Spotlight on Writing

I’m close to finishing another chapter in our Ancient Greece Book. This one has gone fairly smoothly, with the exception of whenever I get to the end of a scene. In every book, there are places where one scene ends and another begins, within the same chapter. Perhaps you might see a scene divider denoting its end, or maybe some eye-pleasing small-caps beginning the next paragraph.

Whatever the method employed, the scene breaks are necessary to save the readers from dredging through the mundane life of the character, and it allows the author to time-skip to the exciting bits. Without scene transitions, a novel would probably be ridiculously long and boring. But there is usually a thread that binds each scene in the chapter together, not unlike the stitching on a patchwork quilt. This is done sometimes by linking specific words from the previous scene into the new scene. Sometimes the author refers to a specific event, object or goal the character had previously been thinking about. Or, the author might simply refer to a time period passing by starting with, ‘two days later’ or something similar. Usually, the scenes themselves are unique. They may take place in a different location, or involve different characters, like the patches of the quilt. And though it appears random, I can guarantee that the maker of that quilt has selected each piece so that it fits together in perfectly.

Patchwork Pieces

Unfortunately, I have not been succeeding such an illusion of disordered symmetry when it comes to my chapter. There are many working parts to this chapter, many characters who come on and off stage, and never at the same time. Still, I push through in the hopes that once I’ve come to the end of it, I will be able to smooth over the abrupt transitions and stitch my pieces together, so the plot binds together, creating a unique work of art.

Personal Update

I have been feeling rather rusty when it comes to my job. Only natural when you’ve been out of the workplace for several years, and especially when starting a new job in a new country. But, my energy levels have been sapped to zero, and I feel there is just so much to learn! Slowly, I am trying to find my feet, every day pushing through, every evening falling asleep on the sofa midway through watching a TV show, every night doing surgeries in my dreams.

Honestly, there have been moments where I’ve felt like giving up. Which sounds crazy when you consider just what I went through to get this job. Nursing in Canada… it’s the same, and it’s different.

Same surgeries. Different methods. Same goals. Different skillset.

At the root of it is homesickness, I think. Brought on by the never-ending comparisons as my mind attempts to integrate the new with the old. I miss the way New Zealand operating rooms work. But, I trudge forward in my new life. It will get easier… it already is getting easier, day by day.