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So are you guys enjoying the Olympics? I'm always glued to the TV, no matter how many times I tell myself I'm not going to be interested this time. I'm just addicted to people obsessed with being the best and doing extraordinary things. You should have heard me jumping up and down and yelling at the TV when Lezak was chasing down French "we'll crush the the Americans," Bernard, during the team relay. Now, THAT is such wonderful karma to watch.
What are your memorable moments? Do you remember past Olympic moments that made your heart leap into your mouth? My first one was watching Nadia live and getting all those perfect tens. Or, do you remember those that show the agony of being second/losing? Like the two heartbreaks of Michelle Kwan's quests for gold.
Those athletes' tremendous sacrifice and willpower give me the shivers. My goal is to capture the essense of giving one's all in a magical moment in my writing--how does one do that in words and have the same effect?
For a writer, finishing a manuscript can be as exhausting as any sport event. The manuscript that took everything out of me was Facing Fear. My emotional tank was literally empty by the last scene. The next one that almost killed me was writing Jed's story; the controlled pace of both the story and the character took every ounce of my concentration. Well, it was His Jedness, so what did I expect? An easy time? ;-P
Friday, August 15, 2008
Uber Best
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8 comments:
I love the Olympics, even the sob stories. The rivalries are so much more magnified and also, we get to see every darn sport in the whole wide world, even curling. Ba ha ha.
Kayla: Are you a curling fan?!
Eh, right now I'm a little sick of the Olympics. I'm sick of coming home at night and knowing that if I want to watch Olympics I get to see 3 things - gymnastics, beach volleyball, and swimming. Man, I wish they would show something else, even tape delayed on one of the other NBC channels.
Jenn, Jed easy? Only if there's a dangerous woman in the room. LOL
OK, so I can't NOT ask: when will "Virtually Hers" be released? Is the Dec. 1, 2008 date accurate? I've been religiously checking your blog, the COMCEN blog, and your website for some indication. Please, please, throw me a bone here! :)
Yes I am definitely enjoying the olympics. When Jason Lezak was swimming the fourth leg my dh was asleep so I was silently cheering him on. When they won I was so pumped up with no one to share the win with.
Haven't seen much of the Olympics.
One moment that stands out in my mind is when Randy and Tai had to pull out of the figure skating competition because he had an injury. It was so sad to watch - they had a good chance for the gold against the Russian pair.
Kayla and Mo,
Okay, some sports...I'm not so sure about, LOL. Curling is one of them. It looks a lot like sweeping big balls around the ice. LOL.
Anonymous,
This is the question I've been asking my own editor. I'm just as frustrated as you, believe me. My agent is working on this and that's all I'm going to say at this moment. If you want to help this frustrated author out, can you drop a line at Mira Books (to Gennita Low's editor) and tell them you want to read the story soon? Thank you.
Joyce,
I'd have smacked my beloved and woke him up!
Mec,
I remember Randy and Tai dropping out. Lots of people were disappointed. I remembered the girl running track and was tripped by the barefoot South African. What about Greg Louganis? Woohoo, my memory is coming back ;-).
You know what I really enjoy about you Jenn? You ENJOY your characters. I think the reason your books are so enthralling is that you "get" the people in the books, more like they are real life people who live in your neighborhood rather than your head. You make me want to work even harder on my own work.
As for the Olympics, I haven't watched it in years. This year is the first one I've watched since the 90's. It's quite exciting and has made me realize how much they really mean. People from all over the world, countries we usually don't think about show up and participate. The O's is the great melting pot of achievement. It breaksdown the struggles of the world and pares them down to an event. You win, you lose, you try harder next time.
Deb
Deb,
Aww, your kind words made my morning here. That's the greatest compliment, to have a reader love one's characters and story.
I have found, as I learn my craft, that I write with a certain emotion represented in my head for each character. I didn't realize this till the fourth or fifth manuscript, of course. It made sense when I think about it because if I'm "attached" to each character so differently, esp. on an emotional level. Take Jaymee in this book that I'm revising right now. I so reimmersing myself in her reluctance. It's like visiting an old friend and her problem ;-).
As for the Olympics, the point that strikes me is that, for most of these young athletes, this is their ONE chance. In four years, they will be too old and the younger ones will be faster, stronger, and better trained. They have one shot to get their Olympic moment, you know?
Of course, Torres' comeback at 42 this year has proven that there is hope if one is determined enough, but that's still rare enough that for 99 percent of these thousands of Olympians, this is it. And that's another feeling that I can equate with, using writing as my analogy. Once in a while, I get the "this is it" feeling too.
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