Saved, by a Splash of Genius. ;)

Well, all at once another writing fit swept upon me and Puddleby Lane is saved for the time-being. ;) I re-read it, found it was not at all as bad as I had left it, (that's what a nice break of a month or two will do) and I was so excited to start writing again! :) I love when that happens and I walk around with a silly smile on my face because I'm thinking about what will be happening next. Actually, the chapter I'm working on right now is really fun because I get to describe Puddleby Lane and the three houses on it, as well as Cora's first sight of the Chesapeake Bay, and her meeting with Ann Company, Flounder, and the Captain. :)

Writing can make me ridiculously happy, at times, and tormented at others.

I seem to pick contrary things (and people) to love. My favorite characters are always the black sheep in the family or the naughty children, my favorite animal is a cat, who everyone knows is the most selfish, self-absorbed, arrogant beastie ever to walk to earth, and my hobbies are all contrary as well....writing, sewing, things of that nature....I have a complex. ;)

On another writing-note, I have been using my Writing Ideas Notebook quite a bit recently. And no, I haven't named it anything amazing yet. Yesterday I sat down in our reading nook with a towering stack of classics and copied out the first sentence in each of them. I know I have written on this topic at least once before, but it is often my nemesis. I've yet to write an opening line that captivates me, or, I assume, the reader. :P You can read my former post here.

So I decided that perhaps the best way to learn how to make a stunning opening would be to research what other writers do. :) My favorites are books that start with a powerful punch of humor, like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, (It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife.) or C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. (There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb and he almost deserved it.) :) I want to be able to write such....unusual openings without laboring over them for eight years. ;)

Well, anyhow, I just thought I'd ease your minds as to the fate of Puddleby Lane....you know...I really think that character interview I did, actually helped me get back into the story and the characters. :) It's amazing how something that weird can truly be a help. :P ~Rachel