You built it up brick by brick…

Well, Rock Revival is officially at the 1/3 mark. 25K isn’t a novel, true, but it’s more than I’ve written in quite some time. In spite of crazy busy baby stuff, job hunting, and a visit to the beach with the husband’s entire clan, I’ve been crawling along. Some days have been painfully busy and writing hasn’t been an option, but I usually make up for it. If I could actually type for long periods on the laptop, it might be a way to bolster the word count; but alas, that’s likely never going to be unless Apple actually starts designing products with ergonomics in mind rather than the “ooh, shiny!’ factor. And we know that’s not likely to happen any time soon.

I’ve done a bit of reading over the last few weeks (two whole novels!), and while I’ve been tempted to leave this world of non-speculative fiction, I’ve stayed the course. My goal is to finish the book in the next five weeks. It’s possible if I log about 1500 words a day on average, roughly NaNoWriMo pace. See, there’s a novella I’d like to write that’s due by the end of September, and I prefer not to work on two things at the same time if I can help it. However, if the book isn’t done by then I’m just going to have to forego the novella. But that’s okay. I just know that I’m a much stronger writer if I can focus, which these days is hard enough to come by without adding more complexities in the writing department!

One of my current goals with Rock Revival is upping the musical ante. I realized that I’ve been thinking and talking a great deal about music lately, but Kate, the protagonist, hasn’t. So she goes on a bit of a musical journey in the most recent pages, talking about the Cure as a huge influence, as well as the fictitious Marla North, Kate’s idol (who she meets later on in the book). I plowed through some big drama with Kate’s mother dying, and I know I’m going to have to revise that section a great deal. There’s just so much to say and show that it’s a bit of a challenge to get it right on the first go-round. But that’s what drafts are for, right?

Next up: finishing the album, resolving relationships, and getting ready to go on tour.

Drafty Tidbit:

And Mom? I guess I miss her. Burying her was difficult. But I’m constantly caught between grief and relief when it comes to her death. She died drunk, she lived drunk. Living with her was a nightmare, and even if my shitty attitude as a kid drove her away she still made her own choices. Just like I made my own…  But it’s a lie to claim that funerals give closure. If anything, they just signal the hauntings to come, the moments you forget they’re dead in the first place. That’s what hardest about death. That’s what’s hardest about losing her without ever really coming to peace with her. It’s like a sustain chord that never resolves.

Today’s Track: Myth, by Keane, from Strangeland. Tom Chaplin’s voice during the bridge continues to give me goosebumps every time I hear it. And the lyrics are spot on for the last few chapters of this book.