A sick seven-year-old has graced me with her full-day presence the past two days. Now, I’m behind on all things computer based, including email. I’m not complaining about the time spent with my little prolific reader. She’s amazing. (That’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.)
Of course, since I had no time to write during the days, The Muse picked that time to come calling. I’d been mulling over a short story idea for a while, but suddenly a few key pieces fell into place.
So the last two nights, when I disconnected and slipped some YoYo Ma cds in the player, the words flowed along with the notes. The first night I totaled 902 words. Last night I added 436 more.
I know some of you knock out more words than that daily, and I have too in the past, but I’ve had some trouble getting back in the groove. I’m please with my progress on this story. Whether this story will end up a winner is still open. As stubborn as I am, I won’t give up on it easily.
By the way, I’m unclear on using a famous person in fiction. I’m using an actor’s name and likeness, but he only exists in my MC’s dreams. Anyone know the rules on that?
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Linda Cassidy Lewis 
1338 words? That sounds fantastic! Nothing like music to keep you in that dream state.
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Thanks, Cathryn. It was encouraging. I hope to finish it this weekend. And yes, certain types of music … I can’t write with lyrics in my ears.
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oh, definitely not lyrics. I agree. Well, except Carmina Burana, for some reason, I can write to that.
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I had no idea what Carmina Burana was, so I had to look that up. O Fortuna, of course, I’ve heard. Certain pieces would work best for different genres or story moods, yes? Cello probably fits the story I’m working on best because it’s kind of dreamlike and so is the story … or at least I hope it is. 😉
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I can’t imagine writing to Carmina Burana without breaking out in song myself. When my son was 3 or 4 and we were having an Easter egg hunt in the backyard, he INSISTED on Carmina Burana being blasted out through backyard speakers. So I have this great visual image of adorable little kids and plastic eggs whenever I hear it. Good memory. But for writing? Not so much….
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That’s hilarious, Natasha. I wonder, do humorous things just happen to you more or do you just have the talent for noticing and relaying humor?
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Glad to hear you are writing again Linda. Can’t wait to read the next book. BTW I loved The Brevity of Roses and posted some reviews for you. I want everyone to read it.
It is good to see a seven year old reading more advanced books. Once hooked on Harry Potter, I am sure she will read all the books!
I also like Yo Yo Ma. Happy writing!!
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Thank you, Darlene. I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂 And I saw your reviews at Goodreads and Amazon; thank you again for taking the time to do that.
Yes, she’s also a Rick Riordan fan. I took a look at one she was reading (over 500 pages!) and couldn’t believe she knew some of those words, but she really did. I just hope she doesn’t drop the reading habit like some kids do.
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Okay, how about movies? Being John Malkovich?
I know I’ve read books where a character focuses or fantasizes on a famous person, but I can’t think of an example right now. It’s fiction, right? Your character can dream about Colin Firth all she wants, as far as I’m concerned.
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Ah, yes, Natasha, Being John Malkovich. I’m sure there are others. I don’t know why my mind is blanking on this. This actor is on Twitter, so maybe I’ll just tweet and ask if he minds. 😉
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I’m not sure what the rules are, but here’s what I’ve heard recently. A friend who published his book in the UK had to remove names like Maria Sharapova, etc…, public figures who could sue. But he said the laws are different there than here, which tells me he could have left the names in if published in the U.S. (confusing enough?) And I just went to hear E.L. Doctorow speak. He’s been using famous names in his fiction for 50 years and said that he’s never had any trouble — though most of the time the names he uses are of those long dead.
How little help was that?
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Thanks, Teri. Yes, I guess that was a yea and a nay. 🙂 This actor is not long dead, not dead at all, in fact, but for now, he stays in the story. He is, after all, only a figment of her subconscious … or is he?
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Hi Linda. It always feels good when you get back into the groove of writing. So we just have to keep at it whether we produced thousands of words or only hundreds in a day they all add up.
Congratulations and hope your 7 year old is better and can go back to school.
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I think I just needed to pull back a bit on the marketing to get into my writers skin again, Judith. And yes, every word counts. I’ll get there eventually. 😉
And thank you. She returned to school Friday.
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