The Spine and Guts of the Story

 When I start to write a story I have a character and scene in mind and allow the story to unfold.

In a writing workshop, my instructor asks, “What is the ‘Spine’ of your story?” At first, I’m not quite certain what she is asking. Is ‘Spine’ theme?  Is it motivation?  Is it voice? Oh no, I worry, do I even have a story to tell?

 My ah-ha moment – I struggled with the question because I didn’t know my story well enough. Not what happens next, but the guts of the story. And by knowing the guts, I’ve got more to work with, more scenes coming forward.  Though I may write as a story unfolds; there is much work and planning, checking to see that all elements are stitched to the ‘Spine.’ If it can’t be stitched it’s got to go. 

Rest in Peace- 5/1/2004-5/29/2010

May 29th, my computer died.

Of course, one week after starting a blog! Through the years that poor laptop had taken a few falls. Couples times from my klutziness, but the final fall happened when my dog got tied up in the cord while chasing his cat friend.

Computer-less for a couple of months, I took to pen and paper. I used to love to write with a mechanical pencil, so I tried that too. I hate writing with pencils you have to sharpen. They always feel scratchy, and I hate when writing gets smudgy and thick from beaten down lead.

There’s something about writing by hand; a special journal for inspiration, cool new Post-its to use, the pen that glides just right across the page. My favorite pens have animals atop of them. It’s just me, my animal pens, dog and cat, crafty a story... it takes a village.

I now have my new laptop, equipped with a breakaway power cord.  I’ve started typing in my handwritten pages. I love the soft clicking sound of the keyboard. I love the backspace key and spell check.  Merriam-Webster online is pretty cool too.

Yep, the laptop is my preferred writing tool. And then, my flamingo pen.

What’s yours?

My Next Project

I now begin work on, Cecilia and the Yucky Muckys. It’s a middle grade novel. The idea for this originally began as a Picture Book about a little girl that planted toy items covered with chocolate syrup and candy bits. She then waited to see what would grow. The boys living next door taunted her for being so ridiculously silly. But when candy in the shapes of the toys bloomed, Cecilia had a tea party and invited the boys and her friends to eat the yummy candies. 

Though the story made me slightly nauseous, I took it to my then writer’s group. The reception was lukewarm which, for them, meant... the story sucked. I then asked my sister to read it. She flat out told me the story sucked.  Not to be daunted, I got back to work.

There was just one problem. The story was syrupy sweet. It made me sick inside. The story sucked. Lesson learned; listen to your critique group, your sister and mostly, trust your gut.

On the upside, when I let go the fantasy, sticky-icky candy elements, another story came forward. Last year I got out, in no particular order, about 4 chapters in rough for Cecilia and the Yucky Muckys. After a break, (breaks consist of working on other projects and some day dreaming about Cecilia’s story), I’m ready to get back to it. Today I begin with what I believe to be Chapter One of what I believe to be a Middle Grade Novel. My target is to have this completed by end of October. I hope when I’m done, I don’t realize it really should be a Picture Book.