How To Write A Novel Using The Snowflake Method

How To Write A Novel Using The Snowflake Method:

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The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter - by Trent Hergenrader

This tale about the daughter of a selkie made me cry. I loved the exquisite writing.

Why was I moved to tears? Because Trent Hergenrader made me feel the huge gap left by the mother's absence. I felt the daughter's sadness and need for love, her isolation. 

On the first reading I thought the ending showed the girl left stranded between 2 worlds. But on the second reading I'm not so sure. The last sentence - In my hand, the shimmering auburn coat felt warm and dry. Maybe this means she chooses her mother's world?

The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter:

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Writing and yoga - and small daily steps

Well.  SOME progress.

I've gone back to free writing. I'm just enjoying writing out small scenes and not worrying too much about where I'm going plot wise. Trying to tap more into sensory detail and capture images or bits of dialogue. 

There are 2 routines I want to establish. Daily yoga practice. And daily writing practice.

When I do a yoga stretch, I accept that my body is weak and stiff. I know I'm on a giant learning curve. I understand that I won't be able to stretch all the way into a pose. That I'll be wobbly and unbalanced. But I know if I just keep gently stretching, keep working at it, always pushing out, there'll be improvements. 

I'm kind to myself when it comes to learning yoga.

But I'm hard and impatient when it comes to writing. I know that most of the work is in the revision. I know that a finished draft is only the first step in the process. That it's insane to expect flowing writing that is tight and clear in the first scribble. And I know that most ideas won't result in a finished story line.

So maybe when I write I should think of the writing as a series of yoga asanas. I need to remember I'm only a student and just keep stretching.