Getting it right

Well, I'm still NOT getting it right. I have not been able to launch this site to the world and not being that tech-savvy, it's driving me a little crazy. So I keep asking questions... which is really the best way forward! Don't give up, don't stop asking questions. It's the way we get things done. We need to value our work, our voices and not let technicalities get in the way

Today I have been working on turning my radio segments about a quiet, northwest coast town and its quirky inhabitants into a novel. It has been written for radio, which means I have been focusing on sound and sound effects--that's great, but not the same as using words to create what the sound evokes. I love the challenge though.

Still, I get caught up in "how-to" so much, that I don't move forward in th project...! Is that something that happens to you? looking at the mechanics of a thing and letting that take your attention, so you no longer have your eye on the ball, you are all focused on holding the ball and what it's made of... Not even on throwing it.

So today, I reviewed a lot of old notes. I have 29 characters, 10 settings, and lots of character arcs. I have enjoyed creating them in their quirkiness and individual stories, and they ARE linked to each other. But making it into a novel is a different task. I am looking at its structure, identifying what it is I truly want to say, who the protagonist is (not who I suspected, actually!) and the antagonist (I didn't know I had one at first, everyone is so congenial). But this is not a series of little pastiches, they are linked and together they tell the story of this charming town and their efforts to save it, in spite of big business, big personalities, a curse and a little magic.

It's so easy to get your eye OFF the ball. Today I'm working on focus and helping each of these characters have a voice in their story. More to come...