Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Dancing my life away (but it's good . . . I'm good . . .)

Rehearsals are getting hectic with tons of dance thrown at us in short periods of time. I mean, I knew there was going to be a little bit of choreography, but just not all over the place with every song. I'm okay with the arm things and hip sways, but the whole blown out dance numbers are really messing with my crazy, dyslexic brain. Anyway we're all still memorizing lyrics, harmonies, etc. Bangs head against desk. It's okay. I'll be okay.

All of us girls are starting to bond. Perhaps it's the torture we're being put through, but there is definitely some good bonding going on. That's pretty cool.

As for writing, I still get up early to do some edits/revisions. I think I lost too much of Emma's voice in the first three chapters, so this last week I worked really hard to put that back in. That's the problem with listening to too many sources: one person says take out all backstory, another says to show and not tell, another says to keep it fast paced. But I went through all the YA shelves at the library the other week and looked for all those old 70's books that would have a voice similar to Emma's, and guess what, they were all backstory and voice and sometimes they were telling and not showing. But the main thing was definitely the voice. Have you ever read The Pigman by Paul Zindel? Great, great book. The voice that comes out that book is amazing, I really loved it. Then I read Forever by Judy Blume (Whew! Very sexual book!) and that one had a very talkative voice as well. Although her constant use of ellipses . . . drove me nuts. I use 'em too, just not in every single sentence. Anyway, so when I came back to revise, I knew that I had nothing to lose, and what I wanted was Emma to reach out more and not just be re-teller of events. Very happy with the changes!

Take care today! Summer is still here, so enjoy it while it lasts.




7 comments:

  1. Did you study dance at some stage? It must be very difficult to absorb everything so suddenly. Break a leg (do they say that in the US?). Cro.

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  2. I've had a little dance experience so that's helping me quite a bit. And I've been writing everything down, because once I get it memorize, I"m good. It's just the beginning stages that really mess with me!

    We say break a leg here as well. Such a cruel saying, but theater people take it very seriously!

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  3. Amy, I'm super impressed that in the midst of all the dancing and such, you're still writing!

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  4. Aw, it's nothing for SuperSaia.

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  5. Dancing and writing? You must be super woman. I can't even get in enough time to write like I want. :)

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  6. You don't have to always show; it's okay to tell. Sometimes you have to. Go with your instincts. And keep doing what you did...read, read, read others' books to see how they've done it.

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  7. I've written before about the times writing was stressful, but really it's a joy. It relates me, I truly love it and look forward to waking up and having that special time.

    Kim- the dancing is killing me though! Super am I not, haha!

    Ann- thank you! I think I takes things too literally sometimes, including rules. It's good to step back and think, "Now, what do I really want to do here. I have the power, I know the rules, but what works best regardless?" I'm finding that I have the ability to delegate that more and more and trust my instincts.

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