Project Updates: Inspiration can be a bad, bad thing...

Remember when I wrote last month on inspiration, and how it was okay to run with it as long as you go back to your current story once you're done? Well, there can be a flaw in this plan: what happens if the inspiration becomes the current story?

I have become so fascinated by Project V that it is dominating my attention right now. Even though I still don't have a clear picture of the world, I came up with a good beginning (after several false starts) and am now on Chapter 3, making it up as I go along (which is really what I do best). It's just so interesting, I can't stop!

That said, Project ID has been put on the back burner. I have been under the weather for the past few weeks and, mostly unable to write, lost my momentum. Although I know what to do for the next scene, after that I am completely lost as to where the story is going. This is why I don't normally write mysteries - too much to keep track of! I will have to go back and re-read what I have so far (again) and re-structure my plot points before I can go any further.

As for Project BW, being under the weather has made research difficult, and any I can do has gone towards Project V. So not much is happening.

I hope to get back to Project ID and ultimately finish before really diving into Project V, but until then writing is writing, so I'm not kicking myself too much.

Review: The Automat (Hardart & Diehl)

Title: The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn & Hardart's Masterpiece
Author: Marianne Hardart & Lorraine B. Diehl
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: November 19, 2012
Genre: Non-Fiction
Format Read: Hardcover (InterLibraryLoan)
Find It On: Goodreads

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Have you ever heard of the Automat? With its nickel throwers and coin-operated food windows and delicious recipes that were tasted by the brass every morning for quality. No? Well, it's about time you did.

The Automat was a really cool chain of restaurants in Philly and New York that prettied up "fast food" in their own special way. Even as it catered to those who could barely rub two nickels together (and if they had two nickels to rub they could go to the Automat for a hot, filling meal), it was also "the place to be" for many famous faces and business icons, and hosted a scene or two in at least a dozen movies.

After reading The Automat: The History, Recipes, and Allure of Horn and Hardart's Masterpiece by Lorraine B. Diehl & Marianne Hardart (yes, of those Hardarts), I went from being simply intrigued by this part-vending-machine-part-cafeteria-part-marvel-of-a-restaurant-chain to being quite fascinated - some would even say a bit smitten. (I have gone so far as to make it a regular setting in Project ID - it deserves it!) But this book doesn't simply tell the story of the Automat - it offers a slice of history from a unique point of view, and gives yummy, top-quality Automat recipes. Don't just read the history, taste it too!

The Automat was a magical place that, unfortunately, now exists only in the memories of workers and patrons. It's a sad ending, but worth the read.

So Google the Automat to whet your appetite, and then check out The Automat by Diehl & Hardart from your local library. It's a thin book and tons of fun to read.

Scribble Rating: 

4 of 5 Scribbles

Project Updates

It's been a while since I last posted! I've been busy reading a ton and writing a little. (I know - it really should be the other way around. Bad Jane!)

I have started two new projects: Project BW and Project V.

Project BW I have "mentioned" before - I consider it my Ultimate Story, and it is a doozy! I have a ton of research ahead of me, so I've decided to take my time and create it properly. It'll happen one day, but it will be several years from now. All I can say so far is that it's set on an alternate timeline and deals with books.

Project V I consider my "Ultimate YA Series." My Harry Potter, if you will - or probably more like my Hunger Games, but only because it's a trilogy and geared towards older teens (that's about all they have in common). I have been researching and mapping common denominators in popular young adult series for about a year now, and it has finally paid off. It's still in the very early planning stages, but the concept is coming along nicely. It's sort of about a secret society and ghost-like beings, but really isn't - I not quite sure how to describe it yet.

Project ID is coming along slow but relatively sure. The plots are a bit of a rat's nest right now, but I'm discovering ways to keep them straight. The writing part is going pretty smooth, thankfully - when I actually sit down and do it (again, bad Jane!). The actual "putting your butt in the chair and writing" part has always been my hardest obstacle.

So my one project has turned into three. But so is the life of a writer.