I learned a new word.
Ingress. n. Also ingression: A going in or entering. Right or permission to enter. A means or place of entering.
It captures the essence of my latest passage as a writer. Only I haven't figured out how to use it in a sentence.
I'm certain I heard the wings of some celestial creature beating. I know time stopped briefly. I'm still dizzy. It nearly killed me. But I'm finished with my marathon revision of the final third of the novel. I've got a not-too-shabby honest-to-goddess manuscript. I've finally won ingression into the ranks of my blog sisters. (How's that for a stab at it!)
So was the total-immersion, two-and-a-half week sprint worth it? my husband wanted to know. He'd suffered my wild mood swings from the sidelines. Even contributed a pint of Haagen-Dazs when the going got roughest. He's hoping I'll pace myself more evenly next time around. But I have to admit, I'm pretty sure the story benefited from my hurtling dash.
Because I got into the zone on this one. Found my fingers typing solutions to plot problems I'd despaired of for more than two years. Sublime, inevitable, solutions. I kept saying, 'Now why didn't I think of that!' Weird.
The thrill lasted twenty-four hours. Shouldn't have gone back to peek at the middle chapters, because when I did, the glow faded. Clearly, I've got a couple more passes to do. But I think not the massive structural rewrites I faced during drafts two and three. So I'm gonna hand it off, finally, to a couple of folks in my writing group. A whole book that doesn't wobble too much.
I've written a book. It may have warts (and far too many instances of he shrugged) but I'VE WRITTEN A BOOK.
-Lois
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Excuse Me While I Howl at the Moon
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
High Fives, Champagne Pops, and Congratulations, Lois!
The personal milestones are so important, because they precede any of the future one with agents, publishers, editors, booksellers, fans, etc., and they occur when the writer's desire is the lonely fuel for the process.
So far, I've ended up with mad dashes toward the ends, too, just finally to put myself out of the misery of not being done. When I've declared the work sufficiently finished (inevitable nit picks and future brush-ups aside), I mark it in my calendar as a recurring holiday. I'm proud whenever I hit one of my 2 manuscriptiversaries (just hit my latest one from September, 2005- oops!) but I do faintly remember a glow coming after the complete mental collapse.
All finished novels reflect a huge amount of will. One veteran agent estimated that 90% of those beginning to write books never finish. Even the best illusionists get to use assistants and props to make their marvels appear, the big cowards. The writer has only what's inside her, carried by the most prosaic, undifferentiated black squiggles. With only these, she transforms emptiness into a wholly new creation, one with its own unique coherence and the power to evoke the imagination and emotions of another person. Now that's magic.
I can't wait to read your novels, Clare, because you write so elegantly! "....they occur when the writer's desire is the lonely fuel for the process." I'm in awe.
I'm going to mark my calendar too! What a grand idea. 'Specially now that I've learned I'm one of the elite 10%! Wouldn't it be nice if the 2% figure they quote for publishing a novel was drawn from the same pool! I'd have much better odds.
From Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland..."The need to make art may not stem solely from the need to express who you are, but from a need to complete a relationship with something outside yourself. As a maker of art you are custodian of issues larger than self." If I may use the term 'art' loosely...this is what propelled me for two years. Still propels me.
I like your odds just fine, and I choose to view your topping the 90% as a momentum builder.
That Art and Fear quote is wonderful, and I relate. I've never personally been driven to fiction as confession, other than allowing the normal amount of self that leaks out in any writing. I'm trying to explore human concerns beyond my own boring ones, get groupies and cabana boys, and use stories to create a bridge from which I can approach the world, not a platform so much.
First off, YOU'VE WRITTEN A BOOK!!!! Pop the champagne!
Second, "I've finally won ingression into the ranks of my blog sisters." Uh, excuse me. You ingressed(?) ages ago, based on your dedication and enthusiasm. You didn't need to finish the manuscript. But, hey, if that's what it took to get you to finish, that's GREAT!
Anyway, congratulations. That's so exciting!
Ingress is, alas, a noun, awkwardly enough. Laura, you recall...as do a number of women within earshot of our conversation at the forensics workshop in Manhattan last spring...how I was in the bleakest despair over the novel. You picked up on my panic. So you know what a huge thing this third draft was for me. Yikes.
Lois,
I am so happy for you! The greatest feeling in the world! The best sense of accomplishment! YOU HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK!
Isn't that a magical moment--the one when you realize your book is what you want it to be. Oh, yeah!!
Terrie
Terrie...yes, it's huge. Huge. Need to do a little huffing now to get the embers rekindled as I prepare it for sending to agents. (At each stage I think it's the home stretch, then find out there's one more!)
Post a Comment