Maureen Bush's Blog, page 26

I am becoming a stereotype

The more time I spend writing and living as a writer, the more I resemble stereotypes of writers. Not the crazy writer stereotype, but the distracted writer, too wrapped up in my head to quite pay attention to daily life.

Once I've taken care of kids and the renovation, I'm done with practicalities. I forget where I need to be tomorrow, or where I was last week, and what the event was called. I stand in the back entry, wondering what I've walked back there for. I don't lose track of my glasses – not yet – but that's only because they're on my nose.

I've also developed a thing about pens. I once heard a writer asked "What pen do you use?" and it seemed like a terrible waste of a question. Not any more – I've become fanatical about pens. Signing pens need to be felt-tipped, black, with a lovely flow. But that's a terrible pen for writing. Felt-tipped pens put too much ink on the page, making my writing even more illegible than it already is. So it's ball-point for me, but never one that blots. Cheap, because I lose them. Click, because I lose the caps. Not too fat or too thin, because both cramp my hand. And the tip has to be angled just right, to keep my fingers from creeping forward. I feel like Goldilocks, searching for the perfect pen.

I buy them by the box, and I make sure family pens are different, so if I find one of my pens lurking around the house, I can reclaim it. Usually rather forcefully. Don't mess with my pens. Except when I'm too distracted to notice.

Maureen

Snowdrops

My aptly named snowdrops, after a spring snowfall.

Maureen

Books on Goodreads

I'm slowly figuring out Goodreads. I'm focusing on children's books I love, but I've set up one shelf for my childhood favorites, and another for the books of writer friends, which I'm slowly working on. I apologize for not rating them (I know this is a great thing for Goodreads), but I figured if I gave them all a 5 it would be a little obvious, and if I rated them otherwise I'd feel like I was ranking my friends. Instead, they get a bookshelf.

Having said that, if anyone wants to review or rate my books, that would be delightful. Unless, of course, you didn't actually like them, in which case I'd be fine with you spending your time on something else. Either way, thanks so much.

Maureen

Reading Out Loud

I'm really messing with my own head. After reading the manuscript backwards, I'm now reading it out loud. All 200 pages.

Reading out loud helps me hear any bumps and awkwardness that I haven't caught yet. Of course, I feel like an idiot doing it, so I make sure I'm alone before I start. And I take breaks, to avoid losing my voice too quickly. At least I'm not reading it out loud backwards.

Maureen

Reading Backwards

Once again, I'm reading a manuscript backwards. Well, to be precise, I'm reading the chapters in reverse order. It's a technique recommended by Art Slade, and it's truly vile. Strange. Awkward. Weird. But it's enormously helpful, too.

I'll be grumbling for days as I work my way back through my manuscript, but when I'm done, I know it will be better. And that's always the point.

Maureen

Objects with Character

At one of my school events, a teacher said he'd noticed I animate inanimate objects in all my books, and he wanted to know if I'd done that as a child. I'd never been asked this question (which makes it a really good one), and couldn't answer. But I've been thinking about it, and noticing – indeed, I did it as a child, and I still do it, all the time.

I saw a photo of tall strange flowers and they looked like birds to me, ready to take off. The animals in pictures seem capable of speech, and I'm sure toys play at night, when no one is looking. Mirrors, gates, rocks on the sidewalk – they could all be alive, in my world. Anything with character could be… well, a character.

Now that I think about it, I realize this is, perhaps, a little strange for an adult. But perhaps not so strange for a fantasy writer.

Maureen

My First Crocus

Spring Wildness

There's something miraculous about spring. It's inevitable, the return of life after a long winter, and yet when it happens, it's always wondrous.

A tiny creamy yellow crocus is blooming on the east side of the house, my first flower. Daffodil spears are up and starting to form buds, and I found some red peony tips just emerging. Snowdrops will be blooming soon, too.

There's a time in the early spring garden where everything is tousled and messy from fall leaves and stems I haven't cut back yet, with green poking through, determined to grow in spite of the cold.

I'm always in a rush to start the cleanup, as an excuse to be outside, but then it looks too tidy, with the lawn raked and the beds cleaned, waiting for the rampant growth of May and June to make it look wild again. It suddenly seems tame, and I miss that early spring wildness.

Maureen

Favorite Session Yet

I just had my favorite school session ever. I've had really fun sessions with kids, but this was special. First of all, it was over two hours with the same kids, which is a luxury. The kids were selected because their teachers thought they had an interest in writing, and by the responses of the kids, I'd say they chose well. And there were 26, a small enough group that everyone who wanted to could speak up.

Junior high was when I decided I'd never be a teacher, because the kids were so awful, but today I understand why some teachers like teaching those ages – the kids were awesome. Well, it was a middle school – grades 5 to 8. Fun, great energy.

We came up with ideas for wild What If stories, created monsters and gave them voices. We talked about what books they like best and why, and I collected their favorite titles (I'm making lists).

I was asked those all-important questions: what do you like best (those writing days when I just write and write and write), what I like the least (the days writing doesn't happen, and admin work), and what education you need to become a writer (no magic piece of paper – the quality of the writing is the measure.)

Now I'm too jazzed up to write, which is a good thing, as the drywall guy is coming to patch holes.

Maureen

Renovation Woes

We're renovating again. We're back to chaos, distractions, dirt everywhere, and pizza in the living room because the kitchen is deep in electrical equipment and drywall dust.

Last week, the hole in the floor in our back entry was repaired. This week – electrical – old lights out, pot lights in, odd repairs because we're in an old house.  Holes in the ceiling, in the walls, and a bare light bulb dangling over the kitchen table. It's a nice look.

New lino in the back entry on Monday. And every day workers are here, there's dirt everywhere. That should really be nice as the snow piles melt into lakes to wade through.

But it's exciting, too, and I'm hoping some of that will filter into my writing. When I can write, around the drilling and hammering and discussions of why we can't put the light where we want it because of the odd construction of the house.

Maureen