" Sounds like a good summer read"

That is the comment from one of the ladies who critiqued "Madelaine" at the workshop yesterday.

The other was a young woman whose own writing was divine and she said "I know exactly who the characters are and how vulnerable Madelaine is and I get the feeling that Raphael is a bad dude. Am I right? Well, it was hard to take the grin off my face as that is what we wanted to portray right from the beginning.

It was a most enjoyable day except for the accoustics. Even with my Hearing Aids ( I am hard of hearing) a great deal is lost to the rafters in the church where the workshop took place. Thank goodness we get handouts and Liz takes good notes.

Dinner at a Greek restaurant was a good place to hash over what we had learned and it will all be put to good use as we start the rewrite. The major thing we did learn is... We have been doing things correctly so hopefully the rewrite will not be such a long journey.

I just had a pop-up from another blog that I read almost daily. You have heard us mention an author that we are in correspondence with, Louise Penny. We are both great admirers of her work and as a fellow Canadian we are so proud of her success . Last night in Washington she won and "Agatha" award. Bravo Louise. Read her books any chance you get. She has finished number four and is halfway through her fifth. You too will fall in love with Armande Gamache.

It is a beautiful day today but I am so full of the workshop I will need to get something down on paper while they are fresh in my mind. A writers work is never done!!! Maybe I can throw on a wash and stick a roast in the oven while I let the ideas germinate so that I can finish the finale of Madelaine.

Those of you waiting on chapters I believe Liz has another ready to send.

Enjoy your day and feel free to comment on anything you see written here.

Pam

"Very Promising"

Two small words, yet words capable of providing encouragement and affirmation!

Today, Pam and I attended a Writing and Revising Workshop here in Guelph, under Brian Henry's instruction. This is his 3rd workshop I've attended - Pam a few more than that. The information covered today was extremely helpful and once again shows Pam and I that we are on the right track.

As mentioned earlier, we were to bring 1000 words we had written, and 4 copies of it at that. In the class, we broke up into small groups to read and critique each other's work if we had brought a sample in. (For some reason Brian thought Pam and I shouldn't be sitting together for this exercise - imagine!)

So I sat with two unknown fellow writers, and for the first time since this journey began, read aloud part of Body Perfect, in front of total strangers. A little unnerving! However, they were both very supportive, and offered some good suggestions. Both said they would very much to like read more and know where the story was going - to me that's VERY positive! And of course, the tables were turned for each of us in turn, as I then had to offer comments and encouragement on their pieces of work.

I imagine Pam will recount her experience with unveiling Madelaine in front of strangers as well!

After the exercise was done we regrouped. Brian asked for feedback from the class on how we felt the critiquing had been. Not many comments were forthcoming from the 20 or so participants, so I raised my hand and expressed the feeling that I found the experience very worthwhile, had received some good suggestions and it was good to have fresh eyes see my/our work.

If only I had known!

"Up here", says Brian, indicating I should join him at the front of the class . "And bring another copy"

Much to my chagrin and racing heart, I was to read it again to the whole class. 1000 words never seemed so long!

Sat back down and then, of course, the whole class was invited to comment. More suggestions received, all constructive and borne of other's experience. Most I believe I will incorporate into the story, along with Brian's suggestions.

He summed up by saying , "Bodies in stories are a dime a dozen - but a story about the body being a porcelain doll? Very promising" (Can you see me beaming from here???)

So now I see the opening of Body Perfect from a different perspective and will be doing a bit of rework and see how it sounds, and then if Pam is in agreement with the changes, that will go for the final draft.

All in all a very good seminar today, and we enjoyed a good meal afterward, I'm just waiting to hear from Pam that she arrived home safely.

Hope your weekend is going well...

Cheers!
Liz

Putting the 'tear' in Cafe-tear-ia

If you know me at all, you know I love plays on words, puns, and most kinds of humour (laughing at someone elses expense is not really funny - unless its my own!). And I really appreciate that gift in others as well! As an aside, for those in the know, there are lots of "in-jokes" Pam and I have incorporated in our stories.

Now to explain the "tear"...no surprise to my partner!

