1st Novel: Project Journal

I started keeping a Project Journal during the writing of my novel (current project).

First entries:

> > > > > Friday, September 18, 2009.
This is the beginning of my Project Journal, kept during the writing of [my first novel -- title withheld, because, don't know for sure yet].

(The pages in these K-Mart notebooks -- Carolina Pad & Paper; Carolina Pad & Paper, 100% recycled; Notebound -- have a small and pleasant amount of traction. With the more expensive Clairfontaine notebooks, what I enjoy is the smoothness of the pages; now with these down-market notebooks with their lower-quality paper, I find I also enjoy the traction, the writing only on every other line, the using page-fronts only.

When I do not flip the notebook over to write on the back of each sheet, I find there's a "flow" and momentum--just going forward, forward, forward...!)

In current novel segment I'm writing about the power and influence, the role, of Story. Narrative. Quoting Tina Brown, from The Diana Chronicles.

Excellent power-writing, she does.

9/19/09

All The King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren. One of my favorite books of all time. Sometimes it's a jumble--it ain't Stephanie Plum putting on her make-up or having sex. It digresses. And it just goes. Rolls forward, like a train.

Like Dylan -- "I'm goin' back to New York City; I do believe I've had enough."

9/20/09
My novel doesn't have descriptions of scenery.

Maybe that is OK, since I pretty much always skip over descriptions of scenery, flora & fauna, when I'm reading.

I'm like Alice: pictures and conversations.

9/21/09

Sue Grafton's descriptions of bougainvillea (sp?)). Blah.

Disgusting details is another component my novels will be short on.

I don't like to read 'em; I don't wanna write 'em.

9/22/09

9Woody Allen. Bob Dylan. Stevie Nicks.

Some of my influences.

I want to tell my stories in my version of these people's styles, so that my audience will not say, Oh, I've got to get around to reading that.

Instead they will just want to be in it. They will simply be happy to be in my stories.

I keep my readers company, and entertain them, and make them happy.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The intimacy of reading. I feel like writing a novel makes us nervous in modern times because we think there should be pictures and sound -- like TV & movies are the only way to tell a story.

What the book-form lacks in external buzz & interpretation it makes up for by capitalizing on the current craze for "Interactive," and reading -- i.e., texts. And reading a story is interactive because the audience devours it at their own pace & create their own pictures in their minds, on a personal basis. Interactive. < < < < <

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I've got entries done for every day up to today -- the exercise helps me think and get some story-flow going on for the day's work-time.

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