Turning Over A New Leaf

Today I’m going to turn over a new leaf with this blog. I am going to stop whinging away on it. Don’t gasp, it’s true. It’s too easy for me to get stuck in this weird place of listing every aggravating thing that happens in my life. The truth is we all deal with difficulties and there is no point in giving it more credence than it deserves.

Instead, I am going to focus on the writing (and how that’s going), movies, art, music and anything that gets me super excited. At the end of the day, there are a lot of things out there in this world that bring me real pleasure. For example, walking to the subway today, the sun was bright and the air was crisp. It’s a fleeting moment of real beauty. Yum.

With that said, let’s get to it. So the night before last, I added another 913 words to my novel. It’s moving along. I really wish I knew where this story was heading. I sincerely have a deer-in-the-headlight look on my face when I approach the page these days. But I trust the process and spend time with these characters a little bit every day. I don’t quite have the language of the children down yet…they talk older than their chronological age. It’s taking every ounce of self will not to try to edit while I write this rough draft. I have to gently remind myself edits come after I finish the story. The climax is coming up and I’m not sure if I’m ready to tackle it yet. I am just focusing on the next 1,000 words. If I keep the blinders on, I don’t spook so easily. Hehehe…it’s funny ‘cause it’s true.

On a personal note, I found out my 10-year old kitty Pandora has been sick for quite some time. In the past year, she’s gone from being a 15 lbs cat down to 9 lbs. At first, I thought it was a natural weight loss because she was getting older and it happened so gradually. I told some friends and they thought it might be diabetes. So this past week has been about vet visits, blood work, waiting for test results, talking to the vet about meds and costs. She has hyperthyroidism which can be managed with meds. I have to thank my lovely friends for all their love and support these past weeks. It’s helped me stay calm despite my rising panic. Pandora has been with me through thick and thin the past 7 years and I’m glad she is on the mend.

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Bitty Blog

I spent Monday writing. Thank goodness! I thought for sure that I was never ever going to know the “what next” of this story. To be candid, I still don’t quite know yet but I plodded through a couple of more pages. My brain wants me to make changes and edits NOW but I need to finish out the story arc before I start going back to add/delete/change what I’ve written so far. Otherwise, I’m just going to get stuck into a loop of the same three or four chapters without a coherent sense of either the climax or the ending. I thought for sure my disposition/mood would lift instantaneously with a few more pages under my belt. But that doesn’t seem to be the case and I continue to grumble my way through this icy rainy day.

My day job has been very busy of late. Year-end reports and a new batch of candidates / recruits are working their way through this office and I seem to be playing the role of traffic cop. I don’t mind busy…it keeps my brain from spinning out of control. However, I find myself dreaming about white sandy beaches and clear blue water. It might be the winter blues…yes, it could be that. And day dreaming about beaches really doesn’t help matters…in fact, it makes me grumpier. Hehehe. Yes…I giggled because even I know how pathetic I sound at the moment.

I do have to say that my little African violet has a handful of purple blossoms open at the moment. It’s a lovely burst of color in this very beige office. And the color helps me deal with the people in this office who throw hissy fits when things don’t go their way. Yes, apparently adults can be toddlers too. Is it wrong to openly laugh at them? Hmmm?


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2010 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Room

I spent last night and early morning reading Emma Donoghue’s novel, Room. The protagonist is a 5-year old boy and it’s written from his point of view. I thought if I couldn’t do much in the way of writing, I may as well read/research for my novel. Since I have some young characters in my story, I thought this book would help give me ideas on how language is used in the mouth of a young child. But this novel doesn’t seem to work for me for that purpose. Wait, that’s not quite right. On the one hand, the fact that this child has a limited world view works really well. So there is some leeway in the way words and language are manipulated. However, this heavy-handed version of child’s point of view is difficult on this reader. I found myself trying to skim through parts to get past the very young introverted portion of the character. It’s a difficult balance. At times, the language is ballooned but those are the times that I am pulled out of the story.

I am a big fan of Emma Donoghue and this is not a review of her book…I am looking at the craft of this particular novel in relationship to the science fiction story that I am trying to write. My mind is circling around the “what next?” of my story and the answer right now is “I don’t know.” At times, I really want to give it up and just move on to work on some poetry or a short story just to get me writing again. In fact, this blog entry is helpful to understand the way I’m thinking about this story that I’m trying to develop.

This week, I worked on some loose sketches for some painting projects down the line. Playing with some color helped to chill out this frustrated mood I’ve been in. It’s not completely gone but the bad mood is not the only thing I see now. The last couple of days have been bittery cold here in New York City. The wind burns the edges of my face but the cold feels good. It reminds me that I am alive and awake and I can move forward with my novel. 


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.