© 2011 by Joyce Mason
All Rights Reserved
In case you’re wondering what on Earth is going on
here, see No
Small Change on The Radical Virgo. During October and November, I’ll be
doing short posts to take you along for the wild ride of rewriting and getting
my humorous, metaphysical mystery book ready for submission to the St.
Martin’s Press annual First Mystery Novel Contest.
Since my sights are set on submitting The
Crystal Ball to a contest, I have to follow the rules. (Capricorn Moon does
not mind this—in fact, she does not feel comfortable doing otherwise.) One rule
is that I can’t publish the book before submission, including on a blog or
website, except for brief excerpts. Since interpretation of “brief” lies in the
eyes of the contest judges, to play it safe, I’ve decided not to publish any of
actual text beforehand. The temptation is fierce, and I want you to know I’m
not as comfortable holding out on you as I am following the rule that requires
me to do it—if that makes any sense. So, the book blurb in the last post is all
I can say for now. (Lips zipped—or I guess that would be fingers.)
This first week, I’ve
written three more chapters and am amazed at how the plot thickens and the new
direction of the story line tells itself to me. I has been hard to do the “old
version” review, because my mind is so anxious to hear the new place the tale
is taking me. Still, there is much material from the original Life’s Companions to weave into the mix
of the old and new—just like Chiron weaves wholeness from the best of both old
and new, reflected by its position between Saturn and Uranus.
You probably won’t be
surprised to learn the chapters each begin with quotes—and that I find ones
that suit each part of the story that stun me for their perfect fit. I guess researching
all those Quotes for the Signs has paid off!
One of the best books I
have ever read, Higher Creativity: Liberating the Unconscious for Breakthrough Insights
by Willis Harman and Howard Rheingold, turned me on to the importance of down time in the creative process.
I’ve found myself “plumb tuckered,” an expression I learned from a Southern
belle, that I just love. I need to veg and to escape my own writing by reading
others’ novels. How do I fit it all in? My month has its share of previous
commitments, appointments, meetings, and a visit by my niece and her family.
Most of these things were planned before I got the Bell Rock Whisper that I was
being redirected to work on this book now. I’ve decided that I will continue to
rely on inner guidance to determine which things I can blow off or postpone and
which things I cannot … and those I simply have to view in a different way.
by Willis Harman and Howard Rheingold, turned me on to the importance of down time in the creative process.
I’ve found myself “plumb tuckered,” an expression I learned from a Southern
belle, that I just love. I need to veg and to escape my own writing by reading
others’ novels. How do I fit it all in? My month has its share of previous
commitments, appointments, meetings, and a visit by my niece and her family.
Most of these things were planned before I got the Bell Rock Whisper that I was
being redirected to work on this book now. I’ve decided that I will continue to
rely on inner guidance to determine which things I can blow off or postpone and
which things I cannot … and those I simply have to view in a different way.
On the latter, two
characters in the novel were inspired by my niece and one of her daughters.
What a perfect time for them to show up, where I can enjoy them and, at the
same time, observe them with my writer’s eye to polish April and Tansy, their
fictional counterparts.
Who knows what’s next?
These two months require Radical trust, that term I learned from the flower
essence, Barnacle, by Pacific Essences.
There’s my intuition
reminding me again—I have to restock that stuff!
Photo Credit: © kitchidk - Fotolia.com
Don’t forget the Comment Contest!
~~~
Photo Credit: © kitchidk - Fotolia.com
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