By Rosemary Lord
My apartment smells of burnt candle wick. That’s because the power keeps going out and I’ve been lighting candles everywhere on and off for the past few days. And the power always seems to go out again just as it’s getting dark… Most inconsiderate.
How is that whenever there’s a bit of rain, L.A. comes to a standstill? Drivers go crazy. The local media gets very dramatic. Noah, get out your Ark! They should try living in England, where downpours are the norm, sometimes for days on end, and snatched golden sunny days are relished and worshipped.
So, I’ve been scribbling like mad – with my trusted pencil and yellow pad, in the candlelight, to finish this blog. Research was challenging, as I couldn’t recharge my laptop or phone to get online. But I can still use my dog-eared Oxford English Dictionary given to me by a late and very dear friend, writer Gerry Davis – of Dr. Who, (he created the Cybermen) Doomwatch, Final Countdown fame. I was then a working journalist, so I didn’t consider myself a ‘proper’ writer. He often offered to help me with a novel I was writing at the time. But this foolish, pigheaded girl was too embarrassed to show Gerry her amateur attempts at writing. Boy, do I regret that now!
But I digress.
Writing is, of course, my ‘go to’ thing when things get tough. I write down my thoughts – and solutions. I cheer myself up by writing down affirmations. Of things I want and how I want my life to be. It really does feel good to do this. And I always write, ‘thank you,’ at the end. Because I was brought up to say please and thank you! I write the same wish repeatedly. Pages and pages of the same sentence over and over. (A bit like the schoolteacher telling you write one hundred time, “I must not talk in class”! But more fun!)
In one of my recent decluttering binges I came across a large notebook from several years ago, when I was still pursuing an acting career. Rick and I were struggling financially, so I wrote I Now Have Tons of money. I Now Have Tons of Money. (I tend to capitalize a lot!) Pages and pages of I Now Have Tons of Money.
I had obviously put it aside and moved on to something new. Probably I am now a published author. I am now a published author…
But all these years later, when I discovered those handwritten affirmations, I stopped. And grinned. And remembered. About a year after I’d written those particular repeated affirmations over and over and over, (then forgotten all about them – until their recent discovery) I was cast in one of the leads in a revival of a 1920’s comedy at the local Richmond Shepherd Theatre in Hollywood. Guess what the play was called?
Tons of Money! I kid you not! We had a great run, got terrific reviews, and it led to other bigger roles.
So, I am a firm believer of writing my affirmations each morning. I am just more careful with the wording of my affirmations because I know they worked!
Okay – the power has just come back on again. Now, where was I….
“I write because I want to have more than one life,” Novelist Anne Tyler was quoted as saying. “Writing is our opportunity to peek into other people’s lives,” – or create other lives.
I’ve just started reading “How To Write a Mystery,’ a handbook from the Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Childs. Anne Tyler and several of our fellow writers contributed articles.
Our local writer, Naomi Hirahara, has had her first successful novel, The Summer of the Big Bachi published in 2003. It was the first in a series of mysteries about an ageing Japanese-American Gardener, Mas Arai, who became an amateur sleuth. She’s had over 20 more published novels since then and gave a terrific workshop at a recent Writers’ Conference on how her road to publishing success – and the failures along the way.
In this book, she writes about the accidental detective, the amateur sleuth. She says that no other genre reveals more about the writers’ inner life – or their personal life. Especially, new writers create amateur sleuths with a background familiar to the writer- similar to themselves or someone in their lives.
Beth Amos likens the suspense buildup in mystery writing to a roller-coaster: first the build-up, then the exciting plunge, then another build up.
Louise Penny, Charlaine Harris, T. Jefferson Parker, Laurie King, write in this book about “turning your first, raw draft into a clear, compelling story.” Jeffrey Deaver says, ‘Always Outline!’ Catriona McPherson writes about adding the humor.
I’m still thumbing through this thoughtfully produced book, inspired to read the inner workings of such an assortment of writers.
And I still find myself Yak Shaving from time to time. What, you might ask, is ‘Yak Shaving’? It’s from a long-ago blog. Where do I start…? It’s when you find yourself setting out to accomplish one thing, but going off at tangents, taking a circuitous route in order to accomplish your original goal – much later than you had intended. It’s doing something as irrelevant as shaving a yak (don’t ask!), instead of the goal you set out to accomplish.
I think we all find ourselves yak-shaving from time to time – except for those super-human, prolific novelists who churn out novel after novel, without stopping and who never, ever get distracted from their goals! Hmmm. Just how do they do that?
