Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The Trees
I don’t know how often these days I think about the saying, “sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees.” As a parent, bogged down in the minutia of parenting, it’s hard to keep the big picture in mind. Because it’s so tempting to nag children.
Sit up straight at the table. Remember to listen and stay with me in the store. Get out of the tub, get out of the tub, get out of the tub, how many times do I have to ask you to get out of this tub? Put your toys away. No toys at the dinner table. Nothing else until you eat that. Don’t wipe your nose on your sleeve. Share with your brother. Cover your mouth. Wash your hands after you use the restroom.
This is a snippet. The list goes on. It’s the “what’s what” of parenting. Certainly if you’ve been anywhere within a five foot radius of a parent plying their trade you’ve been exposed to this list.
There are good solid reasons behind all this nagging. Respect for others, hygiene, social etiquette, safety. Sometimes, though, I fire off this litany of behavioral modification requests without much thought and, very often, with little explanation.
So I have to step back and think about the forest. What’s the bigger picture here? What am I trying to accomplish? There is an ultimate goal I'm trying to achieve: to raise respectful, productive men.
I think, though, with writing it’s too easy to go the other way. As we sit down to write, it’s too easy to get caught up in the future, in the bigger picture. Is what I’m writing palatable to the market? Is it what agents/editors are looking for? Is it the sort of brand I want to make for myself?
All this worrying about the bigger picture can paralyze a writer. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the enormity of the task. How am I ever going to write THAT—the book that is appealing to the market, agents/editors, and builds a “career” for me? It's a gigantic undertaking.
But if we focus on the trees, the little steps, we can build that forest. And it can start really small. Focus on that one paragraph, that one action. That one scene, that one chapter. Because that one chapter becomes the next chapter, then the whole book.
So, how do you try to stay focused on the small steps? How do you block out the lure of the future? Any secrets to stay focused on Butt in Chair, Fingers on Keyboard?
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57 comments:
I try to just stay focused on what I can get done day by day once that butt is in the chair. But getting to the butt in chair and hands on keyboard is the hard thing! To set all that blasted marketing down, etc and get down!
I don't know how that would relate to parenthood... Maybe you give up on the 'clean your plate' and stick to 'don't rob the grocery store'?
Nah, that doesn't really work... I had a mini discussion with my agent today. Her blog talked about not thinking about the market or marketing and just be authentic. Not even the best idea will work with the readers if they sense you're not authentic. I'm trying to keep that in mind!
And get the butt in the chair!
I can empathize with this.
The WIP is just another baby to be nurtured and brought to maturity.
The trouble with focusing on trees is that you can easily get lost in the forest. If you can't keep the bigger picture in mind while writing (or with any other large project!) then you must have maps.
As a would be explorer, I love scouring maps for interesting routes. Start with the small scale to get the overall landscape and identify features of interest. Then move to larger scale to bring up the footpaths which you will need. Having identified your proposed route get the largest scale available to show up all the detail that you won't want to miss.
So when you focus on the largest scale picture, be sure to have the next smaller scale nearby so that you can easily keep your bearings.
Its so easy in the excitement of starting out for a distant mountain to forget the map and compass, and then get lost in the wilderness. I've been there! :wink:
To piggy back off Q, since I'm pretty sure you have a good map, I say keep your eye on the compass. Check it early and often to make sure you're standing where you need to be standing, and facing the direction you need to be facing, at that moment.
The moment is the only thing you need to focus on.
And that's all the philosophy I have this early in the morning. I'll be back with something less froo-froo.
Chance - her blog talked about not thinking about the market or marketing and just be authentic. Not even the best idea will work with the readers if they sense you’re not authentic.
I sometimes think about this. I've been all over the park as far as trying out different genres. My first MS, Regency Paranormal. Second? Dark Paranormal. This one, a historical with a suspense kind of vibe. I don't think I've bounced around chasing the market, but I do worry that I haven't find my niche yet.
But I think authenticity is that thing that happens when we really "marry" our characters. If we're really into the story, I think it's ok to jump around in genres. Teresa Medeiros does it all the time. But because it's so clear that she loves her stories every time and her characters are so developed, no one ever seems to care that she's all over the genre map. Her books are so good, I'd as easily read a space opera from her as I would a contemporary.
Q - The trouble with focusing on trees is that you can easily get lost in the forest. SOooo true.
Perhaps then, as you point out, it's important to see where you are on the map in general. At acknowledge there's a bigger picture and yet keep trudging forward.
