The Fantasy Gate

Mild Insanity

2009-07-09T04:14:00.000-07:00

Well. I sure haven't updated this sucker in a bit, so I doubt anyone is even checking here anymore, but what the hey. Let's post.

I understand why artists are a little nutty. Or, rather, I understand a bit of why I'm a bit nutty. I imagine it's pretty close to someone who hears voices in their head, something urging them on to do something. Often, as I try to fall asleep I get this burst of inspiration, or perhaps it's really just an odd sort of longing. In any case, this thing makes me want to get up, boot my computer, and work on some random stuff. Even when I'm sick, even when I know I should get some sleep because I have to get up early, because... because I have to. Because if I don't, I'm somehow less of whatever it is I should be.

So here I am, awake at four in the morning, listening to music and working on another book. And now writing this post, of course. Because I have to. Because if I don't, well, I'll just be up for another few hours thinking about how I should and how working on this story is more important than feeling healthy and awake in the morning. This, of course, is just a minor part of my minor insanity, but it certainly doesn't help with the part of me that pretends to be normal.

And since I mentioned I was working on this story, I should mention this other bit - I threw up another blog into the vastness of the internets. I'll be using this other blog to post a chapter of this new book each week, until I either finish or decide posting is a bad, horrible idea. I've been toying with the idea of doing some self marketing and promotion via the internet, taking control of my destiny, speaking with my own voice, etc, so this is a way for me to dip my toes into those waters to see how I like it. It's a private blog, you need to be invited to see it, so if you're reading this and didn't get an invite already, just let me know about how I've overlooked your poor soul and I'll send you one. Unless I have no idea who the hell you are.

And now I'm going to get back to working on this book. Maybe I'll get to see the sunrise too. Haven't done that in a bit. Could be fun.

I love the summer.

NaNo

2008-11-02T11:12:00.001-08:00

It's November! Hooray!

I began my nano yesterday. My working title is Shattered Soul. I don't know if I want to keep that title yet. The title fits the overall trilogy I have in mind, but I'm not certain it relates well enough to book one. I guess we'll see for sure when I finish it!

This time I'm trying to write the sucker from a first person point of view. It's a little strange because the most I've ever done from first person was Eye for an Eye (short story that became my first novel, Death to Life) and short little journal excerpts in last years nano, Duty's Tomb. I think the speaker's voice may be a little too formal right now, but as I get going I'll probably get in the swing of it and loosen it up.

My goal today is to get to 6,000 words. That should put me somewhere near the end of chapter two or at the beginning of chapter three. I have a loose outline I'm working with right now, so at least I kind of know where I'm going with it. I also have several pirate and ship books sitting near my computer so that I can try to be accurate and immersive with my details.

If you'd like to read a small excerpt from the beginning of Shattered Soul, you can click on over to here. I'll be changing the excerpt posted every now and then when I find something that I like. My sister has also written a bit (and is ahead of me right now!). You can see her profile by clicking to my writing buddies then clicking on Muskrat. I have to admit I am surprised and very touched that she mentions dedicating her novels to me. I look forward to reading more of her nano as well as the nano of anyone else who decides to participate!

Quest for the Object

2008-10-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

Hey, y'all. I've been very busy lately, getting ready for NaNo, playing WoW, and of course my 20 units of school. It's a little stressful, but so far I'm managing it. Parts of school I even enjoy, like a recent observation assignment. I was told to observe someone for about ten minutes. That person couldn't be aware that I was observing them. Then I had to write a short little paper about that.

It took me awhile to choose who to observe, but eventually I chose my nephew, who is the cutest baby of them all. The end result was pretty good, I think. At least, the students who read it in class liked it and the teacher now wants a copy to keep as an example. And since strangers like it, I decided to post it here for people I know to read. I hope you enjoy it!

Quest for the Object

He progressed slowly, each movement coming in a quick jerk. His body was low to the ground, a fistful of course strands of carpet filling his small hand every time he moved. Left hand and right leg forward. Then right hand and left leg. Snap one set forward and then the other, one after the other.

Suddenly he needed a break. This was a safe spot along the path and he rocked backwards, coming to a sitting position in another unsteady, teetering movement that was much like his crawling. His dark eyes swept the room, taking in the one side he had left behind, and then focusing on where he still needed to go. His goal was somewhere that way, towards the bright light. He stared, trying to lock the goal back in his sight. Where was it? He could not move until he saw it.

There! His mouth dropped into a wide grin. A high pitched squeal ricocheted through the room and he shut his mouth, listening. Then, realizing that the strange squeal had come from his own mouth, he squealed again. It was small war cry, spurring him ahead as he once again tilted forward and wobbled ahead, hand and leg, hand and leg.

The goal wasn’t far away now, but he sensed movement to the side. Long shadows spread across his prize, darkening the path. He paused only for a moment to look at this threat. His head had to tilt up and up, twisting to the side at an awkward angle. There was a giant standing there, coming towards him and his prize.

It was a giant he had seen before and it didn’t worry him. He let loose another high pitched war cry, grinning at the giant and taunting it. As it often did, the sound made the giant pause and smile back. The giant’s smile made him giggle, filled as it was by so many sharp white things, so different from his own smooth gums which contained only two tiny teeth on the bottom lip.

He giggled at the giant’s foolishness and launched himself forward, now crawling faster than ever. The object was now just a foot away. An inch! In his hand!

Both of his hands swooped down around the object, determination paying off. He leaned back to sit once again and marveled at the object’s bright colors, the many runes and pictures painted on its smooth surface. And then, in one swift, abrupt movement he brought it to his mouth, soft gums crashing against the cube’s edges.

The giant was now beside him. She bent down, sweeping both him and the object up high into the air. Still, he wasn’t worried. He had his object.

“Little love,” the giant said, her head leaning close to him, her voice soft. “What do you have there?”

He merely smiled, mouth widening around the object he still chewed. She knew what he had. She knew it was his object now. He had won.

Procrastination is a crime...

2008-08-20T01:54:00.001-07:00

I have been working on my latest novel, Zix, and reached the halfway point. And, right on schedule, I have decided that all 50k words are crap.

This happens with every novel I work on. The only exception is my very first novel attempt which hit over 100k before I took a serious look at it. I was very unoriginal and full of myself. Now, I'm able to keep momentum going until about the halfway mark and then I panic. I look back and see all the errors. And I'm torn between wanting to fix them all, or running away from it and starting something new, untainted by the reality of actually writing it all down.

On the one hand it's nice to know that this is normal for me. Having actually gotten full drafts of two novels, I know that what I have to do is slog on through. In another 25k things will look less horrible and I'll be able to use the brief burst of optimism to finish the rest. I just have to get over all these lingering doubts that haunt the 50k mark.

Of course, these doubts mean I haven't written in two days. Two days aint bad, but two days often leads to a week which leads to me questioning my writerly ways. Since I've finished one novel in each of the past two years I want to finish another one this year. Before November, to be more accurate, because that's when NaNo begins. But, on the other hand, it might be more productive to go back to one of those full novels and go my merry way rewriting them. Buuut does that mean I'm a crap writer if I wrote 100k in new novel material this year but that 100k is from two 50k half completed novels? I know it doesn't, but it rankles anyway.