But the rest of us, we may have to do a bit of pencil-sharpening, fridge-defrosting or ironing before we sit back down to write the next page. Ironing is a good distraction because you can watch television while you’re ironing and tell yourself your doing research, watching re-runs of Murder She Wrote. I’ve thought this through, as you can see.
Now – back to writing page 173 – before the power goes out again.
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The Writers in Residence 
Rosemary does get inside what writers really do between chapters and even before starting their next book. But the main thing is to keep doing it, writing that is, until the book is finished. Yak shaving not withstanding…
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I try, Gayle. I probably over think things, rather than committing to clearing my desk of everything else and WRITE!
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What a delightfully entertaining, informative and wide-ranging post, Rosemary, thank you. Yes, I well remember sitting in a deckchair on the beach in Southsea, UK , in August, wearing an overcoat. You could buy lightweight summer coats for such activity. We never had enough sun, but now the reverse is true at times with heatwaves, etc. I am taking my first-ever class on writing, and find the instructor quite confusing. I don’t mind the daily 10-minnute prompt exercises but in class we do even more prompts and have to listen to 14 people read ’em. Hmm. I like your suggestion better, Rosemary, of writing in a journal.
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Thanks, Jill. I remember all too well the blustery ‘summer’ days on Southsea Beaches. It’s a town on England’s South Coast (the name is a hint…) where our mothers used to attend the same dance academy as children. And Brava for attending a online writing class. At least it will remind you how brilliant you are!!
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Don’t quit, Jill! I want to read a blog post or two about the class (and what your accomplished) when it’s over!
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I do engage in yak-shaving a lot, though I never had a name for it before. And affirmations? I don’t do those but maybe I should. Thanks for an engaging post, Rosemary!
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Thanks, Linda. I’m surprised – but glad – that even you, too, engage in yak-shaving! Because you are one of the most productive novelists I know. I am so proud (and envious) of your novel writing success! And I find writing affirmations focuses my wandering brain and helps me when I need to change direction…..
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You’re so sweet!
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Miko here. Your posts always make me smile, for I see so much of you in them, as well as parts of myself. I love your “yak shaving” – sometimes I think “pansters” write that way, without committing to an outline. But I can’t deny we find gems, or the answers we seek, both to life and to our writing, when holding that razor.
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I’m so glad I make you smile, Miko! That’s so important! And I love having our outlet of this blog to share our trials and tribulations – and Useful Hints, too!
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Ah, Rosemary. I do love your posts. They are like a delightful ramble across an English countryside, avoiding bogs, climbing over gates in the lane, watching sheep graze…..
Um, where was I? Oh, yes, rain and power. We had steady power, but over 3 inches of rain and a lot of wind. How fun to watch our brass weathervane shift from east to west mid-storm. Wow!
510 gallons of saved water later, the sun returns. How glorious.
I haven’t been known to write-out affirmations like you do (Tons of money! What a hoot!), but I do occassionally recite to myself Bible verses I’ve memorized that have cheered me or calmed me. I love this one for fearful, sleepless times, from Psalm 4:8 “I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for it’s only you, Lord, who makes me to dwell in safety.”
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Aah Jackie. You’re always so calm and positive about things! And I’m always encouraged by your words. Thank you!
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What a fun post! Not so fun without power – I must be living in a cave these days because I didn’t even know that LA also had an earthquake! I LOVED your affirmations – hilarious – and makes you remember to be “careful what you wish for.” I also have that same How to Write a Mystery from MWA. I’m glad you reminded me – you’ve inspired me to carry on …
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I’d forgotten about the earthquake in the middle of the power outage! It was all very distracting and made it difficult to focus – hence my ramblings…. And yes, Hannah, if you write affirmations, be very careful how you word them. As you say, be careful what you wish for! And that Mystery Writers’ book is really helpful….
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Sorry so late to your post, but lights in and out here in the Mojave and under the heat which knocked me out , butn then I read your post this morning and it was sooooo good to hear your voice and see you face in my mind’s eye! Thank you for such an enjoyable post and I can smell the candle wax…or is that mine(smile)
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Dear Mad – don’t worry about being late. I am often very late to respond to posts! I always smile when I see your comments and posts. I really miss our monthly lunches!!!
Sorry you’ve been going through the same problems. However did people live by candlelight? I don’t think they had so many challenges as this modern world brings to us. Either that, or we’re just spoilt!
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I’m even later than Madeline—-last week was a whirlwind here in Virginia, but not the tropical storm type (although I well know what they’re all about). Rosemary, I used to write affirmations, and you’re inspiring me to get back to them. You’re also inspiring me to practice meditation—bet you didn’t realize how far-reaching your post would go!
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Maggie – I’m so glad to hear from you. Better late than never, as they say. I am frequently very late to comment. Happy to inspire, too!
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