Ah, Fall!

                                                                                              Pat Zabriskie

I’m jumping the gun a bit as I welcome September—month of hope—these 90 degree days can’t last much longer. Those cool, chilly mornings assure me that Fall is hovering about. I wish she’d hurry up and kick Summer out soon.

Patience. I can make it, I think.

For some reason September seems to usher in a time of order.

In September, people settle into a different routine. The kids go back to school, people stop vacationing, and resume a more regular schedule.

Even though our five kids are grown with children of their own, I still love Fall.

Summer was brutally hot out here on the eastern plains of Colorado. Many 100 degree days. Everybody moving in sweaty, slow motion. My husband splits wood these cool mornings. I dream of windy days hunkered down by the fire with a book and a cuppa java. Probably by October.  Now, I can peaches, make plum butter and zucchini relish and use the oven instead of the crockpot.

Along with nostalgia and dreams, my Autumn invites me to my desk where I’ve sweated this past summer on my book draft. I’m writing the story out now and loving this phase of the work. By October, I hope to have it ready to submit.

So with hopes and dreams, I greet September. Before I know it, I’ll be handing out Halloween candy, cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and dashing around buying Christmas gifts.

For now, I’m content bringing to life a cast of characters I hope my readers will love, and will beg to read more about them.

A book contract by Christmas would be nice, too.

What A Week

This week four members of Six Rural Writers group embarked on a fascinating journey. Each of us is writing a book.

Each of us began with a fat folder of notes and some chapters or scenes written. One writer had written hers all the way through, but it came up short.

We chose First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner as our guide.

And boy, has she put us to work! I had character sketches in my files, but Ms. W. had a worksheet that asked for information I hadn’t even thought of.

Oh, I had a picture of my hero in my mind, but I didn’t know his background. I only knew one inner conflict he had. I didn’t ask him what his external conflicts were.

I had a foggy notion of what the setting was. It involved a 1700s house and an old theatre on an estate, but where was it? And in what year does my story occur?

Next came research. I knew I’d have to do that, and I’m sure glad for the internet. I’ve already found such interesting material. In the first chapter, I was instructed to make a Research List.  How would I get all that done? Not to worry, the next chapter gives me 1-6 days for research. No sweat. This will be fun. Maybe I’ll make house plans of the mansion and the theatre. Pictures from the internet anyhow, so that when my character walks into the “drawing room,” I’ll know what kind of antique footstool he falls over.

Then came Plot Sketch. Okay, I got that one down. What’s this on the worksheet—Story Goal, Romantic Thread, Subplot Threads 1-7, Plot Tension, Release, Downtime, Black Moment, Resolution?

No, I don’t have that thought out. I thought the plot sketch would be like back cover copy, the gist of the story. But I did the worksheet, and now I know a lot more about my story. I have six subplots running through the book. I’m even more interested in the story.

I’ve had this material in a drawer for a number of years—didn’t know how to proceed. Thought it would take forever. But just after a week, the pages I’ve produced and the information I’ve gained tell me that if I keep working this, I will indeed have a rough draft in 30 days.

I’ll let you know how it’s going next week.