Monday, July 25, 2011

GWESPE: Two Lessons Well Learned

The Grand Sophy 

Lesson #1:  Pick a work that you can finish quickly and will keep you actively engaged no matter what.  This way, if you have the attention span of a flea with ADHD, you are less likely to raise the white flag and move on to some other project you won't finish ;-)

Lesson #2:   To perk up flagging interest, read reference works or fiction that serves as such for your work.  This way, when you get obsessed with others' works, you can at least mollify yourself that "it's research."

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Been a while since I was checked in.  Wish I could say I was busy writing up a storm this whole time, but I wasn't.   Last week, over a period of 5 days, I read four Georgette Heyer novels (hence lesson #2).  Though I have to admit, I do pick up research by immersion.  That is, I've caught myself saying a few things that sounded positively . . . Regencyish ;-)  Better yet, I picked up a few tidbits to put into my Regency/Victorianish time-swamp of a novel.

But this is my last week of work at the college before a three-week break.  I've committed myself to getting half my writing and editing related work done during this time.

However, I don't expect to do much work on my novel this week yet, due two major changes:  we adopted a dog and we are renovating the basement's floor.  The first is problematic because we have other dogs, and this new one is a young poodle.  Which means hyper, hyper, hyper.  (Pictures coming soon, and maybe a video if I can train him to jump into my arms from the floor.) The second's problems began Friday, because everything has to be removed from the room, and as a writer, I'm not afraid to say I am terribly addicted to books.  Finally, unrelated to the above reasons .... I'm stilling reading Georgette Heyer, but at least my ardure has faded to a mere tendre for the books.

Oh, and to close up this post and just because, here is the list of my four diversions from last week:

  1. Charity Girl
  2. Lady of Quality
  3. Sylvester
  4. The Grand Sophy

Of which, the last one was the best.

1 comments:

Jodi Ralston said...

Thank you for your comment. And I'm glad I can spread the Heyer love :-) Love the details in her books, and the adventures, and the characters, and ... :-D

Jodi

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