Jennifer Crusie's Blog, page 63

Happiness is Starting Something New

Bob and I are starting a new book, which is terrifying. Every time I do this, I think the first twenty-four books were flukes, I have no idea what I’m doing, and it’s going to be awful. Except that there are so many possibilities. I had a creative writing teacher who told us that, once we write the first sentence of a story, we’ve eliminated 99% of the possibilities in that story, which is true. What he didn’t say is that there are still thousands of possibilities left. Every sentence you write after the first one winnows the possibilities down even more, but the winnowing is exciting, like carving away the parts of a sculpture that don’t belong. After all, at the end you just want one story, one great, focused, specific story. But at the beginning of anything? Limitless possibilities.

What did you start (or finish or work on) this week?

State of the Collaboration: Struggling Through the Beginning

I totally borked my heroine so I’m doing not only massive rewrites but also massive rethinking. I tried to write a Nice Girl (who’s forty-nine). What was I thinking? So I thought I’d try something new: a snarky, angry heroine. Really breaking out of my rut here.

This is our latest exchange on the Spike chat:

Of course we’re going to be done by Tuesday. You’ll notice I didn’t say what Tuesday. I’m thinking some time in February.

So I’m Behind on This Blog–Hey, How Are You?–And I May Be Hypomanic–Except My Therapist Says It’s ADHD, Who Knew?–But Also, Any Requests? Oh, SQUIRREL!

I just went through pages of comments to make sure everything was going well, and of course it was because it’s all of you. I don’t even need to post, you can just do this blog on your own, which I love. So go, Argh People, you are excellent.

I disappeared because I shut down in the winter, just curl into the fetal position and fall asleep because of SAD. Except I have a book to write, my part of which is not going well because I can’t get the heroine. (Her name is Rose, and she has an eighteen-year-old daughter named Poppy. That much I know.) Meanwhile Bob is ripping right along with Max’s story, doing a great job, so I have to get my ass in gear. I went to my doc and said, “SAD,” and he said, “Wellbutrin,” and I got a bottle of the stuff and I’ve been on it for a month. Here’s a fun fact about me: anti-depressants and other mood-altering drugs make me insane. The worst when I was on a book tour taking a new prescription and became convinced that room service was coming to kill me. Fortunately, I recognized that was nuts and flushed the rest of the pills before I attacked a waiter with my nail file.

This time I’m all over the place. Ridiculously happy and babbling one minute, sound asleep in the fetal position the next, then trying to talk to somebody and staring off into space, then working for eight hours straight, then . . . you get the idea. What haven’t I been doing? Maintaining this blog, for which I apologize. I’ve apologized to Bob, too, because I’ve been manic–hypomanic, actually–so he’s had to put up with me pinballing from Day of the Dead and steampunk and magic (the non-supernatural rabbit-in-a-hat kind) and lasagna while Bob does great work killing people (he’s so relieved; Vince didn’t kill anybody in the trilogy and I think it hurt him deeply) so I think he’s ready to strangle me, but he leaves it at “Are you okay?” (Yes, I’m FINE, isn’t it a WONDERFUL DAY??????? Did I tell you this thing I learned about magic? Ooooh, a bunch of doll parts just arrived from eBay for Rose’s outsider art, I need to find a good lasagna recipe since Rose is bragging about hers, excuse me I have to sleep now.” Clunk.)

All of which is to say, it’s probably going to be another couple of weeks before these meds level off, but it is working and I can still write, so I’m staying on it until spring at least. Once the sun comes back up again in April, I should be fine again. Well as fine as I ever was.

But I need direction and opinion, and if there’s one thing this blog’s commenters aren’t short on, it’s opinions. So what do you want on here besides Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, which really aren’t posts, they’re just pages for you to romp in the comments. I figure you’re tired of State of the Collaboration, and nobody’s had a Questionable, and I don’t have enough focus for Twelve Days of anything, haven’t watched TV or seen a movie in months so no media criticism . . . any requests?

And now back to my research. My heroine works in a secondhand shop and just found a very old bottle of paregoric. Do you know what was in paregoric until the FDA got a grip and outlawed it somewhere around 1970? Opium, honey, and alcohol, plus just a hint of morphine. There’s a reason that stuff was popular.