In another news, school starts next week. I'm both excited and terrified about it. First off, I decided to audition for one of the school's wind ensembles. The problem here is that the only one that works with my schedule for the first semester is their top ensemble. This means I have to beat out music majors. I was in the top ensemble at The Beach, then went and got a masters in performance, so I think I can do it, but I haven't been practicing much at all this past year. The excerpts I've chosen are cool, but I worry about freaking out and/or bombing the sight reading. Aw well, I guess if I don't get in the ensemble I can buy me some solo literature to work on.

I'm also a little anxious about the classes I'll be taking. They're all teacher classes, so they should be very straightforward and easy. It's not the material I'm worried about, it's my classmates. I want to get along with them since I know that there will probably be group projects and such. I also don't want to feel old. Since these are night classes though there should be plenty of students who don't have that barely out of high school look, so I'm probably worrying about nothing on that front.

And that's all I'm talking about today. This is actually procrastination from writing. I should stop doing that because it seldom helps the situation. It sure is easier, though.

Summer Time

2008-07-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling pretty content lately. A few weeks ago I was able to register for the classes I need to take this fall. The only annoyance so far in the schedule is that I have class until around 10pm on Mondays which means I'll have to take a break from the community band. I'm also still waiting on my student teaching assignment, so who knows where and when that will be, but hopefully I'll find out well enough in advance.

Because of this Monday issue, I've been practicing a little bit each day to get ready to audition for one of the bands at this college. The only one that fits my schedule for the fall is the top band which means I'd have to beat out music majors. I'm trying to contact the department chair to make sure it is all right for me to audition anyway. I'd love to be able to play with a college level band for a bit again.

In the world of writing, I've been working on a couple projects, the main one being Zix. I still haven't decided on a title, but it's getting more interesting. It's certainly different from what I've done so far and I hope it's a good story when I'm finished with it. I've also been toying with ideas of how to rewrite a few sections of Piper's Debt before sending it out again, and I have a load of ideas for other works which I'll eventually be choosing between for NaNo.

That's all that's really interesting with me right now. Got a lovely leather bag in Mexico for when I begin school again. Maybe its prettiness will help keep me from being annoyed when people ask me certain questions. Foolish Frost and his road less traveled by. The poem doesn't mention the people standing where the paths cross asking you why the heck you decided to go that way. Ah well.

End of May Update

2008-05-28T23:49:00.001-07:00

I've been getting myself stressed out again.

It's mostly because of my current job. It has been... let's say special. Those who know me well know enough of what is going on that I won't go into details. Because of this annoyance I just filled out fafsa and am going to call the financial aid office tomorrow. If I can get even a little bit then I won't need to work the full summer. That would be an enormous relief.

If I can kick this job to the curb I can spend the summer working on my current novel, Zix. Zix is just the working title, it will get a real title later. Zix is the name of the main character. I named her that because it sounds cool. Zix. Awesome.

Meanwhile I'm still waiting to hear from the agent who is reading of Piper's Debt. I really hope she wishes to represent me. If she does, I wouldn't mind doing another big rewrite to that project. Heck, if she doesn't I might still do a rewrite. I think the book still has hope. Same with Death to Life. I think I'm getting much better about writing things like resumes and query letters. I just need to think of them as tiny artworks as well and then they're more fun. I'm sure they're more fun to look at too.

And that's it that's going on with me right now. Still trying to become a teacher. Oh yeah, I was admitted into both the college and the credential program. And my application to student teach went through. If nothing it should be an interesting year, one that I am rather excited about. Just gotta figure out this annoyance at work. Then all will be joyous again. Hooray.

Happy Day

2008-05-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

Good news!

At the end of march I sent out ten letters to agents. Seven of them came back with negative replies. Two I haven't heard from.

One wants to read the rest of the manuscript.

So I spent all of today doing a surface edit. Yes, as soon as I got the letter I sat down and spent my day reading the whole novel, making tiny little changes all over.

I'm excited because I have never gotten a request for a full before. It doesn't mean anything really, just that there's a little interest in the general story, but I feel it's a step in the right direction. But at the same time I'm panicking. I suddenly want to rewrite the first ten chapters. Instead I'm sending it out in the mail tomorrow. Maybe I'll rewrite the first ten chapters later, just in case this comes back in three months with another rejection.

I'm trying not to over think it. I have a third novel in the works, working title "Zix." It's very different from the other two. I was supposed to spend all of today working on that, but this letter got me sidetracked. I want to allow myself to get excited about this, but as I said before it may mean nothing.

Or it could mean I'm that much closer to getting an agent. Oh me oh my!

Me Right Now

2008-04-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

All right, I've been silent for over a month. What's been going on?

Well, first off my parents decided to get a pool for the summer. It's one of those sort that you put up with poles and such. It's four feet deep and about fourteen across. Today, I decided to float around for a bit and read. But, the water was really cold. So after floating around for about an hour, sipping tea and reading, my rear is now frozen. I will probably wait until it's a bit warmer outside before doing such again.

Next, I have finished editing Piper's Debt and sent off letters to ten agents. I'm in an angry, bitter mood at the moment, so I expect to receive form rejections from them all. When I'm in a less bitter mood I think I have a chance with this one, but knowing how horrid the odds are I have moved right on to the next project and am about four chapters into it. The working title for this project is "House Elf." And no, it's not the Dobby sort of house elf though they both have roots in the same lore.

In other news, I've been doing a lot of reading, which isn't really that much of a news item since I usually go through about a book a week. I just finished another one of Anne Bishop's books, which was great. Anne Bishop and Laurrel K. Hamilton provide me with my guilty pleasure reading and I aint ashamed to admit it. Yesterday I bought two books by authors I haven't read and one by an author I have read, making my to be read pile even bigger. I like to stare at the row of books I haven't read and anticipate how fun it will be to read each one.

And finally, I'm awaiting the results from the CSET test. If I pass that I'll probably be able to do the credentialing program this next year. If I didn't, I honestly don't know what I'll do. And there is a strong possibility I didn't because that test was crazy hard. I keep trying to tell myself I can just retake it or use one semester to take the classes I need to fulfill the requirement, but I also have this strong need to move on with life and have my own place. I keep trying to shove those feelings down because I don't have the right resources yet, but it's hard. Ah well.

CBEST Results

2008-02-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

I passed the CBEST.

I sat staring at the email for several minutes. Initially I was excited and then I experienced an odd state of terror. There is a series of things I told myself I would do the moment I discovered I passed. And now I have to do these things. I'm going to give myself the night to let it sink into my brain, but then I have to take action. ...I'm going to be so stressed, but hopefully it leads to something good.

Speaking of stressful things, I'm editting Piper's Debt right now. Most of the beginning is the same, but I just ran into a chapter I think I may want to replace with something completely different. I'm having major doubts about my capability right now, but am forcing myself to keep going.

And in other news, I'm in World of Warcraft again. I'm on a different server, where I'm a guild master, playing a new character. A mage. Making things explode does a lot to make me feel better after stressing about the above things all day. KABOOM! It's so much easier to level now so I'm considering making a warrior too. Leveling two warriors to 70 just isn't enough torture, apparantly.