Bo'sun - The moment is the only thing you need to focus on.
Stop living in the future, huh? I can totally relate to that.
But it's so tempting. I hear another call story and I think, "ahh... some day that's going to be me and when it is.... "
And on the tails of that comes the doubts. I won't enumerate them here. I'm sure everyone's doubts sound similar to mine. :)
All that thinking gets in my way every time. LOL! Damn you, brain. Stop!
I've been falling for that lately, Marn. But while I'd love to be the one happy dancing about a contract, I'm also petrified of the two things that would invade my life should that miracle occur.
Deadlines and promo. Scared. Shitless.
Right now I'm standing at the edge of the forest. I can smell the dirt and see the branches swaying overhead, but I can't make myself step in. *sigh*
But that's another blog. LOL!
I am not sure what's paralyzing me. I thought I had a handle on my characters but when I sit down to write the story, something's not jiving with me and my mindset.
I *think* that part of the reason is that I was in a different place when I started this story almost two years ago. It's darker than I feel right now. The last few years I've worked through some tough things that have been out of my control and I wonder if it didn't come out in a bit of an edge in my stories. So, now I'm not feeling like that anymore, I'm wondering if maybe my heroine's a bit too raw for me right now.
Total tangent, but I need to figure it out because I need to get myself writing again. Not being able to write-when added to the mental monotone of talking to small people day in and out-has been making me feel a little nuts. I need an outlet for my brain! LOL!
This is a great blog, Marn, and clearly you're tapping into the zeitgeist since I've read a couple blogs on this topic the past few days. I wrote tomorrow's blog about a similar thing, and I wrote it on Tuessday (I know--I can't believe I did it that early!)
The example about Teresa Medeiros is an interesting one -- it used to be the philosophy that you wrote as many different kinds of things, so that you could figure out what you liked, and you'd have lots of different things to offer editors.
That philosophy has changed, and only in the past few years. You have to figure out, practically with your first book, what you're going to write, and then stick with it, forever. It's kind of a literary arranged marriage, with no possibility of divorce. :)
Keep writing books, the ones that you feel passionate about. The market will either love it or it won't. If it doesn't, you have spent your time with something you enjoy. Otherwise, it will be a homework assignment that you dread, and you'll find ways to avoid it.
Also, I loved the description of "nagging" children. I hadn't thought about it like that, but it must be annoying to kids to always be told a zillion different rules constantly. LOL I know it would annoy me NOW if I had to go through that!
The nagging never ends, but it changes. Every morning we do the "Do you have your phone?" "Yes, mother." "Do you have your key?" "YES!" In the evenings it's "Do you have homework?" "Yes, mother." "Did you unload the dishwasher?" "I did." "Did you put your clothes away?" "Leave me alone!"
Great house to live in.
How much do you have written at this point, Marn? Do you still see the story going where you did before?
Donna - Publishing seems to be like the weather. Give it a minute, it'll change.
Donna - It’s kind of a literary arranged marriage, with no possibility of divorce. hahahaha!!
I was wondering if it's always been like that, the writing one thing and becoming a master of it. There are plenty of more seasoned authors who've written all over the genre spectrum. Now, it's almost as if you have to establish somewhere and then jump around to other stuff.
There are "newer" authors who write two. Pamela Clare. Carolyn Jewel. But it definitely doesn't seem as done nowadays.
I think-as to finding a genre that "fits"-that it's important for me to find a place my voice fits. I feel like right now I fit better with the historical voice. And I find a lot of the historical conflicts work better for my writing brain.
Will it always be like that? *shrugs*
Publishing seems to be like the weather. Give it a minute, it’ll change.
Exactly! Which is why it's so hard (impossible) to try to write to the market. Things change with each new wave of editors, and writers, and readers.
Marn, you may have to set this story aside, so you can work on something else. It sounds like it fit where you were, and who you were, at the time, and now you've grown and changed. You can come back to this story at some point and you'll be ready for it then.
Ter - I'd written 35K last year, before Ry was born. But it doesn't work. I don't like it and I don't like the way the characters were relating. They were really angry.
So, I stopped and restarted. I got to the 11K mark (so not too far) and now I'm thinking it's my heroine, who still has remnants of the angry older version about her.
The basic plot is something I think I can work with. I think it's my characters.
