The Social Experiment

Today I puked just before leaving for work. I decided to call in and say I'm not feeling well just in case it happens again. So here I am at home, making playlists that remind me of my story and writing. The title of the blog links to my latest playlist.

I am happy to say that the last couple of days I have been working on the second draft of my book. The down side is, I'm on page 16 out of 318 pages, and it took me hours to get that far. Oh well, at least I feel like I'm making progress. I decided to work on the stuff that doesn't stress me out and overwhelm me first. Then at least it will be more coherent before I start really dissecting it.

On Friday I went to my sorta friend's place and stayed the night there with her and her four year old son. I was worried that it would feel really awkward because we have only hung out once and it was because we had a mutual friend who came to visit from Toronto. But it actually wasn't that bad. I'm not really that comfortable around kids, so I was also worried about that, but this little guy was such a charmer. It was a relaxing time. I came over after work and supper was ready for me. We had a pasta and vegan sausage. We went for a walk and went out for ice cream then we watched Dr. Horrible because I'm obsessed and will eventually be able recite the entire three acts. We had a couple of glasses of red wine and discussed how crazy we are. In the morning she made organic vegan orange poppy-seed pancakes with sunflower seeds. Yum. We went for a long walk and then I was on my way home.

On Saturday we had a friend and his daughter over for supper. It was the first time we lit up the BBQ this year. Nothing is better than the smell of BBQ. I love it. It's funny, I think it probably has the same effect on a lot of people. Like everyone has at least one happy memory associated with a barbecue, and this feeling is conjured whenever we smell sizzling meat. I find it comforting.

This upcoming Friday I am taking part in something called the MP3 Experiment. Should be a good time. I heard it was something that started in New York? Basically, everyone involved downloads an MP3 off this website and we're not allowed to listen to it until a certain time on Friday. Then in a public place at a specific time, everyone listens to the MP3 with earphones and has to do whatever it says. Should be pretty funny. The co-worker I took to see Matthew Barber sucked me into it. She's always involved in these funny little projects. It's my first time.

So that's where I'm at right now. Still taking part in the social experiment. Trying to spend time with actual humans, trying to have fun, trying to make some sort of progress. Not sure what to think of it all right now.

I'm going to do some editing on my book, and then if I'm feeling better I will go to work. I swear it. Seriously.

My Really Ugly Baby

So this weekend I finally cracked open my novel to begin the painful editing process. I feel relieved that I am back to work on it, and somewhat encouraged, but in all honesty I have spent most of this "editing" time re-reading advice in various books and correcting the minor flaws that don't really worry me. But I guess I have to start somewhere, right?

I'm really struggling with point of view. I wrote my entire first draft in first person, past-tense point of view, but now I'm wondering if this is the best route to go. My character undergoes some pretty heavy changes, and I wonder if it would be best to change point of views so what she is thinking at the time remains a mystery, and also I wonder if maybe the real action is with some of the other characters...I don't know.

My sister tells me I should join a writer's group. And I do like the idea of a writer's group, but I'm pretty sure when it comes down to it, I would feel too awkward and insecure about my ideas. I would feel like a fraud. Then there's the irony of being over-protective of something I don't really seem to have faith in in the first place. My novel is like a really ugly baby: hard to look at, but I still love it and am afraid to let it go; afraid it will be judged unfairly by others who haven't loved and nurtured it as I have. Okay, maybe that's rude to ugly babies everywhere. Maybe I should compare it to a totally evil baby, but that's just plain creepy.... Regardless, it would still be nice to receive feedback and advice from people who have been there. Sigh.