  Very excited to see it again.  I don't think I've seen it since I wept my way through it in a university class about melodrama.

What are you celebrating this week?

IWSG - June

 It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time for the Insecure Waters Support Group!

Thanks to this month's hosts, Victoria Marie Lees, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre and C. Lee McKenzie!

This month's question is a good one!

Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?

My ideas come from all over the place.  Things I read, movies I see, stuff that happens in real life, music I listen to.  Anything and everything can be the inspiration for a story.  

For example, I watched a documentary about something that happened at the 1984 LA Olympics and that ended up sparking the idea for a novella I wrote for an anthology.

Another documentary, this one about a musician I used to know, ended up sparking The Sidewalk's Regrets.  Weirdly, it was one line someone said that set the whole idea into motion, but when I went back and watched the doco again, I couldn't find the line.

Stumped was inspired by a talk given by an Australian sex worker.  An Unstill Life came from a newspaper article about a boys' school that wouldn't allow same sex couples to attend a school dance.

Chasing the Taillights was supposed to be an adult book inspired by something that had recently happened in my life, but when I started writing it, I needed to understand how Lucy and Tony came to have the relationship they had at the beginning of that story.  And how they came to have that relationship ended up being Chasing the Taillights. 

My Murder Year was a response to the legalizing of same-sex marriage.  Standing Too Close was one last shot at trying to tell a story that's haunted me since I was twelve.  Turns out, all the other times I tried to write it, I was getting too close to what actually happened in real life.  I had to use a lot of the truth and move it sideways to be able to actually finish it.

A Stranger to Kindness came out of research I did for Standing Too Close. I talked to some people about foster care and while some of them had excellent foster parents and being in foster care was the best thing for them, others had less stellar experiences and I wanted to explore what that might look like.

My most recent book, Street Smarts, came from working with an organization that uses food waste to provide restaurant-quality meals for people who can't necessarily afford to eat out or to eat at all.

A lot of the time, the ideas aren't conscious decisions. It's like the characters move into my head and start telling me their story.  I often have to trace things back after I've written the book to find where it all began, but I can usually figure it out.

Where do your story ideas come from?

Weekly Goals 1-6-26

 How is it June already?  I swear it was only just Christmas...

It's a public holiday here today, so this week is a short work-week.  It's going to be a busy one because we have a concert on Friday and various other things going on as well.  Then, the following week, we're on tour, so I'll only get one day in the office before leaving for five days.

So, my goals this week are pretty small.  

I managed to write two stories for the anthology this weekend.  One is better than the other, but I think I can work on the one I don't like so much.  Assuming I get a little time to edit before these are due to be judged.  I hope to find time to write one more next weekend, which leaves three left to finish the anthology.  Do-able, I think, even if I don't find the time to take some of my time in lieu days.  You never know.  I may even find time to write one while I'm on the road.  But, I doubt it.

I have to learn a new ride class next weekend too, because I'm teaching ride for the next four Sundays.  I'm sure I could fall back on one I've taught a lot of times before and no one will notice, but it does feel a little like cheating.  I'd do the new one I learned a couple of weeks back, but we've been doing that the last three weeks and it's past its shelf life.  I'll see what's available in my arsenal...

And, that's about it for goals for me this week.  I like to keep them small when I know I'm busy.

Celebrate the Small Things 29-5-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!  And even better, it's a long weekend!

It's been a busy week, one of those weeks where I feel like I'm constantly rushing from one place to the next.  And unfortunately, the weekend feels like it's going to be a bit crammed with stuff to do too, so I don't foresee much time to rest.

I need to write a couple of stories for the anthology this weekend.  I have 4 weeks left and 6 stories to write, so I need to tray and knock a couple off this weekend.  I'm hoping to get one written on Saturday nd one on Sunday because I've got plans with my old team on Monday.

I got a rejection on one of the fulls I had out this week, which was disappointing.  I had such hopes that A Stranger to Kindness would be the book that broke out for me, but there just doesn't seem to be a market for that kind of book right now.  I'll keep trying for a little while longer though.  I love those characters too much to give up on them.  

Plus, I know the new book will be an even harder one to sell.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've Read: The Ballad of Darcy and Russell

I've read all Morgan Matson's other books and really enjoyed them, so it was a no-brainer to pick this one up at the library.  And I was not disappointed.

It's a romance that initially is set up to be like the Before Sunrise movies, where the whole story plays out in one night.  That's actually what the main character, Darcy, wants it to be. She's a romantic who adores movies like this and has been hanging out for her own moment of magic.  

Of course though, things never quite work out the way they do in the movies...

