Words for Water — Evadne Macedo’s Campaign on Charity:Water
I’ve been so busy at work you’d think I would forget all about my novels, but it has been just the opposite. The more hectic things are in real life, the more tempted I am to slip into my alternate world and the more ideas I have to make my alternate world more real. The scene I wrote today for Novel #2 featured police officers in clusters tapping out crowd control strategies on their hand-held devices, helmets hanging from belt buckles, tank-like horses stomping down the street etc. … you see how these real life images (my office is in the middle of downtown) could fit into a world ravaged by a savage virus?
I will be on vacation for the month of July, and am planning to have fun times with my family and daytime hours for writing — both of which will make me very happy. In terms of the writing, I’ve worked out a deal where I will have three whole hours to write every morning! So, my hope is to finish the revisions on The 29th Day, and likely also work on Novel #2. I actually have no idea whether I will be able to actively work on two novels at the same time. I often have multiple writing projects going at work (non-fiction), so I think I could juggle the work. However, it might be difficult to keep the separation between my characters’ voices — Annika (the narrator in The 29th Day) is quite different from Andrea (the narrator/protagonist in Novel #2).
It will also be a challenge to find the balance between the two novels. It is way more fun to write a new novel, than to revise the old one — so I need to be disciplined about that and spend as much time as I can on The 29th Day. I’m still planning my revisions to The 29th Day by re-reading Between the Lines by Jessica Page Morrell . Luckily, there is a full chapter on pacing. I am also sorting out more clearly what my characters’ motivations and fears are, and why they have acted in certain ways. Between the Lines has great tips for all of this (thank goodness for this resource). Because of this book, I am excited about revising The 29th Day. My goal is now to achieve a much higher level of mastery than I had anticipated was possible when I first submitted it. It could have been published as it was, but it would not have been as nuanced as it will be once I finish this layer of edits.
As a major theme of The 29th Day is the power of water, to nourish and destroy, I have set up a campaign on Charity:Water. Charity:Water is a “non-profit organization bringing clean water to people in developing nations.” 100% of money donated funds sustainable clean water projects. I set the goal of $5000 which is kind of ambitious, but I am hoping that 200 people could contribute $25 each. That’s not so much, is it? I believe this to be the amount of money needed to build a freshwater well in a village and provide clean water to 250 people — we’d be able to see where our money has gone with the GPS coordinates they provide. Anyway, I’ll try not to bug you about it … but I’d love to see how much we can raise by September 20, 2010. I understand that even if we don’t get to the $5000, we can still see where our money has gone. So, if you can spare $25 (or more), please donate — http://mycharitywater.org/Evadne. And if you can’t, well maybe you know someone who would be able to — please pass on the link. Thanks for all your support — knowing that you like reading my blog motivates me to complete my novel(s) and I hope that I can also have your support in proving that the idea of “fiction for a change” is a viable concept. And, even if you don’t want to donate, please post a comment — I’d LOVE to hear from you!
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