coming face-to-face

Dress (shop!)(floral version!): Gap, Cardigan: Francesca's, Watch (shop!): Rumba

Happy Friday, friends. 

As I sit here typing, my arm muscles are protesting angrily due to the rigorous P90x3 workout we did yesterday in the name of New Year's Resolutions. Two weeks in, though, and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm only hoping that this spaghetti-noodle arm syndrome turns into stronger muscles. Otherwise, why on earth do humans do this?

This past Wednesday we went up to a bookstore in Tempe to meet our favorite author, Brandon Sanderson. I have a small handful of favorite authors, but he has most definitely been my favorite for the past 2-3 years. In that time I have read 10 of his books (follow me on Goodreads!). I felt stupid with giddiness, because how often do you get to gather with a flock of nerds to meet someone who has written some of the most awe-inspiring fiction you've ever read? His mind is a crazy tangle of brilliance. Although I have favorites among his work (The Way of Kings wins everything), I want to read everything he writes. He is a constant inspiration for me to keep writing. 

We were able to hear his thoughts on writing and creativity, as well as a reading from one of his unpublished works called Perfect State. It should be coming out sometime this year. As he read, I felt nervous on his behalf. He was reading to a room packed full of people, words and characters that he created - I was keenly aware that he is a real person, a vulnerable person. The fact that he is also a professor must help his confidence in situations like these, but I honestly can't imagine that feeling. Normally an author doesn't get that kind of instant reaction to their writing. Their books go all around the world to faceless readers, and they can only hope that their books are enjoyed and understood. But reading it out loud? I get a cold sweat just thinking about it. 

Overall it was pretty sobering, coming face-to-face with someone who has created a myriad of characters that seem as real to me as he is. We were able to get a few of our hardcovers signed, and I was able to ask him some questions about his writing process and glean some magical knowledge from his supernatural brain. (He recently wrote two books "on accident" while he was supposed to be writing something else. He's a robot). Dusty also asked him my bookish questions, which was fun. The book he would memorize is the Bible (or the Dictionary), which seems pretty practical for a writer. If he could become a book on a bookshelf it would probably be his own The Way of Kings, and the book he would recommend to absolutely anyone would be Harry Potter or Les Mis, which is his favorite classic. 

The entire evening was one of excitement and revelation. Dusty and I talked at length about the plot of my book, and I have pretty much started from scratch. With Dusty (and Sanderson) to help me work out all of the plot-holes and kinks, I can make my way through the writing of my rough draft with more clarity and confidence. Dusty is the logical one, the outliner and the plotter. Apparently I'm a pantser (a writer that plans nothing, and simply flies by the seat of their pants, so to speak). I'm constantly surprised when I write, and the story comes alive as I go. Unfortunately that means that by the time I've written for any amount of time, earlier segments can begin to unravel. 

So. With Dusty's structure, Sanderson's example, and my ideas, we should be able to come up with something pretty great. It was just such a cool experience to meet an author I revere and idolize, and to actually say to him, "So, I'm writing a book....". It has given me a fresh dose of motivation to push forward -- word by word. 

P.S. I'm in love with this dress, and a little bit obsessed with the jewel-faced watches from Rumba.