Writing and day gown

So I talked to my sister who actually is an author/writer/editor and asked her for some advice on what to do about my problem of having a story evolve but not a solid idea of where it should go. She advised me to throw all my work away. To be brave and trash it all. Then to sit down and write the story from memory.

I nearly had a heart attack. Thanked her for her advice and then quickly left her home. How could I throw away my life's work? How would I remember all the intricate details, all the over- developed descriptions of corner tables and rugs?

I like the ordinary. This is one of those gowns that doesn't actually stand out. However, could you just imagine Eleanor or Maryanne wearing it in their little cozy cottage?   

Day gown and writing

When I first started writing, I didn't have a whole story in mind. I wasn't that organized. But I had scenes that I would hammer out and then re-read and re-work until I thought they were exactly what I wanted.

While I was driving my kids to their various sports' practices I would get an idea. Then during the practice, I would write on scraps of paper. Time went by. Actually three years of time. I was no closer to the end of the book than I was at the beginning.

One day while I was outside, all 12 inches of my great novel flew apart. It was all over the yard. Paper by paper my kids and their friends picked it all up. It was then that I realized as I tried to put it back together without page numbers, of course, that my book was not actually coming together.

I wasn't sure what to do about it.

Adorable Regency Ball Gown with a pattern of feathers

I was just thinking today that I have been writing now for almost ten years. Which makes me think that writing is for the writer and then secondly for the reader. I think Jane Austen, one of the greats, was able to tell a simple story by weaving in and out of daily life. There is something highly rewarding to create a world and then invite people to come in.

Here is one of the most adorable gowns, yet. I would love to wear this dress myself. 

Writing and another Wrapper

Another chapter came back from my editor asking for major changes. It is the first ball and so things that happen at a ball have to happen. I'm so interested in getting to the story that I'm not allowing for specific things I want the reader to know to come out naturally.

 

I've never been good at keeping secrets and it shows in my writing. I want to blab what I know instead of letting it unfold and let the reader discover it on their own. The motto of all good writers is to show instead of tell. I show and then tell. I see a lot of re-writes in my future.

Here's another wrapper along the same lines as the other two. It is not as vibrant as the other two. But to me it looks to me cozy and comfortable.