My Hate List

2008-02-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

Want to know who's on top of my hate list today? Crystal Images USA. I'd link their website, but that might help their google ratings and I don't want that. I don't want that because they have made me very very angry. How did they do that? Let me start at the beginning...

My sister has planned a subtle Disney theme for her reception. This includes some beautiful centerpieces, each featuring a Disney couple. These Disney couples would be on custom crystal ornaments. Sounds nice, right?

Well, my sister finds the pictures of the characters she wants, but then starts getting rather stressed out about it. Me, being Maid of Honor and an all round caring sister, say, "Don't worry about it. Give me the pictures and I'll take care of the ornaments."

So, I go online and search for places that do this. I find Crystal Images USA. Knowing that Disney can have crazy copyright issues, I shoot off an email asking them if they can do this. They say sure, send the pictures and submit the order. I do so, asking to please send mock-ups before making the ornaments because sister is worried that the pictures won't translate well. They send three beautiful mock-ups. I say it looks great! Add the wedding date, and ship these on out!

Over a month passes. I ordered in late November, figure I'll wait until Christmas is over, then send another email. I say I'm understanding about the Christmas rush, but could I get the ornaments soon?

I get a reply almost immediatly. Yes, they were very busy and they're moving offices. They should be settled by January 28 and the order will go right out.

January comes and go. This brings us to about a week ago. I send another email. I want to know where my ornaments are.

A week passes. No reply.

Now I'm starting to freak out. I grab the phone. I call them. I ask about my ornaments. They ask for my last name. I tell them. And guess what they say? Go ahead! Here it comes: We can't do Disney pictures.

WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS TO START WITH?

That's what I should have said. But no, I'm nice. I take a deep breath and ask for my money back. He tries to tell me that I can get different pictures! My sister does not want different pictures. She wants Disney pictures. That's the whole blasted point.

Anyway, I'm getting a check in the mail and trying a place that actually has a contract with Disney to sell from their parks. I think I asked once if they could do Disney characters and they said no, but I'm trying one last time. If you don't see beautiful custom crystal ornaments at my sister's wedding, don't ask me about them unless you want to hear this rant. I won't be able to help myself.

V-Day

2008-02-14T09:04:00.000-08:00

Happy V-Day. May you have lots of candy and love.

I bought myself some candy. I feel that I'm worth it. I also went to Disneyland yesterday and bought myself some pretty earrings which I am wearing now. Wearing pretty things always makes the day better.

Wait, yesterday was a Wednesday. Don't I work on Wednesdays? Normally, yes. But yesterday I had a consultation about Lasik surgery. I'm going to have it done near the end of March. I will be able to see without any blasted contacts or glasses. This is a very very good thing and I'm excited about it.

Oh, and last weekend I took the CBEST test. I won't know the results until the end of the month. I'm starting to have worries like did I put all my math answers in the reading section? Did my answer sheet have the right name on it? Was there a fourth secret version of the test that I missed? Did I answer the questions that were actually on the test or did I somehow make up my own questions thus making my answers very wrong? AAAH!

And this is what spurs me to write more. Being crazy = more writing? Yep. It helps ease my chaotic mind and lets me pretend there's always that bit of hope I'll get published and the world will fill with rainbows. And unicorns. Unlikely, but it's nice to think about.

Happy V-Day, all.

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Super Tuesday, everyone! Did you remember to vote?

I did. I was planning on voting at about 7:30pm since I wouldn't have time until then, but voting late in the day is lame. It is especially lame if they go ahead and announce results before you've had a chance to cast your ballot. And so, when I hopped in my car at 6:50am this morning, I thought, "What the hey. Why don't I vote now?"

And I did. Right around the corner I zipped to stand in the cold morning air for five minutes waiting for the polls to open. I was the second person to vote there and am now proudly wearing my sticker.

Some other fun stuff outside of Super Tuesday -

1) I found a really cute webcomic. It is called When Curiousity Met Insanity. The artist works at Disneyland and is basing this off the relationship as she sees it between Alice and the Mad Hatter there. I thought that was a very weird fanfic pairing, but it's actually very cute and fitting. Go read it.

2) I wrote a short story. It's only a little over 1,000 words, but I think I'm gonna rewrite it to give it a humerous twist and make it a little longer. Then maybe I'll submit it to a few places.

3) I'm still playing lotro, and might get a lifetime membership. It would be really cool to see the game when they finally get to Mordor, but that will be awhile. I also don't anticipate the population getting much bigger. In fact, by then it will probably be smaller. And so, point 4...

4) I'm probably gonna buy me some Warhammer Online when it comes out. I'm watching for open beta/ stress testing in the meantime. (I did sign up for closed but haven't gotten in.) At first I thought it would be a lame WoW duplicate, but after I actually gave it a closer look it seems very fun. I'm leaning towards the side of Destruction right now, but my main would be wherever my friend's are.

5) I'm slogging through the CSUN application process. Getting into the school is easy. Getting into the credential program is a pain in the butt. I swear, it's the most convuluted application process I have ever seen, and I've done big long interview/ auditions. I have to interview to see if I need to take a test, I know I need to take another test, then I need to interview after the application is finally in. I have a whole lot more I could say about that, but it isn't very nice so I'll end here.

Happy Super Tuesday, all. Get out there and vote.

Bits and Pieces

2008-01-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

One person has finished Piper's Debt. They gave me some very good feedback which I will keep in mind during my next edit. I'm hoping to do this next edit sometime before the summer so that I can begin sending out query letters around then.

Meanwhile I'm working on some ideas for both Duty's Tomb and The Shadow Waltz. I'm not sure which one will be the next book to get my entire attention. They're completely different stories, though one has a lot more headway into a rough draft than the other.

As for the other parts of my life, they're still driving me mildly crazy. I wish I could find a set direction, but that never seems to work out for me. I once spoke about this with my mentor in grad school and he mentioned some eastern based theory about how some people are meant to live multiple lives at once. It's an odd idea, but at times when I'm feeling like this I find myself thinking back on that.

In other news, I'm trying to get myself to do some little exercises and stretches each day. I also try to eat salads, and chose grilled chicken over fried, little things like that. But then I get a stack of candy in front of me and eat all of it. I don't really need to lose weight, but would like to feel a little more fit. Maybe feeling more healthy would give me the energy I need to do at least a few more of the many things I want to.

Sexy Hobbits

2008-01-07T08:39:00.001-08:00

First, I'd like to thank you dewds for your comments regarding my last entry. I'm still feeling apprehensive about all topics listed there (except for sweeney todd) but at least I can feel like I have the support of wonderful people.

Second, I'm sick. I caught a cold over the weekend and keep sneezing. Slogged on in to work today hoping I could keep myself busy and ignore it. We'll see how that goes.

And third, I've begun making posts and annoying shout outs online to attempt to recruit for the kinship I'm part of on Lord of the Rings Online. I've never done the recruiting for one of these before, so I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it right. If all else fails, my sexy hobbit is going to start propositioning any kinless person she sees wander into the Prancing Pony.

