Books I'm Reading

Just a short interlude before I get back to my work in progress. I was late to work today because I had a job interview that took way longer than I thought it would. I actually had to do some work for a change, instead of pretending like I was working while really working on my novel.

So it's almost 3:00 p.m. and i haven't even started my 5 pages of the day. Yes, I write 5 pages, 5 days a week for a total of 25 pages. I don't edit, this is a first draft and the point is just to get the whole thing out on paper in all it's glory and then start the hard tedious process of rewriting. I know that some writers edit in the morning and then write in the afternoon. I prefer to do a throw it all out on the computer and then edit because otherwise I would be writing and rewriting the same pages over and over again.

This is what made me put my previous work in progress on the backburner. I spent way too much time working on the first two chapters and getting absolutely nowhere. I had it all mapped out, character profiles, scenes, what archetype they were, what personality type, and all for naught.

Now, I'm flying blind and I've written a 150 pages. Yes, it needs major editing, but this is the first novel I've written in a while where it hasn't been like pulling teeth. I don't have 8 people's opinions to deal with, all telling me what I should or shouldn't do with my novel. It's just me, alone with the computer, or at work with the computer just letting it fly.

Right now, I'm reading Hit Reply by Rocki St. Claire who also writes for Pocket Books as Roxanne St. Claire. I'm really enjoying it as it's in emails and IM's and that's what I'm trying to do with this book. It's about three women who have connected with old flames while dealing with the current angst in their lives. It's much deeper than I thought it was going to be, which makes feel good that my romantic comedy has gotten a little funkier.

Also enjoyed the Matzo Ball Heiress by Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a book that actually celebrates New York. Some writers feel the need to create an alternate universe where Zabar's and Gotham Bar & Grill don't exist.

Also reading books on Cornwall, and watching movies set in Cornwall. I have to immerse myself in the world of my novel for it to work for me. I don't know how Nora Roberts can write so well about places she's never been, but that's because she creates new places in her novels. Her books are almost never set in big cities, so she's free to create whatever town in PA, Alaska or wherever.

Unfortunately for me, I like to read about real places, real restaurants, particularly since I live in New York. Some places I create, but some I don't like Tribeca Grill or Eleven Madison Park, or shopping at Saks or Lord & Taylor's. Mentioning sample sales or shopping at Target and Loehmann's. That's the New York that I live in.

Anyway, happy Mardi Gras!