Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Susan's Book Talk: Inspiration in an odd place
So while my hard drive on my webserver is being replaced and I'm hoping there's no important mail waiting for me (like notes that you guys have been commenting), I thought I'd plug another book. As in: one that's not written by me.
It's called Julie and Romeo, and it's written by Jeanne Ray, who seems to have no website that a quick Google search pulled up. This is an older book, Ray's debut (her most recent novel, in fact, is a sequel). And it's about two families who are feuding. Like the title suggests, it's a take on the Romeo and Juliet story of old.
How this helped me was with Behold Me, which I had stopped struggling with ... for about fifteen pages or so. Given that I'm now up to page 40, that's pretty good. One of the things I keep getting stuck on is that I'm worried about things getting too repetitious. Family feuds can only be about so many things and have so many dimensions.
I'd thought.
Julie and Romeo did get repetitive in places, sure. But it gave me neat ideas as to how to look at the situation from different angles. To bring in more characters and let them each have different experiences with what has happened to Kerri -- and, indirectly, Mitchell, who's spending an awful lot of time scratching his head and wondering how exactly all these chords fit into a song.
Spring break ended here today; it was back to school and back to finding friends to occupy the kids' time so I can write. As much as I love the spring weather, I hate it because I don't think the laptop's wireless card works outside and I am torn. Do I give in to my writing need, or my need to make sure no weirdos decide to infiltrate my quiet, West of Mars neighborhood?
At least I can set up a chair and read while we're out there. Or else show the kids how cool their mom can be when you put a hockey stick in her hands.
Before I run, let me give a public thanks to my friends who're linking my blog and/or the main website to their spots on the web. If you've found me because of them, let me know. And be sure to tell me if you're a BookCrosser or not; never know what might escape my house and head toward yours as a thanks.
It's called Julie and Romeo, and it's written by Jeanne Ray, who seems to have no website that a quick Google search pulled up. This is an older book, Ray's debut (her most recent novel, in fact, is a sequel). And it's about two families who are feuding. Like the title suggests, it's a take on the Romeo and Juliet story of old.
How this helped me was with Behold Me, which I had stopped struggling with ... for about fifteen pages or so. Given that I'm now up to page 40, that's pretty good. One of the things I keep getting stuck on is that I'm worried about things getting too repetitious. Family feuds can only be about so many things and have so many dimensions.
I'd thought.
Julie and Romeo did get repetitive in places, sure. But it gave me neat ideas as to how to look at the situation from different angles. To bring in more characters and let them each have different experiences with what has happened to Kerri -- and, indirectly, Mitchell, who's spending an awful lot of time scratching his head and wondering how exactly all these chords fit into a song.
Spring break ended here today; it was back to school and back to finding friends to occupy the kids' time so I can write. As much as I love the spring weather, I hate it because I don't think the laptop's wireless card works outside and I am torn. Do I give in to my writing need, or my need to make sure no weirdos decide to infiltrate my quiet, West of Mars neighborhood?
At least I can set up a chair and read while we're out there. Or else show the kids how cool their mom can be when you put a hockey stick in her hands.
Before I run, let me give a public thanks to my friends who're linking my blog and/or the main website to their spots on the web. If you've found me because of them, let me know. And be sure to tell me if you're a BookCrosser or not; never know what might escape my house and head toward yours as a thanks.
Labels: books, Jeanne Ray
