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Friday Five: Adventures I’ve Had This Week.

Posted on by beckylevine

Anything can be an adventure, right, as long as your attitude says so? So, in that spirit, here are 5 of my adventures this week.

1. Joining the Writers on the Move Facebook page. I’d seen Christina Katz’ posts, and it looked like a good way to share my quick thoughts about yoga in a very supportive place. I was right.

2. Taking my first Restorative Yoga class. O….M…G…relaxing for an-hour-and-a-half straight and calling this exercise? And feeling awesome when you leave? Two thumbs up, people.

3. Importing a file into Scrivener. It worked! And it got me refocused on finding the conflict in a scene, by making me look at what I’d written in the last draft and trying to target it to the place my character is now, in this draft. Good stuff.

4. Getting together with my “boss” at my new volunteer job, the one that will hopefully lead me back into the workplace. The paying workplace. Actually, I’m going from here TO that adventure, but thinking it will be a good meeting. “Meeting.” Just the fact that I’m using that word makes it all feel one step closer.

5. Buying a humongous pile of vegetables at the grocery store, chopping them all up, cooking them, and–yeah, eating them. I am pretty darned tired of salads, and it’s all about trying to eat healthier, even though vegetables are not my favorite thing. But I have to say, the ones I picked were not half-bad, and I do think the leftovers will actually get eaten, not just sit there in the back of the fridge and get green…er.

What adventures have you taken on this week? And how did those go for you?

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The Big Friendly Giveaway Has a Winner

Posted on by beckylevine

Last night, I copied the names from the Comments section of my Roald Dahl post onto little piece of paper and dropped them in a bowl. I brought the bowl to my son.

He doesn’t get quite as excited as Trixie about helping me choose contest winners, but he does take the minute away from whatever he’s doing to close his eyes and pull out a name. I call that gracious.

And today’s winner of The BFG? Well, here’s your first clue.

And if you don’t know that this means the winner is…

Jama Rattigan!

You haven’t spent enough time at her blog, Alphabet Soup. And all I can say about that is, “Tsk, Tsk.”

Jama, send me an email at beckylevine at ymail dot com, with your mailing address, and I’ll get the Paddington’s copy your copy of The BFG out in the mail!

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Thoughts on Slowing Down from Jennifer R. Hubbard (and Me!)

Posted on by beckylevine

Jennifer R. Hubbard posted here on taking time off, not pushing quite as hard to always be running. As usual, Jenn’s thoughts are clear and on target, and–as often happens–she hit a chord with me.

I’m not sure at what stage, life gets less busy. I’ve watched my parents since they sold their veterinary practice and–if they’re any indicator–it doesn’t happen during retirement. And, like Jenn says, I’m not sure I want to have fewer things going on in my life. I like the things have going. I want to keep them. Or, possibly, trade one in for another, slightly different variant.

But…

It  has become crystal clear to me that I can’t keep going at full-speed, like I have for so many years. People told me that, as my son got older, I’d start to feel like time with him at home was fading and precious, and I’m sure that has something to do with it. And, yes, stress is bad for my health; yes, it makes me a less pleasant person to be around; no, it doesn’t help me accomplish more.

Here’s the big thing, though: I don’t like it.


I know. Profound.

But it’s taken me some years to get here. I had a quiet teenage life, and some pretty dull twenties. Honestly, as much as I love my son and always have, the baby years were not exactly stimulating for me. (Be careful what you ask for: See Teenage Years, PLENTY Stimulating!). And I think, when I had a chance to “come back,” to step into the life I had that I finally wanted, I went with filling up that empty space and time.

A lot.

As I said, I’m still doing that. I’m writing and editing and marketing and  “housekeeping” (Quotes: The way I do it, I don’t think you can call it the real thing!). I just took on a volunteer position that I hope should to me stepping back into the earning-money work-work world in a year or so. Something I very much want to do.

But, yeah. Things are just going to keep getting busier.

Which, I’m starting to see, means I have to make the slow times happen. I have to let myself actually stop for lunch, with a book (of course). I have to let myself stay with that book for a few minutes after I’m done. I have to remind myself to listen to music and dance (well, sometimes it just happens, okay!). I have to keep doing the yoga and using it to set my state-of-mind to s…l…o…w…e…r for the rest of the day.

Okay, I have to stop using “have to” and remember to switch that to “get to.”

I get to relax.
As Jenn says, it’s a rich life. Let’s enjoy it.