I have to go, my sealing wax just arrived from Amazon. What is Rose going to do with sealing wax? I don’t know, but I got a great bee stamp, too, so I’m pretty sure bees are going to be a motif. Along with all these doll body parts. Never search eBay for “doll body parts,” it’s like surveying many massacres. I need food.

Where was I?

This is a Good Book Thursday, December 8, 2022

This week I read about wizards (Rivers of London) and a non-magical romance, which is why I’m not mentioning the title. There was nothing wrong with it except the Big Misunderstanding which I almost always find annoying, but there wasn’t anything right with it, either, anything that made me sit up in surprise or laugh or, well, anything. My goal is to find a new book that halfway through doesn’t make me skip to the end just to get out of it. I’ll keep trying, but Rivers of London is saving me this week.

So what did you read this week?

Working Wednesday, December 7, 2022

I spent most of yesterday researching assemblage and steampunk for the new books.Then I went on eBay and bought doll body parts (do not search for doll body parts, it’s disturbing) for the book. Today, I researched bird incense burners for the book. I think I’m driving Bob crazy with it, but he’s the big picture guy and I’m the detail person, so he’ll just have to deal. It’s all helping me find my character which is good because I started her on the wrong foot. It’s the beginning of the book, it’s always this chaotic. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

So what was the story with work and you this week?

Snacking on Happiness

That’s what a recent NYT article called appreciating the every day moments of life: “Want to Feel Happier? Try Snacking on Joy.” Since we do that every Sunday in here, we’re ahead of the curve.

So how did you snack on joy this week?

Argh Author: Brenda Margriet’s Turn the Next Page

Brenda Margriet’s Turn the Next Page is available now! Book Three in the Silverberry Seduction Seasoned Romance Series launched on December 1. It can be read as a standalone, though readers of previous books in the series will get glimpses of their favourite characters, too.

Aubrey is 52 and Phillip 53. High school sweethearts, their marriage was shattered by tragedy. Thirty years later, a startling confession reignites long banked embers.

On the outside, politician Aubrey Windt is assured and assertive. On the inside, she’s a confused tangle of nerves and regrets. A lost election is the perfect opportunity to reset her life, and she’s going to take it, no matter what anyone says. This time, she means it.

Everything’s fine with Philip Church. Just fine. His second divorce was amicable, his twin sons are grown, and his landscape business runs itself. The fineness is driving him crazy. But reconnecting with his first love provokes an upheaval more potent than he’s ever imagined.

When Aubrey and Phillip learn a startling fact that will forever link their lives, they set out to find the brother Aubrey didn’t know she had. To do so, they must forge a new path, unexpectedly abetted by a stray cat and the eclectic members of a unique book club.

Turn the Next Page is available as an ebook for $2.99, and also available in print.

This is a Good Book Thursday, December 1, 2022

It’s been hectic here, so I’ve comforted myself by reading through the Rivers of London books again. In times of adversity, re-read.

What did you read through this week?

Working Wednesday, November 30, 2022

You know how when you start writing a book, you panic because you don’t know what’s going to happen in it, and you can’t remember how to write a book, and you probably suck at this, and you might just as well eat eat worms and die? Yeah, that’s where I was this week. Except fortunately I’m not in this story alone, so Bob took the book back and did some work, and then I got it back and was not happy. So I wrote this long explanation of why I wasn’t happy and braced myself for the fight to come. Except he said I was right and then laid out ideas that made the book much better, and suddenly my synapses were firing again, and I told him he was a genius, and now I have a better grasp on the book. Not a good grasp, it’s too early in the process, but much much better.

So that’s how work went for me this week. How did it go for you?

Happiness is A Collaborator Who’s Still Alive

During one of our conversations last week, Bob said, “Oh, yeah, I almost died.” He bikes for miles, doesn’t smoke, and his only stress is me, but he still almost had a heart attack. . I was stern with him. “DO NOT DIE.” We have books to write. Still very happy he’s alive and unblocked now.

What unblocked your happiness this week?