Yan Sham-Shackleton's Blog

My Carlos Acosta Photos of the Day: http://t.co/pM0mdTy My friend worked with him once in wardrope of NYNY. She waited in the wings of stage with a thick black robe. Yet to forgive her

16000 words, 84 pages typed up -I still have about 3/4 of the handwritten first draft to transcribe. Finally I feel I am a writer

Finished the second draft ending. I like it a lot more. The original was a bit Hollywood, in fact it was uncomfortably Hollywood. Not a "happy" ending, but the scene was triumphant, even if the surrounding circumstances were not.

This ending is more subtle. Mostly conversation. It allows Isabella's next step to be open ended in a positive way, rather than frightening without any plans or ideas of what to do next. Her future relied far too much on others. Here, she has choices. Maybe her choices.

Sadly Isabella is not formed as a woman fully. She does rely very much on the men in her life. It's not what i want in my life, nor what I encourage, but when I created Isabella with her back story, her personality, it led us here, unintentionally.

But it may all change again. In the last three months, I had written out one protagonist, one best friend, one nemisis, and galloping along a boyfriend and a choreographer that I never intended to have. And as each character is written they too change.

I have many drafts so I will not know what the outcome is until I finally finish.

 

 

 

Now I need to start at the beginning...

Was giving my ending a rewrite. It dragged and turned increasingly depressing. I went for a walk with my dad, my son and the dogs under the big Australian sky and meanwhile I brought out a very large bottle of rum (for the characters) Somehow it all worked out. Alchohol solves much

Another Chinese mother and daughter book on the best seller list. Sigh.. I am thinking of killing the mothers off in mine... just kidding they are conveniently tucked away in other countries. My characters get along with their family fine, and they don't sit around talking about their history all day and night.

The world does not stop for my character. Damn it!

I have a real timeline, as things have to go in order, much like life. I can't manipulate it. It would be ridiculous to create a situation, just so one thing can happen before the other to have the ending I want. Trust me I spent three days trying to untie this knot. Then I realized the saying in show business, "The show must go on" is true. The show must go on. Isabella must dance, and seasons end on a Sunday evening. It just is. The ballet world is not making an exception for Isabella just because it means, my novel ends the way I planned.

 

--Seasons end on a Sunday evening. The ballet world is not making an exception for Isabella so my novel ends the way I planned. #amwriting

The last chapter is turning long and depressing. Can't bear to write it thus I can't expect people to read. I need to rethink. 

 

They really decide on their own

Novel Writing

The chapter I am writing now, is really making me uncomfortable. It's not what I expected. I did not know that was what these two were going to do! I did not know Isabella would be so pushy. I think some of it is unseemly, and cannot believe I am writing it!

I think these two people will follow it through. They are thinking about how to attain this. I do not want to be coy, I can cut it now, and stop where I had planned it.. but then I would not be honest.

I suppose that is writing. You have to surrender to the exposure of your intimate thoughts about the people you are writing about. So I did think these things that I am uncomfortable with, but it if you know someone really well, they make decisions that is right for them, and not the ones you choose.

Dance Magazine – If it's happening in the world of dance, it's happening in Dance Magazine.

By William G. Hamilton, MD

via dancemagazine.com

TixDaq

Two enduring loves span the life of French choreographer Roland Petit, who died yesterday at the age of 87: one was dance, the other was a dancer, Renée ("Zizi") Jeanmaire. He encountered them both at the age of nine, when he entered the Paris Opera Ballet School in 1933; Jeanmaire, also nine, was a student there.

via www.guardian.co.uk