I was quite productive last evening and was able to complete about 1400 words, as promised, on our Madelaine. It was a scene fraught with emotion and sentiment, and I was completely spent when done! Sent it off post haste to Ms Blance for her perusal, and then this morning at break we went over it.

During the work day, when we have time to review each other's work, we usually take turns reading aloud what the other has written - Pam was insistent on reading what I had written, and had to keep stopping to wipe the tears from her eyes! I'm sure it caused one or two raised eyebrows in the cafeteria, but no matter - all in a good cause! We can only hope our present, and future, readers will be moved in the same way - perhaps we should offer a free pak of travel tissue with each edition purchased - embossed with a Jamie Tremain logo of course! A freebie is nothing to sneeze at!

I suppose that's the point of this journey - to create a story with characters that one can relate to; can enjoy reading about, and are interested in. If we manage to obtain a reaction such as Pam had today, then I think we will have succeeded!

We are looking forward to attending Brian Henry's workshop this Saturday, and as Pam had the good fortune today to win our PayDay draw at work (the second time in as many months!), she may really enjoy our dinner afterwards - we plan to dine at a local Greek restaurant I have frequented several times.

I plan to take the evening off from story writing, and instead should be trying to put the finishing touches on the monthly newsletter I put together for our Centre.

Enjoy your evening and we'll be sure to report in after attending the workshop on Saturday!

Cheers!

Liz

Summer Already?

What happened to Spring? My favourite season of the year, I love the spring, the warming temperatures, the rebirth of all things green and budding, the clean scent in the air. But, here it is not even the end of April and we have already had one smog alert day! The temperatures are reaching the mid and upper 20's (celsius) and I've already achieved a tan line on my arm from sitting outside at lunch yesterday!

Don't get me wrong, summer is OK, but not this soon! As I sit here, the robins are in full chorus outside - lovely! How sad I feel when I hear people complain that the birds woke them up! After the dead silence of winter, to hear their singing is such a treat - not something I would ever complain about.

Spent some time last night with our Madelaine, the process seems to be slowing quite dramatically now, and like Pam, I feel the ending deserves much thought and is not to be rushed. This is a time to wrap up loose ends and try and ensure the dots all connect. I don't want to be complacent and count on catching errors at the time of revising and editing.

So last night I sent Pam the couple of pages I managed to produce, just to let her know I'm not just sitting here doing my nails, ha ha! I think I got the jump start I needed and so will plan on carrying on with my part this evening.

This Friday evening will see my daughter and I take in a local production of "The Mikado", something I'm looking forward to! I love live theatre and it will be a new experience for Christine, and I hope it will be a positive experience for her.

This week at work, we learned that our department will be moving lock stock and barrel from our comfy home on the second floor to the ninth floor! Pam has just survived being part of the team overseeing the move of another group to that floor, and now she will be even more involved as she herself will be part of the move. And all this in two weeks time! But I get left behind, as the duties I have been involved with will be remaining on the second floor.

This will affect our random comments and thoughts on the stories which we have been able to do in passing throughout the day! Oh well, I'm sure we will work around it!

Well, time to wrap this up and contemplate what I will be paying at the pump this morning as I make my commute back into Mississauga! It's just been a tad under the $1.20 a litre mark, so I try not to let the tank get below the first quarter, not quite so painful as a full tank fill up - yikes!

Enjoy the day!

Liz

"By the Grace of God go I"

Yesterday, Saturday ,was an eventful day or you could say uneventful depending how you looked at it. I live in Oakville which is approximately and hour and 20 minutes to my daughter's home in Barrie. After Peter's art class at Sheridan and a quick lunch we were on our way by 1.40pm. We were looking forward to a visit with the grans before dinner and as it was a lovely day, maybe a walk to the park. I was going to pick up dessert and a plant or flowers for Courtney's new apartment.

We arrived at 8.40pm tired and just a bit put out but when you hear why, we are just thankful to be save and sound.
Forty minutes into the journey Peter felt the need of some caffeine and the hit of nicotine he enjoys from time to time during the day. We always stop at the first full service station and I just stayed in the car reading up on all the latest gossip in a magazine while Peter went for his coffee. The traffic had been moving very smoothly, the sun was shining and was getting quite warm. I think you know where this is going.

When Peter came out his comment was, "Lets just wait until the traffic moves again as there seems to a problem!!!. The traffic did not move again for another 6 hours.

