I was upset yesterday about a letter I got in the mail, attacking my right to homeschool as a private school owner. It was from a misinformed government bureaucrat. I live in California where there's no homeschool law, where these things happen to a few people every year because bureaucrats want us all to be intimidated into joining public school programs instead of forming our own private schools.
When I got the letter, I was so distressed, I couldn't work all day. I didn't get my webdesign hours in. I didn't do my 2500 words for my worldbuilding project (2500 words per day is my goal this week). I wonder if they read this blog. I wonder if they are jealous and wish to hurt me just before NaNoWriMo starts. Or maybe they just want to hurt me any time, and don't realize NaNoWriMo is my focus right now.
But I am surrounded by goodness. I belong to a great homeschool organization for my state, and the president of the organization called me and told me a lawyer would call soon. For that I am grateful. I could use some legal advice. My inclination is to fight for my rights. I don't like being bullied by bureaucrats. Its all an intimidation game anyhow. I wonder why they have nothing better to do than try to muck with other people's lives and try to deprive them of their constitutional rights. Maybe its just a cruel game to see if they can get a person to cave in to unreasonable (and unlawful) demands.
You know what's really cool about this situation? I'm about to start a novel about a homeschooling family, and this is fodder for the mill, you know what I mean? The emotions, the hurt, fear, panic, anger, distress... they all can come out in my writing now because I've felt what it feels like to be persecuted for loving my kids enough to homeschool them. Of course its happened before. This county is becoming notorious for harassing me. Last time I felt harassed I went public, writing to legislators, newspapers, etc. They hate it when you tell people what they're really doing while people think they're just doing their jobs. I feel I'm being retaliated against now, and I know what to do about it.
So what if the down day came right before NaNoWriMo? I'm sure the benevolent force of the universe is watching over me, and will help make my novel wonderful despite having less time to work on preparations. And I'm exercising every day, losing weight and feeling great. I even think I'm looking great these days. Things are going good in my life. I rebound from the attack, knowing that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger... and stronger... and stronger. I've been through a lot already - that's why I'm so ready and willing to fight for my rights and for what's best for my children.
As it turns out, I'll be doing some plotting for the NaNoWriMo novel.
I usually like to write by inspiration, knowing where I'm going but not how I'll get there. This time I'm trying something new - first the extensive character development work, then Holly Lisle's Fast Plotting technique using notecards to organize scenes. A lot of us are using this method for NaNoWriMo this year.
So far I've got about 40 notecards assigned to POV characters, but only about ten have scene ideas written on them - so I've still got lots of work to do before NaNoWriMo starts on November 1.
The link goes to an article about all the celebrities who write children's books these days. Fascinating.
I don't see anything wrong with anyone wanting to write, but... it irks me a little that some people have their work published, not so much because its good, but because they've made a name for themselves as entertainers. I guess this makes money for the publishers though, and that's really what the industry is all about anyhow. Now, I'm getting back to work. Thanks to Linda (mamarose) at Forward Motion for the link.
So far I've got 14421 words of background material written for my NaNo-novel. I added 1265 words tonight. There's lots more I want to write. I'm upping my daily word count goal next week in an attempt to get more done, and to warm up for NaNoWriMo.
Already I'm trying to show my kids I need more quiet time. They like to stay up late with me and unfortunately they also want to talk, talk, talk. Well, that's not compatible with my need to write, write, write. I informed them that in the future after 9 pm I need mommy quiet time. These kids are homeschooled, ages 13 and 14. They can take it. (I'm sorta giving myself a pep-talk here because part of me says I should never ignore my children's need to talk, ever.)
They can take it.
They can take it.
They can take it.
I'll hopefully feel better about it tomorrow. I don't know how I got through the last two NaNoWriMos.
I've been curious about the contents of this book for a long time. Well, I got it on audio tape, listened during my evening walks, and am curious no more.
I finished listening today. The book is about a cricket, Chester, who gets stuck in a picnic basket in Connecticut, then gets transported to Times Square in NYC. He gets adopted by a boy and meets friends: Tucker, a mouse, and Harry, a cat. This is one of those stories that feature talking animals, something I often can't finish reading. But I stuck it out and the story was a rather nice one. I'd tell more but I don't want to spoil it for future readers. For me, the message was that talent triumphs over negativity, or something like that.
Selden wrote seven books with Chester, Tucker and Harry. He wrote a lot of other books too... but A Cricket In Times Square must be the most popular because it was named a Newbery honor book in 1961.
My favorite character was the Chinaman.
When I started listening to this on my evening walks, something special happened. On the tape you can hear a whistle when Chester the cricket chirps. After hearing this for the first time, I suddenly realized I was hearing this sound all around me. Yes, everywhere there on the banks of the Klamath River, crickets were chirping, but I never even noticed the sound until I heard it on the tape. And it was loud! Just goes to show how we can tune things out rather than focus on them.
