boggy midwest, boggy middles & green tomatoes

Halloween . . . This sky scary enough for you? On Tuesday the words "squalls" and "cyclonic" were used -- in Chicago.  And there's no ocean out here, only one big lake. 

It was wild weather with big bursts of wind, and stripes of yes, blue sky. Clouds charged at each other from all directions, smashing, for the fun of it (I imagine). Like what I used to do with blueberries with my brother. 

What are you doing today? Are you dressed up as something?

Me? I'm laying low. Hiding out. Reading a good book maybe. 

Hi everyone!

So Phil and I went to Seedlings Orchard last Sunday. Saw where our fruit grows in Michigan. What a beautiful orchard -- rows of all sorts of apple, peach and plum trees. Peter let us pick apples and whatever else we could find still growing on the ground. And because the weather has been so mild (no frost yet even and I'm writing this on Tuesday) we were able to find a melon, a bunch of those tiny French strawberries, and a lot of apples. The Golden Russet were still on the tree and we got quite a few of those -- love those. 

As far as the book, I'm working on a change list. I'm going chapter by chapter and planning out all the changes I need to make.

Oh the boggy middle! You know what I'm talking about right? You've got an exciting beginning and then everything turns to mush in the middle of the book, the plot gets buried in some sort of foot sticking gunk and you can't move. Forget about anyone wanting to read further...

Good old Bob McKee (remember the Story Seminar) says one of the ways you get out of this is to have a second subplot. So I've got a love subplot, and I'm convinced that love, love, love will get me out of this morass. 

(What does "morass" mean? Can I use it in that sentence? It sounds right. Should look it up. But feel lazy. You're my friend right? You'll support me, care about me, even if I have a limited vocabulary and am trying to make a living as a writer?) 

Food-wise, we're eating a lot of squash, potatoes, and green fried tomatoes. Yes, green tomatoes aren't bad if you slice them up, dip them in corn meal, fry them in oil, and then when brown on both sides sprinkle with something like "Vulcan's Fire Salt" from the Spice House.

This is basically salt with finely ground hot pepper flakes, so I imagine if you just sprinkled with a little hot sauce that would work too. Green fried tomatoes don't have a lot of taste, so you've got to do something -- but with the right seasoning they make a fine appetizer. Or that's what we think here. 

[Note: After adding the above link to the fire salt I realize that under-estimated just how much stuff is in fire salt, so maybe you should just throw your hat in the ring, cry 'Uncle,' and buy it from them. Dang, that's a lot of ingredients.]

Also can cook in butter. You know how emotional I get about butter...mmm-mmm-MMMM. But -- as a word of warning -- I don't think you can fry in butter because butter burns. And burnt butter? Not the same. So tread lightly, turn the burner down, but YUM.  

Thought you'd like to see the orchard, so I'm sprinkling this letter with orchard pixs!

So have you had frost there yet? Any predictions as to when Chicago will finally turn wintery? First snow guesses? I would have you guess first frost, but it should be this week. Should, should, should be. And if it does my allergies will finally let up, which will put a big smile on my face and a glass of champagne in my hand! 

Yay!

Amy 

An idea for REALLY old apples...

robert mckee? and journal burning

Mickey's Diner, St. Paul, MNHi everyone -- 

How are you? Winter coming to your neck of the woods? We've got temps in the 80s in Chicago. But realistically, how much longer can this go on? 

My news? I did it. I made it through Robert McKee's Story Seminar in St.Paul. 30 hours of teaching. It's all him. He's mostly got it memorized and he's over 70. He looked a lot better than I felt after four days of sitting, sitting, sitting.   

What did I think?

First, I was wrong about it all being about plotting and structure (see last week). It's about story. Story! The basic building block of everything we do. And McKee explained story to me in a way that felt both new and old (I knew it somewhere but couldn't put my finger on it). He's got a gift for clarity of both thinking and expression. I needed this workshop. 

So if you're a writer and you get a chance, do this thing. Go listen to Robert McKee. At least buy the book, Story. (He wrote the book so his students didn't have to take as many notes at his lectures, so it's a good way to start.) What he said is shaking me up and in a good way.  

Now here's my warning: Robert McKee is intense and prone to ranting. Remember how I got that letter warning me of McKee's strong opinions in terms of politics, religion, etc? Yes he does. And good grief when he asks questions from the stage, don't expect to get them right unless you read minds. I did find that if you think of it as a game, like Space Invaders, it's not so bad. 