Not knowing what the problem was, everyone was complaining . More and more people came off the highway and the parking lot was jammed. We were not going anywhere. I called Courtney with the news and in the next few hours the news trickled in courtesy of many cell phones that at the next cut-off a fatal accident had closed down all lanes in each direction.

It turned out that an elderly couple , driving wherever, minding their own business were hit by a flying tailgate off a dump truck and they were mercifully killed instantly.
When the news got out the atmosphere changed as hopefully we all gave a thought to the family of the elderly couple.

There was no way of turning around on that stretch of highway and no exit. A few hearty souls decided to try and cross the farmers field in their big gas guzzler SUV's. At least one was stuck in the mud. Peter reported it was two women and some kids. Hope they made it to the other side.

It was interesting to watch how people reacted to the situation that had been forced upon them. I have to say that I probably met more people and had conversations with strangers that at any time in a long while. I felt sorry for the pregnant women and those with toddlers as you can only keep them happy for so long. The fast-food concessions did a brisk business and did not run out of anything.

I never go out of the house with out a book and I managed to read a couple of chapters of a Peter Robinson book. Dozed for a bit and then shared a sandwich with Peter along with lots of coffee.
No one was suffering and as nothing could be done to change the situation most made the best of a bad situation.

We eventually arrived in Barrie to a very wired little boy who was waiting to see Granma and Grandad and we were happy to see both our grandsons.

This is a long story but I wanted to get it down.

Today I have been writing Body Perfect and have sent off to Liz my scribbles. Worked on my 1000 words for the workshop and now its time to sit out in the glorious sun and read some more Peter Robinson.

Hope the weather is good where you are.

Pam

A Day Earlier This Week!

As promised last Sunday, I've made it here with another post before the full week went by!

What a glorious day weather wise! More like summer than spring, but it was sure nice to be able to head outside without a coat! Buds are forming on trees, and fields are turning green almost overnight.

I worked on Body Perfect today, didn't flow as well as I think it should have. But I have sent it along to the other half of JT and wait for her comments. For the rest of the weekend I need to work on my newsletter for work, prepare for the workshop next weekend and also try and find some down time somewhere in there! And then I will turn my attention to Madelaine.

Perhaps the fresh air has caught up with me, for I'm feeling pretty exhausted, although I really don't have much to show for that! So I think it will be another early night and hope the batteries recharge somewhat!

Cheers!
Liz

To clean or loaf, that is the question!

The last block of ice has melted from the park opposite my home. Summer temperatures have plopped themselves down on us and we are now basking in 20-24 degrees. It is great to see all the birds back and our friendly neighborhood chipmunk came right onto the deck last evening. They are beautiful creatures and very friendly. Looking for nuts of course. One of them must have spread the news that you can get chopped almonds laid out by my husband, at nine dollars a container!!!just for looking cute.

Worked on Madelaine this week and sent my offering to Liz. It's slow going as I am being careful of the accuracy and timing of events so that means reading and re-reading chapters to get my facts straight. Liz is working on Body so I am hoping to receive her writing soon. Next Saturday we will be at the Workshop "revising and re-writing" and we are looking forward to learning the next process in our journey in storytelling.

Having a very lazy morning and I am on my third cup of Java. Read all the doom and gloom in two newspapers and kept the best stuff to the end. I love the book reports and reviews and enjoy the housing sections. The house is quiet and I have all the windows open and it is heaven. Peter is at his college class in oil painting (or rather acrylics) the schools do not allow solvents. This is his last class and one more all day workshop before he gets his certificate. I am prejudiced but I think his work is super. I must remind him that I would like him to illustrate the book covers.

I am arguing with myself about how I will spend my day. Should I continue to loaf around or clean and do a wash. As I am not cooking today,( we are visiting my daughter and grandchildren in Barrie, so dinner is taken care off) so it is really not much of an argument. Yes, the dirty clothes and dust will still be there tomorrow. Glad that's settled.

I have started a short story to enter a contest for the "Elora Writers Festival" that takes place the first Sunday in June. Only managed a few pages so far so while I am waiting on "Body Perfect"to be sent by Liz I will try and finish what I started. Everyone has the same title and it is called "Harvest of Words".

