Days 3 - 7 NOVEL Image

i can already tell i am not going to be very good at keeping track of days.  i totally abandoned ship this week, to use an over-used cliche.  stopped the irish story, stopped the kevin story and started what i will call the 'hanging story.' BUT. i had a mini-epiphany, a miphany.  i realized that the stories that i like the most (of the ones i have written) start from an image, not a character. a single image. that is what the stories i like have in common. AND. once i start writing about the image, exploring it, the characters start to come into focus (wow, it is cliche city here tonight!) the characters feel free to come out.  so, i have 3 new characters that are circling my thoughts now that came about when i started writing about the image of a man hanging in a picture window and passers-by thinking it was performance art. i am excited to sit down and write tomorrow because i feel like i have somewhere to go.  images. 

here is an image i want to write about.  the baby with the headless mom.  saw this in a museum in london on a very rainy day last june. just found this on my phone today. i could hardly walk away from this. the power of a mother's arms when all else is gone.

Day 2 - NOVEL

switched topics.  tried writing the train scene and bored myself silly.  but i need the train scene. or maybe not. anyway, i bailed and started writing about a character i was working on this summer. notebook got wet leaning against my belly at the pool.  so, to sum up day 2, i switched stories. good lord, this is going to be a process.  maybe when the kids are in school . . . maybe when i'm not sitting at the pool . . . maybe when i'm back at my desk . . .

Day 1 - NOVEL

I'm changing this up a little. Last night I started the Novel In a Year Workshop at Story Studio Chicago.  So I am officailly calling today, August 21st, the first day of MY NOVEL.  What novel you ask? Very good question.  I am using this to document my progress, hoping there is some. I will say, there are great people in the class and a feeling of community (wow, i say I'm going to start a novel and then i go and get all cliche on you!) I wrote a page last night - that counts! and tonight i have set aside an hour to just write. i hope the characters are not too tired from the run and will join me!
This first thing I did is I went for a run.  Ran about 7 miles.  Let my characters swirl about my head, no epiphanys, yet, but it felt productive.

So.  Here is the big bad blank page. I am driving children to school orientations and book pick-ups. hope to fill in some blanks.