But go. It's so worth it for the way he talks about and explains story. Wow. Wish I could write about it more, but I'm still mulling it all over.  

Also, his new project Storylogue looks interesting. I'd check that out too.  

Mom & my Story Seminar friend waiting for me to finish snapping photosI know you're wondering about the cell-phone, texting rules. ...

He scared us and it worked. Robert McKee began our seminar with a good fifteen minute rant. (Quote? "I will not let some narcissistic S.O.B. inflict their personal life on my students." Yeah, I added the initials. McKee isn't an initials kind of guy.) If our cell phone went off he'd fine us $10, said he had change for $100 so don't try to pull that one, and if we saw someone texting we should rat them out. If we did, he'd pay us $10. (He says he can't see people texting from the stage.) 

Fear worked. We didn't have much trouble at all with this. And here's where I feel conflicted -- no texting, no cell-phoning was great. We listened without interruption. It was so nice. It was surprising how nice it was, which made me conclude that I'm used to being interrupted/distracted by cell phones, etc. 

But fear? Is this truly the only way to make people turn these things off? Really? Could we just have a $10 donation bucket to a cause that you've got to pay into if your cell phone goes off? Would that do it? Could we say, Save the Whales, and have quiet workshops? 

Isn't St. Paul pretty?And this is for Elizabeth (Hi Beth!) who thought it sad I junked all those journals. ("Journal burning" sounds so much better than "journal recycling" -- don't you think?) So is it sad? No. You see, last year I pulled a bunch of them out of the box and tried to read them. How did that go? Could. Not. Do. It. Like pulling teeth. 

I did save the ones with significant events recorded in them. But it amounts to six journals, as opposed to an entire moving box. 

Okay, I've got work to do -- Robert McKee kicked my butt . . .  

Onward!

Amy

fines for cell phones, texting and there's no coffee...

Hi everyone! 

Writing this early. Writing this on Monday in fact. I'm gone all this week to Robert McKee's Story Seminar in St. Paul and I'm not bringing my computer. 

Great letter though from the Loft Literary Center (the sponsors) to prepare us for the workshop. Here are some highlights. First, there's no food in the auditorium, though "bottled water is permissible." Read: no coffee. I ask: Do you really want to get a huge group of writers together and not have coffee? I mean, think about 100s of caffeine-deprived writers. Count me in their midst . . .

Then there's Robert McKee's rules (and I quote): 

1.    Mr. McKee has a strict "No Cell Phone" policy. Please make sure your cell phone is turned OFF when you enter the theatre.  If your phone goes off during the seminar, you may be fined.

2.    Texting during the class is also not allowed. It is very distracting to the fellow attendees. Texting will also result in a fine. 

....

8.    Please note that Mr. McKee has strong views on politics, and religion and uses strong language.

I'm not a big fan of cell phones ringing or texting at live events, but this is by far the strictest thing I've ever seen. I kind of want to see someone get fined -- just because: really? Will he really do it? This I gotta see.    

And yes, he is going to be presenting for 8 hours a day. Eight hours -- this guy has stamina. 

Speaking of stamina: Decluttering weekend is finished. We did it. Totals? 1 and 1/2 full car loads to Salvation Army, a full city-size trash container full (about 4 feet tall), and a full city-size recycling bin (again, 4 feet tall). I'd like to point out that we decluttered last year too (about 3 trips to Salvation Army) and we did this when we moved into a house for the first time (about 4 trips to Salvation Army). Clearly, I am a card carrying consumer, supporting our consumer-driven economy. It's just nuts when you think about the fact that when I left college everything I owned fit in a Nissan Sentra Hatchback. I was proud of this fact. What happened to me? 

On the other hand, it took all these times for me to get rid of some of this stuff. For instance, my journals. I had journals from 20 years ago. This time (the third time) I was ready to rip them up and put them in the recycling bin. My only fear now is that we'll have a wind storm in our neighborhood, the recycling bin will open,  and my neurotic pages will paper the neighborhood and everybody will know just a little too much about me.

But I'm willing to risk it -- the space is so, so nice. It feels absolutely luxurious. 

Yeah, we scheduled another one for next year. For us, it seems like the only way. By the way, if any of you want a good decluttering book, try Peter Walsh, It's all Too Much. I keep mine around as reference. It's a good system. 