Enjoy the good weather.

Pam

This is what 1000 words look like.

I will endeavour to add the first 1000 words of "Madelaine" that I need for the upcoming workshop with Brian Henry on the 26th in Guelph. We are both looking forward to this workshop and it could not be more timely as we are at the rewrite stage.
I have changed only a few lines and words and hope it stands on it's own. If you read this blog don't be shy about letting us know what you think and offer constructive critisism.

After a very busy day at work I decided to pick up my new glasses from the Optician. I have been home for three hours and my husband has not even noticed. They are quite different from my old pair so this tells quite the story. Men!!!

Okay. here's Maddy.

CHAPTER ONE

“Oh good Lord! Not ANOTHER meeting!!" Madelaine exhaled as the latest request hit her overflowing inbox. Only Tuesday and yet the thoughts of the weekend just past were fading rapidly. The ship had been amazing! The crew so dedicated to her comfort and attending to her every need, but best of all was meeting Raphael. Never in all her 33 years had she ever laid eyes on such a beautiful man. She had been attracted to his eyes and his smile but his other physical attributes soon became apparent. If it had not been for the wonderful conversations into the night as they watched the stars and the moon on the water Madelaine would have thought she was acting like a schoolgirl.

Madelaine Green was the successful owner and CEO of Executive Plus, a much sought after, high-end recruitment agency. Petite in stature, just over 5’, she radiated good health and dressed well to accent her trim figure and delicate features, minimal make up only enhanced her clear skin, clear blue eyes and softly curling short hair.

“Brains and beauty!! How will I ever be able to concentrate on my work?" thought Madelaine. As well as her responsibilities with her company, Madelaine had recently taken her mother to a nursing home where they were treating her for dementia. The stress of visiting her mother and her busy schedule at work made her more than ready for a respite in the sun. After three days on the water and meeting the man of her dreams, work was the furthest thing from her mind. The insistent ringing of her phone jolted her from her reverie. "Madelaine Green speaking, how may I help you?" answered Madelaine still in a trance. Then she heard his voice....
“Hello my love….have you missed me as much as I am missing you? I could wait no longer to hear the sound of your voice!”

Madelaine could feel the heat rise in her face and her heart could not help but react to that voice, and instantly she was transported back into the presence of this oh so attractive man! His handsome Spanish looks, searching deep brown eyes, and thick head of black hair fit well on his 6 foot, athletic frame. What woman would not be hopelessly attracted!

“Raphael! Where are you?” For when they had parted, he had implied that he would be returning to Venezuela, on Isla de Margarita, where he lived the life of an artist.
“I could not return home without seeing you again, and to tell you that you have inspired my next piece of art, but for which I am in need of your assistance. Please tell me that you will help me!”
“Help you? I don’t quite understand. But I would certainly love to see you again as well!”
“Ahhh. There, you have made my day, my dear Madelaine! Can we meet this week for dinner? I know of a quiet restaurant where we could continue our.,…” The phone disconnected!

“Hello? Raphael? Hello?” Dejectedly, Madelaine replaced the receiver and willed it to ring again, but to no avail. Minutes passed and she began to think she had just been daydreaming! Just as she began to come back down to earth, there was a knock at her office door. Her assistant stood there; apparently ready to usher in an unexpected visitor. One look at the man beside Shelley gave Madelaine the sense he would not take no for answer, and she began to mentally switch gears to deal with whatever was now at hand.

“Um…Ms Green? This is Inspector Kirwan of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force,” explained Shelley reading from a business card. She ushered in an imposing figure of a man every bit as handsome as Raphael, and Madelaine wondered at her good fortune to be so lucky. “What’s got into me?’” thought Madeleine shaking her head. “I really must get a hold of myself.” Gesturing to her visitor to sit, Madelaine tried to keep her mind on the Inspector and not on Raphael’s phone call.

Madelaine turned her gaze on her visitor and summed him up in an instant as a very confident and in control type of man. Dressed in casual but expensive clothes and with an air of authority, Inspector Kirwan came right to the point. Before Madelaine even had time to ask if he would like some refreshments, something she automatically offered anyone visiting her office, the Inspector said “Ms Green, I have to tell you something that is of National importance and I have a few questions for you. Our Intelligence reports informed us that you have recently returned from my beautiful island, or to be precise, were sailing in the waters surrounding The Bahamas. Is that correct?” said the Inspector making eye contact with Madelaine.