I read this because its Oprah's new classic book choice. From the beginning, it spoke to my heart. The resolution of racial tensions has always been important to me. This book was published in 1948, the same year South Africa passed Apartheid legislation. The book describes the conditions in South Africa just before Apartheid.
I didn't think much of Paton's writing skills at times, and I feel guilty for that because overall the book is so awesome. The plot was excellent. The social exposé of South Africa - wow! What a great thing this author did in writing this novel. You can see his compassionate philosophy and heart of gold shining all through it.
But... many times when a scene dragged a little I wondered if this was the author's first or only novel. (Its not the only one - I checked the BN website and he's got other books in print.) Maybe I had these thoughts come to me because I read it just after reading John Steinbeck, who was a true literary genius.
Anyhow, two thumbs up for Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country -- what a beautiful man he must have been.
[Additional notes: Here's a good bio of Paton with a list of his works. I was right - Cry, The Beloved Country was his first published novel, but according to this bio, he wrote two novels after finishing college, then destroyed them!]
I'm adding a bit to the worldbuilding every night just before I sleep. Right now I'm getting to know Walker O'Callaghan, husband of the MC in the novel. Nice guy but a little unrealistic about what to expect from life. Of course, being a character in my novel will change that.
I've now written over 10,000 words of background material for my November novel. I'm planning to add to it daily until NaNoWriMo starts. I'm looking forward to seeing what my final word count will be on the background material! Probably as much as a small novel itself...? ..but we'll see about that.
I got a couple books off my shelf to help with the project:
I don't really have time to read these but they have lists and I can refer to them for ideas if I need to. Really, I rarely need ideas (I have way too many of my own) but I still find the lists interesting. My character development worksheet came in part from the Dynamic Characters book.
You're a plotter, someone who carefully crafts an intriguing plot to keep the reader hooked from one scene to the next. You thrive on knowing exactly where your story is going, and what's going to happen along the way. Although you might veer off your original plan for the story, mostly you stick to your carefully planned outline. You're a born storyteller who enjoys sharing your stories with others.
Tonight I finished the 8000 words for the worldbuilding dare, master level. I'm not nearly done with my worldbuilding preparations for my November novel writing project, but this gives me a great start, plus another writing pip (a graphic) at Forward Motion.
I also wrote more Haiku for the Haiku Challenge there:
Sounds
teenager
griping on and on
what a pain
television's on
constant commotion machine
will it ever end?
cat who only squeeks
you're missed here, beyond belief
won't you please come home?
ringing, singing bell
resounding over the town
everybody knows
Shapes
evenly curving
never ending, always strong
a line with no start
four corners define
lines finite, segments unite
sides measure the same
I updated the main page of this writing website today with a new blurb, straight from the pages of this morning's journal. Also I started a listing of all my writing, both published and unpublished. So far I've got some of the fiction listed (there's a lot more coming). Most of what I've had published was non-fiction so there's a lot more coming there too!
I signed up for the worldbuilding dare at Forward Motion. This time I signed up for the Master Level - 8000 words... and I'm nearly done. I'm surprised though... this isn't nearly enough to do even my characterizations. I have a long worksheet I compiled of questions to ask myself about each character. I'm enjoying getting to know these people better before I start to write my novel. I wish I had six months to plan this novel - instead of one.
Today I told a small group of local people about my intention to write about our small town. Nobody objected! My landlady was there and pointed out I'd need lots of help from people who lived here during the 1990's.. she was laughing and told me she could tell me a lot of things about it.
I do plan to interview as many people as possible about this - and to read all the newspaper accounts of events here at that time. Though my characters are purely fictional I want the facts of what happened here to be known.
I started reading the book to my son, but he protested, so I finishing reading it to myself. It was written for younger readers - I'd say about age ten. My son is thirteen and didn't get interested. I too had a hard time reading it until the end when things got exciting. I don't know why but the early chapters just didn't reach out and grab me. My interest lagged, but this is an award-winning book so I'm sure many people who've read it were much more attracted to it than I was.
Its about a boy living in England in the middle ages during the time of the plague. He's sadly afflicted with some other unspecified illness that leaves him crippled, unable to walk. It bothered me that I never was told what illness caused his problem, but probably that's because the character himself had no way of knowing.
The author did a lot of research to make this book realistic, so it contains a lot of cultural references and the characters talk just as you'd expect the people of that time to express themselves. She's also a talented artist who did all the many illustrations in the book. Her careful efforts were rewarded with the 1950 Newbery Medal!