"Hey, baby. You looking for a good time? Then join my kinship. Together we'll penetrate all the way through The Rift. Wink wink, nudge nudge."

...Yeah, let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Rawr?

2008-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with one of the songs from Sweeney Todd in my mind, so I took my mp3 player with me to work so that I could listen to the soundtrack while I worked. It really is a beautiful soundtrack, despite the material.

I haven't heard anything from the people reading my book, other than they've recieved it and one is on chapter nine. It's been a week. I usually take a week, maybe two, to finish a book, but I try to remember most people aren't this obsessive and some of the people I sent to only read one book a year if they're feeling particularily inspired, but still. It's driving me mad.

Meanwhile I applied to take the CBEST and to be admitted to CSUN. I put the wrong email adress on the CSUN application so I'll have to call to fix that. (I applied there for grad school, though I ended up somewhere else. All my old information was still in their database.) Why am I doing all this? Because I'm a directionless fool.

Bah. Back to listening to Sweeney Todd.

The Piper's Debt, Version 2.0 - Complete

2007-12-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

I have finished editting the Piper's Debt. That right, I'm speedy. There are about two thousand less words than there were before. I chopped out hundred of adverbs, took away stupid filler phrases, changed the age of the children, changed the name of Vivian's maid, added in some extra tiny hints so that the reader may infer extra things, etc. Point is, the thing is done.

I feel very excited and yet afraid of sending it to people. I took some chances in this story that I haven't before, though I don't think anyone will see the chances as such. I think this story is much better than Death to Life and am anxious to get feedback.

I will be sending out copies for people to read tonight. Some people will have their copies delayed because I need their email. (I'm looking at YOU, Jimmy! Though I see an MSN contact on your blog. I"ll probably try that.) After that comes one of the parts I hate the most - Waiting a month for everyone to finish reading. It's painful. Very, very painful.

Two books written. Time to work on finishing a third.

**EDIT** I sent a copy to the email listed for Tenas at the End of Eternity forums. If this is a bad email let me know so I can resend. kthxbai!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

I got to work today and there were presents on my desk. I got a new pair of pretty blue gloves, a book of cat stories, mechanical pencils and a book of word searches.

In addition to the gifts I was given four cards. I have arranged the cards on my desk to that I can see all of them. Normally I don't care for cards, but these ones have given me a happy feeling and I'm enjoying taking little breaks to admire the pictures. It really makes me feel the holiday spirit.

I'm also making great progress in editting Piper's Debt. I am now over halfway done. Maybe copies can be sent out sometime between Christmas and New Years.

This weekend is going to be very busy. Between editting Piper's Debt, going to the movies, going to Disneyland, having brother and his wife over for Christmas Eve and going to his house on Christmas, I have a plenty to keep my attention. It promises to be a great four day weekend. I hope all of you have great weekends as well and I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Interesting and Hypnotizing

2007-12-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting little site. When you search for an author it shows what other authors people who liked that one would also read. I typed in the names of some of my favorite authors to see what would happen. Terry Pratchett comes up very close to Douglas Adams. This makes perfect sense since while one is fantasy and one science fiction they both write very enjoyable satire. Neil Gaiman and Tolkien also lurk nearby, which once again, makes sense. What makes me giggle is Jane Austen floating her way along the bottom of the screen.

You can also search by title and topic. Searching for God brought up two R. A. Salvatores and Drew Carey. Bizarre.

Customer Service

2007-12-11T11:46:00.001-08:00

If my brother worked in customer service, he'd probably be a bit like this guy.

Mini Rant

2007-12-10T23:25:00.000-08:00

I don't think I can finish Duty's Tomb right now. It seems whenever I get to the middle of a project I get very angry at it. This time, instead of sitting around and growling at it and getting nothing done, I'm going to move right over to editing Piper's Debt. Several people have expressed interest in reading the rough draft for me. I want to fix up the end and make a few other changes before giving out copies. I just don't think it would be fair to make people read through all that when it currently has the lamest ending of ever. My goal is to have the rough draft ready to be viewed right after the holidays.

For those who wish to beta read, please understand the following: It is a novel. A full novel. I will send you an electronic copy, but most people go nutty and print it out before long. It takes about 80 pages, front and back, right now, though it will probably be a little longer after this edit. I know saying the thing is long may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I give just a sample of something out and people burst a vein at the length.

Second, I'm only going to want plot and character advice. There will probably be gaping holes even after this edit that I will miss. That's going to be the main focus. After the beta readers have read it, I will spruce these things up. THEN I will want a deeper reading for typos and such. Only then. If you only want to read a polished version this first reading is not for you! If you like to watch the creative process, however messy it gets, then you are more than welcome to two reads.

Finally, this first read through must be done a month from when I decide to hand out copies. If you can't read it in a month, sorry. I only wait more than a month for agents. Besides, if it takes someone longer than a month a lot of the novel could have already changed making a chunk of their advice moot.

I feel kind of mean saying all of that, but I've gotten a lot of well intentioned offers of help before that ended in sadness. I don't want any of that to happen with this group of beta readers. If you're still interested, let me know. I'll try to get this edit done in a timely fashion. I'd love to have this making the agent rounds by this summer.

Thank you for all of your support.

NaNo 2007 - Success!

2007-11-27T15:37:00.000-08:00

I have reached the 50k mark in Duty's Tomb! Do you want to read it? But you don't have enough time for all 50,000 words? Don't worry! Microsoft Word can narrow it down to just ten sentences!

Duty's Tomb

“Cal. “Kesia.” “Kesia! Kesia, right?”
Ronat. Kesia nodded. “Ronat?”
Kesia smiled. Kesia?”
“Ronat.”

Wow! Microsoft Word has captured it perfectly!

Now as some of you have caught on, 50,000 words is a win for NaNo, but only half a novel for me. I'm going to keep writing this. I hope to have the rough draft done within a couple months, and while I do that I 'm considering giving some people a copy of Piper's Debt to look for character and plot errors. They would have about a month to read it before I will begin working on the rewrite. And these people would be among the first to read the rewrite. Unless I chicken out and decide to rewrite before anyone sees it at all. I'm still thinking about that. And maybe I'll auto-summarize that too! Exciting!

Gobble Gobble

2007-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

It is almost Turkey Day. That means it is almost four day weekend time! Whoo!

I will spend most of my long weekend hanging out with family, eating, catching up on my writing, eating, playing lotro, and eating.

Thursday will be fun. We're having Thanksgiving at my brother's house this year, and he is going to be making the turkey. There will also be fudge, and sweet potatos and cranberries, and stuffing, and mmm mmm mmmm!

And what better way to continue the celebration of Thanksgiving than by playing a hobbit in lotro? Why, if my #%$& hobbit was still named Smeagal. Yeah, that's right, I was reported. I had to change my name, so now I am Vicia. I was going to ask to be The Hobbit Formally Known as Smeagal, but doubted they'd go for that.

Since my hobbit is almost level 20, I have been browsing the forums to learn more about my class. I never did this in WoW because I had people like Jimmy and my brother to tell me what to do. Now I am a the lone burglar in our current kinship and must seek out burglar knowledge...

