A couple of weeks ago I read a book by Lani Diane Rich called The Fortune Quilt in which the main character gets "towered".I'd never heard that term before but it comes from Tarot cards. If you get that card, big changes are coming into your life. Life-altering changes.
Towered?” “It’s a Tarot thing,” she says. “The Tower. It’s when life transitions. You know— rips out the stitches. Brings your tower down and makes you rebuild. Happens to all of us at one time or another. No worries.”Rich, Lani Diane (2011-07-14). The Fortune Quilt (Kindle Locations 1370-1372). StoryWonk Publishing. Kindle Edition.
I've gone through this a couple times in my life, most recently about ten months ago when I left the security of a dependable job that at one time I had really enjoyed. But sometimes there are more important things like feeling good about yourself and being happy.
This week I "Towered" Bix.
Even though I've rewritten the book eight times. Eight! I haven't changed the first 100 pages or so because they've always gotten good feedback--not to mention quite a few requests.
But, if I'm going to rethink Bix as a MG book, I have to start at the beginning.
So, I sat down, wrote a new opening and read it aloud to Jordan. And then we brainstormed together. It was so much fun--thinking of Bix in a new light. I'm actually really excited to write the new scenes and concepts we came up with. For the first time in a long time, Bix doesn't feel like a chore.
The hardest part--emotionally--about towering Bix is that I'm having to "kill" some of my favorite lines from the book. Well, most of them actually--as the "teen" Bix may never see the lines of a page.
So, in honor of that, I'm posting a teen Bix snippet. One of my darlings:
“That’s
Ms. Darwin, the new aerobics/yoga teacher.”
Ryan fills him in. “And Bixby’s mother.”
“She’s a
total MILF.”
I punch Tack’s
arm. “Dude, she’s my mother.”
“MILF? What’s
a MILF?” Ryan looks from Tack to me and back to Tack.
Is this guy
for real? How can he not know what a MILF is?
“Mother I’d
like to…” Tack glances at me. “French.”
Yeah, that
didn’t make it any less painful.
The time has come to imagine a different life for Bix. And for me as a writer.
And, I am taking that dare.
Yo, Margie! Killing our darlings doesn't get any easier, but if you're excited it's probably a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI hope it's the right decision :) But it's not like I got rid of them completely. There's always the copy sitting dormant in my email file...not to mention the one on my computer and the jump drive :)
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