There's a great website with some of her notes, photographs, excerpts from her Newbery acceptance speech, and even a few of her other children's stories online! The Marguerite De Angeli Collection
I finished the first edit of one of my short children's novellas. I wrote this during a writing marathon earlier this year. Tonight I read it (and edited) for the first time since I wrote it. Its a sweet story! I'm surprised - though its written for children 7 to 10, I liked it... even got a little teary-eyed at the end. I'm thinking of submitting this for critique. Its simplistic because of the ages its written for but hits on a topic that's deep: different ways of responding to people of a religion different than our own.
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Wednesday, October 08, 2003 ( 12:35 PM )
Progress on my new novel
I've been writing novel ideas and a character sketch for the protagonist, trying for five hundred words each night. I plan to slowly rev up my writing engines until I can reach my normal NaNoWriMo pace of about 2500 words daily during November.
The last two Novembers I reached 50,000 words on November 17. It would thrill me to beat my record and get it done sooner this time. I've done a few challenges at Forward Motion to get myself to write 5000 words/day. I still find that difficult and challenging.
I'm planning to participate in the edit marathon there this weekend. I'm still hoping to get The Scribe of Irohila into a salable condition by the end of the year.
I frequent message boards where we talk about books. Someone mentioned Patricia Reilly Giff's name and I couldn't remember what I'd read by her, so I looked her up on the web:
I read her Newbery honor book, Lily's Crossing, about a girl who lived in the states during WW2. Great book! I love her writer's advice and encouragement on that web page:
"...anyone who has problems or worries, anyone who laughs and cries, anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper...talking about the things that matter to us."
Here's what I posted on Forward Motion in the Haiku Challenge, for the topic of "home":
I drove to my favorite campground today and wrote these while I was there. I too found them more difficult than the 'seasons' assignment.
Where I am
Mountain lions dwell.
Forest home.
We live in hopeful
harmony and peacefulness.
A place for my heart.
Gentle family,
Can't you see I love you all?
My heart is your home.
Dogs, cats, and rabbit.
Eight finches in the kitchen.
Four humans, at home.
I saved a forest.
The fire could have killed it.
My water brought peace.
This last haiku was inspired by something that happened as I drove home from Oregon a few nights ago, only about 2 miles north of the campground. It was 2 am. On that road I expect someday to see a mountain lion, bigfoot, or a UFO.. but I never expected to see a forest fire starting at the side of the road. Well, fortunately I had ten gallons of springwater in my car from my shopping trip and was able to dump some of it on the fire. It must have been started by a careless cigarette tosser. It gives me a special feeling for that part of the forest now, to know it could have been ashes if I hadn't been in the right place at that moment. This forest really is my home, just as much as the house is.
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Monday, October 06, 2003 ( 11:44 PM )
The new novel
I've been busily planning my next novel, which is tentatively titled A Curious Woman Wants To Know. Its about a fictional family living in my local community during the 1990's at a time when a new law creates major changes that shake this area to its foundation. Sort of historical fiction - but very recent. I don't know how the locals will take this but I'm not planning to feature any of them in the novel. Its a possibility - but at this point it seems unlikely. Right now I'm doing a lot of background writing, characterization development, and plot planning.
I've signed up to write yet another novel as a NaNoWriMo participant this November. For those of you who are wondering what it is, I'm talking about National Novel Writing Month. November. We participants agree to put forth our best efforts to write a novel of at least 50,000 words. Wish me luck!
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Haiku!
I haven't written Haiku in years, but Zette at Forward Motion is encouraging us to write some this month. Here's what I've written so far. Her first topic was "Seasons".
Last heat of summer
The breeze sings through evergreen
Soon the rain will fall
Yellow bird
Sings of autumn nights
At daybreak
Gently falling snow
Drifting constantly downward
Melting on my hair
I listened to this on tape during my evening walks. It was long. I ended up wishing I'd read it in print as it was quite poetic and I'd have liked seeing the words on paper.
It was a haunting, eerie, bleak novel about teenage boys in contact with the spirits of their ancestors who'd been lost in coal mining disasters. I liked that all the main characters were creative, talented children. Kit's a writer, Alison is a dramatic wannabe professional actress, and John's an artist. Together they made quite a team.
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East of Eden
Who hasn't read this? I think its one of the best 20th century American novels.
Its the story of two American families, one fictional, and the other, the real-life family of Steinbeck's mother. The fictional family, the Trasks, personifies the extremes of good and evil. A Chinese servant provides the Hebrew concept of timshel meaning "thou mayest" have redemption, as a personal choice.
Great book!
I think a lot of the attraction to this novel, for me, was seeing some of my grandfather's personality in the book. My grandfather lived around the same years as Steinbeck, in the same area. My grandparents were in Santa Cruz while Steinbeck was at the other end of Monterey Bay, in Pacific Grove. Somehow there's a trace of my grandfather's personality in the novel and I figure it must have to do with something pervasive about that part of the country in those years. I don't know of a word for it... do you?
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