January 2007 Archives

I guess I am a bit of an obsessive outliner after all, because even as I prepare to write a scene, I make a semblance of an outline. It keeps me on track. I ask myself what I need to get across in the scene, then jot down notes. Here's an example from early in the book so I don't give too much away. I knew the scene would take place at a memorial service. In my full book outline, I said the service would be on the beach, but as I thought more about it, I knew the beach would not be conducive to the service, so right off the bat, I changed the setting to a large building on Topsail Island. (note to blog readers who've been following the name change issue--the mother is now Lori, though that may not last either! Sue Ellen is now her best friend). What I needed to get across in this scene:

• the setting. the building and a bit of its history.
• Lori's point of view, because she has the most at stake emotionally; she's seated between Andy and Maggie and acutely aware of their presence and her good fortune at having her precious son there with her
• the somber mood of the community
• Reverend Bill's sincere sorrow over the loss of the fire victims and his church, as well as his disdain for the Lockwood family
• Keith's condition--heavily sedated,  unable to speak
• the firefighters are up front; marcus is in 3/4 profile to lori
• the mayor (?--or some official?) requested Andy sit in front row. he/she will honor Andy (as well as firefighters) during the service. people are aware of Andy's heroism. How people treated Andy in the past.  
• Lori views Maggie almost as a co-parent instead of as a daughter
• Lori's upset that Keith made references to the financial differences between their families. Does Sue Ellen (Lori's best friend and Keith's mother) harbor grievances toward her she's never spoken about? A bit of the history between Lori and Sue Ellen, how Sue Ellen really saved Lori.
• History of Andy and Keith's relationship and Keith's wildness
• Dawn announces the formation of a fund for the victims

Even as I wrote this scene, things changed because the characters did a few things I didn't expect. Nevertheless, I need to know what I plan to accomplish before writing a scene. What does the reader need to know at that point in the story? I remember that as I wrote this scene at the Opium Den, I cried. (The people at the Opium Den are used to me. . . ). Lori could feel her children's arms against her arms as they sat next to each other at the service and was overwhelmed with gratitude that they were safe and alive. I got overwhelmed right along with her. I LOVE when that happens! Off to the Opium Den right now, the outline of my next scene in hand.

Is it any wonder I need to escape to the Opium Den to work? I can't find anything in here!

I'm doing my ten pages a day. . . well, trying to, anyway. Even though this story has been outlined and re-outlined for months, I still find (and always do) that I need a Go-Back List. What this means is that, as I'm writing a scene or narrative, I realize I need to plant something earlier in the story. So I keep a list of those things I'll need to go back and do later. This is why polishing as I go never works for me, although it surely works for others. For example, yesterday I decided my teenaged character, Maggie, should visit another character, Keith, in the hospital. But for a variety of reasons, it didn't make good sense that this would be her first visit, so on my Go-Back List, I wrote: Maggie visits Keith sometime prior to ch. 16. By the end of this draft, I'll have several sheets of the Go-Back List, along with my ever expanding things-that-need-research list and the revelation chart I blogged about a couple of months ago. I also keep a chart handy at all times that tells me everyone's age, when they were born, how old they were on different significant years, when they were married, the historical events that were happening at the time (Hurrican Fran, for example), etc. I also have a calendar that helps me keep track of when each event happens in the story. Since the story is roughly set in '07, i use an '07 calendar and pencil in the events. The pencil part is important as I often have to change what happened when. I love this stuff! I love the challenge of figuring out how everything in a story fits together. Back to work.

Back by popular demand, this little essay is from my former blog:  When I'm typing for many hours every day (as I am now since I'm racing toward deadline), my hands sometimes to get painful and stiff from rheumatoid arthritis. That's when I break out the Dragon. Dragon NaturallySpeaking, that is. Its voice recognition software. I'm glad it exists, as it enables me to keep on working, but there are times when I want to throw the microphone across the room in frustration. I wrote an entire book (Summer's Child) using the dragon and I survived. Sometimes it doesn't understand me. I can't actually dictating this blob right now. Hot! Yes, this is exactly what it's like. I thought as I was midway through this paragraph that it was going to perform perfectly for wants. Now, it's doing what it usually does: it's trying very hard to make sense of what I'm saying and it's not always getting it right. I am not going to bother to correct it so you can see what life is like with the Dragon. My favorite mistake that the Dragon made to was the following. I dictated "the feeling was sudden and unbidden but delicious nevertheless." The dragon typed "Panasonic's business decisions upset its chickens contraceptives." You can see how it's necessary, then, to read read every line as you typed it to make sure it's accurate. In my early days with the Dragon, I would sometimes dictate an entire page without checking. Then I would realize that I had left mistakes in place, but I could no longer remember what I had actually meant to say. There has been a couple of times when I actually preferred the Dragon's choice of words to my own. I have to its net that the Dragon has done a pretty good job with this blob entry. Frankly,I couldn't keep up with my writing career without it, so I guess I shouldn't be too critical of it. Back to were it! (that's supposed to "back to work.") Diane, with a little help from the Dragon

I know I've already blogged about this, but from my email, it's clear not everyone's reading my blog! I just spent an hour responding to "when is your new book coming out" emails. I'm so touched that my readers know when my books usually come out and that's they're happily anticipating each release.  However, due to my move and other, less predicatable events, I will not have a book published in 2007. To make up for it, though, I will have two books out in 2008. Right now, they're scheduled for April 2008 and November 2008. If you keep reading the blog, you'll find out where I am in my Work-in-Progress. (Right now I'm deep into the April book, tentatively titled THE SEA TENDER). My apologies to those of you who are hungry for another Chamberlain! It means so much to me that you care, and I'm writing as fast as my fingers can fly.

