In my house, I have been granted one closet in the spare bedroom that is MY craft closet. I can keep all the craft stash I wish as long as I can cram it into that closet. And yes, while I know I probably have more materials in there than I can use in my lifetime, it’s mine and it makes me happy. As long as I follow the guidelines, the rest of the family can leave it alone, thank you very much.
However, my 22-year-old daughter has a more evolved position on possessions than I. She views most items in the house as community property, unless it’s in her room. Those items are just hers. She also periodically gets the urge to dabble in various crafts, mostly painting, crochet and jewelry making. Truth be told, I’ve never minded her using my craft stash. I just wish her efforts would “take” - I would dearly love for her to find a permanent hobby outside Tik-Tok and Twitter. But the rule is supposed to be the same: take it out of the craft closet, put it back in the craft closet, leave it alone.
About a month ago, this same daughter, whose room periodically is carpeted with cast-off clothes, food wrappers, and miscellanea, decided that MY craft closet needed to be organized. Her process (and definition) of organized is unique – she pulled everything out of the closet, strowed it all over the floor of the spare room and announced that I needed to get rid of some of it. Then she promptly lost interest in the project, leaving everything scattered on the floor.
I had to go in there the other day. When I did, I saw the box where I had stashed the Christmas cards I failed to send out last year. Then I started wondering if August was too early for my Christmas card letter, the letter I like to send out with my cards. That thought led to another - how difficult it can be to write about different time frames. In some ways, it’s easier to write about one week versus one year. First, I have to remember the events of the past year. I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast. Then, I need to decide what is important and interesting enough for inclusion in the letter. A major event in our lives this summer was the demise of our old riding mower and the acquisition of the new riding mower, but I’m not sure that’s the stuff from which holiday letters are made.
The same issues come up when writing fiction, in slightly different form. A day in the life of my character may be important, but the reader doesn’t need to know what happened every minute of it. I want to track my character’s position in my writing. In my first drafts, the unfortunate reader gets to follow my character from the time she woke up in the morning, through the commute to work, through each time she left her office, through the grocery store stop at the way home and then finally (and probably gratefully) sink into bed with her at night. My character is not only tired by then, but I suspect the reader is too.
The trick is to distill from that day the event that matters to the story and my character, and focus solely on that. Choosing which of the many events in a day makes up that pivotal moment is a key part of my rewrites. I can’t imagine how people who write historical novels covering sweeping periods of time manage it.
How do you decide what time frames and events to cover in your writing? And does anyone have advice on how to re-organize a craft closet once it has been dismantled?
I forget who first said it, but leave out the stuff readers would skim over. I'm working on a second draft right now and part of that is studying each scene. Does it move the plot forward? Does it reveal something new about the characters? If not, out it goes. So, yes, in the first draft, feel free to include everything that MIGHT be important. Once the first draft is finished, you'll have a much better idea of what IS important.
ReplyDeleteThanks Annette. Good ideas.
DeleteI don't know if he said it first (probably some cave man 25,000 years ago should get credit), but Elmore Leonard said writers need to "leave out the boring stuff." If description is not adding to necessary characterization or tension, it's a candidate for being part of the boring stuff.
ReplyDeleteGood suggestion. Thank you Jim.
DeleteEach action that a character takes has to fulfill an important function. Preferably two or more. Characterization, move the plot forward, foreshadow, fill in needed back story, act as a red herring, etc.
ReplyDeleteOn the closet--stuff it all back in, putting the things you're likely to use in the front. And go into the daughter's room, remove all her things from the closet & drawers, and add them to the "floor-drobe" as revenge.
KM, I like the way you think!
DeleteLove the word floor-drobe! Well done :)
DeleteI'm down to one family meal per book, with only conversation or deep POV that advances the plot. One dog walk conversation per book. One gas station or supermarket encounter per book unless the bad guy works the meat counter.
ReplyDeleteFor your closet: put like items in separate piles, asses what you want to keep/need/, then find/buy boxes or bins.
Quotas are probably a good idea, too. Thanks for the craft closet advice.
DeleteKeeping the writing spare is a problem for me that needs to be worked out from my linear first draft to my final piece. As for the closet, two options: bins (the kind with covers) that can be neatly stacked in the closet-no matter what you throw in each or simply throw everything back in the closet and shut the door.
ReplyDeleteI've read some of your books; whatever your process is, you do a great job by the final draft. The craft closet solution is exactly where I am stuck - put it in bins (which they were in to begin with) or just shove it all back in. The sewing machines tend to make my want bins; I don't want to damage them.
ReplyDeleteI do my best to follow Elmore Leonard's advice to leave out the boring parts. That said, my first drafts should all start out with "Dear Diary, today I got out of bed, slid my feet into fluffy slippers...you know where this is going. Actually, it's fine. All part of the process of telling myself the story, and it never makes it past the first, dreadful, draft.
ReplyDeleteAs for that closet - Clear Rubbermaid bins. They've absolutely saved my life and they seem to be the perfect depth for the average closet. Crafts at a glance :)
Good advice. Thank you.
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