From My Fantasy Writing Desk
To my delight, this week I reached the point in my current writing project (book 3 of my Tesha series) where I now have a clear sense of the whole plot arc. I mean really sharply defined, down to the specific scenes still ahead. I’m about 2/3 through in word count. (Don’t get too excited—there’s still all the editing to come after this draft.)
At the start of the week, I finished a major turning point in the plot and character development. Characters made choices I didn’t see coming. What can I say, I only imagine them and set them on their paths. They get to express their free will. I digested the implications. Some lines had been crossed that wouldn’t be “fixable.” Things had gotten personal in some of the most unforgivable areas of human life. A deep dive sorting of plot changes was in order. It went so much better than I feared.
My Writing Process
I lay out my novels from the beginning in a pretty detailed way. My plots have too many strands that intertwine, from international empire level to intimate family and lovers level. Those threads have to stay related to each other while also functioning independently. My brain would blow a fuse if I tried to hold that all in my head.
My solution is a wide board with semi-random post-it notes of rough scene ideas, major plot points, themes I want to keep in mind, character changes to reveal. The board has hard-lined onto it the overall structure that the novel will eventually have to fulfill if I want it to work for my readers. I corral and move scenes and ideas within that structure, so the end product works. The post-its jump around and get tossed and new ones added as the writing process solidifies my thinking. My characters throw wrenches into the best laid plans.
Fighting Fears
There’s always for me a nervous background noise of worry that, when it comes down to it, the plot and characters will fail to come through to form a novel I believe works. Any one of those vaguely phrased post-its, that has to carry a lot of weight in the story, could crumble as I try to write the scene for real. A pile of incoherent rubble could happen at any time. I get to those moments a lot. I pick myself up and brainstorm by myself or with a friend. The mountain of the story gets rebuilt. But what if it doesn’t? There’s always that question.
But this week I feel pretty sure I will not have to climb over any giant rubble piles to reach the finish line. I’ll fall in some pits here and there. There are still a few ridiculously vague propositions in the mix. While swimming my laps in my socially isolated exercise this morning I did figure out how to provide redemption for the character who had a post-it suggesting he would but no suggestion as to how. Let’s give a cheer for water-induced creative thinking. I recommend it. Showers or pools or any source of water seems to work.
You can see my tidy, complete board in the photo. What started as a lot of penciled, scribbled yellow (cheap bulk ones) post-its has migrated into typed, well-defined scene markers, color coded by the point of view character of each. Clarity lifts and speeds my writing. Considering how hard the daily project of writing is at the best of times, that’s lovely news.
Archaeology I Enjoyed
Exploring the Egyptian Book of the Dead
Ancient Egypt, anyone? This is a gorgeous online tour with more than the usual clear information along with the visuals. Originally an exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum in 2018, this online version was made at the time for permanent viewing. Click here for the Oriental Institute Museum Arts and Culture Google “Book of the Dead”
Overview of exhibit:
The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is a series of magical spells that promised to transform any living person into an immortal divinity in the afterlife. This exhibit of more than 50 objects explores what the Book of the Dead was, what it was believed to do, how it worked, how was it was made, and what happened to it. The show features two spectacular Books of the Dead—one 41 feet long—which are shown in their entirely for the first time in nearly a century. A recreation of a burial with a rarely exhibited mummy shows how so many objects inscribed with the Book of the Dead literally surrounded the deceased, some spells being written on linen bandages, others on amulets that were placed on the mummy, yet others on bricks that were embedded in the walls of the burial chamber. The exhibit presents the newest research on the Book of the Dead, what it meant to the ancient Egyptians, and how through text and elaborate imagery, they sought to live forever as gods. A fully illustrated catalog edited by exhibit curator Dr. Foy Scalf accompanies the show.
You can also download the catalogue of the exhibit “Book of the Dead: Becoming God in Ancient Egypt”
Time Travel to Nineveh
Enjoy a time travel guide written for the ancient city of Nineveh. Go for a visit as if you were a traveler in ancient times. The British Museum has the collection to do this right! Historical city travel guide: Nineveh, 7th century BC
(I think I’d pass on this activity…)
I also discovered at the NY Public library the freely available digital files of “The Monuments of Nineveh from drawings made on the spot by Austen Henry Layard” That’s where I found the line drawings here. The British Museum also uses his paintings for their tour. His painting of the great hall is at the top of this post.