I actually think I might axe the whole courtesan aspect of it. I'm not writing a "happy" courtesan. She'd had nasty things happen, she's hard to get my brain around. I was just thinking the last day or so of a different approach to use the same basic plot--the treason aspect. But I think if I do it that way, I can lighten up the characters a little. Have it be a romp, even suspenseful, but without the darker undertones of the characters.
Sorry for the ramble.
As to the nagging---- the snippets you posted are coming my way. I can see shades of them in my oldest. "I don't want to!" is a new response in the house as well as "I don't like you right now!" Which, when he says it with his little scowl and crossed arms, makes me want to laugh. He looks so cute disgruntled. I have to remember to keep my stern face as I think to myself, "You ain't seen nothing yet, kid. Wait til you're in high school and we have these rows." LOL!!
I see a lot of authors dabbling in different genres, they just usually change their names. What seems to be consistent about the authors successful at it is that they're passionate about all the stories, no matter the genre. So we're back to authentic.
I write mainstream contemporary stories. I have no desire to write anything else, mostly because no other kinds of stories have come to me. I did have the one chick-lit paranormal type thing and it's still under consideration, but not until the stories in the front of the line are done.
I don't think you have to decide right now what you'll write for the rest of your life. Heck, there are more publishing options now than ever. More formats and opportunities and when a simple change of a name will open new doors, there's no need to feel locked down.
Oh, Marn, the cuteness goes away. Wish I could tell you different. The little heathens that invade their bodies are just scary. And annoying.
Ramble all you want, it's your blog. LOL! Think of this as a giant pirate therapy session for your book. Put your characters on the pirate chaise, if you will.
Do you want the book to be lighter, or are you running from the fear of not wanting to travel with the heroine into some dark places?
Donna - Marn, you may have to set this story aside, so you can work on something else. It sounds like it fit where you were, and who you were, at the time, and now you’ve grown and changed.
This is what I'm afraid of.
LOL!
Not that I'm afraid of it, but I've been suspecting this for a few weeks.
Like I said, I think the basic elements of the plot, even the idea of mistaken treason, is one I can reuse. But I'm afraid that the characters aren't working for me. Especially the heroine.
Maybe later I can come back to her. But right now.... She's not working for me.
Marn, I'm actually revising a book that I wrote a long time ago, and I have to rewrite the second half of the book. I didn't know as much about plotting as I do now, but I love the characters, so I figured out what should happen with their story. But I wrote a lot of different things in the meantime, as part of the learning curve. :)
I think the most important part is loving the characters. If you don't, it's hard to make readers love them. It sounds like yours just might need a little R&R. Once you fall in love with some other characters, you'll figure out what these two need. :)
I love Donna's approach to this. It's hard to remember, but if you've learned something about writing or plotting or even yourself along the way, then no writing is wasted writing. That's a very hard thing for me to remember, but it really is true.
Character R&R. I can I get some of that? LOL!
I don’t like it and I don’t like the way the characters were relating. They were really angry.
Marn, your heroine is a prostitute (essentially)--OF COURSE she's angry. Wouldn't you be? The story is what it is. The idea isn't a fluffy bunny. It's a lion with teeth--you gotta be careful about trying to rework him into a fluffy bunny because...well...he's never going to be a fluffy bunny.
And to piggy back on Bo'sun's questions, Are you wanting a lighter book because that "feels" more publishable (since a lot of Regencies are fluffy bunnies) or is it as Bo'sun's second question, do you not want to tackle the heroine's dark places?
I understand the latter. But eventually on one or two of them I've completed, I came out okay. *LOL* You'd be all right. :)
Character R&R. I can I get some of that? LOL!
I just KNOW they'll go someplace fun and exciting. And they better take us when they do! I could use some R&R&R&R&R. . .oops. I just proved my point.
Donna - I'm actually taking tomorrow off the day job for....wait for it.....no reason. Huzzah! And it feels good. That's as close to R&R as I can get. Though, since I live at the beach, I could take a short trip down to the oceanfront and do nothing but watch the waves. Wonder if there's anywhere I could write down there.
Hmmmmm......
Terri, you've just described the perfect day! I love watching waves--so soothing. And probably inspiring.
I think you need to take a day off from work to do nothing. Otherwise, it's just another work day, in another venue.
I need to go work on this WIP. The sun is finally shining today, so I plan to soak up some of it this afternoon. :)
Here's a funny post about a Regency rake at RT. Maybe it'll inspire someone:
http://haveyourcakeandreadittoo.blogspot.com/2011/04/regency-rake-version-20.html
Her blog talked about not thinking about the market or marketing and just be authentic.