She tried madly to gather her thoughts and to figure out just what this man wanted. She boldly asked for some identification other than a business card. “I don’t know you from a hole in the ground and I am not about to give you any personal information until I see a badge or official I.D.” said Madelaine frostily.” “Maybe I should call security or our legal counsel that can be here in a few minutes” she concluded as she tried to take charge of the situation.

“I was just about to suggest that you should maybe have a legal representative
sit in on this conversation”, agreed Inspector Kirwan as he flashed what certainly looked like an official government badge. Madelaine reached for the phone to call her assistant and wondered how she could feel so euphoric one minute and very confused and upset the next.

“Please ask Brian Matesa to come to my office right away. I need to see him on a matter of urgency,” said Madelaine trying to keep her voice from wavering. She gave herself a mental shake “I am the CEO of the most successful head hunting agency in all of Virginia. This is MY turf and I am in control!”
She calmly requested that Shelley provide some coffee for the Inspector and herself, while they waited on the arrival of her legal counsel.

Enjoy and hope to hear from you.

Pam

Maybe not Voyeurism after all!!

Liz informed me today that I had spelled voyeurism wrong on my post yesterday . I had it spelled right but when I Googled the word I was horrified to find that I was definitely using the wrong word as the dictionary describes a voyeur as someone who gets sexual pleasure from watching others !!!

That was not what I meant at all. You can be assured that my people watching is all in innocence.

What a lesson learned. I will be much more careful in future and check any unfamiliar words or at least ones I don't use on a daily basis.

I still have to do a bit more to my 1000 words of Madelaine so look for it tomorrow.

Pam

Voyeurism

Working on the final chapter or chapters of Madelaine has me stopping and starting as I have not done with the rest of the book. The ending being as important as the beginning in that the reader should get a feeling of satisfaction and wishes it would not end or at least it is something they were not expecting.I am looking for a twist to make the ending zing.And so things are slower coming to fruition.

Like Liz, I have also been working on 1000 words to take to the workshop on the 26th.
I have reworked the opening of "Madelaine" and will post it tomorrow.

Being a writer gives me a wonderful sense of voyeurism as friends and family and almost everyone I meet or just observe gets the once over as I wonder if they could fit in to a characterization for a future story. So, you had better be on your best behavior if you don't want to be in my next book.

Spring bulbs are finally showing their green tips. Next month Liz and I hope to shut ourselves away in my friends place in Kincardine to start the rewrite. It will be hard if the weather is nice but...

Post again tomorrow.
Pam

A Small Revision

Here it is, Sunday again. Seems I am getting into the habit of blogging here only once a week, must try and increase that a bit I think!

I believe Pam or I mentioned a while ago, we have another writing workshop coming up in a couple of weeks. This one will focus on writing and revising, so the timing is very good for us, seeing as we are getting that much nearer to the completion of Madelaine, if not both stories.

As an exercise for the class, we can bring a 1000 word example of our work, so Pam and I decided we would bring a sample from each story, she will focus on Madelaine and I on Body Perfect.

That led to a review of the first few pages of the story. The opening paragraph of Body Perfect is over in the side bar of our blog's front page. Below is what I worked on yesterday, tightening up some scenes and adding a little here and there.


The Porsche was traveling so quickly, he instinctively swerved to miss the bundle tossed from the rear of the speeding van in front of him. Checking his rear view mirror and watching the sack coming to rest at the side of the road, he wondered if it could actually be a body curled up in there, or just a large bag of trash, casually disposed of by an inconsiderate driver? How quickly the mind makes split second decisions. Should he keep driving and dismiss what he had seen, or stop and go back? If it was a body, he would have to call the Portland area authorities and that would mean a delay he could not afford. For if, he was even 30 minutes late, then the long anticipated partnership merger might fizzle to nothing and his business future would take a downward turn.

At this stage in his life, Paul J Barron was an extremely successful business man and he prided himself on his proven ability to think on his feet – making instant business decisions when necessary was his forte. So he could not dismiss what he had seen and knew as he slowed to a stop that his conscience would not let him drive on without investigating.

