It's warm as spring here, rainy, overcast, and smelling strongly of earth, and damp, and nothing like winter at all, really. A nice change. I spent most of the weekend writing with pen and paper, and reading. I can't seem to keep myself from working seven days a week - too much to do and too little time - but I do try to take a more relaxed approach. Weekends are a good time to take things more slowly, and reflect, and plan.
Jumbled fireside thoughts:
- I've been writing by-hand because of my back, trying to spend less time composing at the computer, but I've realized an added bonus: having the beginnings of a scene written out enables me to dive right into work when the computer's booted up. I'm loving it. Even if it's just a few lines, knowing right where to begin gets the ball rolling much faster, and I can then continue on at a good clip. New plan: write before bed every night, and then start fresh the next morning. Score.
- On the reading front, I've been plowing through Rosamunde Pilcher's body of work, and just finished Coming Home late last night (I HAD to stay up and finish the last 20%). It's amazing how at the end of a 977 page novel, I absolutely hated that it was over, and only wanted more, more, more. How sad I was to know the book wasn't part of a series, but merely a single volume, and that I could never return to the ongoing lives of the characters who had so fascinated me for almost one thousand pages. It was an expertly crafted novel about so many things, full of so many people, that meandered in the most precise and purposeful way, every chapter, every scene interesting for the sheer beautiful ordinariness of life. The kind of book that reaffirms my commitment to a particular approach to art. I catch some heat for Fearless being "too long," but I didn't write Fearless for readers who worry about the length of books. It's for readers with a different set of standards; readers like me.
- I wish I blogged more. What a boring blogger I am. But Candy and Tango are demanding little monsters as of late.
Speaking of which...I'd best get back to them. They're calling.
Happy Monday.
I love your books, your stories for the very reasons in your comments. I hate when the book is over but luckily you share parts of our favorite characters in the new books. I smile when I see the name of my favorites pop up. I feel like I immerse myself in your books, take up temporary residency in them. With your books there is no such thing as too long. Imagine the smile when I started Keeping Bad Company and Walsh pops up in the beginning. Mindy Downey
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with everything you wrote.
DeletePlease disregard any negative feedback. We, your readers are here to go on a ride with you, however you want to go and for those who would like a different path; well I guess they need to find a different driver!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet comment! I generally disregard the negative feedback. It's usually coming from a place of book politics, or from someone who wants my books to be something they aren't. In this day and age of free Kindle samples, they know what they're getting into before they buy a book. They can take or leave it, and I'm grateful for my kind fans :-)
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