Absolutely correct. Because the truth is “trends” change. So if you are writing something modeled upon the latest trend then by the time you are finished then there is a good chance that trend will be over with. Don’t write A trend, write Your trend. In other words do what you do best. Then come up with a marketing strategy to support that your trend is both valid (why would a reader want to read your book) and valuable (to your publisher).
You worry to much Marnee. Seriously. You are a great writer with a unique voice. Concentrate on what you have going for you.
Marketing, though there are those who would like you to think otherwise, is easy. When you have a quality product submarket. Like the book You will write.
submarket? Okay ... as far as I know I didn't type that word there. Which means my headset is at it again. Only problem is ... the damn thing isn't plugged in! SCARY computer paranormal mummble mummble ......
When you have a quality product. Period.
I have to run out for a bit ladies. I'll be back in a little.... I promise I'll catch up then.
Play nice.... :)
Bo'sun - Do you want the book to be lighter, or are you running from the fear of not wanting to travel with the heroine into some dark places?
This is what I've been wrestling with. If it was that I was scared, I'd make myself do it. I don't *think* that's it. I think it's more that I'm not relating to her. She's not resonating with me. :(
Both she and my last heroine were victims of circumstance. And I'm not sure I see yet how she'd overcome that. She's not overcoming in my mind. She's stuck. So, until she finds a way out and that meshes with the story, I feel like I need to leave her alone.
And the cuteness goes away? Oh geez.
Donna - I could see me coming back later, if I decide to give her up. I think I just need a little perspective. :(
Ahh, such a good blog, Marn! I totally agree that the big-picture things can be paralyzing.
My problem right now is that I forget I can do little things, as I don't have time to do anything big. I can revise one scene, or work on one plot point....basically I can plant a tree. I get freaked out that I don't have time to build a whole forest *right now*. But I can plant a tree. And eventually, all those trees will add up to a really great forest :)
Both she and my last heroine were victims of circumstance. And I’m not sure I see yet how she’d overcome that.
I think this is interesting. I think I was having a similar problem with Josephine, before I had to set that story aside because it wasn't coming together. She was a victim of really bad circumstances as well, and she saw herself as a victim. Because of that, she just kept letting things happen to her. And some of those things genuinely were out of her control, and some she only convinced herself they were out of her control. She was angry and depressed and really, just a mess.
In the end (what I've plotted out, at least), she's been kidnapped (again, a victim), and the only way for her to take control is to die. She gets to decide when and how, and most importantly, *why* she dies (to save someone else). It's the only way she fully gets that control back, and stops thinking of herself like a victim. I can't figure out yet if she'll be rescued at the last second, or actually die, but that decision to sacrifice her life for someone else is her full regaining control over her own destiny.
Very interesting how you're handling the situation, Hal. Though the voice in my head is screaming, "She better freaking live!!" Don't mind her.
Every character is a victim of something, or else they have no where to grow. That's prime plot material right there, Marn. She's become who/what she is because of circumstances. That's her starting point. You want her to end up in a position where she is no longer a victim of circumstance, right? (I'm going with a yes here.)
Then at some point, she starts to change. She turns the anger into action. She learns to forgive herself for the past. She let's go of the past and makes conscious decisions about her future. Maybe even some major sacrifices for it. You've got all kinds of ways into the light here. And an great journey to take the reader on.
She may be angry now, but she doesn't have to stay that way. Love conquers all, as we like to write in Romancelandia. So love gets her out of the darkness.
I know, easy for me to say, but still. LOL!
I can’t figure out yet if she’ll be rescued at the last second, or actually die, but that decision to sacrifice her life for someone else is her full regaining control over her own destiny.
NOW THAT is dark. *LOL*
I rather hope she lives, but that's the Commercial Fiction Pollyanna in me. *LOL*
haha. I'm pretty sure she'll live. I don't have the balls to kill off the main character (ala Nicholas Sparks). I just try to keep the possibility open in my own mind, so hopefully it stays open in the reader's mind.
Ter - Romancelandia - I love it. And so true :)
I just try to keep the possibility open in my own mind, so hopefully it stays open in the reader’s mind.
Totally get. I did that with my hero in GOGU. It was very tempting through the book to play with the thought of him dying at the end. Oh, the tragedy of it all! We find out the hero is actually "innocent" and he's dead.
ACK! Captcha ate my comment.
So lately I've tried to focus on the small steps by writing free flow without worrying about chapters and chapter numbering.