He dialed into his Blackberry and quickly informed his senior administrative assistant to use all her charm and delaying tactics to hold the Japanese delegation that would soon arrive at his office. The day was overcast and cool but for some curious reason Paul began to sweat. Was it fear of finding a body or, worse case scenario, a dismembered body? His imagination was running overtime.

"Probably just a load of old clothes someone had decided to offload,” laughed Paul shaking his head. This would be a good story for the guys at the club when he played golf on Saturday.

After three years in the Military, Paul had seen his share of dead bodies but this seemed different to him. He swung his car around and made his way back to the unmoving, large lump in the green trash bag. Staying in the car, Paul surveyed his surroundings. “Not one car on the road when I need one”, he thought to himself. To make things even more uncomfortable a soft rain started to fall. Paul stepped out of the car and made his way over to the suspicious mound.
A small branch lying nearby would provide the appropriate tool with which to test the contents through the plastic. “A pair of those disposable gloves would come in handy right about now”, he thought. The first gentle prod yielded a sense of softness within; a little more force and he met with resistance, and a tear in the plastic. There was not enough of an opening to see anything, so with no other alternative, he enlarged the hole. Instinctively, Paul held his breath and prepared to start breathing through his mouth.

“What the…?”

It was a body all right, but definitely not the human kind. Glossy jet-black hair spilled through the opening and it was clearly the crowning glory of an oversized doll. Stooping down to get a closer look, he marveled at the exquisite detail of the fully dressed, life-like creation. Its appearance reminded Paul of a Geisha, with its rich and colourful kimono and ghostly white face. In fact, the doll brought to mind Kimi, a girl he had once met in Japan. Paul began to fold back more of the plastic. He had never seen anything like this, not in all his travels. It seemed to be a unique, hand constructed doll, possibly expensive – but why had it been tossed from that van?

It would certainly make a very special gift once cleaned up a bit, and so Paul scooped up the doll and then got more of a sense of its size. “Must be almost four feet tall!” he thought in amazement, not only at its size, but its eerie similarity to a human body.

Turning back to his car with his new passenger, whom he was already mentally referring to as Kimi, Paul carefully laid the doll in the trunk, as he did not want to have to explain his new companion to the valet at his office building. Now that his breathing was back to normal Paul’s mind switched gears, thinking about the upcoming merger and what it would mean to him should things not go the way he visualized.

The traffic was light and he made good time. His mind on other things, Paul did not notice the silver Volvo slip in behind him as he entered the underground parking lot of his office building on SW Meadows Dr. The vehicle’s windows were tinted black so he would not have seen the two people who were watching his every move. He handed his keys to the valet, made some small talk with the attendant on duty, and then ran towards the elevator.

But, entering the elevator he pushed the button for the lower parking level instead of the topmost floor. He had made the decision to go back to his car and retrieve the doll. His assistant could have a good laugh at his new “girlfriend” and perhaps they could try to figure out where she came from.

His car had been taken to its reserved stall in the lower parking level and as he made his way toward it, he noticed two men approaching his sports car from the direction of the ramp. Not your usual car snatchers, or thugs seen lately and who had committed numerous car heists, especially with premium cars such as his Porsche. These men were wearing very expensive looking suits, but even at first glance, Paul felt threatened by them.

“Never seen these guys before,” thought Paul. They were moving quickly as if they were late, or didn’t want to be detected. Paul had entered the garage unnoticed as they made their way to his Porsche. At that point, the hairs on Paul’s neck were standing up as a wave of adrenaline rushed over him. He had the foresight to duck behind another car as one of the two men momentarily hesitated and began to turn in his direction.


So it will be with some excitment, fear, and trepidation, that Body Perfect come under professional scrutiny!!

Hopefully Pam has recovered from her social activities of last night! I had both my sons and their families drop in for a short visit, which was nice. Some video gaming time spent with 5 year old Michael, and computer time with almost 3 Makenna. And today I am off to a training seminar in Mississauga. As a side line to everything else going on in my life, I am venturing into being a consultant for Beauti-Control skin care products. Part of their initial start up package requires a day long training session and then the balance of the start up kit I ordered will be made available, as well as receiving access to a personalized web-page of my own. This will allow any customers of mine to order directly online. Oh, yes, I will publish a link here - not to miss any opportunities!