Which eventually led me to the hobbit forum. Let me tell you, there are a lot of threads there about hobbit feet. Some people don't realize you can go into the options and hide your shoes to reveal your lovely hobbit feet. This means many people are in an outrage at being forced to have their hobbits wearing shoes! It's hilarious, really.

Meanwhile, I'm still ahead in NaNo land. Either today or tomorrow I will hit the 40k mark. I'm hoping to get 50k before the 25th so that I can have a purple bar as soon as possible. (A purple bar in NaNo land is how they show that you're a winner.)

And that's all the news that I want to spout out right now. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Three Day Weekend! Squee!

2007-11-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

I'm at a bit of a snag right now, which really shouldn't surprise me, but it does. I'm at 21,000 words. I haven't written anything today, and doubt I'll get out much. At 21,000 words Something Big should happen. Things should begin to Go Somewhere. I don't know where though. I'll try to figure it out this weekend

Other things I've been up to (in list form!)

*Teaching two students. I'm not taking anymore students at the moment because I'd like to keep my evenings relatively free. If I ever need the supplemental income again it'll be easy enough to build back up.

*Playing in a community band. It's a lot of fun, though I'm looking into joining up somewhere else. This band has spirit but the music isn't very challenging. The Christmas program has a lot of fun things in it, though, so I'm enjoying that.

*Taking horse back riding lessons. I used to take lessons as a kid, and it's one of those things I really missed along with roller skating. I recently took this back up and have been riding for about two months now. Most of the time I'm sure my horse is laughing at me.

*Lord of the Rings Online. Quit WoW and started this up about a week ago. I'm a burglar named Smeagal. For realz. The graphics are beautiful and I'm addicted to these pie delivery quests.

And that's about it! Plenty of things to keep me out of trouble. I'm very excited about the upcoming weekend since it contains three whole days and all I have planned so far is to celebrate some old fogey's birthday. Otherwise I'll be playing LotRO and working on my NaNo. Hopefully I'll overcome this snag in the story and get out plenty of words. Last year it took me until August to actually finish the book that began as a NaNo. Which, I admit, is better than the three years it took to finish the one before that. This time I hope to finish the rough draft by January at the latest. Then I can return to Piper's Debt and do a rewrite so that people can be reading it by the summer. How exciting!

That was a long post. I've been trying to make more short ones since I know a lot of people don't like reading through stuff like this. But I can't help myself sometimes. It's shameful.

NaNo - Day Five Progress Report

2007-11-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

15,000 words out of 50,000 done. Pretty good or the first five days, right? Right.

And depsite all this output I still have no idea where this story is going. Every day I sit down in front of my computer and think, "Okay, now what?" Only one night has passed in story time, and I think the pacing is going fairly well, but where am I plodding to? I really hope it's somewhere good. I'm grasping onto my general idea and hope that knowing the ending will help.

Twenty-five more days to go, and I'm ahead of schedule. Other than wondering where the plot is heading, all is good.

Here we go!

2007-11-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

NaNo is officially underway! I wrote my first 3000 words today. In that 3000 words is a small journal entry and two chapters. The journal entry is a little out there and the first chapter is very introspective, so they don't work well as excerpts. The second chapter suits that purpose better, so I posted a wee excerpt from there. It is here. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T08:11:00.001-07:00

Well, it's Halloween and we all know what that means. No, no, not trick-or-treating. Not costume parties. NaNoWriMo begins at midnight tonight!

I never got those ten chapters outlined. I have about four or five instead. That should be good enough as I normally dive into a novel with only the opening scene in mind. I also thought up several more characters that will create conflict so I'm hoping the main plot will clear itself up in the midst of the character clashings.

Also, I have done something that really isn't a good idea with NaNo starting. I have just joined a new MMORPG - Lord of the Rings Online. I made a cute little hobbit burglar and named her Smeagal. Yes, it let me get away with that. My brother is waiting for me to be reported. I don't see why I should be. I mean, Smeagol was a hobbit type before he became Gollum. My little toon could be a distant relative.

And that concludes my news for the day! I wish you all big buckets of candy on this Halloween.

Back at Home

2007-10-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm back at home now. The fire didn't touch us, though it came very close. Fire fighters are amazing. I am very grateful to be back at home and hope that the many other fires blazing tonight are also fought down so that others can go home as well.

That's Enough Damn Excitement For One Day

2007-10-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hell, that's enough for quite some time. Most of you should already know that most of Southern California is ablaze. I first heard about it when my mom called and asked me if I had looked outside. I hadn't, but I did then. A billowing cloud of gray smoke covered half the sky. Fire was near, but with the other half of the sky blue there wasn't any danger.

That didn't last. Winds were high, and the fire spread quickly. In no time at all the entire sky was filled with smoke. I half-heartedly tossed a few things into an overnight bag, but didn't expect to go anywhere.

Then I spotted the flames. Up on the hill behind our house a line of orange flared. I pulled out another bag and began throwing things into the car. Laptop. Clarinet. Clothes. Sister's wedding dress. Fig newtons. ...It's odd what you think to save and later realize you forgot.

The drive over to my brother's house was surreal. My two cats crammed themselves under the passenger's seat and wailed for only the first five minutes before quieting down. As I drove out I spotted four horses being carefully walked. One of the horse's eyes rolled back when a firetruck passed, but the rest remained alert but calm. They were probably used to the sires by now as they rarely stopped. The roar of airplanes was becoming frequent as well.

I am at my brother's house now. My family is okay and I am okay. Hopefully our house is okay. I'm not certain if we can return to it yet. I hope later today I can be working on airing out a smoke filled house that is otherwise unharmed. My heart and prayers go out to the others affected by this as well.

NaNo Calendar

2007-10-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

The first day of NaNo is only TWO WEEKS away! I'm still lacking a solid plot, but I think I'm zeroing in on something. I have about four chapters outlined which will get me well into the first weekend.

I have also discovered NaNo Calendar Wallpapers. There are a lot of good ones in that thread, and I'm thinking of using a couple of those to help remind myself of where I'm supposed to be during November. (I have a habit of pulling out a calculater to multiply the day times 1667 even when I know I'm ahead.) Some of them are funny and some have inspirational quotes.

In other news, it's been cold. Really frickin' cold. My poor frozen fingers!

EDIT - After more lurking around the NaNo forums I have found this. I think that's an interesting way of organizing a novel. I'm not sure it will work with my own style, but maybe someone else would be interested in trying it out.

We Hatez the NaNo, Precious!

2007-10-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was reading through this thread and was reminded that there are some people out there who think that NaNo is a waste of time. I can completely understand that sentiment from people who think that writers are a bunch of crazies to begin with and believe that writing a novel is a form of self-induced torture (which it is). What I don't understand are the massochists who consider themselves writers and look down on other writers for participating in NaNo.

Let's look at some facts. First, the numbers. In order to complete NaNo you must write 1,667 words a day. I usually write 2,000. When it's not November and I'm working on a rough draft I try to write about 1,000 words a day, though often I hit above that. Many professional writers claim to write about 2,000 to 5,000 a day. But they're professionals and don't have to do anything else during the day, right? Wrong. Yes, some get to swing around in comfy chairs and wait all day for the muse to hit them, but as I pointed out in a previous rant most writers can't quit their day job. This means there's plenty of published people out there writing big fat word counts.

