Lego Blocks

Met with my writing buddy Thursday night. Instead of wine, we shared Vitamin C. Lots of yucky stuff floating around our section of the country and we're both fighting something. We still laughed a lot.

She came specifically to help me work on accepting my critique. She's a sweetheart. She said she's been praying and the word she got for us both was: Courage. As soon as she said she'd been praying, I 'heard' temerity in my mind. Muse uses all sorts of ways to browbeat me to her will. *g*

Courage: the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courage

Temerity:  unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temerity?show=0&t=1357297622

Now - this definition of temerity is not the one I think of. I think of Chutzpah (which is one of the synonyms listed). And I've never thought of Chutzpah as anything but good old fashioned courage.

We talked about Legos. I got an awesome set for Christmas - Weathertop from the Lord of the Rings. It's got four hundred and some pieces. Legos boggle my mind. My little six-year old has no problem with them. This set was for ages 9-14. Huh!

Enough bragging about her. My buddy and I looked at the set and took it apart in our mind's eye. (I wouldn't dare take it really apart now that the little one has put it together - took quite a few hours - but she's tenacious!)

You have the green piece that works as the anchor piece. Then you add and add and add until you think you're going to scream. Little tiny pieces and folding pieces and hinged pieces and trapdoors. It's incredible how complicated it is and how it all fits together beautifully. I don't know how on earth they do it. At the end, you have this magnificent looking piece of play before you and the parts all are seamless. 

That's how I'm looking at my book. The plot is the green foundation pieces, I think. The characters and the settings and such are all the myriad little pieces that must be fit onto the plot to make the whole thing work. 

Another thing about Legos. You can't cut corners. You have to start at the bottom and work your up or out or whatever. If you miss a piece, or put one in the wrong place, eventually you'll pay for it. The other parts won't work.

I started with the foundation piece today. Chapter One really. I'm taking it one piece at a time. I'm building on what we learn in Chapter One to go onto Chapter Two. But I'm not going to skip any part of Chapter One else Chapter Two and Three and Four, etc., will not work. 

This concept makes it easier, in some way, for me to work on my editor's changes/additions/things. 

Life is a Lego.