Body language

I firmly believe that body language communicates so much. One of my first week of school lessons is about that - different ways we communicate. It's not just words. Of course, in writing, you would think that it's purely through words. But it's not. The descriptors of how a person moves or how their tone is plays a huge part in things. It can make a person seem indifferent or jealous. The tough part for me, at the moment, is my characters keep showing me different sides. I know what the underlying and overall takeaway from the scene is and how that will play into a later chapter. But, one character keeps bouncing from indifference to outright jealous and possessive. This then causes the other characters to react accordingly. And every moment I think about it, it waffles. To me, this means they haven't quite decided yet what to do. And it's the nuances of his body language that sets everything off. A glare? A dismissive glance? The clutching of a girl's hand? So, I let it play over and over in my head, writing snippets to both - I'd hate to lose the words/tones to either then kick myself later for not jotting it down like I've done on occasion. This, of course, led to me being up at 1:30am this morning and taking forever to go back to sleep - because my brain couldn't reconcile what was going on with them. So, here I sit during my prep period - sleep deprived (maybe 3 hours of sleep) and desperate to get them to settle down. But they have a mind of their own. They just use mine to communicate to the world.

Favorite moments

It's weird to realize that I have specific favorite moments from my books. Every line is a part of me, so to choose a particular moment is much like picking a favorite child. (Or so they say, I can't exactly since I don't have kids, but it makes sense.) Maybe it's just my favorite part right now. But I do feel that it's one of my favorite 8 lines that I've written. It's short. It's banter. But it wasn't something that could happen earlier in the book or the series. No, relationships between characters take time to build. And my characters showed me that they had grown to that part of their relationship - unbeknownst to them and me. The funny part, to me, is that there is another character observing it all, just like I was. So, in this case, I was sitting there with him watching it all happen. These short few lines speak volumes to where they are and the potential there. It was great!

Difficult scenes

Scenes can be difficult for various reasons. It can be because of writer's block, it's emotional or it's traumatic. Sometimes I think the emotional and traumatic ones create its own form of writer's block. The thing is, these scenes can either cause me to type frantically or sit in a daze. It's not that I don't know what to write, but rather, it's hard to articulate it. I hesitate to say "right", but sometimes that how it feels. It's not that I'm looking for the exact words to be perfect on the screen, it's just literally hard to talk about. My characters are struggling in an uncomfortable moment in their lives and just like any of us in that situation, we search for the best way to explain to someone how we're feeling or what we're thinking. There's a reason why we avoid topics with our friends and family. It's too awkward to talk about, even if we should.

Other times, it's so emotional and like a frantic outpouring of emotions and words. I can't control the rate in which the characters are talking. All I can do is try to type faster. And sometimes I cry because I can't believe what's happening and it's all completely out of my control.

But right now, I'm in an awkward scene. My characters and I will be glad when this one is done.

Music and Writing

Some people find inspiration in music. I'm not sure if I'm one of those people. I find it very difficult to think when music is playing. Let me clarify - music with lyrics is playing. I like to sing along with songs. I do enjoy music - a lot. But if there are words - especially those that I know - my brain automatically gets the pattern and I can't concentrate on anything else. It's the same reason why I could never listen to music when I was studying - ever.

When I drive to work I like to listen to musical scores, so I can think. See my characters. Hear them. Write in my head. It's my routine. Doesn't work when there's someone else in the car, because there's always the pull to talk to the other person. That's not bad. Just not condusive to writing.

But I do like listening to "regular" songs. Current ones, "older" ones. I have massive playlist (called "Misc") on my iTunes that I play during class. Students like working to music - it helps them focus, provides more energy in the classroom. In this playlist there are songs from when I was in junior high / high school through today. Very ecclectic. There's a bunch that students have suggested to me. There are songs that I've found that if there was a soundtrack to my books, it would definitely be on it.

I do have a playlist that is my "soundtrack". These songs didn't inspire me to write, it's more like, "Hey! That captures a scene/feeling/moment in the book!" There's a song that's been a favorite since it came out when I was in high school. I've heard it many times since - especially since I started playing music in my classroom. It's a New Kids on the Block song. All of a sudden, it clicked. It was very fitting for a future book in my series. If my book was turned into a movie, it would definitely have to be in it. Well, the future book. I have written "future" chapters, although that book is far from completed. But I do it as number 8 or 12 in the series. Now, whenever I hear this NKOTB song, I definitely think of my characters and that future moment in their lives. I get transported to it. After the song is done, my mind wanders more to what might happen next or what happens just before it.

I still don't think the music inspires me, but (as it does in movies) enhances certain moments. I don't think I'll see the song the same way.

A look back and a look forward...

So, it's New Year's Eve. Traditionally a time to reflect over the past year and set your goals for the next. But with the popularity of holiday letters that people include in the Christmas cards, I think many people recap their year in early December - or whenever they throw together their letter.