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That Stupid Thing Called Fear

Posted on by beckylevine

I always think I’m pretty good about the fear thing. I do pretty well at working on my projects, facing the fear that they may never “make it,” tucking that away into the little box where it belongs, where it won’t get in the way of the actual writing. I do pretty well, too, working through a yucky first draft, opening up the little box again and dropping in the worry that yucky is the only adjective I’ll ever have to describe the story.

Where fear seems to hit me, though, is when I haven’t been working on a project for a while. Sometimes, it’s a vacation that takes me away, sometimes it’s the job-work that makes it hard to get to, sometimes–like recently–it’s that I’ve been working on some other writing project, like my picture book.

Whatever the reason, there comes a time when I have to transition back.

Here’s how I was feeling this week about stepping back into my YA historical:

  • This second draft just isn’t really much further along than the first draft. (There’s a good reason for this, which I talked about here, but still…)
  • I was really having fun writing a funny picture book, you know? I was smiling a lot.
  • Oh, boy, are there some not-cheerful research books I need to be reading.
  • What was I even writing last time I worked on the YA?
  • I so don’t have enough clue about my protagonist yet.
  • I think there are probably about a bajillion pages I should just cut.

And so on.

Then I spent a few minutes–seriously, fifteen? last week just looking at the last few chapters I’d written in the YA. And–as usual–I saw stuff that, yeah, made me gag, and I saw stuff–as usual–that was…good. And I started to see where, in the future, I’l need to compress events, edit too-modern language, and you know…revise. I’m not ready to do that, obviously, but the consensus between me, my brain, and my anxiety was pretty much: Hey, this isn’t all bad.

And some of the fear went away.

I spent another few minutes–three, this time? thinking about the next scene. Which is one I’d actually written for the first draft, but that still has a place in Caro’s new story. And I thought of some changes that would make things happen more quickly, make Caro more angry at another character, and show her at least trying to take charge.

One more little bubble of fear popped up. You probably know this one: Are these really the right changes to make?

Well, because I’d dropped myself back into the book the day before, I was able to take that bubble of fear, pop it, and drop the residue into the box. And slam the lid.

And I was able to sit down and write.

And fall in love all over again with this story and this world and, most of all, this hero.

The moral of this lesson is 1) Try not to stay away from a writing project for longer than you have to and 2) Try even harder not to listen to the fear.

It’s not only destructive; it’s wrong. Put on your armor, heft your shield, draw your sword. Then get back into the arena and write.

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Friday Five: Giveaway Winner & Other Random Stuff

Posted on by beckylevine

1. And the winner of my Random Acts of Publicity contest is…

Mike Jung!

Which is more than fitting because Mike is the one who reminded me about the RAP, AND because Son pulled Mike’s name out of the hat bowl last night, which pretty much proves that the BOOV are out there & taking an interest in our lives. Mike, send me an email at beckylevine at ymail dot com, with your snail-mail address, and I’ll get a copy of Steve Kluger’s My Most Excellent Year out to you!

2. I read through some past chapters of my YA historical, downloaded the newest Beta of Scrivener, and came up with a different way to approach the next scene (one already written in the first draft). Which officially means, yes, I’m back to work on the YA.

3. I have seen several yellow leaves drift out of the trees as I drive up our road into the hills. I don’t think autumn is officially here yet, but between the leaves and the shorter days, I can tell it’s on its way.

4. I realized I have hit a yoga milestone. Well, a few. First, yes, the tips of my fingers have actually touched the ground during forward bends. Did I say my knees were straight at the time? No, I did not. They’ll get there. AND I have gone a week+ without having to take an afternoon nap the day of a morning yoga class. Did I say I wasn’t tired? No, I did not. I’ll get there. I’m counting it all as progress.

5. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Kathryn Fitzmaurice’s latest book, A Diamond in the Desert. This book blew me away. Who says a historical novel has to be heavy on details? Who says it has to bury us in historic figures & facts. Not Kathryn. She’s chosen an amazingly taut, light structure to tell the story of a young boy playing baseball in a Japanese internment camp. And it all works beautifully. Watch for a future interview here with Kathryn about the book.

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Saturday Six: Why I Love Weekends

Posted on by beckylevine

In honor of this long weekend, here are just a few of the reasons weekends in general make me happy.

1. Late-ish Friday nights. Okay, not SUPER late, because I just don’t have all-nighters or wee-hours-of-the-morning left in me, but there is no schedule to get up the next day and no reason to rush the movie schedule or put down the night’s book.

2. Sleeping in. See Friday nights above.

3. Reading time. Yes, I do typically have other things I need to get done on Saturday and Sunday, but I also feel totally justified in laying on the couch for several hours with a book. This weekend, son finished Jim Butcher’s Ghost Story just in time to hand it off for me to enjoy.

