Story structuring is hard, not because I don't know what I'm going...okay, I don't really know exactly what I'm doing just yet but I'm slowly internalizing the story components needed for 3-act structuring. The hard part for me right this moment is trying to figure out what part of my story would fit well as Act 1's Turning Point, and not confusing that with the Act 2's Problem Intensifying component. I don't think I understand the difference between the two just yet other than to say Turning Point 1 has flaming red hair and Problem Intensifying has a bad case of the zits.

Then there's figuring out which plot point should wear the "Dark Moment" t-shirt (which everyone seems to want to wear) and which point should get the not-as-exciting Turning Point number 2 baseball cap.

Right now, those two are duking it out. I've switched them multiple times with Act 1's Problem Intensifying component and just when I think I've got it the whole structure down, I discover I'm missing Act 3's Final Obstacle, which seems to me to be the same as Turning Point number 2 gone bad(er).

At least I don't have a problem with Act 1's Setup. Or at least I don't think I do.

Today was a day chalk-full of writing goodness. Too much perhaps to sort out just yet but good nonetheless. Washougal Library group in the morning, Lucky Labs in the afternoon. Brutal, some might say, or just enough say others. My brain is full.

Three hundred words on J&T today. Most of them were fine tuning the previous eight hundred. I know where the story is going (I can't believe I know where the story is going this time!) and I'm excited but I have to slow down until the education catches up.

I'm deep into reading about story structure and style, something quite frankly, I didn't know anything about. Three-act structure? Uh, what's that all about? I get that now though I'm still struggling with how exactly one goes about accomplishing it.

In an amusing moment, I discovered what structure style I use, one completely un-taught, the one I had always gravitated toward writing: The Slice of Life. I already knew what this was called but had always been told it wasn't a real writing style. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that outside of the westernized world, it's a preferred story structure. Apparently, it's accepted, somewhat loved even, in parts of Europe proving to me once again what I've been accused of in the past; that I'm more European than American. Funny that since my family has allegedly been here in the states since the mid-1500's.

To help me internalize the traditional three-act structure, I'm going to print up a cheat sheet of steps and requirements and keep it lovingly enshrouded in a clear, plastic sleeve, here on my writing desk. And whenever I find myself straying from turning points, temporary triumphs, reversals, and final obstacles through to climaxes and resolutions, I'll slap my hands and delete all that Slice of Life nonsense...until I'm no longer a newbie writer and can get away with writing in my former, preferred style once again while getting paid for it.

"I'll take a little bit of everything, thank you. Hold the drama," I asked and received.

Had a good INK meeting last night and accomplished more than usual. Our group, renamed INK-Lite for our summer schedule, critiqued, talked, read, and listened to workshop files. If time had slowed just a bit, we had a couple other things to explore but those will have to wait for another time.

Today, I dove into book reading and sure enough, before I finished one chapter, I was struck with J&T story ideas. The Husband and I closeted ourselves indoors since heat was predicted for the day but by mid afternoon, I was annoyed. Not with the heat or staying inside but with pets who demanded constant attention (with claws and drool and after spending the entire morning and lunch hour on the floor with them lying all over me) and with household activity that seemed to interrupt every time my brain was nearing a complete and total earth-shattering understanding of some complex science-y thing crucial to my story's thematic point.

So I started and stopping writing half a dozen times before I gave J&T one last shot. I started with 810 words, added about 600, moved around about 400, edited out rambling sentence after sentence, polished some words, add a few more, and deleted a small section. I ended with...810 words. But they are much better words, I swear!

The good thing, no, the great thing is whereas I knew where I was going with the story but didn't know how I was going to get there, I sure as heck-fire do now. And I'm terribly excited about it. If I can do this right, applying what I'm slowly learning about story structure, this one might end up being downright terrifying.

But now it's research time. I need to look up a bunch of stuff that I can only hope to get right. Space stuff and their effects on Earth. I don't plan on putting much of the stuff in my story, but I need to understand it in order to not come off sounding clueless and uninformed. Where's an astronomy/earth sciences professor when you need immediate access to one's brain?

I finished most of that reading I needed to get to yesterday like a good girl. I haven't started on the two books I want to complete by month's end and I've just remembered I need to ask about getting a hard copy of another ms I should read very, very soon. It'll be hot here over the weekend and since I need to keep The Husband cool, that's as good a time as any to race through what my eyes need to see.

Because it's not hot today, I spent half an hour out back in my little piece of heaven scooping up dead Oregon grape leaves and snapping off spent day lilies. And wouldn't you know it? I thought of another angle, a different direction I could take J&T, that short story I started just before I decided I needed more writing education and less flailing about trying to squeeze out something that doesn't have a clear beginning, middle, or end. Not that there's anything too wrong with that style, I'm told. Still haven't sold anything because of it though.

So I jotted down my thoughts and then dug out J&T and read it aloud to myself and the cats (my unconditional fans to the end), added a few words here and there, and thought, "This isn't half bad for an 800 word beginning (a beginning because I'm saying it is)." But is it really the story I want to write? What about the other direction that came to me earlier out in the back yard where I seem to find really good ideas?

