Month: December 2009

Procrastination…

I’m so bad at it. Or, really, a little too good. All day today “Finish Zombie Chapter” has been at the top of my to-do list. And still it sits there, with no actual writing being done on said chapter. Why? Because I’ve been chasing pretty lights across the internet, of course. Most of the time, I consider myself fairly disciplined as a writer. Today? Not so much. It’s cold here. Rainy. Taking a nap sounded like a much better idea than writing. And also, checking my email incessantly for no apparent reason. But that’s over with now. I WILL finish this chapter tonight. I’ve sort of lost the feel for this story, but it should be fun anyway. I get to vicariously raid an army base and shoot things. Sounds entertaining, right?

I also need to do some work on the revisions class. Seems I’m having some difficulties pinpointing conflicts in some of my scenes, so I really need to buckle down and focus on this, so I can wrap my brain around it. I can feel a break-through looming on the horizon, but not if I continue to procrastinate. So I’m done with that. Off to work now…Wish me luck.

What I’ve Been Reading Lately

Okay, honestly, I haven’t really been reading that much lately. Shocking, I know, but I’m trying to keep up with Holly Lisle’s HTRYN class, so that’s taking up a lot of my time. And before that, it was NaNo, so there went a whole month’s worth of “free” time. But I did make time to read two much-anticipated (and big) novels by some of my favorite authors.

First up was Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson. When Robert Jordan passed away, I wondered if the Wheel of Time series would ever be finished, and if it was, if it would measure up to the rest of the series. Yes, I know there’s a lot of flack out there for this, ah, never-ending, overly-detailed storyline. So? I like it. I like getting to know characters and caring about them, and finding out all the little details of their lives. And I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed Gathering Storm quite a bit. It’s been quite a while since I read the other books, so I was more than a little bit fuzzy on recent happenings, but it didn’t take long to get my memory refreshed. Frankly, I think Sanderson’s writing blended seamlessly with Jordan’s storytelling, and I was very happy with the results. Yes, it’s detailed. Yes, it’s long. Yes, there are a lot of characters to keep up with. But this book built steadily from the beginning, and while there wasn’t really a resolution at the end (How could there be?), it had a satisfying (to me) ending.

I also read Under the Dome, by Stephen King. Every time I read a King book and I scare myself silly, I swear I won’t read another one. And then the next one comes out, and I can’t wait to read it, and end up scared again. This book…wasn’t scary. At all. I don’t think it was meant to be. This is more of a character study. And King creates some great characters, so I really enjoyed this book. Interesting premise, about a small town (in Maine, of course) that gets trapped under a mysterious dome (hence the title). And what changes the trapped townsfolk undergo. I liked the MC, “Barbie” a lot. He was a good character, a strong, upstanding and stubborn guy. The supporting cast is vividly realized, and I found myself actively hating Rennie and wishing horrible things on him (Admittedly, I thought he deserved a LOT more bad things.) In the end, the explanation for the dome was a little bit…out there, but what King story doesn’t have a little bit of the strange and weird in it? I still enjoyed the story a lot, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s afraid to read King. This one’s not scary. Not even a little bit.

Life After NaNo

Even though it’s no longer November, I’ve still been doing some writing. My goal is to finish up my chapters of the zombie story this month, so I’ll have that behind me. (I’m not trying to rush my co-writer. She has two jobs, two kids, and a husband. She’ll get hers written when she has time. I just want to finish my part so that’s one more thing I don’t have to worry about.) I’ve been away from this story for six months or so, and it’s proving rather difficult to move back into writing from two male POVs (one military). Quite a change from my urban fantasies I’ve been working on.

I’ve also managed, so far, to keep up with Holly Lisle’s How To Revise Your Novel class. Okay, so it’s only week two, but still, I’m mostly caught up. I’m planning on finishing up the “Promises” lesson today. This class…is mind-blowing. The way I’m learning to look at some things is just amazing. Currently, I’ve realized that Chance is a little too clothing-obsessed, and that I need to add some more details in to make the reader more grounded. My characters seem to interact in a vacuum a lot, and that won’t do. Plus, it’s boring. So, that’s what I’m up to right now. How’s everyone else?

YA Reading Binge

Lately I’ve been reading quite a bit of YA. Some of it in series I’m familiar with, and then a series I’ve been wanting to read for a while and just hadn’t. I enjoy YA books. I guess they speak to a part of me that never really grew up, and maybe that’s why a lot of my own writing ends up being YA. Either way, the books I’ve read lately have been excellent.

First up is Tempted, by P.C. and Kristin House, the sixth book in the House of Night series. By this time, the characters are well-established and I’m completely invested in the series. Completely. Anytime one of these books hits my hot little hands, that’s all I’m doing for the next couple of hours. This book was no exception. There’s a great mystery in this one, with Stevie Rae keeping major secrets from everybody, and of course, Zoey has her little secret as well, not to mention boyfriend issues. A lot of them. This time we get to see some of the action through the eyes of other characters as well, which was really enjoyable. I really like how Aphrodite is turning out, despite my immense dislike of her in the first few books. I…didn’t care for the ending. At all. But it fits the book, so I’m not really complaining (Can I help it if I like a HEA ending?). Just saying. I can’t wait for the next one.

