tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755502616289652010.post1600576749710947832..comments2024-03-07T04:13:36.330-06:00Comments on The Storyteller's Inkpot: Ah, To Be A Pages Person.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755502616289652010.post-29049469807709230862009-09-30T08:46:55.527-05:002009-09-30T08:46:55.527-05:00Writing around the kids' schedules has always ...Writing around the kids' schedules has always been a tricky business around here. When my 2nd child was a toddler I used to build a little world around her - blocks, books, goldfish crackers, etc... right next to my desk. I would type away while she played and sang and did her toddler thing. We often spent two hours like this in the morning before heading off to the park etc ... Sometimes I would complete an entire picture book draft, or maybe four or five pages of a longer piece. It varied. I so miss my "writing with Norah" days now. Now she's in fifth grade - children grow up, books will wait. Enjoy those early days - and write around those kids - before long you'll have entire days for writing again. And guess what - I'm often LESS productive now than I was then - everything still tries to get in my way!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755502616289652010.post-26998843677730379102009-09-29T10:55:05.444-05:002009-09-29T10:55:05.444-05:00A writing cat! Please write her into the novel. ...A writing cat! Please write her into the novel. She sounds like she wants a paragraph at least.<br />Writing only while the baby naps is like racing in the derby while eating take out in your car-- very thrilling and messy. I'm happy for four hours a day, it's delicious.<br />My process is too much like ironing. I keep starting from the top and working out the snares and wrinkles as I work my way down. Printing out on paper is the only thing that saves me time. Only I don't have access to a printer right now. My characters come the same way my hair grows, I can't help it. Now if only I hadn't missed the semester on plot.pmccannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14905337704266612536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1755502616289652010.post-5169201536945081052009-09-29T08:34:53.589-05:002009-09-29T08:34:53.589-05:00Two pages a day. That's what Gary Schmidt says...Two pages a day. That's what Gary Schmidt says. I'm working on it, but it sure isn't as easy as it sounds. Some days those two pages (and more) fly out of my fingers like a swollen Missouri creek in springtime. Other days, I stare and stare and stare some more, and nothing seems to go anywhere.<br /><br />This weekend was the latter experience. Something wasn't working, and I couldn't get past it. At last, I reworked the previous chapter and the dam burst. Last night, magic happened. A new character sparkled onto the scene--life is good! Twenty-two chapters down, three more to the end of the novel. Exhilarating, but very scary.Debra McArthurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07434251789378141335noreply@blogger.com