Second, there's the factor of motivation. When I begin a work outside of November I overplan. Then I hem and haw as I stare at a blank screen and wait for The Perfect Words. The concept of The Perfect Words is a myth among writers. We like to believe that somewhere in our noggins The Perfect Words are just waiting to be discovered. And, if we sit long enough and go into a white screen trance, The Perfect Words will make themselves known. This is a lie. There are no perfect words, just a bunch of imperfect ones that will have to do. During November it is easier for me to stop crying about this and just write those words already and move on.

Which brings us to another important fact - Most first drafts are complete and utter crap. This is why no one has seen Piper's Debt yet. People don't see my work until it has been revised at least twice. By then it isn't the same work anymore. This is common practice among writers, because it's also considered rude and ask for feedback when you know that it's still in its crappy phase and you could easily fix it. If you think what you've written is okay, or you want plot advice, or if you just want people to say, "Hooray for writing a story!" then by all means, show your work. Just make sure you label it for what it is. If you want advice and know there's more work to be done, don't be afraid to say, "the grammar is teh craps, but all I want right now are pointers on the plot." Then I won't feel like a fool when I mark all the random grammar errors (which are usually just typos) and you then say, "I was going to fix that later, st00pid."

Another problem 4-realz writers have with NaNo are all those non-writers running around. These people write for fun and laughs. They are not above doing cheap and dirty things to get their word count up, which some 4-realz writers don't appretiate. They think that makes these people wannabes or that they're making a mockery of all that is writing or some such. That is crock. They're just having fun, which is the same for those of us who want to write something publishable. Isn't that why we started writing to begin with? It's why I write, pain and suffering and all. If it's fun, and doesn't hurt anyone, then nothing else really matters. These 4-realz writers can just stuff it.

No Plot? Problem.

2007-10-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've added more links to the side, so more of you are on my Official Blog Reading List. How special! That will remind me to check the pages of everyone who is being nice enough to look at mine.

Speaking of those people, thank you to all who commented on my point of view issue. I think I know how to go about this now. Now all I have to do is get a little more of an outline going before November. Before I just plunged on in, but this time I want at least ten chapters worth of outline before beginning. Right now I have three. Two and a half weeks to go!

The Eye of Argon, and Other Goodies

2007-10-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, all! Well, it seems that the nano site is working again, but not everyone who told me they will be participating has reactivated their profiles. This results in "page not found" errors and me grumbling obscenities. So, no linking from here, but if you go to my profile there, and click "writing buddies" you'll see who I would've linked to anyway. If you're not on that list, but are participating, please let me know so I can add you and stalk you.

Now, for those of you preparing for nano (or those bored and wanting entertained), I recently discovered a MST3k version of The Eye of Argon. This story is the worst fantasy epic ever, and thus very funny. The MST3k version is even funnier and can be found here. If you're a glutton for punishment, you can read the original joke-free version here. Don't worry, it's easy to make up your own jokes to go along with this.

For more reading fun, there's this great thread about fantasy cliches. Someone on there linked to this site which lists video game cliches. Much funniness.

That's enough linking. Now I will update y'all on my own nano preparation progress. I'm sure you've been waiting for this with bated breath. I am currently working on getting a little bit of an outline for Duty's Tomb so that when November comes I can plunge right in. So far I have something like this -

Ch. 1 - Someone jumps off a cliff
Ch. 2 - Same, but from bottom of cliff
Ch. 3 - Um... crap.

Yes, I have some mighty great outlines. I also have a list of names, which is MUCH more important for me than outlines. I swear, I waste more time sitting around trying to think up names than just about anything else. So this time, all my important people are already named. And they're good meaningful names, dagnabbit.

And now, after lots of babbling, it's time for the interactive part of this post. (Because clicking around to other websites and back wasn't interactive enough!) I need some thoughts. The original idea for Duty's Tomb involved a bunch of journal entries from the priestess who was being prepared to be a human sacrifice. Part of the title came from this idea. (tomb/ tome, get it? lawl.) The book would be third person limited (priestess' view) with some first person journal entries, same view. But now, I want to add in another point of view, mostly because I think it would be really freakin' awesome to describe a sacrifice as beautiful, and then describe it from the view of someone who has no idea what's going on.

All that brings me to the question - Should the journal entries still be there? Would it make any bleepin' sense? Here the options as I see them now -

1) Two points of view, both in third person. Very traditional.
2) Two points of view, one in journal form the other in the third person. Some of The Death Gate Cycle books do this, though I'm not sure how much I like that.
3) Three points of view - The journal, the priestess in third person, the other dewd in third person. Keep journal entries short, but introspective and poignant. Or as poignant as I can make them without sounding cheesy.

What do y'all think? Any other ideas? I need to know by November! AAAH!

CKS

2007-10-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have discovered what is wrong with my brother's kitten. It has CKS. Unfortunatley, there is no known cure.

It's like a metaphor

2007-10-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through Miss Snark's archives again and came across this gem -

English Teachers Listing to Port

It's great. Read it. This one made me think of my sister-in-law -

"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph."

And speaking of sister-in-laws.. apparantly she's not partaking in nano since she should be writing her graduate thesis. But who says the thesis can't be the nano? Not me!

I know of three others besides me joining in the fun. I'll link to all their beautiful profiles once the nano site is working again.

NaNo Sign-Ups

2007-10-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

It's October! You should all know what that means. ...Hey, no, not candy and pumpkins. It's time to sign-up for NaNo!

As usual, I would like to know if anyone else is going to dive in to the madness with me. The site is a wee bit slow right now (it launched sometime this past night), but it's sure to pick up as the flood of people making new accounts and reactivating old ones slows down. My profile is here. As you can see, I went ahead and decided to go with my Duty's Tomb idea. The setting and characters are beginning to come into focus, I just need to decide on some plot details before this month is up.

Now go make an account. Now, so I can add you to my writing buddy list over there. I'm assuming my lovely sister-in-law is planning on doing some writing come November since I saw her nickname reappear on that list. The rest of you, get moving! It's only 50,000 words...

Desperation

2007-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have no idea why anyone would actually want to be an artist. Those who aren't usually just see the glamorous side: 1 million dollar royalties, art showings where everyone sips champagne and nibbles cheese, the passion of creation, etc. Most people have somehow gotten the idea that all you have to do is create that piece of art and poof, everything is wonderful.

That isn't the real picture. Most artists have day jobs and will never be able to quit them. I've spoken before (though I think I've deleted that particular post when this blog was purged) of "screaming into the void." That, to me, is what art is about. You open yourself up and scream into a seeming nothingness, hoping that someone, somewhere, will hear you. Most days you're sure that no one does. On very rare occasions, once in years sometimes, your voice reaches someone and they respond. Add on a few more years and another response, and perhaps if your lucky fifty percent of the responses will be positive.

Screaming into the void fills artists with a sense of desperation. While attending art school I felt this strange vibe. It radiated from every student and was reflected in their work. It took me awhile to realize what this vibe was. Desperation. That is the most palpable emotion you will feel anywhere artists gather and create work. Desperation to be seen. Desperation to be heard. Desperation to be understood.