Next is Fade Out, by Rachel Caine, book seven in the Morganville Vampire series. These books are also one my “Must Sit Down And Read Immediately” list. So I did. Another entertainingly good read. Things have settled down a little bit for Claire since Bishop is gone, but things still aren’t good in Morganville. Amelie is having issues and everyone is worried about her. There’s a new Goth chick that is trying to take Claire’s place as Eve’s BFF. And, just for laughs, Ada the crazy computer/ghost is out to get Claire. This book didn’t have the usual dangling-over-a-cliff ending, but I’ll still be anxiously awaiting the next one.

And the “new” (new to me) series I’ve been wanting to read for a while: the Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter, which have really awesome titles. The first one is I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You. The second is Cross My Heart And Hope To Spy. The Gallagher Academy bills itself as super exclusive private school for rich girls, but in reality, it’s an all-girls spy school. This doesn’t have a Harry Potter feel, if you’re wondering. They’re in a chick lit, fun voice, that had me drawn in by the second page. The books are about Cammie and her three best friends. Cammie’s mom runs the Gallagher Academy, and was a super spy herself. (No pressure to live up to parental standards there.) The girls know how to do all kinds of things, including speaking umpteen different languages, and killing someone with a paper clip, but when Cammie meets a regular boy from the local town, she’s clueless how to handle him.

In the second book, boys from the even-more-secret boys spy school arrive at the Gallagher Academy; the sparks really fly for Cammie and her friends. There are some awesome little details in these books that make the stories really come alive, from the classes the girls take (like Covert Ops, taught by an Indiana Jones-esque new professor), to the magazines they read (Espionage Today), and things like Evapopaper (paper that disintegrates, of course). Really excellent reads, both of them. The series is now on my automatic buy list.

And, that’s all I have for now. Happy reading!

Writing…Stuff

So, I intended this blog to be mostly about writing. But there are other things in the world besides writing. I know it’s hard to believe, but there are. However…some of the things that aren’t strictly writing related do actually have connections, in my mind anyway, to writing. For example, the man I saw in the French Quarter a few months back, dancing on the sidewalk in a green sequined skirt and feather boa. He gave me an idea for how my faeries in this year’s NaNo gain their magic. He also showed up as a character. At first glance, not related to writing at all. But then again, completely related.

Something else that makes me think of writing: movies. But not just any movies. Really good movies that provoke a strong emotional reaction from the audience. And it doesn’t have to be a reaction of sadness or grief, either. That’s the kind of stories I want to write: thing that draw a strong emotional reaction from the reader, a story that is sheer unadulterated pleasure for the reader.

I saw a movie like that last week: All Saints’ Day (the sequel to The Boondock Saints). The first movie came out in 1999, barely hit theaters, but developed a cult following when it came out on DVD. I personally think it’s a great movie. It’s bloody, full of profanity and violence, yet completely unapologetic for those things. All Saints’ Day is more of the same, a sheerly entertaining movie. I loved it. It opened in limited release over a month ago, and I drove an hour to see it in the only theater in the entire state that was showing it at the time. Totally worth the drive. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Thankfully, I don’t have to. It’s now showing only fifteen minutes from home, and I’ll see it again at least once. But that’s the kind of stories I want to write: sheer fun and breathless entertainment (Although I’ll admit the hot Irish guys don’t hurt, either.)

Done!

I finally finished the story today. Finally. I got seriously behind last week, and it took some major hours at the computer to get where I wanted to be (10k on Saturday, 10k again on Sunday, 4k today), but I finished. I accomplished two things this month: 1) I hit 100,000 words, and 2) I wrote every single day. Granted, a few days it was only a couple of hundred words, and one day, I know it was only 15 words, but still. I wrote every day. And I’m happy that I did, thrilled that I got the entire first draft down.

Is the story finished? Absolutely not. It’s going to sit for at least two months, probably longer, and then I’m going to revise it. It needs it. Parts of it need a lot of revising. Parts of it, hopefully only a little. The characters surprised me a lot. Mina’s boss, Richard, was way nicer than I imagined him. And Phoenix…well, Phoenix turned out not be quite the hard **s I thought he was going to be. And I think that’s a good thing. I still like him a lot, though, and right now, I’m actually looking forward to doing the revision on this.

And speaking of revision, I’m in the first class of Holly Lisle’s How To Revise Your Novel, which I’m really excited about, because hey, I don’t like revisions. I know the story needs fixed, I just…usually don’t know how to go about it. So I’m hoping this will give me the tools I need to figure that out and make the story (stories) stronger.

Congratulations to everyone who did NaNo, winners or not. Yay! /cheerleading