Well, I can write that one too if I want. Sure, twice the work but twice the stories. I can decide which one is better in the end and who knows, maybe I'll find markets for both. At the very least, I could use one for all the crappy words and save the best for the other. It's possible. I'm sure it is.

True to my word (because sometimes I just know things like that) I woke up feeling fine. No pain at all where my tooth was removed yesterday. That means no pain medication either and I can get back to all those things I need to accomplish by the middle of the month. I'm nearing the end of one manuscript, have a good amount of critique notes to offer on that plus notes on two other stories. I already got back a rejection on one of the short stories I sent out last week but here's the thing: It's the best rejection I've ever received. Informative, helpful, thankful for my taking something in a different direction. How is this a rejection again? Oh yeah, no money or credit coming my way. But I'm learning, I'm being taught how to improve. I can't see this as anything bad.

It's very, very warm today here at Fireside. K asked the guy behind the counter to turn on the air conditioning after several people here complained about it. At one point the thermometer showed it was 87 degrees in here. Warm, still, dead air. I'm fanning myself nearly constantly but it's nothing that would be helped by air conditioning. It could be 50 degrees in here and I'd still be fanning myself. Personally, I think he's shutting it back off every half hour or so but that might just be me.

With all my reading, I keep thinking back to my YAWT story and how to fix things that brought about questions. I guess that's a good thing. The MS I'm reading, while confusing in sections, allows me to think of other stuff at the same time. Usually, I can't do both at once. I don't yet have that multi channel mind that some authors talk about having but maybe someday it'll make sense.

I think the stress I went through a couple of weeks ago has gone to my lower back. Is that possible? There's a song that talks about someone who died of a toothache in their heel (Old Susanna?) so why can't it be possible to get stress in ones lower back? Don't think too hard on this. Humor me.

For the record, I haven't dug in my yard for three weeks so that can't be it. Haven't vacuumed in a couple of weeks (Husband has done it recently), haven't lifted any furniture, planted any trees, or beat up any neighbor kids (though if it were legal I assure you I would). Nope, I think all the mental stress settled into my lower back and thank gawd I've got non-barfy pain medication should I need it.

Which brings me back to a discomforting, dark story idea I've tossing around for about ten months. I think I'm going to have to give myself permission to peck away at it little by little because that original totally awesome Working Title story just won't work itself out.

Note to self: Please find time soon to completely dissect Working Title since obviously the basic premise won't vacate my head.

Looks like summer-like weather might actually have arrived around here. Picked half a dozen alpine strawberries out of the hanging baskets this afternoon and noticed my blueberry bushes are bent with lots of green fruit. Around this time last year I began what I called my garden story though gardening wasn't what inspired it and in fact, it had little to do with any actual gardening. I'm terribly pleased with myself for picking that one back up, dusting it off, and making something out of it. Hopefully, I'll hear something good on that one in a couple of months. If I can do the same with the dark story idea that's languished mostly forgotten in my idea file, I'll be one story away from completing my shorts goal for the year...not that I'll stop because of that, but I do need to get back to The Car Novel that hasn't seen eyes since early May.

So much to do, so much to accomplish. Now you see why I think the stress has gone to my back?

Yeah, I know, doesn't make much sense to me either but that's the story I'm sticking with today.

After some much appreciated comments from the LJ hive-mind on flashbulb spots (a thousand thanks to Josh English, Kami, criada, and Ramblin Phyl) and a hopeful and very welcome email from a pro market, I set to work today finishing YAWT (Yet Another Working Title).

The short story, a fantasy/speculative piece, has been rewritten the least number of times of anything I've written to date. Is that a good or a bad sign? I don't know. The story's got big voice and touches of humor throughout. I've never written humor before. I'm not sure of the ending but then again, I rarely am. Yet I'm calling it done. In addition, I'm calling it my favorite piece of work yet.

It's been printed and will stand before the man this evening, perhaps during dinner, preferably without wine accompaniment. Don't know what's for dinner yet so that may or may not impact this first review. But during, we'll discuss the ending, argue about red-marked sentences misunderstood and seemingly taken out of context, and I'll wonder again if any of this is worth the trouble or at the very least, if it's straining our marriage. I'll come away feeling like a better writer with a greater love of the work and the process and respect for what he says. I'll fix what I can, fret about the rest, and send it to the next level, my writing group, after which I'll start the emotional process all over again.

And then, maybe, just maybe, I'll figure out a real title. Titles, yeah, there's an ongoing problem. Gotta suck poorly at something, right?

INK had a wonderful time with David Levine last evening, so much so I'm almost willing to bet everyone in the INK group probably wrote something afterward, or at least spent time thinking hard about writing. Man, his analogies make everything make sense. I'm purposely going to ask him to explain so much of the world I don't understand (like math maybe, er, or maybe not) over the next few months, or at least toss out a question here and there until he starts avoiding me which might happen because I mean really, how many analogies can one person have in their back pocket?

I'll bet he's got tons.

Anyway, I was just dazzled. He's a great speaker.

I didn't write anything today but I sure as heck-fire thought hard about it. Almost got the Craftsman tool cabinet I lust after with all my heart and soul like though. So close. Still can't justify the cost (plus the cost of all the tools I want to fill it with). Someday.