Here’s me, blathering on–well, it’s only a minute so I guess that can’t be called blathering–about podcasting. The woman doing the intro is my student, Laurie Sullivan. This was very impromptu, after class one night.

Click here and then click on “Tools of the Trade” on June 10.
You’ll find it under “Tools of the trade, part 2.”

Just a little bit every day, at least, accumulates. I’m up to page 313 and I wish I could say there’s an end in sight for my novel, Starletta’s Kitchen, but there’s not. Here’s where an outline would come in handy. But outlines haven’t worked for me. I’ve tried outlining. I get bored. I want to write.

I return to the idea of writing a book on craft. A blog I read this morning prompted that thought–again. Someone … Gail…. (Here is her blog…) said wonderful things about my book, especially for someone who doesn’t like books on writing, but said it didn’t go deeply enough into craft for her, and I thought two things: One, it wasn’t supposed to–and Gail knew this and indicated such–and two, there’s so much to say about craft so that it gets through and isn’t loaded down with verbiage, y’know? I’ve been wanting to do such a book, to take up where Pen on Fire leaves off.

Pen on Fire skims craft and focuses more on getting started and staying on the path. It’s good for that. Craft, though, is the next step. There are few books on craft that I recommend. And none that I can think of that quote authors other than the author of the book itself, as I would.

I mean, is there a good chapter in any writing book that covers filters? Janet Burroway in Writing Fiction goes into filters more than any book does, though she could go even more into them. And I’m not talking about the filters that you use in your fish tanks or swimming pool, but the filters we insert in narrative that diffuse the power of the sentence, of the image: “I could see the car in the alley emitting a cloud of exhaust that choked the birds, the bugs, and me” instead of “The car in the alley emitted a cloud of exhaust that choked the birds, the bugs, and me.” Remove the filter and you have a stronger sentence, no?

Or a writing book that talks in depth about the various types of outlines there are and how you pick one that reflects your personality? Or how you should choose none because that’s your personality?

Anyway, I was sitting here working on my book before Travis wakes up, wearing a black hat befitting Zorro that belongs to my son (Why a hat? If you have Pen on Fire, somewhere in the book, author Kelly James-Enger talks about putting on a hat when she writes fiction so everyone, including herself, will know it’s time for fiction) and I thought to blog while I was thinking (again) about this book idea on craft.

…..

If you’re here in Orange County, and want something literary to do today, come down to the Huntington Beach Barnes & Noble off Edinger and Beach at 1:00 for Jo-Ann Mapson’s signing and talk. Her new book is The Owl & Moon Cafe. You can also listen to the podcast of the show with Jo-Ann.

….and so are the books on the mantel.

And regarding the lilies, they look like silk flowers, don’t they? But nay, no silk flowers in this pad. There are never enough flowers in a life.

I say this to my students all the time and it’s true. Most of us have to do it first thing.

This morning I said screw it to exercise and I sat down to work on Starletta’s Kitchen. (I must admit, I first polished our silver butter dish and four pieces of silverware that were left sitting on the island–long story…)

I fed the goldfish–two new little ones in the tank this morning that Travis and my brother-in-law won at the Orange County Fair yesterday– filled the kettle, turned on the computer and DID NOT check e-mail, but opened Word and opened my last chapter, the one I was working on before my hard drive crashed a few weeks ago–Chapter 23–and started tweaking. Then I continued writing and now I’m back into it.

That’s the thing about momentum; once you lose it, it’s so hard getting it back. You have to force yourself. First thing in the morning is what works for me. I know this, but when I start making exercise important, I tell myself I have to do that first thing, too, or it doesn’t get done. But both can’t be done first. Maybe I’ll alternate mornings … I don’t know. Or keep mornings when everyone’s sleeping to write fiction and get Travis to ride bikes with me or something during the day. Maybe during low tide today–4:30?–we can walk to the beach and look for sea glass.

But it’s the doing of it every day, or most days, that keeps you locked in. And like most things, being half in and half out is being nowhere.

…if it’s nonfiction. Y’all know this, yes?

I met someone last night who didn’t know this, who is writing a how-to book on educating kids. He thought you had to write the entire draft.

That’s really only for fiction and memoir. Forms where the dramatic arc is vital.

How-to books, service books….you do a book proposal. About 50 pages. I sold Pen on Fire on the basis of 50 pages. Of course I had many more because I had been working on the project for years. But I only submitted the best chapters with the proposal.

New writers–authors-to-be–think it’s more impressive to an agent and editor if they’ve writtent he entire book. But no. An agent may want to shape the project differently. And your editor will need something to do.

One of the best books on how to write a book proposal is called just that and it’s by Michael Larson. It’s been in print for years. I used it for Pen on Fire.

There are exceptions to every rule, but unless you are an exception, follow this rule.

I woke up at 6:30 with a start, remembering that I’d forgotten a student’s housewarming party yesterday. Then another friend–a former student–just wrote to me and scolded me (lovingly, I hope) for not posting something meaty to my blog. (I’m a vegetarian–what can I say?) He wants something controversial.

Well, what’s controversial in my life is how I’m hardly working on my novel. Brian (Mr. Focus) thinks I should be able to avoid everything–mostly email; “I haven’t checked my email in three years!” he says–and write fiction and just not think about the rest.

Dennis Palumbo said email is the death of writers. YES! We think, What did I do without email? But I remember my focus of yesteryear, when email was not on my radar screen.

Okay, here’s my day. I wake up early, feed the cats, feed the fish, and if it’s early enough–6:30, say, before the sun glares–I go for a walk. Got to keep the bulge at bay, but so far it’s winning.

Back at home, I make a cup of tea. I add a drop of soymilk. And then I deal with emails.

And then….there’s my parttime gig editing the ASJA Monthly (www.asja.org), which I’m on deadline for. There’s the 2007 ASJA conference, which I’m cochairing. There’s my online students at Gotham, there’s my two workshops I teach privately. There’s my web site, that needs updating, and my radio show, which I book. There’s, of course, updating my blog. And there’s more.

And there’s my son, my number one priority. He’s 11. When gets up, forget about writing fiction.

Yesterday I told Brian I think I need to rent an office. A room empty except for a desk. NO INTERNET ACCESS, no email. Maybe have a computer that stays there and it’s only for fiction.

Actually, this is something else I’ve been thinking about doing: Opening a Writers Room-type place where people rent time/space to write. Only write.

I use a dayplanner and meet my deadlines. Fiction tends to be the thing that suffers. Brenda Ueland said writers need idling time, time to dawdle, meander about. I had that once. And it was great. My life is different now. I don’t have idling time. But I also enjoy what I do and feel grateful to be able to make a living writing and teaching.

Or maybe it’s that I’m at the 300 page mark and am losing interest in my story.

I sound confused. That’s enough about me. Tell me about your discipline and how you are able to write fiction in the midst of your busy lives.

(This meaty enough for you, J?)