It didn't work

Okay, so I read the same book last night before bed. No wonderful dreams of Sophie's world. Bummer. Maybe I have to depend on old-fashioned hard work and discipline.
Inspiration is so much cooler than hard work.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all and your families.

Inspiration

I've been reading "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler, a book that analyzes classic hero tales such as Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz and describes the framework that makes them such timeless stories. He makes the framework of character archetypes and plot design completely obvious and accessible even to beginning writers like me. So, the other night I was reading that book before bed and dreamed about Sophie and her Jeanne-created world half the night. I wrote five new pages the next day. I hope for a repeat performance like that several times a week so I can move this book along. I currently have 52 pages that are an acceptable draft and I expect it will be about 200 pages when it's finished.

Munich

It's been a month since our whirlwind trip to Munich. We fumbled our way through the rail system from the airport to the B&B and explored the city mostly on foot. I planned each day and Katie was a willing patient helper. Then one day, the day we needed to take the U-Bahn (subway) across town for an appointment with a research librarian at the Munich Archive, I brought the wrong map. I was fired from my job as chief map-holder and navigator. Katie took over as human GPS system, guiding our exploration of the city with (the correct) map.

I can close my eyes and picture it again. Church bells rang each morning and again at noon and almost all day Sunday. Cobblestone streets lined a pedestrian area in the old part of town which included medieval gates, towers and archways. Bicycles shared our sidewalks. The weiner schnitzel, sauerbraten and kaesespatzle were terrific but we steered away from the ones that needed the German-English dictionary (Hundsfleisch- omigosh).

After a couple of days of German-tourist-immersion, we spied the Hard Rock. English speaking waiter. English menu. The Who on video. We ate hamburgers that night. It was just the touch of home we needed.

Overall, the trip was completely worthwhile for me. The librarian at the city archive let us study a large map from 1935 which included streetcar lines and city landmarks. She pulled dozens of photos from the late thirties for us, photos of the streetcars, parades and clothing, one of which tells a story which I think will be an entire chapter. I got a feel for the city, the lay of the land and the heartiness of the people. I hope to bring Munich to life as Sophie's story is told.

Welcome!

Welcome to my adventure in blogging!
I hope to use this blog to keep friends and family up to date on the progress of my book and connect with others who share the same interests as me. I will try to update it each week. Thank you all for your interest, love and support.
Jeanne