Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Light On


Photo by Andif, illustrating the moment when. . .

the detective knows whodunnit. . .

the hero realizes the heroine loves him. . .

the heroine realizes the hero is a vampire. . .

the crew of the spaceship recognizes the way to Earth. . .

the adventurer finds the Holy Grail. . .

nancyp takes her first sip of morning coffee.

17 comments:

Nancy P said...

Shine on.

Larry Kollar said...

Or Farf figures out how to explain a complex procedure…

Maybe light on tomorrow. For now, time to try getting a little sleep.

Anonymous said...

Beth accepts that this, too, shall pass. Night, NP and Farf. Sweet dreams.

Kelly McCullough said...

Hi all, and goodnight

FarF, on the pacing changes from short story writing to novels, there are a couple of things I think of.

First is scope. A novel length idea wants more complexity and more range. It wants an idea that can't be wrapped up at short length.

Second is breadth--subplot and counter plot. Giving full life to the secondary characters in a way that either supports or counterpoints the main story will basically force you to take more time and deepen the story.

Third is texture. One of the keys to novel writing is filling in the details, taking time to fully describe a scene or expression, extending the set beyond the edges of the stage where the primary scenes are set.

Don't know if that's useful or not, but I do shift back and forth between the modes and those are the main differences I find in scaling up.

AndiF said...

And when Andi realizes there won't be any light like that for about 8 months.

Morning all.

Anonymous said...

Light is the symbol of hope, life, rebirth. Nancy, great connections with Andi's fabulous photo. Coffee mmmm.
Loved the pacing talk.
All the short story vs. novel very interesting. Kelly, Conda and Farf admire your ability to shift.

Speaking of short story, I finished Nancy's You Better Not Pyout in Wolfsbane and Mistletoe.
Nancy--you have so ruined sitting on Santa's lap for me. Big thumbs up girl.(love short stories, I can actually finish one)

Beth, you are very much the light. When I go to your blog, that picture of you shines. Give yourself time for your eyes to adjust to the dark.

Andi that is why I love living in Texas. I'll go ahead and admit I was looking at Ohio on a map and didn't realize it was so far east and north. Been a long time since I paid attention to my US geography. I'm thinking a road trip may be in order this next summer to visit so many places I've never seen. Hmm the blog tour.
Wonderful Weds. to All.

Anonymous said...

This photo looks more to me like the moment before any of those things happen.

Kelly McCullough said...

Good morning all!

The book is done and there will be dancing. Okay not much, and the copyedits for the last one came in Monday, but I can pretend. Food is next on the agenda.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful yet haunting.

Reminds me of Danni's choir concert last night.

She had a solo in a Mongolian Shepherd's song. And then they all sang an Iraqi Peace Song in both Arabic and English accomp. by a cello. It was beautiful and haunting. Two of the singers were refugees from Iraq and Jordan and each had solos.

Then later they said goodbye to a brother and sister in the choir who are returning to Guatemala this week due to the Del Monte raids a year and a half ago. They were here legally and are citizens but living with an Aunt and Uncle because their parents couldn't afford to come here but they wanted them to have the BEST education. Our school is one of the top 5 percent in the country.

Well, they are going back and Danni knows the young girl since 7th grade and is just sick over it. I can't answer her questions on why this family can't be reunited here... It was a happy night but also a very sad night for the choir.

This is doubly hard as my husband's co-worker just returned from reuniting with his wife briefuly who is still in Guatemala and we heard many stories of political terror and street shootings.

So the almost breaking light... as Mr. Lamb posted...is how I'm feeling this week. Not quite there but almost. Not sure what to expect. It could be beautiful. It could be horrible. But it's coming.

I remember how beautiful and tranquil it was on Guam right before Super Typhoon Russ hit. How the light in the morning was so radiant. But there wasn't any sound. It was too calm. Too quite.

It was like the world wasn't quite awake yet. I didn't know if I should be hopeful or afraid.

I'm waiting for the light to break.

:)

Anonymous said...

Ready to dance whenever you start the music, Kelly - congrats! Enjoy a well-deserved...brunch?

Kelly McCullough said...

Thanks Beth!

It'll be more of a very late breakfast in an hour or so as I'm in the process of moving my weight down from the high end of my acceptable range to the very bottom at the moment. I've got to do that once every 5-10 years.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations KMc :) I'll have a maple bar in your honor.

Nicola Slade said...

Just dropped in for a coffee and to admire that fabulous photo.
It's unusually cold here, for October, and the cats are fighting over who sits on my desk and dictates to me. Fat Ed tries to bludgeon me into submission by weight alone but Dylan wins by virtue of age (nearly 16) and pathos (one blind eye and one getting that way.)
But both the damned animals refuse to get up and make me a hot drink so I'm shoving them out in the garden for a few minutes!
(Blog tour, Lisa M - don't forget to include England when you do the tour!)

maryb said...

Congrats Kelly!!! Happy dancing all day.

Maria Lima said...

How did it get to be nearly 6 p.m.?

I glanced at the blog entry early this a.m., then ran out the door. (After 2 days home sick, I *knew* I had loads to catch up on). Now, first time all day to catch my breath and it's time to go home.

Uhm, let there be light?

I'm so ready to see the end of DST...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Kelly.

Janet,Choir concert sounds nice. I enjoyed my band mom days so I like hearing about the marching and flags.
Maria,Hope you're feeling better.
Waves to MaryB.

Nikki, would love to include England. One of my must visits this lifetime. My two cats are insistant snugglers at night now that the temps are cooling down. A cuppa tea does sound nice.

The light has come and gone now.

boran2 said...

Hi all. Now that is a spectacular photo! Shine on indeed.