Wednesday, September 19, 2007

lightbulb moments and sexy archaeologist

Current work: Finished Meds revisions ; so doing PM work and new Modern Heat
Listening to: Joe Lynn Turner, Second Hand Life
Reading: Jane Jackson, Dangerous Waters


Lightbulb moments always seem to hit me at the most awkward time. Such as when I’m in the shower and the kids are refusing to get up for school, as happened yesterday morning.

I’ve been struggling with the Meds revisions (aka mulling them over/putting them off for a bit) because my ed didn’t like the ending, but her suggestion to fix didn’t work for me. What I needed was something to make the heroine realise she could trust the hero and what he really meant to her. So what better way than to have him let her down and fulfil all her fears? (This sounds contrary. It isn’t. Because there’s a good reason why he lets her down – and he doesn’t tell her because he’s not going to make excuses for himself. She finds out. And that’s when she finally realises that he’s not like her father or her ex… and can trust him.)

Eureka.

Except I didn’t have time to switch on the PC and wait the six hours before it boots up. (OK, a slight exaggeration– but every second counts when you need to get the ideas on paper RIGHT NOW before the kids start asking questions and you forget what was in your head. Coleridge had his Person from Porlock; believe me, said Porlockian has nothing on my two! Plus if I’d sat down to write we wouldn’t have made it to school on time because they don’t look at the clock and neither do I when I’m working.)

So I had to resort to old technology. Pencil scrawl on the back of my revision notes. And then I had the fun of reading my handwriting after the school run. And finally it’s done, though I’m going to do a last readthrough this morning before I send it to my ed.

7 comments:

Jan Jones said...

Oh yes - that's the lad for me too.

Good that you've resolved your ending. I use pencil and paper all the time for writing-things-down-before-I forget. Occasionally I can even read it afterwards.

Nell Dixon said...

Yep, he's the one for me too. Now I have to wipe drool from my keyboard before I start on my synopsis.

Ray-Anne said...

I do know someone who actually had a small whiteboard in her bathroom so she could scribble down her eureka moments straight out of the shower.
This is the same woman who could type 30,000 words, in a weekend. NET! [But she had been a journo most of her life.]
Delighted you found the way back and envious that you could capture it all in one morning.
Hope the cold is better - Ray-Anne

Michelle Styles said...

Indy works for me. Sigh.
I am enjoying your parade of sexy archeologists. Plenty of inspirtion there.

Hooray on finishing your revisons.

In theory I write a lot in my moleskines but really sometimes, it is any piece of paper that comes to ahnd, particularly when I have *hold that thought* moments.

Anonymous said...

Ah now, see. All is right with the world. A man as sexy as that but doesn't mind admitting to being afraid of snakes.
Now there's a real man.
Thank you Kate.

Kate Hardy said...

Glad I made you all happy :o)

Jan - it's the 'occasional' bit that gets me too. Especially as I know the PDA has a voice recorder...

Nell - LOL.

Ray-Anne - blimey. Tell that to Kate Walker and I might lose my 'Scary Kate' nickname. (And it was two days rather than one morning - 12k)

Michelle - I have more sexy archaologist pictures *g* - and I have so many reporters' notebooks it scares me.

Amy - I wanted to do a snake-charmer but my ed said no... :o(

Anonymous said...

Tsk, tsk Kate - eds are such spoli sports.....