Writing about Writing?
As I'm writing the last installment in The Ties That Bind Us series, I realized how much slower I was writing. I could blame it on any number of things. I teach full time. I had laryngitis for a few weeks. I traveled a good bit over the summer. I've yet to meet a cause where I said "no". To be honest, I don't think it's any of those things. I have always multi-tasked. I don't think there is a time during the day when there aren't at least four projects I am working out in my head while I do other things. When I commit to something, I commit. It's why I like to nap and sleep; I get to shut down for a few hours.
I think it's taking me longer to write the last book because it is coming from multiple characters' perspectives at various ages. I continually stop to think about how I would have approached the problem at 17, 21, and 28. I'm not rewriting my own history, but I think it's safe to say that I'm not the same person as I was when I was 17. Most people aren't. My high school and college years were fine and fairly undramatic. I would chalk this up to my own maturity, but it was actually because I have Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew for parents. Their ability to tell when someone is lying is uncanny. My dad's second favorite phrase when I was in high school and college was "I didn't put all of this time, money, and energy into raising you to let you do something stupid because I want to be your friend". My mom is a human tape recorder. If I said it, she remembered it which pretty much took changing my story out of the question. I don't need to rewrite my high school or college years because I accomplished what I wanted to at the time.
As I have gotten older, my personality traits have become more pronounced as I've shed the insecurity that comes with being a teenager or young adult. In high school, I only stood up for myself if my back was against the wall. Let's just say I'm really good at sticking up for myself and what I believe in as an adult. As a teenager, I took every mean word said about me to heart. I cried easily. Now, I don't really care what other people think about me. I like me. If someone else doesn't like me, the world will keep on turning. I'm not saying I have all of the answers at 28. I don't. I'm just willing to admit that I don't know everything now whereas I probably wouldn't have ever said that at 17 and 21.
Thus, I'm stuck writing at a slower pace because the voices of a 17 yr old, 21 yr old, and 28 yr old are very different. I don't think one is better than the other, and I'm not doing the characters I've come to love justice if I don't acknowledge the difference. Though this book is taking me longer to write, it probably has helped me become a better teacher. Once I think about the mistakes I made at 17, I become quite a bit more forgiving when students make a mistake. To all my former high school teachers, I am very sorry for all of the times I rolled my eyes in class or complained about an assignment. As it turns out, you probably weren't trying to make me miserable or kill me. Sorry!
Stay tuned for the third book.
I think it's taking me longer to write the last book because it is coming from multiple characters' perspectives at various ages. I continually stop to think about how I would have approached the problem at 17, 21, and 28. I'm not rewriting my own history, but I think it's safe to say that I'm not the same person as I was when I was 17. Most people aren't. My high school and college years were fine and fairly undramatic. I would chalk this up to my own maturity, but it was actually because I have Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew for parents. Their ability to tell when someone is lying is uncanny. My dad's second favorite phrase when I was in high school and college was "I didn't put all of this time, money, and energy into raising you to let you do something stupid because I want to be your friend". My mom is a human tape recorder. If I said it, she remembered it which pretty much took changing my story out of the question. I don't need to rewrite my high school or college years because I accomplished what I wanted to at the time.
As I have gotten older, my personality traits have become more pronounced as I've shed the insecurity that comes with being a teenager or young adult. In high school, I only stood up for myself if my back was against the wall. Let's just say I'm really good at sticking up for myself and what I believe in as an adult. As a teenager, I took every mean word said about me to heart. I cried easily. Now, I don't really care what other people think about me. I like me. If someone else doesn't like me, the world will keep on turning. I'm not saying I have all of the answers at 28. I don't. I'm just willing to admit that I don't know everything now whereas I probably wouldn't have ever said that at 17 and 21.
Thus, I'm stuck writing at a slower pace because the voices of a 17 yr old, 21 yr old, and 28 yr old are very different. I don't think one is better than the other, and I'm not doing the characters I've come to love justice if I don't acknowledge the difference. Though this book is taking me longer to write, it probably has helped me become a better teacher. Once I think about the mistakes I made at 17, I become quite a bit more forgiving when students make a mistake. To all my former high school teachers, I am very sorry for all of the times I rolled my eyes in class or complained about an assignment. As it turns out, you probably weren't trying to make me miserable or kill me. Sorry!
Stay tuned for the third book.
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