Ramble

Confession: More and more, I find myself waiting for the "right time" to do something, instead of seizing the moment I have.

Reading:

• "Balto" by T.C. Boyle
  
• The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  

Writing:

• "Ferian Fetlock Catches a Cold"
  

Revising:

• "Cora and the Sea"

Future Projects:

• Dairhenien's Library - Development
  
• Floorcraft - First rewrite of 1-5, first draft of 6-8
• Ferian Fetlock - "Ferian Fetlock Takes a Wife."
  
• "Motley" - Expansion
• "Fireworks and Earthworks" - 5% into first draft
  
• Untitled School Mistress Story

Unpublished Stories/Status (in chronological order of completion of first draft)

• "Pictures of the Old Port" - 5th Draft, Unsubmitted
• "What Price Stamps" - 3rd Draft, Submitted to The American Drivel Review, July 30th, 2008
  
• "The Frost Fugling" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Black Pudding" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Cora and the Sea" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Motley" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Leaves and Sunsets" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "A Happy Ending" - 1st Draft, Unsubmitted
• "The Revenant" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "Illuminated" - 3rd Draft, Unsubmitted
  
• "A Cup of Coffee" / "Morning Tea" - 2nd Draft, Submitted to Tea: A Magazine, July 29th, 2008
• "Ferian Fetlock Cures a Horse" - 2nd Draft, Unsubmitted
• "Hattie Donnelly's Favorite Doll" - 2nd Draft, Submitted to 24 Hour Short Story Contest, July 27th, 2008

A couple of times, I've mentioned the idea of taking a Ramble. I tend to capitalize this word in my head, and usually do in writing as well. The Ramble is an important part of writing to me, so I thought I would talk about it here today.

Basically, a Ramble is just me taking a walk and thinking about writing. That's not enough to earn it its own name, not by itself. There's a little more to it than that, though.

In order to take an effective Ramble, I must have no immediate draws upon my time. In other words, I can't worry about needing to be at a specific place at a specific time. I must also have no idea where I'm going. I just let my feet take me wherever they want.

The weather must be halfway decent--in other words, not so hot or rainy that I get uncomfortable. (You may have noticed that I didn't mention the weather not being too cold. Those who know me understand that this never happens.)

I always start out with my iPod playing music, usually something I'm so familiar with that it can just fade into the backgroun, or alternative, something evocative of the mood I'm in, or want to be in. For mood music, I'm particularly fond of the Lifescapes series, readily available at Target. They're inexpensive and of good quality, and I own virtually every one that has the word "Celtic" in the title. (About a dozen, at last count.) I know them all very well, having listened to most of them for over a decade.

Another favorite is They Might Be Giants. (Again, no surprise to anyone who knows me.) I know pretty much every one of their songs by heart. (Funny story--once I was driving and singing along to one of their songs. I was about to exit the highway when a car cut me off, and I had to swerve left to avoid getting into an accident. Then the car in the lane I had swerved into braked suddenly, and I had to do the same. I then returned to my former lane, passed the car that braked, and still managed to get off at the exit. Afterwards, I realized that I had not stopped singing along. I knew the song so well, that my brain and mouth were on autopilot even as I avoided disaster.)

About halfway through, I'll usually shut off the iPod and start writing in my head. I don't really do so linearly. Scenes will simply pop up, and I'll listen to the dialogue that results. I'll think of a particularly striking image, and devise metaphors to describe it.

After a bit of this, I'll start working on the structure. Scenes get put into their proper places. It's at this point that I figure out the first scene and the last scene, usually the most important in a short story. I figure out the development, the interconnections between characters. It's at this stage that the voices of my characters really come together.

When I'm satisfied, the music comes back on, and I go home. I sit down at my computer, and put together a short outline. I usually do it on a scene-by-scene basis, noting what plot points need to be covered in each scene, and any particularly good lines that I remember coming up with. Sometimes I elevate a metaphor from a one-shot line to a theme that runs through the story.

Finally, I write, starting at the beginning and going straight through, for the most part. Occasionally, if I realize I forgot something, I'll go back and add it in, then work back to the point where I stopped and forge on. When it's done, I'll check the finished story against my outline to make sure that I hit all the plot points that I needed.

Technically this is a first draft, although in practice, I've gone over most of the story several times to make sure everything fits together. Then I distribute it to my wonderful friendly awesome readers, who let me know if it makes sense. That feedback is beyond vital, because it lets me know whether my setup is enough of a setup, my development is deep enough, and my payoff is worthwhile.

I know I started this post as a description of a Ramble, but really, the writing is just the last step. I don't often get the chance of doing it all at once, except on the occasional weekend. Usually the writing takes longer, especially for longer stories. But the Ramble is the fun part. That's where the story comes into being. Writing it down is just a good way of sharing it.

Publication Status:

• Submitted: 5
  
• Accepted: 1
• Rejected: 1
• Pending: 3