Wednesday, July 17, 2013

How to Survive the Sharknado of Revisions


When you have been working on the same project for months…or years, there are moments when you may wonder with great despair if you are writing the Neverending Story.  
 
Since school ended, my days have been a whirlwind, nay, a Sharknado, of writing and revising my manuscript FINDING OBENO, a project that I began in April 2012. Unfortunately while caught in this twister of reworking chapters that occasionally bite, my poor blog has been neglected.

Although writing blog posts does take time away from my current project, which honestly was one of the reasons I avoided starting a blog in the first place, I have found it to be valuable. (The other reason was that as an unpublished writer, I didn’t feel I had anything to say, a fact my husband still laughs over. Apparently I have a lot to say…often, now whether or not what I say is of value is to be seen, but I digress.) Writing a blog post or online article allows me to take a piece from beginning to end in one sitting…sometimes two. This is very refreshing when you have been working on a novel. So today I’ve decided to take a step out of my Sharknado of revising to write a blog on one of my great loves: DISNEY

 
 

When I first began my writing journey, I attended several “nuts and bolts” workshops. At each workshop, the speakers advised that a writer should “Write what you know.” Well I know Disney. For those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning of its short existence, you were forewarned about my Disney obsession early on, so thank you for your continued support.  For those of you just joining us, my apologies for there is a good chance “Its’ a Small World” will mysteriously burrow into your brain by the end of this post.
 
As is evident (much to my husband’s dismay) by its slow invasion into my house and classroom, I get downright giddy when I find ways to weave Disney into teachable/inspirational moments for my kids, students and self.  How bad is my obsession? Last summer I walked around taking photos of the Disney quotes adorning the construction walls in the parks while my family ran off to get fastpasses for rides.


 

 
 
 
 
 
 
With a vast knowledge of useless Disney facts and experience in teaching, there really was only one thing for me to do: write a series of articles on the educational opportunities available in the four Walt Disney World parks.

The lovely folks at Passporter.com were kind enough to run my articles.





Over the last few weeks, I have found a couple amazing blog postings about Disney and writing that now adorn the walls of my writing space!

The first is a great post using popular Disney movies to explain literary techniques.

 
The second is a wonderful post about Pixar’s Rules of Storytelling.

 


Writing a novel can be very isolating. Being able to write short articles or blogs on a topic you love allows you small breaks from working on your longer pieces and gives you immediate feedback from the site editors and readers, which is sometimes all the encouragement you need to dive back into your main project.


When you are working on a lengthy writing project, what side pieces do you write to keep your sanity? Do you write a blog or articles about your interests? If you do, please comment and post links. I'd love to read them.

For now; however, my break is over. I am refreshed and eager to dive back into my Sharknado of revisions with my chainsaw at the ready.


Until next time, happy writing and...
M-I-C See you real soon!
K-E-Y Why, because we like you!
M-O-U-S-E!