Satyr, imp, fallen angel, bad boy?

New guilty indulgence - watching Johnny Weir at the Winter Olympics. Satyr, imp, fallen angel, bad boy? Definitely. He's just itching to be written into a story. Just not sure how it ends.

Other new indulgence, although I don't feel at all guilty about this one - watching old favourite movies (Say Anything, The Breakfast Club) with my younger daughter. She loves them as much as I do and its been fun to share them with her.

Current challenge - writing a talk on 'writing' with a prescribed topic. The brain cells need a bit of a boot up the backside but I am relishing the task. I never used to think about 'how', I just used to 'do'. But author talks and school workshops have forced me to undo the engine and check out the mechanics. When I do school workshops its usually 60 to 90 minutes plus, which enables a more in-depth approach. Last challenge I had like this I came up with something on understanding characterisation I wish I could patent, I liked it so much. I'm excited to see if i can do the same again this time.

My university study guides are huddled in a corner whispering about how I haven't given them any attention yet. I've been thinking about needing to get on to it, which of course is the first step in any course of study. My WIP edit is going slooooowwwww, and I am stuck on two picture books which are not behaving. For one, the plot is jumping round like a flea. I need a sturdier shoe horn to fit both of them into something a little more conventional. Esoteric is not what publishers are after right now - rats. One of the pb's even has an inanimate object as the main character, with no dialogue. This illustrates (but not in a picture book sense) my style of writing which is to be a slave to the idea/inspiration until I've taken it as far as it can go. The difficulty here is that this is not the style of choice during a recession. Still its the style with which I produce the best results so I shall box on. If I can pull these two pbs off I'll let you know more about them.