Yes, I know this will make for tons of work and headaches later but I kept locking my writing up by worrying about the start and end to every chapter. Now, I'm just focusing on each scene instead and I'm getting more words out.
I did that on the last MS Scape. Went from scene to scene and never thought about where they would break into chapters. Actually worked really well and made the breaks more natural. I plan on doing it that way again.
Hells - It’s a lion with teeth–you gotta be careful about trying to rework him into a fluffy bunny because…well…he’s never going to be a fluffy bunny.
LOL! It definitely is a lion with teeth. :) And I'm not necessarily trying to write something fluffier. I don't think I could write that kind of thing, honestly. The house party where it's just about them having a house party? I can't see myself writing that.
But both this heroine and the last have been shaped by something they've had to accept, even though it isn't fair. I'm still working on how someone gets over that, how people come to accept that the world isn't fair without them coming off as passive on the page. So, in my mind, the story isn't complete yet. I need to see her further. I can see how it could work out if it wasn't a romance. But that's not what I"m writing. And I'm not sure it'd be a satisfying story for me to tell.
I don't think I'll put her aside forever. But I think I need a break from her. It's not a break up, just a break. LOL!!
Ter, have a great day off! :)
And I read Erin's blog yesterday. Oh, and I've made a lot of her cake recipes. Her recipe for buttercream icing is YUM.
I think the forest/trees battle is complicated by our personality types. N (iNtuitives) naturally focus on the big picture; S (Sensing types) are detail oriented. As a strong N, I have to fight to focus on one paragraph, one scene, etc. It's so easy for me to become enthralled with the perfect forest I envision that I neglect planting the trees.
Great post, Marn! You really set me thinking and inspired me to go plant some trees.
Interesting discussion... I feel as if the market is opening up to an author toying with difference genres. But I also think Julie is right, inasmuch as genres are so 'polluted' nowadays, I don't think any author has to stick with one or the other. They cross polinate. Visit each other, do the dirty, create odd children... Genre is quite the courtesan!
As for a character being a victom of fate and circumstances...you can only take that so far. At some point, it all becomes about decisions she makes and directions she goes. Yes, she can be pushed that way...but it's like this...
A can open that door and let that customer in, or she can lock it, be thrown out on the streets where she'll have to go up against the wall for food, or throw herself off a bridge. It really is a decision, time after time, that she makes. When she can see this, she can find some strength of identity within the decisions she makes, not the decisions made for her.
My two cents!
But I'm not a real fan of 'life is so unfair and I had no choice' stuff. You always have a choice. Live or die. Struggle or give up. It's all in the nuances.
I love you guys, but I'm not reading anybody's book where a main character dies. I ODed on that sort of thing from all the literary fiction I read. Just sayin' . . .
Jules - I agree about writing to the trends. Because what's on the shelves is the trend from a couple years ago. LOL! So, it's hard to think about that stuff when you're always going to be behind.
You worry to much Marnee. Seriously. You are a great writer with a unique voice. Concentrate on what you have going for you.
Thanks, Jules. THis is a nice thing to say.... :)
Hal - My problem right now is that I forget I can do little things, as I don’t have time to do anything big. I can revise one scene, or work on one plot point….basically I can plant a tree.
bwahaha! This is exactly right. I'm starting to get a LITTLE more time now, but it's not nearly enough. :) It'll get better. I swear. Someday, when they go to college. :)
And I can totally see that Jo and Belle are similar. I also think that part of my plot keeps things out of Belle's control. My hero puts her into another situation where she feels like she has to do something. Being a victim is her fatal flaw. But boy is it a hard one to get around.
Like I said, I think I need to think about her some more. Give the whole idea of her a bit of perspective.
But that means taking her out of the story and inserting someone else.
And that's terrifying too.
Gah.
Ter - She learns to forgive herself for the past. She let’s go of the past and makes conscious decisions about her future.
See, maybe this is part of my problem with her. She's not bitter about the past; she's passive about it. Almost passive aggressive. Not attractive. And not heroine material. :(
I don't think she needs to stay like that. I can make her different.
But the longer I think about her today, the more I think she needs a break in the recess of my file folders. Maybe a few months will give me a better grasp of her.
I can’t figure out yet if she’ll be rescued at the last second, or actually die, but that decision to sacrifice her life for someone else is her full regaining control over her own destiny.
NOW THAT is dark. *LOL*
I can attest to the story Hal's writing. It IS dark. Really dark. Not for the faint of heart.
