Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Around the Road

The road around the mountain is unpaved, narrow, winding, and beautiful. I traveled it this morning to have lunch with a neighbor and her friend from Chicago -- both Elizabeth fans.

It's always a pleasure to find out what people like about Elizabeth . . . and to hear their opinions on where they think the series should go. We discussed the use of bad language, the presentation of violence -- how much is too much -- and whether the reader is 'owed' a happy ending.



It was a nice break and a pleasure to be out, looking at our mountain instead of out from it.

But now I'm back at the laptop, wrangling with Miss Birdie. And the truth is, she's going to do and say pretty much what she wants to. As are Calven and Myrna Lou, Pook and Prin, Dorothy and Belvy and the rest of the cast of characters I'm trying to direct to a resolution.

These folks are just plain unruly -- with minds of their own, even though they're figments of my imagination. Sometimes I have no more control over them than I do over a dream. I can begin writing a scene, but if it doesn't suit the characters, they'll just sit there and refuse to come to life.

But if they're happy with the scene, it's as if I were taking dictation -- my fingers can hardly move fast enough.
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5 comments:

Unknown said...

I always love to see photos of the area - thanks for sharing these. It made me wonder if you resolved your, um, issue, with Calven and something hidden in his pants...

Vicki Lane said...

Two words for you, Liz -- Mr. Johnson.

Unknown said...

Perfect! When my boys were growing up there were T-shirts called "Big Johnson" thinly disguised as a cartoon. Love it, Vicki - thanks for the LOL

Susan M. Bell said...

I love it when I'm writing a story and the characters just seem to "flow," often doing things that surprise even me. They take on a life of their own, don't they?

BTW: November is National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org/). Since I've had no luck just meandering along, I'm going to try this. I'm usually good with deadlines. Wish me luck.

Vicki Lane said...

May both our characters come alive and finish those novels for us!!! Amen.