0 In My Office, It's Warm

I have leaves, butterflies,

and cups of tea.

The turtle, the ladybug, and the owl are lined up at the starting line, backed up by a quorum of German angels and one curious polar bear.

This is my magic wand.

This is where I'm growing my ideas.

These ships are sailing straight toward a tall cliff of books... but I think they'll figure out the right way around (or through).

I will place a bet with this gentleman...

and drink more tea as I watch.

Detail: In My Office, It's Warm

0 New Year's Dreaming

Bulgarian cover for Fire! Published by Emas, designed by Zlatina Zareva. Click to enbiggen! ------>

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My dear nieces (accidentally and with great affection) gave me a Christmas present of a terrible cold in which my head was like a TARDIS of snot, so I've fallen behind in some things, including blogging. (The TARDIS, for those of you who aren't Doctor Who fans, is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, such that it's capable of containing unimaginably huge quantities of stuff you would never think possible if you're standing outside it. And by the way, I'm not as obsessed with Doctor Who as it might seem given recent mentions on my blog (though I do rather love it). It's more that a character I'm writing about is often wearing Doctor Who pajamas, so it's always on my mind.)

As colds go, this one was massive, but also dreamy and contemplative, possibly because it coincided with the New Year. I should have some resolution thoughts to blog before too long. For now, I'll merely mention that my dictation software keeps insisting that I cooked a student in my crockpot this weekend, while I swear I merely cooked an (entirely legal) stew. And here are a couple pictures from my writing desk.

Local potter Tilla Rodemann, whose work I adore, made this teapot.

At the end of every workday, I write up a tiny plan for the next day. "FORGET ABOUT
TIME" -- because dwelling on how infernally long a revision is taking does me no good
whatsoever. It will take however long it takes. Journey, not destination; maybe if I write
this to myself a thousand times, someday I'll understand it on a cellular level.

Detail: New Year's Dreaming

0 In London

Rebecca and I in Green Park shortly after (accidentally) becoming engulfed
in the madhouse that is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Rebecca Stead and I both have terrible senses of direction (as I wrote about once in a previous post – one of my favorite posts, actually). And when we get together, our terrible senses of direction collide and explode into an utter inability to get anywhere at all. In a place like London, maps are comical rather than helpful (just look at one and maybe you'll understand why)… Last night we were finding one of our maps particularly incomprehensible and Rebecca told me I should hurl it into the nearest pit. Ha!

Here are a few London scenes in no particular order.

Near Covent Garden.

Vera Wang wedding dresses.

Lamps in a shop window.

Perhaps a bar inside this stained-glass window?

In Neal's Yard.

Ditto.

Ditto.

At Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly, the shrubbery is shaped like a teacup :-)

Inside, I fell in love with these mugs, but knew better than to try to travel with them.

The London skyline has got SO MANY cranes right now!
There's so much construction going on.

Detail: In London

0 Afternoon Tea at Upstairs on the Square

Detail: Afternoon Tea at Upstairs on the Square

0 For Writers: A Quick Tip on Starting

When writing, there's a danger in depending too much on preparation. Yes, preparation is important, but you're not going to figure everything out about a writing project before you start it. Part of the point is that you figure it out while doing it. You're planning a book, and you can't figure out the solution to a certain plot puzzle, or how one of your characters feels about something, or even what someone's name is? Maybe that means it's time to start writing. You're not completely ready? As with most things in life, if you wait until you're completely ready, you'll never start. Get a new definition for "ready." Just as courage often involves being scared to death, readiness often involves accepting that you don't really know what's going to happen. :)

I also advise tea and chocolate.

Detail: For Writers: A Quick Tip on Starting