Hal - I don’t have the balls to kill off the main character (ala Nicholas Sparks)
Killing a character off ala Nicholas Sparks isn't balls, I think it's plot cowardice. The guy can't think of how to write a story that tugs at heartstrings without killing someone important.
The way you think about killing them off is daring. It's much more ballsy. Even if you never kill them.
Scape - Now, I’m just focusing on each scene instead and I’m getting more words out. I say if it gets stuff out of your head, it's a good thing, especially on that first MS. :) Go you for getting words on paper!! :)
Janga - I can't remember whether I'm an N or an S. I'm pretty sure I'm an N. Which could be part of my problem here. LOL!!
And I can totally understand the whole too much death in literary fiction. All the old American Lit guys kill off all kinds of folks. Like it wasn't a good story unless someone had to wrestle with someone dying. Annoying....
Pat Rice is visiting the Romance Bandits today. Now there's a great example of a writer who refuses to be locked into one genre. And I think she uses the same name for them all.
You're right, Marn, she doesn't sound very heroine like in that description. She needs some heroine finishing school or something.
Janga - I read that Pat Rice blog this morning. Talk about a woman who has no problem coming up with twists, turns, and hooks galore. She did say her urban fantasies (which are not romance at all) would be under another name, but everything else is Pat Rice.
I wonder if that's because her name is so well established?
She needs some heroine finishing school or something.
Exactly! :) I'll come back to her, I suspect.
Chance - But I’m not a real fan of ‘life is so unfair and I had no choice’ stuff. You always have a choice. Live or die. Struggle or give up. It’s all in the nuances.
I agree. I think part of the reason I don't like it is that it makes the character seem like they aren't "living." They're just along for the ride. And I don't want to read a character like that, let alone spend a lot of time writing about her.
All the stuff that happened to her make her a good character. I just think I need a little time away. :)
PS, I don't know if I started the day ready to put my heroine away, but I think this has definitely strengthened the idea in my head.
Thanks ladies, and gent. :)
And I read Erin’s blog yesterday. Oh, and I’ve made a lot of her cake recipes. Her recipe for buttercream icing is YUM.
Erin sent me some cupcakes last fall, after I'd featured her blog on my blog, and they were incredibly YUM. I wish I had some now in fact!
Okay, I'm confused. Who is Erin?
http://haveyourcakeandreadittoo.blogspot.com/
Erin Kelly. She's a Golden Heart finalist. This is her blog. She bakes and her recipes are yum. :)
Erin who writes the blog that I linked to up there. :) She's a friend of one of my agency-mates, and she's a GH finalist this year.
Oh, see, I missed the link completely. LOL! This is what happens when you spend your day trying to untangle a cluster of epic proportions.
And it's not even writing related! Damn it.
Oh, I like that blog. The red is hurting my eyes and now I'm seeing spots on this screen, but I like her voice in the blogs I read. The rakes jumping up and down and the start of a Gaga song took me completely by surprise. LOL!
And that last bit reminded me I'd really like to tile my backsplash. Can't be that hard, right? Anyone?
Yeah, I wasn't expecting that twist in the story. LOL
I don't know anything about remodeling. Heck, I can barely keep up with splashing water in the sink to get the dishes done. LOL
George and I attempted to lay laminate flooring a couple years ago. It's horrendous and we just haven't had a chance to replace it yet.
After that debacle, we've decided we are in fact, un-handy. We won't be attempting another home improvement project beyond painting again. :)
My beloved an I are in the process of converting the garage into a dining room. We contracted out the slab, but everything else is our labor. So, tiling a backsplash sounds like a piece of cake. But I did marry an uber-handyman.
My trick for getting [writing] stuff done is to get off the Internet, put on some good tunes, pull out a favorite book (creative fuel), and get goin'.
Unfortunately, I struggle with step one. Sigh.
Pat - You and me both!
I'm with you, P. Well, on the trouble with #1, I didn't marry a handy-man and the unhandy-man I did marry I shucked off nearly 10 years ago. LOL! So it'll be me, myself, and I running this project. I could involve the preteen, but I'll probably need her to keep the cats out of the kitchen.
Marn - Whoever laid this laminate hardwood looking stuff in my house had no idea what they were doing. There's large gaps in several places right in the middle of the floor. Not close to a wall where I could cover it with some piece of furniture, but right in the middle of the dang floor.
That's on the eventual list to have replaced (by someone skilled in that area.)
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