4. Less driving. No school means no drop-off and pick-up. Which means no juggling other errands I have to do, to minimize the number of times I go down and drive back up our mountain.

5. Relaxation for everybody. At this moment, son is also/still sleeping in (or maybe just laying there reading the X-men comic he grabbed from the library bag last night). Husband is off on a long, leisurely bike ride. Cat is asleep somewhere, and Bird is chirping quietly and entertaining himself with his swing. And I’m at ease at my computer with happiness and quiet all around.

6. Recharge. Unless I’ve got a deadline, I try hard not to do any WORK on the weekends. This doesn’t mean critiquing, and if I’m on a roll, it won’t mean writing. But it does mean that the other stuff on my list gets put off, making for much less chopped-up days. The slower, more steady pace gets me rested and ready for Monday (or, in this case, Tuesday!) See Relaxation above.

What about you? What’s your favorite thing about the weekend? And hope you’re enjoying this one!

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An Experiment: Twitterless September

Posted on by beckylevine

A while ago, Debbi Michiko Florence blogged about Online Time Management. Her post got me thinking, and I decided it was time to get rid of my GoodReads account. It also started me wondering about what I really need and enjoy about social media, and I made one more decision.

I’m going Twitterless in September.

I’ve talked a few times about what I do and don’t like about Twitter. As an interface, I am just not crazy about it–I prefer the threaded conversations on Facebook. Also, I don’t like that I can so easily be followed spammers. For whatever reason, it seems like that happens more frequently than on Facebook, and I feel like I have to do more monitoring of it on Twitter. Which, frankly, I can do without. I do think I get more information about the publishing biz–more links to agent and editor and other industry blogs, and this is important to me. And, of course, there are people on Twitter that I love “talking to,” who just aren’t on Facebook.

If any of those people want to find me on Facebook, please do!

So I’m not at all sure that this coming month will be anything but an experiment. I’m not promising myself I’ll stay off, or making any other projections about what will happen. I’m thinking that maybe I’ll end up using it mostly as that industry resource and be more of an observer/listener than an active participant, but… I’m not sure how much time staying off Twitter will save me, I’m not sure if staying away will help me focus more and use my time more efficiently. I know I’ll have withdrawal the first few days. After that, who knows? For me, it’s a matter of looking at the fact that I’m using multiple social-media tools (like so many of us) and just wondering whether I really need to or want to.

Here’s to finding out.

One month. 30 days.

I can do this.

And, of course, you’ll hear from me at the end of the month about how it went. Meanwhile, I’ll see you here or on Facebook or at your blogs. Happy September!

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Thankful Thursday: Finding My Words

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, heads up: this post may get a bit woo-woo. But, hey, it’s Thankful Thursday, right? Just proceed at your own risk.

I’ve never been very happy with the way I deal with stress. When I was young, I backed away from many things that even held the possibility of anxiety or fear. Over the years, I’ve tried to work on this–I’ve pushed myself to take more risks, and I’ve been more than happy with the results of saying “Yes!” when I was thinking “Maybe” or even “No?” But even when I stopped avoiding challenges, I often found myself in a tizzy as I took them on. Think the Looney Tunes’ Tasmanian Devil, without the charm.

Meditation has always seemed an obvious solution, but one I haven’t been able to make work for me. See, there’s this stillness and calm required… Sure, if I had that, well, yeah, I could meditate!

I’ve also tried yoga many times, without success (being defined as enjoying it and wanting to go back). But I recently made another attempt to take yoga classes, and this time it seems to have clicked. I started because, lately, I’ve just been feeling more stiff and sore. Let’s face it, I’ve been feeling older. And you know, the age thing just isn’t going away anytime soon!  I’ve also been doing some reading about retraining one’s brain–actually changing the chemistry, the reaction our brain has to stress. I LOVE the brain. I love its elasticity, its hidden secrets, and all the things it can do that we don’t understand. And I love the idea that I can actually teach it that the place I’ve built for myself in the world is actually safe and happy and good.

This is coming back to the meditation and to the words. Really.

For some reason, when I’m doing yoga, I find that I can do a little meditating. Probably because my body is actually doing something–I don’t have to deal with my body and my mind needing to be still. Also because the soft music and the teacher’s voice, both something I can let skim the surface of my brain, give me something to sort of focus on and sort of tune out all at the same time. So I’m busy, as I’m trying to be quiet.

I know. Remember, Tasmanian Devil.

