Writers live many lives—1 foot in the manufactured world around them & the other in the worlds they design for their stories. I love that finally I live a career and life that doesn’t admonish me for pursuing everything that interests me, whether it connects or not. It’s opened my mind to possibility in wild and wonderful ways, and made me feel truly free.
Category: writing
Inspired: The beginning of my second novel
As I move into intense editing mode for my novel, Where the Light Enters, I am also at the very early stages of sketching my second novel. The idea for it surfaced during a Twitter conversation I had a few months ago with Anthony Mason, one of my favorite journalists. He told me about one of his childhood dreams and that dream sparked a character and storyline in my mind. While still very rough, here is the basic premise:
10-year-old Levi Adler lives in a small town and has big dreams of someday hosting his own radio show.Baxter and Flo Adler, Levi’s parents, are morticians and run the family business from their home. Levi uses all his free time practicing his future profession in the backyard treehouse that he’s set up as a recording studio. One evening while hosting his now-imaginary radio show, Levi starts to have real guests call in and they’ve got some important messages for Levi to deliver to his neighbors. With the help of his neighbor and sometimes co-host, Shelby, can he convince his neighbors that these messages are real and realize his dream of being a real radio show host?
What do you think?
Inspired: Build your book into a brand – a lesson from Emerson Page
When you write a book, you have to create a whole world that is rich with future opportunity. My hope is not only that my first novel, Where the Light Enters, gets published, but that I can also make it into a brand in its own right. Such is the way of today’s publishing landscape, and that’s not a bad thing! I’m planning on a game of some sort based on the story that highlights the value of compassion, empathy, and imagination. There are also many other books within the book that I could write that tap into different facets of the story. Among them:
– There’s plenty of room for a sequel to this book and an associated travel guide of Emerson’s quest
– The book that is the crux of the whole story—a guide to having endless and unlimited creativity
– Sketchbook of fantastical inventions (based on Truman’s character)
– Children’s book entitled The Star Lighter (written by Emerson’s mother, Nora)
– Folklore medicine and healing recipe book (based on Irene’s character)
– History of the 9 muses, and a book that tells the story of each one
– Inspirational essay collection from people all over the world who have been helped by the shoots of The Crooked Willow (based on Samuel’s character and the cafe that is one of the main settings in the book)
And the list goes on…With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, Emerson Page could be a part of my life for a very long time.
Inspired: Finished the first draft of my first novel – Where the Light Enters
THE END. I just typed these two words on the (very, very, very) rough first draft of my first novel, Where the Light Enters. There will be many rounds of revisions ahead, but I’m excited to have this first pass done. I plan to revel in this feeling through the holidays and then pick it back up in January to begin the long process of rewriting. For now, I’m happy to say the story and the act of writing it changed me for the better. It gave me confidence and faith that with love we can do what we think is impossible. Thank you to so many of you who supported this journey. We’re just getting started!
Inspired: I won NaNoWriMo 2014
That’s a wrap! For the first time, I participated in and completed National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday I did what I set out to do and crossed the 50K word mark of my novel, Where the Light Enters before the end of November. I still have a few thousand more to go to make a complete (and incredibly rough) first draft which I’ll finish in the next couple of days. For now, I’m so happy that I reached the most auspicious writing goal I’ve ever set for myself, and a week ahead of schedule to boot! Emerson Page lives and breathes, and I’m so glad to have her in my life.
Inspired: How to weather storms
A few days ago, I wrote the most difficult scene in my novel. It was difficult to write because it has to raise the stakes of Emerson Page, the heroine, to a level that cause her life to change forever. While I was writing it, I kept thinking of Haruki Murakami’s beautiful quote about the reason for storms:
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
All the storms of our lives have a purpose. Some show us how strong we are. Others show us what we care about and how much. And others are just there to show us how wonderful life can be when the storm has passed. Whatever the reason, they all matter, and the goal isn’t simply to survive, but to thrive in their aftermath and delight in what remains.
If you’re facing storms now, and who among us isn’t?, I hope you find some comfort in the idea that no matter what the reason for your particular storm, there is something to learn. It may be buried deep; you may not see the learning until the skies brighten again. But it’s there; like the sun and the moon and the stars, it’s always there.
Inspired: A lesson in writing – Your best idea is your next one
The idea you have right now feels like the best work you’ve ever done, the best work you ever could do. And it should. That belief is what’s going to help you see this one through!
As good as your present project is, the best is yet to come. As I worked on Sing After Storms, I started to formulate other story ideas. I jotted them down as briefly as I could, and put them aside until Sing After Storms was done. Then I looked back at that list when I was ready for my next project. That’s where I found the seeds for Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters.
The muse works in mysterious ways. It bubbles ups when we least expect it. Get the ideas down; they’re gifts. They’ll be exactly what you need when your next creative burst of energy strikes.
Inspired: Writing around the (Disney) World today with Orlando NaNoWriMo
I usually write alone—just me and my story. Today I’m breaking that pattern to meet and write with other Orlando-based writers as we travel through Disney World while working on the drafts of our novels for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Last year, the event drew about 20 writers and they had a great time. Our schedule is below. I’ll post photos and reflections on the event to let you know how it went. If you’re in Orlando, please join us at any point. Thanks to the Orlando NaNoWriMo chapter for organizing this event!
Where: Downtown Disney Starbucks (starting location)
When: November 16th, 2014
Start Time: 10 am
End Time: Roughly 4, give or take 4 hours
Schedule:
- Meet at Starbucks, Downtown Disney (DTD)
- DTD to Port Orleans by Bus
- Port Orleans to Epcot by Bus
- Epcot to TTC by Monorail
- TTC to Polynesian by Monorail
- Polynesian to Grand Floridian by Monorail
- Grand Floridian to Contemporary by Monorail
- Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge by boat
- Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom by boat*
- Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom Lodge by bus
- Animal Kingdom Lodge to DTD by bus.
*No stop at Magic Kingdom, just get back on Monorail
Nanowrimo 2014: Grave concern, an enemy on the prowl, and scene 5 of Where the Light Enters
I’m back to my usual writing pattern as of today and it feels great. I’ve missed my groove over the past few days. Here’s a glimpse of scene 5 of my novel. Jasper and Oliver meet to discuss what happens now that they know Cassandra has them in her sights. She is on the hunt and they have to play defense.
“Oliver, I’m every bit as surprised as you are,” said Jasper.
“No one’s seen her since…” Oliver’s voice stopped short as he paced in the rare book room of Stargrass.
“I know. It appears she’s been hard at work, rebuilding, all this time,” said Jasper
“Rebuilding what?” asked Oliver.
“Herself. And I suspect others, too. She’s a jumble of parts. Some human. Mostly mechanical.”
“Where’s she hiding, Jasper? And who’s helping her? She can’t be doing this alone.”
Inspired: YALLFest was everything I wanted it to be
Inspiring, encouraging, supportive. That’s the three words that immediately pop into my mind when I reflect on my two days covering YALLFest—Charleston’s Young Adult Book Festival. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the amazing authors, editors, and agents that gave generously of their time and experience.
You can see my articles on my experience on the YALLFest blog—http://yallfest.org/press/. A few more will be posted during the early part of next week. Back to writing…
Christa Avampato 