Day Four: Perseverance is All
There’s this incredibly stubborn spider who lives on my back deck, and he insists on weaving his intricate and enormous web across the doorway. The first couple times I walked through it and then did that hands waving, batting at the hair thing and after that I just kept a paint roller extender (because it was there) by the door and used it to tear down the web every time I went out which was probably three or four times a week. I felt equal parts annoyed and impressed: he could have any place else on the damn deck, there was even another doorway I only used once a millenium but he stuck to the main doorway, bloodied but unbowed.
Sometimes I think that’s what writing is. You build a scene and then you tear it down and come back the next day and build it again. This may be why I now have two versions of Scene Three even though I don’t know what’s in Scene Two. That’s Bob’s scene. So whatever happens to my poor screaming heroine in Scene Two is going to determine where she ends up in Scene Three.
This would be a huge drawback except that I don’t write in chronological order, so I can go on and work on other scenes while I’m waiting for Bob to stop doing historical flashbacks in his WIP (will this man never learn?). Today it was tarot work. There are several tarot readings in WR and of course I have to do them backwards, working out what card I want to fall in each space of the Celtic Cross and then going back to my tarot books to look up what some of the cards mean. It’s fun, which is good because it could be really tedious. And then it occurred to me that maybe M. I. would develop her own spread (as in tarot card layout) so I’m working with that now. None of this is getting a scene written but it will.
And I did take time off tonight to watch Project Runway, possibly my favorite episode ever. The top three were superb, but the runway show in general was just so HAPPY. Yes, I know I was supposed to be writing. But it was PROJECT RUNWAY. Jeez.
And now back to tarot. So far I’ve gotten to go to an amusement park and read up on fortune telling. I like this book.
I am glad to hear that you are having fun. I like the spider analogy too. I’ll have to keep that in mind. I am really enjoying this. Keep them coming!
A really fun book to delve into for juicy tarot info is Jung and Tarot by Sallie Nichols. I know Jung and Fun don’t seem to mesh, but she goes deeper than any other book I’ve read.
Well Kate, you, Jenny and Robert the Bruce!
Every time I see an old amusement park photo I think of you and Bob. I’m very curious to see what you will do with the idea. Anyway, here’s What to Wear to an Amusement Park, 1928.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4264?size=_original
I’m wondering if you heard the one about not doing tarot readings on yourself, kind of like not being your own shrink? If you’ve ever tried it, you will find it’s a good road down self deception. But that can work, too….
PR did have a great episode last night. It was great to see Chris March again. Really looking forward to the new book with Bob. And tarot, too. Yeah!
Loved the spider analogy. Persistent little critters. Everytime I’d scream to my mother, “There’s a spider here.” She’d say “Was.” Because no self-respecting spider would wait around to be killed. Seems like yours has either a death wish, low self-esteem, or it considers itself family.
Glad the book is unfolding as it should. Love tarot. Have a few scenes in a story that is under consideration at the moment. I went to a Tarot reader in NYC. Boy was that a weird experience. Still gives me the shudders.
Wild Ride is sounding so cool!
I have two tarot decks: a beautiful traditional one that a friend gave me nearly 30 years ago, and–get this–a baseball tarot deck, with major cards like The Pitcher and The Coach. The suits are Bases, Mitts, Bats and Balls.
I always say I’m going to use them to tap my subconscious, doing readings for my characters. But I’ve messed around a little with “real” readings and been ooked out, so the cards mostly sit decoratively on a shelf.
I’m with you..Hate to walk into a spider web. Don’t mind seeing them hanging in a corner…tell my DW that we are getting ready for Halloween..
Jenny, I don’t know how much you know of animal symbology but spiders are often associated with writers. I know from personal experience that spiders show up when I should be working on creative projects.
Have you tried the tetraktys tarot spread. It is based on the works of Pythagoras and is one of my favorite tarot spreads.
Wild Ride sounds like it will be another fantastic read.
PR was fantastic last night! And about dang time because the season so far has been a bit of a snore. I was happy to see the token straight guy nab a token win.
Thank you for getting back into the “12 Days…”. It’s always fun to sneak a peek at the process. Kind of like the bonus materials on DVDs. A bloopers in progress, if you will.
I love project runway, even though they never pick the designer I like to win. I lost power last night from 5 pm to 1 am and did not get to see PR or Shear Genius.
The horrors!
Thank heavens it was sunny and cool and I had a book to read.
(ick, spiders)
I remember you’ve said you write your scenes out of order. I just can’t imagine how to pull that off in a collaboration. Even with a rough plot hammered out, the way a story changes as it unfolds, and then communicating those changes and moving forward…you and Bob are awesome!
I think Bob had to cut whole scenes in AATHM he’d written from(Uh oh who was it? Detective Xavier?)one of the detectives POV.
Don’t forget to appreciate each other as you gently set your keyboards back on your desks!
WR sounds fun! Always wanted to learn a bit about Tarot!
I dreamt about WR last night, or this morning. I was in a boat then in a roller coaster. When I woke up I thought, “Jenny and Bob’s book…” And this is before the book even exists as a book. Hmmm.. Must have struck a creative chord for me. Spent most of the day wasting time with Neil Gaiman. Did I hear about him here? Coraline previews are up. Fun.
I thought the kimono outfit (was it Terry’s?) should have won on PR last night, but was so glad to see some zip in the show. The designers are starting to show more personality, which is nice to see, because I love this show. And I’m thrilled to know that Jenny and Bob are working on another collaboration, after hearing incorrectly from someone that they weren’t doing any more. Very cool.
Jenny, please be careful of persistent spiders. Check to see that it’s not a Black Widow. (Brown Recluse spiders tend to hide, not perform in public.) Just saying…
Really looking forward to Wild Ride!!
Jenny, I collect Tarot decks, though I’m more interested in symbol and archetype than in fortunetelling. I have a wide variety, including the Postmodern (PoMo) Tarot, in which the Air suit is TV sets, and this gorgeous one:
http://www.bohemian-cats.com/tarot/index.html
If you click Enter, the next page shows you most of the cards, enlarged.
I have never looked at Tarot cards but I have used Runes. I like the whole feel of the stones clicking and rubbing them between my fingers as I choose the stone that just “feels right”. I used to be really good at reading them also and they were amazingly accurate. There are a couple of ways to do a reading–one is quick and the other is a little more indepth–but they are also set up in a cross formation. Cool stuff.
Jenny,
Before you wipe the spider web off one more time, can you make sure she’s not spelling out “some pig?”
That might help with your first scene.
Greetings & salutations,
Bridget