Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Coffee-House Experience

I'm not really a coffee house writer. Although I can write in pretty busy situations, I do like my privacy for all those random faces I make when visualizing scenes. However tonight some of my friends wanted to go downtown and listen to a free concert that a popular Christain band member was doing, and I thought it sounded like something that would, quite randomly, be fun.

So we drove down to the coffe shop and I brought my writer's notebook and worked through the first draft of the plot for my rewrite of Thistles. Because it deals with time-travel, all of the little details really have to be mapped out from the get-go. Not an easy thing to do- especially when I have to handwrite it all. But being more or less confined to my chair, I had no choice but to hammer away at those details until I had figured out the importance and relation of them all. It's far from perfect, but I have my map now, and there's light in many places that were still pitch-black earlier today.

Speaking of light and dark, we drove through the most amazing weather on our way home. The rain was pouring down like crazy. On one side was the dark, stormy sky, with lighting flashing over the skyscrapers and cathedrals of the city. On the other was the golden haze of clouds masking the sunset. The contrast was almost eerie.

And then as we drove away from the city the fierceness of the lightning gave way to layer upon layer of misty clouds, shot with rays of light, and the golden haze vanished to reveal the huge orange sun hanging in the west.

There are some benefits to being a backseat passenger, as opposed to driver or navigator.

7 comments:

Andy Hauge said...

Very cool. I actually have yet to write in a coffee-house...maybe I'll do that back at college. That is, if I'm not playing music at said coffeehouse.

Rose Marchen said...

That sounds so awesome! Dark rain, thunder lightning on one side... and a golden sunset on the other! That must have been really neat!
Wishing you the best on your story writing sis!

Grace K. said...

I have to agree with Mamma. That sounds so awesome, Elena! I wish I could have been there. ;)

I'm so glad you got further on your story... it sounds really cool!

Grace K. said...

Tag, Elena! Have fun, Auntie!

You were in London?!? What? How? When? Where? Tell me about it, please!

Lol.. Sorry - I clicked on your review of The Woman in White and read it - I've always wanted to go to England!

Auntie, I was curious what you would say about 'Woman', and am thoroughly resolved to read both 'Moonstone' and 'Woman' now. Consider yourself a wonderful reviewer. You pulled me in very well. I had checked it out and flipped though the first pages, but found it, as you said, very dry, and I thought, boring. So back it went to the library, but now I must check it out again!

Any other good mysteries you would recommend? I love all of Agatha Christie's stuff...

Much love,
Grace

Elenatintil said...

Carpe- it's worth doing, if only to say that you've done it...(plus it's nice to have a handy source of coffee, milkshakes, and strudels...)

Rose and Grace- yes, it was totally amazing! Which, of course, is why I wrote a blog post about it. My brother actually pointed out the window and said "doesn't this look like Gotham?" but it was waaaay cooler than that.

Grace- Oh- yes! I was in London, Rome and Paris three years ago. Would you like me to do a blog post on it, niece dear?

I'm glad you were inspired by my review! That's why I write reviews...to share my good reads with others! (Especially since so many of them can start out rather boring. My message- no! There's still hope! Keep reading!)

Good mysteries...I'll keep that in mind!

Delaney said...

One time when I was in Starbucks I saw a girl who looked exactly like a younger version of you. I was carrying The Midnight Dancers and I half hoped that she would ask about it, even though I KNEW it wasn't you. :D Hehe.

Ha! I make random faces too! though I make them when I'm reading books or a play. I sort of have to watch myself when I'm in public. I was getting so involved in The Man Who Was Thursday the other day that I had to keep my face almost literally inside the book, because I couldn't help making furious, passionate, confused, frightened, amused, or amazed faces.

Elenatintil said...

Really? Wow...that's rather creepy...

Believe me, if I saw someone reading SotB or another FT Novel in public, I would most probably ask them about it. Unless they looked rather scary and stalkerish.