Hope you guys are well! Friends of mine now have a new baby girl named Eliza -- it's made me smile all week! Welcome Eliza! And I haven't mentioned once that another friend of mine trained for a long, long time and then finished the Chicago Triathalon this summer. Inspiring! Aren't friends great? 

Cheering,

Amy

decluttering & why no one will talk plot

Hi everyone!

We've been weather here in Chicago. Big weather. The world goes dark, you think its an eclipse of the sun, you look outside and see the image to the right.

Temperatures have been all over the place.Tuesday its over 90 degrees and muggy -- the air so thick its like walking through your grandmother's quilt. Then the storm comes, and the next morning its in the low 60s. I hear we're going up to HOT again on Thursday.

Yes, I'm writing this a little earlier this week, because this weekend is . . . drum roll please...

...Decluttering Weekend! Yes, I did feel a little badly to hear my husband turn down and invitation to go hang out with a friend because he'd promised his wife a 'decluttering weekend.' The guy started laughing and then said, 'You're serious?' What have I become?!? But we don't have a lot of storage space here. And do we want a garage or a storage unit? Because stuff in our house sneaks around -- I swear it tiptoes out into the garage, sniffs about, turns around a few times and then settles in. I can hear it out there sighing -- truly! (Okay, I just personified STUFF and as a writer I'm not supposed to personify non-living objects. Big no no.)

Confession is good for the soul:Most of the stuff tiptoeing in the garage is my stuff. 

Big news this week: • Looks like I've got a new editor at Knopf. Very excited about her. More later. Love, love, love my agent. He's been great through all of this. • Signed my contract with Random House (Knopf). Have a new (later) date on it when my part of the work is due. Good! • Getting to the end of the essay I'm writing -- very happy about that too. 

And next weekend: I'm going to Robert McKee's Story Seminar the end of this month. This thing is legendary. Have you seen the movie Adaptation? You know the quotes that the optimistic twin brother keeps spewing? That's Robert McKee. Check out the interview below. It's got the seminar as it appeared in the movie. According to Robert McKee's son, the actor that played McKee "nailed him." (Go to about 1:17 minute to see the clip from Adaptation.)

Yup, I'm going to subject myself to that. The days are long too -- I mean, full 8 hours of material every single day. I don't even know how he's physically able to talk that long. Anyway, I'll let you know how that goes.

Why am I going? Well, first a very good friend is going and it would be fun to go with her. Second, I know the Twin Cities where this thing is going to be held.

And third, I think it's good to talk about plot and structure. Though I've got an M.A. in English/Creative Writing and took writing classes in high school and college, I have not heard a lot of talk about plot (in particular). I think it's because plot needs to come from character, and if you teach a person plot before character-development or sentence crafting stuff, all that person will want to do is go straight for the plot and plug in characters. Plug-in characters are no good. Truly. But it's a human weakness to want to do everything fast. And plot and structure sound a lot like 'rules.' We like rules much more than we like to wander.

And character-development! Oh character development -- you are an act of faith! Character development is slow and remarkably in-efficient. For instance, to develop a character you might ask how that person grew up, what that persons' parents believed in strongly (if anything), what street they grew up on and what that street was like. None of which may ever be specifically used in the book. (You have no idea how tempting it is to throw in a sentence -- just a single sentence!) But I do believe that this will inform the book and the story. And if you've done this sort of work, your characters will do that magical thing that authors talk about -- they'll surprise you and do things you didn't expect. It's because you know these people. 

That said, I know the above. Doesn't mean I'm immune to the lure of an "easy" fix, but I've experienced how plot comes from character. I believe it. So now I want to talk plot and structure. I don't mind that we're talking movies (screenplay writing) and not novels. I've gotten some great ideas by dissecting the structure of a movie with my husband. And I think knowing about structure will help me tighten and streamline the books I have already finished. It's going to help me cut. 

Anyway, how are you? Should have asked that earlier -- sorry about the rudeness!  I'll let you know how the decluttering goes. Other than that, I'm leaving messes all over the house. (Maybe its because I subconsciously expect to declutter and now want to clutter?) See below. That shawl I'm working on . . . oh good gravy -- it's the second time I had to cast on 375 stitches in LACE weight. I hate counting to 375. I must have done it eight times. 

Onward! 

Amy