Woods Canyon Lake (Mary)

"More than a thousand feet down, the highway zigzagged along a steep decline

and then on beyond our view. At the bottom, an eighteen-wheeler starting its climb

up the Rim’s face appeared to be no larger than a plump gray ant."

As I wrote in my last post about our day at Woods Canyon Lake, for Mark, our day in the wilderness was all about fishing, fresh air, nature, blue waters, and relaxation. For me, though, our little day-trip had a completely different focus.

Oh, I love the nature, too, and I truly did my best to relax. I was mostly successful in capturing the peaceful vibes of the environment. Nonetheless, my goals for our time at the lake were different from Mark's.

As I explained in the other post, I had taken my laptop with me, intending to work on my novel while Mark fished. For various and sundry reasons, my plan didn't pan out and I had to give it up. However, that didn't prevent me from thinking about my book, working on plot points and writing whole pages in my head. At least, that's what I was doing when I wasn't battling my stubborn little chipmunk opponent for our food!

"Approaching the edge of the escarpment, I saw that it was not actually the edge

at all, and I relaxed a little. Another shelf of rock, about four feet lower than

the one on which we stood, lay between us and a sheer drop to many hundreds

of feet below. Relieved, I released my hold on Hagen’s shoulder."

You see, my novel is set right here in the White Mountains, where I live, and features aspects of the world I know and love. Back in 2014, when I'd first conceived of my tale and begun spinning the story, I spent a day at the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert with Jacob, Danielle, Dylan, Ryan, and Shera (Ryan and Shera being my former stepson and daughter-in-law). As always, I took a bunch of pictures and, along the way, I started "seeing" my characters carrying out the plot in different scenarios throughout the park. As a result, chapters 21-24 take place on an earth science field trip to Petrified Forest National Park.

"Moon took a step toward Hagen, but a shard of rock shifted beneath his back foot

and crumbled away, leaving nothing but empty air under the leg bearing his weight.

Without a sound, Moon fell backward and plunged down the face of the Rim."

Now here I am, three years later, with a book that's only a little more than half-finished and the time, finally, to devote to completing it. (I should clarify that the tale is finished in my mind, but putting it down on paper as it's envisioned is a slightly longer matter.) 

Right now I'm working on chapter 41. As it happens, chapters 38-42 take place at (did you guess?) Woods Canyon Lake. So this was something of a working break for me. Since I couldn't write due to laptop issues, I took a lot of pictures and thought about how the setting would direct the story.

"A parking lot overlooked the calm blue water, just a short downhill hike away.

Uphill from the lot was an empty picnic area with tables and rock-lined fire pits. 

Unseen smoke from distant campfires wafted through the air, 

teasing my nose with the subtle fragrance of grilled meats." 

Some of the scenes were already written, based on past trips to the Mogollon Rim overlooks and Woods Canyon Lake (excerpts accompany the photos above), and some are currently a work in progress. This day at the lake helped solidify what I was seeing in my mind, and even suggested some new action. Having a hungry chipmunk leap onto my shoulder from a nearby boulder will definitely make an appearance in the story! Not only because it was shockingly funny, but because I can see how it will advance events in one particular chapter in a more playful and interesting way than I'd originally foreseen.

The paragraph describing this scenery has been written and rewritten 

many times already. It's clear in my mind, but putting it into words...

It's always interesting to me how some scenes practically write themselves, flowing smoothly from the brain to the keypad, while others are like being in labor for weeks, messy and painful, before producing something that brings you joy. It is definitely a labor of love.

I found the flat rock where Haley (the main character) sits to observe her brother

 Hagen with Moon, a mysterious young man who both fascinates and puzzles her.

This is Haley's view of the shoreline. Moon will be just visible

around the curve. Hagen may be fishing from that rock just offshore.

We'll see how it looks when I actually get it on paper!

My goal is to complete my novel and start shopping it around by next summer. I have about 54,000 words written at this point. The typically acceptable length for young adult novels in the science fiction/fantasy/supernatural genres is about 90,000 to 95,000 words. I have my work cut out for me.

To compare, here are the word counts of some recently popular young adult fiction novels. Generally, the first book in a series is the shortest, and then they tend to become longer with each new entry.

77,325     Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone (first and shortest in the series)

257,154   Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix (longest in the series)

99,750     The Hunger Games

101,182   The Maze Runner

105,143   Divergent

118,975   Twilight

95,022     The Hobbit (one of my personal favorites)

As you can see, I still have a lot of writing to do!