They'll all smile, sing and dance, but beneath the creation and the beauty is always that sense of desperation. Will what we do be enough? Will the applause at the end be sincere? When will the next acceptance come? Or will there always be rejection? Rejection of my work, and so rejection of me?

It is fact that very few are able to project their voices loud enough to be heard above all the other desperates. Does it stop any of them from trying? A few. But art is a strange addiction. Even those quieter voices will continue adding their shouts to the darkness, wishing to be heard. I'll try to remember to listen to them as I keep adding in my own shouts and maybe we can answer each other.

NaNo Time Cometh

2007-09-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday sign-ups begin. Sign-ups for what? NaNo.

I'll be reactivating my account there to get ready for my fifth year participating. Three out of the four previous years have resulted in wins, and this year is sure to bring in my fourth success. I am currently debating between two different ideas:

Duty's Tomb - The setting for this tale is near the ocean. (Why that's important I have no idea, but my muse demands it.) One of the main characters is a priestess who is essentially being trained to be a human sacrifice. The story would revolve around different types of sacrifices and why people feel they're important.

The Fantasy Gate - One of my many ideas that doesn't want to die. This would be completly in first person. The protagonist in this is a fairy soulbound into service to a particular family. The person she is currently bound to dies, and she is compelled to serve the next of kin who doesn't know about a good chunk of what his eccentric mother had been up to before she died.

I'm strongly leaning towards Duty's Tomb. It was a close second to Piper's Debt last year and I've started doing a wee bit of world building. And, unlike Death to Life, this world building doesn't involve fire breathing ducks. Yet.

You Can't Please Everyone

2007-09-18T10:56:00.001-07:00

Obviously I'm very hard at work today since I have had time to make a second post. Here's another list I stumbled upon, showing that you can't please everyone.

For example, one genius had this to say about "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee -

“I don’t see why this book is so fabulous. I would give it a zero. I find no point in writing a book about segregation, there’s no way of making it into an enjoyable book. And yes I am totally against segregation.”

I totally see the point here. Harper Lee should have written about unicorns instead. They're so much more enjoyable to read about, as well as an issue we all must deal with... on candy mountain.

Lawlerskates!

2007-09-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is only a month and a half before it's NaNo time again. Have you picked out what you're going to write? I'm currently debating between two ideas, which I'm sure I'll go into some other time. For now, I direct you to Miss Snark's Archives for some inspiration. The stuff on this list is as inspiring The Eye of Argon is. (If you haven't read The Eye of Argon, you just have to. There are no words to describe it.) One of my favorite lines listed is this -

"Weston was known for the firm but genital hold he had on his men. It was one of the reasons he was chosen for this mission over six other equally qualified men."

It made me lol. I hope you lol too.

Dreaming of Unicorns and Rainbows

2007-09-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

The weekend is almost here. Hooray! I have nothing planned for this weekend. Double hooray!

Lately almost every weekend has involved some little outing or another. They've all been a lot of fun, but they sure cut into my sleeping time. During weekdays I typically get between five-six hours of sleep, so when the weekend comes I like to go into a short little coma. Ten hours a night then is very, very good.

I've been getting even less sleep lately since traffic has gotten worse and so I have to get up even earlier. Go to bed earlier, you say? But I want my ME time. Most days I get home from work, take a ten minute nap, then head back out to teach, go to band, or ride some horsies. Then I get back home and want to write, read, role-play, and hit things with my virtual sword. Oh, and I like to eat dinner somewhere in there too. Dinner is good for me.

Not that I'm whining. Well, I am, but I wouldn't want to give any of these activities up. I just miss my sleep sometimes. We'll be reunited this weekend though. It's going to be good times.

In other news! I wrote above that I like to ride some horsies. That's right. After many years of no horsie lessons, I've started taking them again. I have to start back at the beginning since it has been so long, but that's okay. The instructor already lets me get the horse out of its stall and saddle it up on my own, though he watches and reminds me of things like how putting the bridle on upside down probably isn't a smart idea. Neither is leaving the saddle on once you've taken off everything holding it in place.

Of course, this horse doesn't mind my mistakes too much. I think he has seen every n00b riding mistake known to man. And woman. He just looks at me with these bored eyes that let me know he's oh so smarter than me, the fool who keeps forgetting at least one of the billions of straps. Or who can't remember to always sit up and lean forward since she's so busy staring at her hands or trying to keep her feet level. At night I think the horse laughs about me to all his horse buddies.

That's about all that's wassup with me right now, except that I sent out three query letters regarding Death to Life yesterday. I'm still optimistic enough right now to convince myself that at least one will ask for a partial. In another week I'll be telling myself that they're using the papers I sent them to teach their children to make paper airplanes. In a week after that I'll have probably heard back from them, for better or worse.

Oh, I made an excel spreadsheet! I'm just throwing this in here because it made me feel happy and organized. This spreadsheet is where I will record where I've sent each novel, when I've sent it, and what the reply was. This way I can send out fifty or more letters and not be confused about where I've already sent and whether or not I'm still waiting on something. And I'll have a ready-made list for when Piper's Debt is ready to be sent out. How exciting!

That's really all that's wassup with me. Enjoy your weekends! Visit your sleeps as well! My sleeps says, "Hi."

The Neptune Society

2007-08-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Two bits of news! The first is, I have finished the rough draft of The Piper's Debt! Whoooo! I plan to let it sit to the side and stew until after NaNo season. Meanwhile, I'm planning for NaNo and debating whether to try some short stories.

The second piece of news - The Neptune Society needs to stop sending notices to our house. For those of you who don't know, The Neptune Society cremates people. So, their notes often come off like little reminders of death. This alone is a little annoying, but they have upped the annoyance factor by addressing these notices to my grandmother who passed away quite some time ago.

How to solve this problem? With a pointed letter sent in the their business reply envelope! Here is what I plan to send them -

Attn Neptune Society:

One of your letters recently arrived at our house for my grandmother and namesake extolling the many virtues of cremation and advertising the possibility of winning a free cremation. You even list the name of the July 2007 winner for this contest, Mrs. S. Well, while this all may have been very exciting for Mrs. S, I regret to say that even the possibility of winning could not instill any sort of excitement in my grandmother. You see, she has been dead for over four years now.

Now, normally I would not take the time to tell you this, as I’m sure you have many other more willing bodies to deal with, but you have now sent several such notes to our house. Don’t get me wrong, I find their ill timing darkly humorous, but others in this household do not. These people find them insensitive and rather hurtful. I agree with the insensitive part, after all, you do not get much more insensitive than computer generated death reminders, and I don’t much enjoy seeing others being hurt. And so, I kindly ask you to stop sending ads and offers to this address. Those of us still living here find a bizarre comfort in our coffin ceremonies and are not going to change our minds.

Thank you very much,

Me.

I don't normally write things like this, as I'm not usually one to complain, but this particular one really got to me. Hopefully they get the point. If they don't, I'm sure I'll end up with many more envelopes with prepaid postage to send back to them.

An Update (What a creative title!)

2007-08-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

And now it's August.