The weekend before leaving to go to college on the East Coast, Darcy throws caution to the wind and goes with an acquaintance to a music festival.  Her dad's favourite band, the one she grew up listening to, is playing and she's excited to experience it firsthand.  All this happens before the book actually starts, and we catch up with Darcy after the festival, after her "friend" ditched her and left her to take the bus back to LA.  The bus breaks down, leaving her stranded at a remote bus station in Nevada.  Her phone's almost out of charge and her friend accidentally took her charger, so she has no way to top it up.  Her flight to college is the next night, so the clock starts ticking the moment the bus breaks down and she's told a replacement won't be able to get there until the next morning.

Russell is also stranded at the bus station.  He and Darcy cross paths because news travels that she's looking for a charger.  He doesn't have one either, and his phone is dead too, but suggests they go for a walk into town to see if they can find one.  She agrees and they set out together.  As they walk and talk, they start getting to know each other and there's a clear attraction between them.  By the time they discover this is a town that basically closes on a Sunday afternoon, things are going really well.  Sparks are flying and Darcy starts to think this is the romance she's been dreaming of.

Then they get caught swimming in a motel pool and everything changes.  It turns out Russell's phone isn't dead after all when he has to make call to his dad to keep them from being arrested for trespassing.  And then the truth about who Russell really is comes out and Darcy finds herself flung into an entirely different adventure.

I won't reveal any more of the plot because what's so enjoyable about this book is how far away from the expected it takes you.  After setting up to be the meet-cute-one-night-romance, it becomes something very different, but no less enjoyable.

Darcy and Russell are delightful protagonists with real flaws and charms, and backstories that inform their current situations in the best possible way.  The people they come across along their adventure are also very engaging and interesting and even Darcy's best friends who we never meet, but hear from through the voices in her head, are very well drawn.

So, I'd recommend this one.  It's fun and light and romantic, even though it isn't the romance it promises to be in the first few chapters.

But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:

Darcy believes in love at first sight. Even though it’s never happened to her, she’s spent her whole life waiting for that magical moment, hoping that when she meets the right guy, everything will fall into place perfectly.

But right now, her life is anything but perfect. Heading home from a music festival, engine trouble means she’s stranded at a Nevada bus station until morning. Even worse, it’s the day before she leaves for college, her phone is dead, and she has no cash. Darcy’s convinced nothing good can come of this night…but then she meets Russell. Cute, nice, funny, and kind, this is the guy—and the moment—she’s been waiting for. As they walk and talk, the two connect, and Darcy is able to put aside all her fears and doubts about the future to focus on this perfect guy.

Over the course of one fateful night, Darcy and Russell discover things they never imagined about each other and themselves. But can you really know someone after only a handful of hours? Is it possible to fall in love in less than day? Before they part, both their lives will be changed, and Darcy and Russell will have to decide if it’s worth saying hello when you know you’re destined for a goodbye.

Weekly Goals 25-5-26

 I didn't end up writing a story this weekend.  Life somehow got in the way and I ran out of time for it.  So, next weekend I'll need to try and write two.  Luckily, it's a long weekend, so I get an extra day in there to write.

I have six more stories to write to get to the end of the album, and about a month to do it in.  I think I'm going to be pushing it a little to get done, especially since I'm going on tour with the orchestra in the second week of June.  But, I'll try.  I'll have a lot of hours owing to me when I get back from tour, so I may be able to take a day or two off to write and get back on track.

My son is graduating this week, so I get to go and watch him get his degree.  It's going to be long and hot and boring, but it's one of those important things you have to do.  A real milestone in his life.

And that's about it for goals this week.  I suspect it's going to be another busy one at work, so I don't want to overwhelm myself.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 23-5-26

 

It's the end of the week, so what am I celebrating?

It's the weekend!

It's been a busy week with a Board meeting, a concert tour and a lot of other stuff going on.  I haven't had much chance to write, partly because I've been too busy and partly because I'm tired.  I only taught three classes this week, but that was enough!

I got a rejection for Guide Us which made me laugh because I stopped querying that book more than 18 months ago.  I know agents are snowed under, but if it's taking two years to respond to a query, maybe it's time to close for a while and get things to a more manageable place?

I'm going to try and write another story for my anthology this weekend.  I'm up to the song I think is the most challenging on the album, and I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to write.  I might try writing a dialogue only story for this one, where the main character speaks only in riddles.  Sounds like it might be hard, but I think if the other character - who will probably be the therapist trying to get through - can tell most of the story through the questions and comments they make, it could work.

The whole point of writing this anthology is to experiment, so this will definitely fit the bill!

What are you celebrating this week?