I thought about writing one this year. I really did. A lot happened this year. But I never got around to putting it together. Why? A lot was happening and I got busy. Between teaching, getting my students to work on their science fair projects and my extra-curriculars, I was sick. That lasted about two weeks. Not fun. No voice - which is a bad thing for a teacher. I had a microphone and sound system in my classroom. I used this on a regular basis to begin with, but having no voice and still trying to speak is bad. It doesn't help the healing. I've learned that lesson in the past. So, I called in sick - something I don't really like to do. But being sick sapped my energy and the last thing I wanted to was start a new project - albeit a "short" one.

Instead, I reviewed my year by reading what I've written so far for book 2. I have gaps to fill. I knew it when I was writing - skipping over events that I knew existed , but had yet to write. Now I remember exactly what's happened in my head, but not on paper. So, the end of the year and the start of the next will be about that - going back and visiting my characters earlier on in their journey in book 2 and writing those pieces.

Traveling...

So, between the end of Octoboer and early November, I’ve been doing quite a bit of traveling – especially for someone like me. I mean, I’m not a business person who has to go visit clients or an engineer who has customers out of town. I’m a teacher – and an engineer. Well, within the last three or so weeks, I’ve been out of state twice. Once to Washington, DC and then to Chicago. My students teasingly asked me if I didn’t like them and that’s why I’m leaving them. They probably wouldn’t have noticed it that much except for the fact that I was gone on a Friday, then the following Monday because of the DC trip, then on the Thursday of that week for a teacher training thing, was at school for a week, then gone again for two days. When they ask me where am I going and why, I tell them. And not just the “purpose of the trip” why, but the how and why I got this opportunity. It’s a teachable moment.

I want all my students to realize that opportunities are everywhere. You choose everyday what to do, how to live, how to represent yourself, your school, your family, etc. whether you want to or not – no matter how old you are.

What brought me to DC? I teach at a summer program – sort of a science and math camp. I’ve done it for several summers now. I love it. LOVE IT. Well, love and respect it (and its mission). And the feeling is mutual. I do work for them in the spring as well. So, I was asked to do a demo of what my “class” does in the summer at the USA Science and Engineering Festival that was being held in DC. Between the Festival, a whirlwind tour of some sights and the time difference between the west coast and DC, I was TIRED. But it was totally worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat!



Then it was off to Chicago... where I had a board meeting. Another quick visit to a town. I headed right after school to the airport to catch my flight and arrived in Chicago just past midnight (local time). I pretty much spent the entire time in the hotel meeting room. But we (everyone on the board) went out to dinner. I got to ride in a stretch Hummer! When you have to transport around 18 people, it winds up being more cost effective to rent that to shuttle people around in one group. Who knew? I wish I had more time to spend there, but it was a meeting again the next day and then off to the airport right after the meeting was over.



From Chicago, I didn't even fly home. I went to LA for another board meeting and a formal dinner. It was a great event - talking with high school students from the summer program who were presenting their work and their parents, among others. I was, however, anxious to get home and be in my own bed... and just sit. It was a whirlwind few days...

Which ended with me going back to school on a Wednesday (which was a half day), then having Thursday off for a holiday, then actually having one full day of work on the Friday. Now, that's a work week! Did I get any writing done? Some.. on the plane... the multiple flights I had...

Percolating..

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Sorry. September came and went before I knew it. That's what happens when school starts. Between teaching and everything else - including continuing to write - I just didn't get a chance to sit down and post some thoughts here.

I just came back from a few days in Washington, DC for the USA Science and Engineering Festival. By a few days, I mean, I flew out on Friday morning, landed there Friday night and left to come home on Sunday afternoon. I took in as many of the sights as I could in the short time there since I spent most of my time at the Festival. I love how the buildings/houses look there. The brick, tall brownstone like homes. It immediately reminded me of one of my characters and where he'd live when he goes back East. That made me happy. And sad.

Why sad? Well, when he goes out there, it's about eleven years after the current time frame that I'm writing (did I mention my characters are in high school?). So, this is after college... several years after college. Okay, now that I think about it, more like maybe eight years after... Anyway, without going into details about it (wouldn't want spoilers on here), it's a melancoly time/moment/scene. But I do see the building/house in a happy moment too.

That image has been percolating in my head since I was first driven through DC on Friday night. However, I was able to continue writing in the current high school scene I was working on. This morning however, I kept seeing that building. And it made me happy. Then my brain flipped to a scene that would eventually lead to that happy scene. And I was crying. Tears streaming down my face at 4:00am. I'm lying in bed seeing, hearing the scene and crying. I didn't want to lose the words my beloved characters spoke, so I pulled out my computer and began writing that scene. And cried again, even harder as I tried to get the actions down as well. My alarm went off to officially wake me up and I hit the snooze to keep writing and finish my thoughts. Frantically, I typed to it all out before the snooze went off and I would officially be running late for my day. I did.

When I got up to get ready this morning, my eyes were all puffy and red, my face tear-stained. All this from a book. My book. A scene. In a book that has yet to be finished, but technically has been started. A book for the future -- many years in the future for my characters. But it didn't ease the emotions it created. I hope it ellicts the same emotion from others...