How the Novel Grows--Short Story and Music Edition

My very first writing teacher said that I was a novelist hiding behind the short story. She's right--I'm a reluctant novelist. I'm always looking to compress everything into a short story, finding the essence, that kernel that expresses everything. I like poetry for the same reason. 

Anyway, this whole novel-writing is spawning other ideas (and I'm not even in the middle of the book, which is where the ideas come fast and furious). My brain cannot just sit with the slow unfolding of events but wants to make a short story, a science-fiction one at that. So I turned to Jeff Tanyard's wonderful short story, Mr. Wilson, and I loved re-reading it. But this time I read like a student, paying attention to how he moves back and forth in time, how he handles emotions. But I discovered it has a reference to Sittin' on Top of the World, which we sang at our barbershop competition. Here's a clip of that song and a poster that a very talented lady in our chorus made using pictures from the contest: https://www.facebook.com/reel/730296856233855

My goodness, we are all so excited to be singing at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival this coming Saturday. We have so much fun together singing and to perform in our hometown is something special. Local friends, come join us. So yeah, busy reading, writing, and singing!

How the Novel Grows--the Plot Edition

I've been singing more than writing--practicing for our newly ordained deacon's first Solemn High Mass as well as our barbershop concert at Piccolo Spoleto festival (local friends, please come!), but even so I've begun working on a new novel, a sequel/standalone to BOUND. As I got familiar with the characters again, nearly 20 years after the events that occur in Bound, I realized I needed a proper structure to tell the story. So when a writing friend from over a decade ago (we met at a Highlights workshop) came for a visit we had a chance to talk shop and the discussion turned to plotting. I promised her that I would send her my favorite resource: in nine boxes. I learned this first on Verla Kay's Blueboards (that were bought out by SCBWI, but now sadly shut down, and who knows whether they'll bother to offer that safe and friendly gathering place again online--I was a longtime moderator on the boards and miss it for its congeniality and generosity of the members). I love how organically I can think about my story and the scaffolding it needs so that all the elements fit together. This doesn't address the subplots, but typically, as my characters develop, so do the subplots. Each character will have his or her own journey through the novel.

I'm also fond of the Hero's Journey. But not being content, I took a deep dive online to see what else was there. And holy smokes I came across a compilation: 16 Narrative Structures to Plot a Book With. I love how different people think about story structures and how they might fit. 

Here's a picture of some of them all on a page. Enjoy! And let me know what's your favorite plotting method, or if you write by the seat of your pants. I did try Writing into the Dark (and in essence, that's what I've been doing these past few weeks exploring my characters), but I find that at some point I need structure to guide my writing, otherwise I end up meandering all over the place. My mewses help! 

NB: Has anyone noticed the palindromic nature of the dates beginning 5/20/25? Fun.

How the Garden Grows

 

May is the month of Mary and how lovely it is to offer a flower or two to her. We had a lovely procession after Mass inside the church because it's been raining so much and I do so love all the Marian hymns, invoking her prayers and protection over us. I really enjoyed this recording of children's voices singing our parish hymn: Hail Queen of Heaven... 

Pomegranate

Purslane

New this year are the microgreens--amaranth, arugula, broccoli, radish, etc. They are delicious, bursting with flavors. A great addition to any meal. Outside, we have basil and tomatoes, sweet potatoes and collards. I hope that fig tree survives. Michael has fixed the deer fence so we hope the deer won't be jumping it to eat all our goodies. The raccoons are digging up our ginger and turmeric. They don't eat it but they're so nosy about what we've planted.

 Madonna and Child by Enric Monserday Vidal

Hail, Queen of heaven, the ocean star,

Guide of the wanderer here below,
Thrown on life’s surge, we claim thy care,
Save us from peril and from woe.
Mother of Christ, Star of the sea
Pray for the wanderer, pray for me.

O gentle, chaste, and spotless Maid,
We sinners make our prayers through thee;
Remind thy Son that He has paid
The price of our iniquity.
Virgin most pure, Star of the sea,
Pray for the sinner, pray for me.

Sojourners in this vale of tears,
Blest advocate, to thee we cry,
Assuage our sorrows, calm our fears,
And soothe with hope our misery.
Refuge in grief, Star of the sea
Pray for the mourner, pray for me.

And while to Him Who reigns above
In Godhead one, in Persons three,
The Source of life, of grace, of love,
Homage we pay on bended knee:
Do thou, bright Queen, Star of the sea,
Pray for thy children, pray for me.

Habemus Papam!!! Happy Mother's Day!!!

We have a new Holy Father--Pope Leo XIV. May he be a true shepherd of the flock, a shepherd after the heart of the Good Shepherd. May the Holy Spirit guide him all the days of his life. 

He's the first pope from the US. I confess I didn't know anything about him until now, but I am certain I will learn more over the years. I really like this picture of him meeting Pope St. John Paul II, considering that May 18th, the day of Pope Leo XIV's installation is the birthday of JPII. 

How fortuitous that on this Mother's Day, it is also the third Sunday after Easter, with my thoughts upon the Holy Father and fatherhood, that traditionally, it is a feast honoring St. Joseph as protector of the Church. I tell you, the riches in The Liturgical Year are inexhaustible.

Wishing all mothers a very happy Mother's Day. I still miss my mom, but not as much now that I have Mary in my life. She's the BEST Mother and I'm so grateful she has made herself known to me, mothered me. Her Magnificat is one of the most beautiful prayers. This is my favorite arrangement, by Palestrina, sung by Voces8. 

My Conversation with Kiki Latimer

Dagny's birthday was quite eventful--morning brought a delightful conversation with Kiki Latimer. You can listen on WCAT Radio or WCAT TV. How I wish I'd known about her wonderful resources on her website when I was writing Bound. But I only heard about her podcast, the Catholic Bookworm, because of the online Catholic Writing Conference I attended in January. What a joy to discover more about her--she tells lovely stories and I'm looking forward to reading her memoir: Seeing God's Face: A Catholic American Woman in India. 

Afternoon was for Adoration. I had so much to thank our Blessed Lord Jesus and pray for--my writing, my music, my family, our priests and choirs, and most of all for the conclave that is at this moment deliberating and casting their votes for the next Pope. God already knows, and we pray that the cardinals are listening to that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. We pray our next pope will be a man after God's own heart, a good shepherd.

Evening brought choir practice. So many of our choristers are sick or taking care of others who are sick. We pray they will recover. But we had such a good time--with Palestrina and Josquin mostly. This music makes my heart sing. We went to Home Team BBQ afterwards to celebrate Dagny's birthday. Max is toasting her from NYC. My heart is full. (The two outdoor pictures were taken at Momo's at Waterfront Park over the weekend--you should know that we celebrate birthdays all month long :)