                   Saturday, I spoke on a panel at the new Holly Springs Library and Cultural Center with members of the local crimewriters gang. From left, that's Sarah Shaber of the Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries, Margaret Maron of the Deborah Knott Series, me, and Brenda Witchger, aka Brynn Bonner who writes short mystery stories and southern fiction. We had a delightful time chatting, taking questions and signing books. The new facility in Holly Springs is stunning! Can't wait to go back.  

This is an engrossing, fast-paced, well-structured novel about a suicide pact made--or not made?--between two teenagers. I love the way Picoult shifts between past and present, or as she refers to it, "then" and "now." It's seamless, never jarring. She's also an author whose quality writing never gets in the way of her story. The only thing that bothered me is the rapid shifting of point of view--and that only bothered me because I'm fanatical about it. I don't think the average reader would even notice, and as I always say, you can do what ever you like when you write as long as it works. Picoult writes the type of story I like to write: ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations. THE PACT is one of her best.  

I love visiting bookgroups when I have time. I love it even when I have no time, like today. It was a wonderful break from the hard last few days.  Here I am with part of the group I met with this afternoon. They're mostly teachers (yay, teachers!). They read KEEPER OF THE LIGHT (although one member has read nearly everything I've written--thank you, Betty) and were so enthusiastic. I loved hearing their thoughtful consideration of the characters and story. They also fed me an elegant lunch and we chatted for several hours. It was just the boost I needed to get back to serious writing tomorrow.

I'm in New Jersey, dealing with a family emergency, with little on-line time and little writing time. If you know my books, you know that family always comes first in my eyes! But I have received many, most appreciated, emails asking where my 2007 book is, since I usually have a paperback on the shelves in January and a hardcover in February. So I thought I'd better blog about the schedule. There will be no new Diane Chamberlain available in 2007. I'm so sorry. To make it up to you, I hope to have two out in 2008. The first is currently scheduled for April of 2008--a very long wait, I know! THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES will be out in paperback March 2008. Of course, it's still available in hardcover and THE BAY AT MIDNIGHT is available in paperback. My apologies again to those of you who faithfully look for my books this time every year. I hope to be back in North Carolina and my own computer by the end of the week and will catch up with you all then. Hugs.

 What is it about A BEAUTIFUL MIND? With the long weekend, John and I had run out of Netflix movies so we turned to our small collection of DVDs and put on ABM, which I've seen at least six times. To me, this movie is a masterpiece. First, Ron Howard (and the screenwriters) took a yawner of a subject--math--and found a way to explain a mathematical theory in a simple and intriguing way that even a math moron like myself could understand. Then he took schizophrenia and allowed us to be completely inside the mind of a sufferer to feel what it's like. How can anyone who's seen this film not react with a new wisdom when he or she sees a "crazy" person on the street? Third, and most extraodinary of all, he took a life that is unbelievably complex in every possible way and chose just the right details to create a delicious, tense and cogent story. On top of all that, the soundtrack perfectly captures the emotion in every scene. Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly are phenomenal. When I watch movies, I can't help but think about how my novels would translate to the screen. I think some of them would make excellent movies--what novelist doesn't dream of having a book optioned? But I'm aware of the skill it takes to know what to leave in and what to take out. It's the essence of the book that needs to carry over to the screen and not the story itself, detail by detail. That's what Ron Howard did with John Nash's life. He followed the essence rather than the details and he did it masterfully. It's my five lighthouse favorite.

Now we're getting down to the nitty gritty. With an April 1 deadline, I'm moving into the minimum ten pages a day routine. I'm still doing a rough draft so as long as I know where I'm going, I can get through those pages without too much difficulty. The problem I've had with this book -- and with every book I've every written -- is that the "where I'm going" part changes as the characters develop. So I've had to make quite a few "regrouping" stops along the way, but I believe every one of those detours has made the story better. It's gotten very complex, which I love. As I've mentioned before, though, complexity means charts and calendars all sorts of organizational tools to keep everybody straight. As for the character formerly known as Joanna, she has her fourth or fifth name now, which I won't reveal until I feel more certain of it. I do think the current name is a winner, but who knows what I'll think tomorrow. I hope everyone had a great holiday. I'll be blogging regularly again now that the festivities are over, so please visit often.