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I promised you my new collage for the revision of Spellbinder. As you may or may not recall, I hadn't made one for the discovery draft or the subsequent drafts. I thought that a new revision warranted letting my unconcious -- the Girls In The Basement -- work on it.
As always, I cast actors, models, or other celebrities that might "vibe" the characters in the book. If you see familiar faces, that's why. It's a habit my filmmaker hubby got me into. Since it ain't broke, I see no need to fix it.
I was most surprised by the puzzle pieces the Girls In The Basement wanted me to glue on the piece. Nearly none of them are from the middle. In fact, only three of them are from a place other than the edge. Yet they insisted I glue the box the puzzle came in on the collage. Very strange, but I know it must mean something.
One surprise was looking at the completed collage and finding I still could learn something about this novel. Spellbinder started as an idea long before I thought to be a writer about four years ago. The fact that there is something new is what is so exciting to me about writing. I'm always discovering something new and true about human behavior.
Enjoy looking at it. I had so much fun making it. Excelsior!
Don't Stop Writing,
Sandra
I've been working on a few articles for L.A. Romance Authors' newsletter. This month I have two, but there's another I'm working on. Last year I wrote one titled Writing Into Battle about how plotting a battle is different from how a person usually plots a book. This next article is an expansion into the different types of battles there are and how to handle the characters involved. It's not really about weapons, but more along the lines of how different types of characters would match up against each other.
I'm considering doing this as a presentation at Nationals in Dallas next year. The workshop would include how to plot a battle, which characters are involved in what battles, and how to make the match visceral to everyone reading.
I'm just not sure how to spin my "credentials" on this one. I know about this from watching the WWE and examining how they tell a story with a fight. I've studied how battles are done in books and films when there's lots of them within the story. I'm a baseball fan and that's all about a pitcher outwitting the batter--or the manager outwitting the other manager. And I've been coached about it by my husband, a man who, until his knees gave way at the tender age of 16, had been offered a chance to train with professional wrestlers and had been scouted for three major league baseball teams.
Let me be clear, this isn't a workshop about tactics. It's about what the WWE calls the "psychology" of a match. How to make the audience boo the "heel" and cheer the "face." And how to make a "tweener" believeable when they switch sides.
On to other things.
The other day my August Romance Writers Report came in the mail, and I sat down and read my little eyeballs out. The interview with Nora Roberts was particularly fascinating. I took some of what she said and used it. I did the revision of Spellbinder's first chapter and finally am in love with it. Now I know what she means by she has to fall in love with the characters. And I've discovered that some of what works for her just might work for me.
My best friend has the camera, so I can't take a picture of my new Spellbinder collage until she returns from work. The collage is huge, though. I'm not sure it'll fit on my desk while I'm writing. I'll have to get an easel to prop it up.
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