Very Merry

Hello, all my readers! And a happy holidays to you.

(This would be all of our christmas tree ornaments:

a combo of mine, his, the boy's and the ones my mom didn't want anymore.)

My time has been precious lately, between the sudden rush of busy-ness at work through to the decorating of the tree and the required apartment organization that goes with it (because where the tree goes is where I usually keep the bicycles and getting to the tree in our one big closet is a task all its own). It took an extra week after the tree decorating to even find the stockings.

That being said, my novel research/reading has been a little slow. I have made no character sketch developments. My one big advance is I'm fairly certain I've picked what locale's folklore I'll be basing my supernatural elements on, which has resulted in a slew of new books I need to read in order to bulk up the holes in my Celtic myth knowledge and how those myths translate to American descendants. Should be fun.

In short, I'm adding to the research list more than I'm subtracting at this point, which is okay. Even though I spent part of last night raving about how I feel like I'm not accomplishing enough, I'm cutting myself some holiday slack. There's enough to do with the wrapping and the planning and the purchasing without adding in a set amount of book research that needs to be done before the new year. It will keep.

I did "finish" the Golden Bough, however. Not useful at all. I skimmed most of it in a half hour, becuase I got frustrated by its continued lack of relevance.

I also received my third personalized rejection letter in as many months. "We really like your stuff but not this time. Send us more later!" I know it's a good thing that almost all of the literary magazine submissions I make result in this sort of letter, but I'm really starting to develop a complex about being good but not quite good enough.

Enjoy your holidays. I'm about to enter into a little over a week of vacation from work. I plan on getting a lot done... but not until after the holiday. I wish you much pie and good cheer.

Writing, or lack thereof, While Researching a Novel

I'm in the midst of novel research. This consists mostly of reading haunted house stories and the nonficitonal tome the Golden Bough. So far, I've finished Richard Matheson's Hell House, started in on Shirley Jackson's The House on Haunted Hill, as well as the first few chapters of Bough, which doesn't even begin to put a dent in this encyclopedic book.

I haven't restricted my education to books either. I've watched and rewatched Del Toro's Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which is where the inspiration for the book sprouted from in the first place. This past weekend, I took in a Netflix-sponsored viewing of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, as well as innumerable episodes of Ghost Hunters International, which has already filled my head with potential hauting phenomena.

Yes, all of these things are, in my case, legitimate work-related activities. This is one of the reasons I love being a writer, even on the occasions that the act of writing makes me want to hurl my pricey macbook across the living room.

As I accumulate ideas, reading and reading, I have not done much at all of writing. This is to be expected, but it still feels as though I'm not accomplishing anything. By that token, I thought perhaps it might be time to begin some character sketches on those people I know will be occupying my novel. As of yet, I know some aspects about them, but not one yet has a name to call his or her own.

To learn about my characters, I find the exercises focused on characterization in the Fiction Writers Workshop and What If? come in handy as long as I adapt them for the situation at hand rather than using their scenarios verbatim. For literary fiction, the characters are key, because without character, you have no real conflict. That means it's just as vital to research them as it is to research my subject matter.

Additionally here are a few character sketch templates free online:
1. http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1569061-Character-Sketch-Template
2. http://sx9eiw8ieu.wordpress.tal.ki/20101018/character-sketch-template-3-176317/

And for general writerly inspiration when I feel like giving up, Word Work has some sage advice for the weary writer and the importance of avoiding procrastination.

I'm anxious to start putting my fingers to the keys and getting chapters banged out, but I know that nothing salvagable will result until I have a basic plan, not a play-by-pay, mind you. What I do need is a little bit more than I have now, an expert knowledge of the characters, their motivations, backstories, thoughts. I need a deeper foundation of the tropes of the haunted house novel and legends on a certain type of folkloric creature (which I'm hoping the Bough provides), both of which require more reading and notetaking. It might be a while yet before I can really start in on page one.

In the meantime, I'll have to satisfy myself by sketching house blueprints and characters, scenery descriptions and notes on potential plot arcs. It's a matter of slowing down and letting the story come to me.