But here’s the magic part. The revelation…probably only for me. I give you all permission to slap your foreheads and shout “Duh!” One of the parts of meditation that I’ve seemed to have a problem with is the words other people–meditation teachers, writers, “guides” on mp3s–use. Yes, the words. I’ve sat there and looked at the page and said, “Huh? That’s not what I need.” Or listened to an mp3 and thought, “What? That’s not going to work.”

Okay, I’m picky. Why do you think I’m a writer and an editor?

Anyway, when I’m in yoga, I have time and space (and exercise and noises) to try out some of my own words. And guess what…THEY WORK! When I find the phrase, the mantra (??), that means exactly what I need to hear, it’s like a little, private chime goes off in my brain. And all of a sudden, I can stay with those words, I can use them to relax, to relieve whatever stress I’m dealing with at the time. Because they have the exact meaning I’m looking for.

You’re all probably there ahead of me. Yes, we can bring this back to writing. It’s what makes it worthwhile to revise and revise and revise again. It’s what makes it worthwhile, whether you’re working on a picture book or building a world for your 300-page fantasy novel, to think and rewrite and think and rewrite…until you  hear the chime.

And then you keep that word. You use it. You find its place in your story and you tighten everything else around it. Because it belongs. And, believe me, if it works for you that strongly, it’s going to resonate with your reader, too.

All these years, what I was looking for was, yeah–right under my nose.

Words.

Of course.

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Monday Morning Brainstorming: In Which I Take My Own Advice

Posted on by beckylevine

In The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, I’ve got a chapter titled, “Brainstorming.” It’s not a long chapter, but I think it’s an important one, because I do think brainstorming is one of the biggest gifts critique partners can give to each other. I’ve talked to some beginning critiquers who haven’t realized that it’s an option for their group–and a great one. If they get stuck in a story, they struggle along by themselves trying to get past the block. And too often, this just puts them in a position in which they’re not writing, not submitting, and just feeling worse about how much they’re not getting done.

Meh.

This morning, my group’s having an all-brainstorming, all-kicking-ideas-around session. For various reasons–some of being in between projects, some of us dealing with end-of-the-summer business, some of us (who, me?!) in that stuck place I just talked about–there were no submissions this week. It only took a quick email around to find out that there were several of us who thought this was a great opportunity to raise a hand and say, “Over here! Ideas welcome!”

My personal goal: To stir up the mud that has been the one big, LAST story problem of the picture book. The one I stare at and stare at and say, “Huh” about, over and over and over. Maybe someone in my group will have THE brilliant idea (fingers crossed!). If not, though, I know I’ll come out of the session with thoughts I haven’t had on my own, ideas I didn’t know were out there. And that, my friends, is a step forward.

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Friday Five: Back to School

Posted on by beckylevine

As I type this, my son is stretched out on the futon in my office, the cat asleep beside him, and Terry Pratchett’s Soul Music in his hand. This weekend, a cousin is coming to hang out, there will probably be band practice, and there will definitely be Shakespeare.

And on Monday, school starts.

It’s been a wonderful summer, the recharge and relaxation being so wonderful, I honestly haven’t missed the productivity. This is the first August in a long time that I’m not seriously antsy about needing fall to GET HERE.

Here are a few things this school year will bring.

1. Driver’s Education. Oh, yeah. Did I mention he’ll be sixteen in the spring? Luckily, his dad wants to take charge of the driving lessons. I have NO problem with that. None of us need me in the passenger seat at the start of this big step.

2. A mix of determination and hope that I will have something on submission by the end of the fall. I feel like I have one more hurdle to get over on the picture book, and then it’s word revision, which I’m seriously looking forward to at this point. And then this book will be in the pile of all those trying to find their way out into the world.

3. More picture book ideas and drafts. I’m determined to participate in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo in November. After all the work and learning I’ve put into my first picture book, I’m darned well going to find some more stories to play with.

4. Please, please, please, a completed draft of the Historical YA. My biggest battle with this book is NOT getting discouraged at how long each draft is taking me to write. I’m choosing to look at that as evidence that it will be a better, stronger, deeper book than other manuscripts I’ve worked on and completed. Yeah, that’s it!

5.  Growth. For my son and for me. There’s something about seeing my son head into his sophomore year of high school that makes me very aware of how much things have changed and are still changing for both of us. Watching him is an experience made up of equal parts wonder, awe, and hope. And a reminder that I, myself, don’t want my own life to stay the same, that I need to be looking for the places I want to, yes, mature. That I need to be pushing myself to take the risks that will let me do that.

What’s shifting for you and yours, as summer vacation fades out for another year?