This summer has gone by way too fast. Not that it matters as much as it used to. After all, this year my schedule doesn't change at all when the fall comes. It is always a bit startling to realize so much time has passed without much notice.

Part of the reason the time has gone by so quickly is because there's so much happening. Work has been going great, and almost every weekend something has been happening. This past weekend I went to Disneyland with most of my sister's wedding party. The whole group is made of great people and we had a lot of fun. The weekend before was spent at my brother's house where I spent the night because my sister-in-law had a slumber party for her birthday. That was also a lot of fun, much more fun than the slumber parties I went to as a kid.

On top of it all I've joined the community band and have continued with my writing. The Piper's Debt is almost done; the rough draft is still scheduled to be completed by the end of this month. It isn't coming together the way I would like, but that's what rewrites are for. As always I have several ideas of what I want to write about next, so even if I push this project aside as a lost cause when the first draft is done I'll at least be able to apply what I've learned to future projects.

So, basically, time is going too fast but life is okay. Not where I'd like it to be, but slowly inching that way.

I think, therefore I thought.

2007-07-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

“I think…” Crispin stopped to think about what he thought.

I've been working on The Piper's Debt, and this is the last line I've written so far today. I just had to stop for a moment because I was about to break out in giggles. What kind of stupid line is that? I typed it out thinking that I was pretty dern clever then stopped because something didn't feel right. I reread the sentence and then tried to think of another way to word it. I didn't feel like rewording it. I actually like it.

For now it's going to stay in. I should probably get rid of it later, just as I kept saying I should get rid of the exploding goat scene in Death to Life. Will I get rid of it? Well, the exploding goat scene is still there and I like it. I like this sentence too, even though it is stupid. It portrays Crispin's character very well. It keeps the tone of the book light, and sticks in a bit of humor. But would readers see this in the midst of the book and roll their eyes? Throw the book away in irritation? Laugh? Laughing is okay, as long as they aren't laughing at me, but rather with me.

I like lines like this. In the first chapter of The Shadow Waltz there's a line about the wizard wanting to get money and move out of his drafty tower. When I had this chapter reviewed only two people caught the humor in this. About the same number thought I must have not meant to be funny and should edit it out. Everyone else didn't notice at all.

And so, for now the line stays. Maybe I'll get a bit of sense in the rewrites and kick it out. Probably not. Exploding goats, people thinking about thinking, it's all good stuff.

Chris and Kyros

2007-07-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

So far it's been one of those weeks. You know, the sort where nothing horrible happens but everything seems a little bit off. My mind magnifies all of these little things into big traumatic things. I'm not going to go into any details on this because the details really do seem trivial, but suffice it to say that I'm feeling a bit frazzled.

My writing is slogging along okay. I have the next few scenes in mind as well as a vague ending. I even think that the pieces are beginning to fall into place to make the ending possible. I'm still predicting that I'll finish the first draft at some point in August, giving me plenty of time before NaNo season.

And, as promised, I posted another chapter from my work in progress. It is the tenth chapter, and before I give you the link, I want to warn you of a few things. First, it is the tenth chapter. That means stuff has happened between this and the first chapter. It is about ten years after the beginning. I selected this chapter because it contains the beginnings of the conflict I mentioned was missing. The antagonist is obviously Kyros, and the potential love interest is Chris/ Christina. (Chris is her nickname.) I thought that by showing this chapter y'all might better see what I was talking about before. Chris isn't super important, but later she's been being a bit passive which isn't right. She's supposed to be more fiery.

Anyway, you should go ahead and read Chapter Ten - Chris and Kyros. That's just a working title, but it is kind of amusing since that's the relationship I'm trying to show you by posting this particular chapter. Go forth and read it, and let me know what you think. (General plot and character stuff, no grammar garbage. This is still the first draft.) Enjoy!

Conflicts

2007-07-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have run into a bit of a problem. I have now hit 75,000 words in The Piper's Debt. For those of you who don't follow word counts, this means I'm now about three fourths of the way done. The problem is, I've realized there are some conflicts in the story that will need to be brought further out. To put this extra conflict in (a relationship between the main antagonist and a side character) I will need to do some major rewriting. Knowing how I work, it's best I ignore this and write through to the end then add this conflict in the first revision.

That, to me, is one of the hardest things about writing a novel. You get a huge chunk done, start feeling good, and then realize that it's all crap. And yet if you go back and rewrite every time you realize that then you'll never reach the end. And if you do reach the end there are bound to be huge chunks that don't make sense anymore anyway. AND even after you rewrite the whole thing you STILL find things that just aren't right.

Oh well. The rest of the novel is coming along all right. I've finally convinced myself that some things that probably don't make sense make perfect sense. They probably do because I usually over think such things. The biggest problems I have are making sure there's enough variety of conflict and that I don't use the same descriptions over and over. At least I've avoided describing the night sky. I'm addicted to describing it as "deep blackness with pinpricks of sparkling diamonds," or some variation. Eesh, I plagiarize myself sometimes.

That's enough whining for one post. Next time I'll probably slap up another sample from The Piper's Debt. One of the good parts, not the sucky ones, I swear.

Happily Writing Through the Middle

2007-06-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

The Piper's Debt is going very well. For a little while it was in a slump. You see, I have no problem beginning a novel, and once the ending has made itself known to me than that isn't a problem either. Heck, I'm 98% sure of how Piper's Debt is going to end so once I get there that will fly by. It's the middles of books that drive me bonkers.

The problem with middles, at least for me, is that that's when I realize that my conflict either isn't as big as I thought it would be or it's too big. With Piper's Debt I was beginning to worry that I had already written the biggest scene and that the rest would suck. That is no longer the case. Chapters Thirty-One through Thirty-Three are full of conflict and it's becoming fun to write again. I just need to figure out what the heck the climax is going to look like then the rest should fall in line.

The first draft is still scheduled to be done this summer. Hooray!

Ohs Noes, Where's Dem Posts?

2007-06-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

I deleted dem posts! That's right, all the posts have gone poof so that I can start fresh. Isn't that nice? I also put up a new picture under the title! Oooo, pretty!

And now down to business. What have I been up to? Well, I've graduated from CalArts, so that's done. I've also gotten a job. It's a nice job, with pleasant people and steady hours. This means I have time every night to write. Whoo hoo!

Since this was supposed to be a writing blog, let's talk about that writing, shall we? Yes, we shall. Death to Life was editted many times and I am currently trying to get an agent to help me. Agent #1 said "the query was not quite intriguing enough to inspire me to offer representation or further consideration to your project." Well, fine. FINE. I emailed another agent and if I hear nothing from them (they don't reply at all if they don't want more) then I'll send to another in two weeks.

While that madness goes on and messes with my mind, I continue to work on my latest novel, The Piper's Debt. I am now 66,000 words into it! For those of you who don't do word counts, this means I'm over halfway done. I plan to have the first draft done sometime in August and the first revision finished before NaNo time in November.

Would you like a sneak peek? Of course you would! Click this sentence to read the first chapter. If you have any comments I would be more than happy to see them, but I don't need any grammar checks at this point. Character and plot advice I'd love, but grammar doesn't come into play for at least two more drafts. Fun times. Fun times indeed.