And having said that, its time to get off this computer and get ready for the day. I am getting picked up at 7 a.m. to be there for an 8 oclock registration. Hoping to be back home by 4...is that too late in the day for a nap??

Have a good one.

Cheers!

Liz

The End is Near....

....for 'Madelaine', or so I have suggested to my partner, Pam. Last night saw me bringing some of the loose ends together and when I had finished, realized there really is not a lot more to say.

She agrees and doesn't want to rush into the closing of this story we have worked on for nearly a year! Its almost anti-climatic and when I realized the ending is just around the corner, I can't describe the feeling I had. Almost as if I hadn't fully grasped that an ending would have to eventually arrive - I think it actually took me by surprise! But then that so often happens in real life does it not - we are not always prepared for endings.

Its been a glorious spring day today! Very little of the snow remains, crocuses and other bulbs are bravely making their appearance.

I enjoyed a good church service this morning and was glad I went. Then some down time for the rest of the day, relaxing and deliberately not thinking about writing. However I agreed with myself that would only last until dinner time, and so here I am - thinking about writing! I think I will open the latest instalment on Body Perfect sent to me by Pam and see where my thoughts go. I don't think I will need to look for icebergs today, as when I initially read what she had written, I did have some inkling of where I wanted to go with it.

Another work week looms - may it go as quickly as the weekend!

Cheers
Liz

Just like a Marathon

I have been writing since 5.30pm and it is now 10.03. I walked a couple of half Marathons a few years ago and this feels similar. I should really be in training for this novel writing as it does take a lot out of you but when you finish what you started that day( just like the marathon) you feel great.
Tonight I was working on Body Perfect. Chapter 19 and managed 6 pages or about 1200 words.

I am not so lyrical as my partner and I was not inspired by anything I had seen on Television but I know what she means by one little thing triggering a thought that will get you started on a story.
Much of my thinking time is in the car or doing everyday mundane things. Stories or plots are always running in my head so now Liz and I both have small recorders to capture our best thoughts and ideas for stories. I am not sure about Liz but this is invaluable to me as I have a mind like a sieve and thoughts can disappear in the blink of an eye.

So now Mrs Lindsay the ball or the stories are both in your court (no pressure) and I look forward to seeing where you will take these (I am sure) Blockbusters.

Weather is changing for the good and the w/e is to be in the double digit so enjoy the fine weather and we will speak soon.

Pam

Inspiration's Unlikely Source

Apr 2 2008

No fooling!

The plan for last evening was to add some more to Body Perfect. It seemed to be a repeat of the last time I intended to write - nothing was flowing. I had had no problem with Madelaine and whipped off a few hundred words just like that! Knowing that Pam was waiting for something new to work with on Body, I started to feel a sense of frustration setting in with my lack of ideas. Where did I want to take this next part of the story? Ideas rolling around in my head didn't seem to warrant the effort of transferring them to the computer.

As a diversion (read - stalling tactic) I decided to check out the day's internet news items. Keep in mind yesterday was April 1 and often there are some cleverly disguised headlines designed to fool even the most observant.

Britain often produces some great hoaxes and I chanced on a news item headlining some. Big Ben due for repairs and the clock face would be replaced with a digital clock - was one of the better ones. And then there was video clip - purporting to show flying penguins! Very well done the story was and I enjoyed a chuckle or two as it unfolded. The snow and ice were the backdrop scenery, with some icebergs off in the distance.

Voila! The inspiration hit, and I started the next line in the story, "Apparently we have just scratched the tip of the iceberg with this case....." And unlikely as it seemed, seeing an iceberg triggered a story line and I was once again working the keys!! From there it just flowed - or maybe I should say "floed" ! Apologies to Webster and Oxford for creating a new word.

At any rate, by evening's end I was satisfied with my efforts and Pam seemed to enjoy it as well, so now Body Perfect is back in her court. And I will get back to Madelaine very soon.

So, don't get discouraged fellow writer, if things don't seem to work when you want them to - the words will come!

Oh, and it certainly feels as if spring is really here!

Cheers!
Liz