Beach Revisions

Time: noon today.  Place: Oak Island, NC.  Temperature: 70.  Activity: Revising.

Today I was working on revisions.  At the beach.  Truly.  Received long, eloquent editorial letter yesterday, with astute observations and questions on the work-in-progress.  The questions are complicated and not easy to resolve, but if resolved, they will make the book stronger. And so today, with the questions in mind, I walked the beach. And sat. And walked. And sat. And thought.

The value of thinking/gazing time is enormous. It's an essential part of writing, and it is why many writers take on that glazed, daft look: they are off in the world of the book, resolving problems, even when they are not at the computer/typewriter/paper--maybe especially when they are not at the computer/typewriter/paper.

These are the times when I put the phone in the fridge, the milk in the oven, keys in the freezer. It is hard to live in two worlds at once, mm?

Work Space

If I'm staying anywhere more than two weeks, I have to set up a workspace. It's a compulsion. A need. Unlike some writers who can write on airplanes or trains or in hotel rooms or cafes, I work best when I'm at home or in a place where I have a room of my own in which to work, with materials and reference books close by.

It wasn't always so. Dedicated space is a luxury. When I was first writing, I shared desk space and a typewriter with my husband. From there I graduated to a laundry/storage room.  When my son left for college, I usurped his bedroom and bought my first computer. From then on, I've had my own dedicated office/room.

The above room is in North Carolina, where my husband and I hide out for a few months each winter.

If you're a writer, I hope you have your own space. Do you?

My Editor

At left is my American editor, Joanna Cotler; that's me on the right. It is my great good fortune that Joanna has been my editor for most of my books, all with HarperCollins. Joanna is wise, funny, beautiful, kind, generous, and multi-talented. I rely on her to guide me from a strong draft to a great one with her astute questions and comments.

The above photo was taken when I was in New York a couple years ago, doing an interview with Joanna, conducted by Jenny Brown. Jenny's interview with us can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9atmYRlEzCM

and continued at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFNI8J3IRps

Before Joanna became my editor, I was also fortunate to work with three other astute editors: Marion Dickens Lloyd (descendant of Charles Dickens); David Gale, and Nancy Siscoe.

Walnut Tree Cottage

This is Walnut Tree Cottage, 350 years old, in the village of Thorpe, Surrey, England, where my husband, children, and I lived for fourteen of the eighteen years we lived in England. At that time, this was the Headmaster's residence (my husband was the Headmaster) for the TASIS school, I taught upper school English there, and our two children attended the school.

The second-story middle window opens into the room in which I wrote Walk Two Moons, The Wanderer, Absolutely Normal Chaos, Pleasing the Ghost, Chasing Redbird, Fishing in the Air, and Bloomability.


Nearly everyone who entered this cottage said, "How quaint! How cute!", and it was that, but quaint and cute do not necessarily mean easy-to-live-in.  The plumbing was dodgy, the heating sporadic, the kitchen wee, the spiders a-plenty, and each spring plants grew up between the dining-room floorboards and around the windows.

But it was home and we were happy there.

The Grace of Trees

Nearly two years ago, when I took this photo of a sandy lane in North Carolina, I felt such a strong affinity to this place.  It contributed to the impetus for the latest work-in-progress. Where does the road lead? Why do the trees beckon?

I often used similar photos or paintings when I was teaching, as story-inspirers. Who is on the road? Where does it lead? What is that place? I loved how the same scene could inspire such different responses.  The artist or photographer has already selected details and tone. Each viewer then reshapes the scene with his own eyes.

I'm wondering what you see/think/feel.

January Beach Day

For those of you who are snowbound, I almost hate to show you this photo, taken today on the beach in North Carolina. Sixty degrees. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

Walking on the beach is one of the best ways to solve problems, either in 'real' life or in stories-in-progress. On such a walk last January, a solution to an awkward bit in the new book arrived, unbidden.

You reach down to pick up a broken shell and instead you pick up a gem of a character.

Ahhh.

Photo Play

You have probably all been proficient with Photoshop for ages, but I am just beginning to explore its possibilities. Today I'm particularly enchanted with the painterly effects, as in the above, using an original photograph of an Iris border on the TASIS campus in England.

Any suggestions for what I might try next with Photoshop?

And do painter or photographer purists scorn this program or embrace it, do you know?