Back at My Desk

The holidays are over and I'm back at my desk trying to figure out the next step in my memoir writing. I have decided to focus on 2 things in January:

• to finish my first draft. I have the last 1/4 to write.
• to follow in January, Martha Alderson's 2nd Annual International Plot Writing Month tips she wrote in the month of December on her blog: http://www.plotwhisperer.com/

I started in a low key sketching out my Character Emotional Development Profile. I have done this before for other characters. I thought it was easy, even fun to do. This time I found it challenging to stand back and analyze myself as a character. What are my fears, my flaws, my strengths? What do I love? hate? Even worse, what are my secrets? I did the exercise but I will need to go back and add more details. Maybe if I imagine I am watching my life on a stage from the balcony, I will be able to be more objective.

The next thing I did was to print out all I have written of my book. Not read it, just print it! Sounds simple. To my surprise, even when I eliminated the double-spacing, I have about 100 pages. The sheer bulk of it had an emotional impact on me. I feel that I am going to succeed now in finishing this book. Some of it is garbage: notes to myself and a lot of question marks. But some of it is well-written and interesting. Though I still have a long way to go, I can't wait to see the final product.