Category: revisions

…Brrrr…..

Okay, so, in hindsight, New Orleans is looking….awfully warm and toasty right now. It’s 14 degrees here. Fourteen actual degrees. Not with the windchill. It was 8 degrees when I got up this morning. So I found myself wondering why I’d chosen to move back here from the tropics of southeast Louisiana…Well, there are several reasons, but they sort of paled into insignificance when I considered them this morning. All the schools have been shut down the last two days, and they’ll be closed again tomorrow. This means I won’t be taking my scheduled History test just yet, so, yay! More time to study. (Finding the motivation to actually study is another thing….)

This also means more time to read, which is always a good thing. Reading while sipping something hot is even better. I’m actually reading an e-book right now called The Splendor Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore. So far….excellent read. I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s the first e-book I’ve actually bought. And by that I mean that I have several e-books that were available for free (not that I’ve actually, ahem, finished reading any of them…). I don’t actually have an e-reader, but I have the free software versions on my PC and my phone. After this, I might decide to buy an e-reader. I like the instant gratification of having the book immediately available. That’s very nice.

I also finished lesson 4 of HTRYN. Started reading lesson 5, and plan to start on it tonight after I do a little bit of homework. (And studying. Yeah. Studying.) I’ve been doing steady daily writing on the 2YN2 story, about 500 words a day. Not much, but steady progress, so I’m happy with it. The Muse is still playing with the other story idea, and I’ve even jotted a few random fragments of ideas down. Hopefully that will be coalescing into something more coherent soon. I’m really in the mood to write a more traditional fantasy, instead of the urban fantasy of late.

I’m off to get some work done. And try not to freeze to death. And drink something warm (and possibly alcoholic)….

Where’d the Week Go?

Seriously. How is already Saturday night? The week’s over, and I’m not really sure what I accomplished this week. Let’s see…I remember doing homework. More homework. And yes, MORE homework. That’s an awful lot of school work, especially since I can’t remember what else I did this week. *thinking….thinking*….Hmm. I wrote two book reviews for Examiner.com. Read a few books (the first four books in Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra series. Really enjoying them.) Ah….what else? I can’t think of anything else. That’s just…ridiculous. Oh! I did get some writing done. Yes. About 3500 words this week. I know it’s not a lot, but it’s steady writing every day, and that’s my main goal.

My Muse is working on a new story idea. I can feel it! I should probably be writing some of the details she throws at me down. Things are coming together. I have a vague idea of a character, well, two, and the main conflict, so that’s cool. The setting is coming together, too, and it should be something radically different than I’ve ever written before. I’m actually starting to get really excited about the idea, but I’m trying not to rush my Muse. Bad idea, that.

No revisions done this week. Which gives me…two days to finish Lesson 4 of HTRYN. Guess I need to get on that, huh? Okay. I’m off to do more homework. Two exams next week, and some essay questions that are waiting for my attention (Not the kind of writing I enjoy. At all.) And I’ll have another book review up tomorrow.

Yankee Standard Time: Fact or Fiction?

Okay, Random Question for the Day: Do Yankees run on a different time schedule than we Southerners? I’m starting to think so. A certain person who shall remain nameless has apparently been trying to drive me crazy with the differences in our concepts of time.

Example 1: “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” The callback actually occurs:
a) half an hour later
b) three hours later
c) Still waiting…

(Yes, all of these are correct answers.)

Example 2: “I’ll give you a call when I get up on Sunday, and we’ll spend the whole day together.”
a) The call doesn’t actually take place until, oh, 3 p.m. So, apparently, the day in Yankeeland doesn’t start ’til 3 p.m. Good to know, if you’re ever traveling there….Don’t make plans before mid-afternoon. Nothing will be open. Just a bit of travel advice.

Example 3: “We’ll get together very soon.”
a) “Soon” being…well, I don’t know when. That conversation took place on Friday. It’s Monday, and still nothing. Do you think this definition of “soon” would work for deadlines or school? “So, Professor, I promise I’ll have this final exam turned in soon.”….Like, next week? “Yes, Mr. Very Important Editor, I know I said I’d have the piece turned in soon. That was just last week. I still have plenty of time.”

Somehow, I don’t think the Southern standard of “Bless your heart!” is gonna cover this…at all.

So…on to writing. I did actually make it through the entirety of Lesson 3 in HTRYN last week when I said I would. Yay! I’m even about halfway through with Lesson 4, which is even better. I have plenty of revision ideas, too, I can feel them simmering…

Speaking of simmering, I’m pretty sure my Muse is working on a new story idea. Something that’s more traditional fantasy, instead of the urban fantasy I’ve been writing lately (like, for the past two years…). Something with ghosts, and maybe the Dia del Muerta… It feels like a nice change, and to go along with it, I started reading Michelle Sagara’s Chronicles of Elantra series. Just got started on the first one, but I’m liking the touches of humor so far.

Revision Block

Is there such a thing? If so, I have a raging case of it. It’s worse than staring at a blank page and being unable to think of a single word to write (although that’s pretty bad). A few weeks ago, I started working through HTRYN with Chasing Shadows. Lessons 1 & 2 weren’t bad, but Lesson 3….all I’ve done is read the lesson and punch holes in my index cards. Not exactly a hotbed of revision activity.

I’m not sure why I’m having such trouble getting started on this. Well, I DO tend to have issues with The Sentence, even if it’s The Revision Sentence, so that could be part of it. But that’s the only hazy idea I have for what’s going on mentally. I’d say it’s lack of motivation, but…I’ve been writing every day. Only a bit, but still, daily progress. And I’ve been doing some pre-reading for school. And working out almost every day. So clearly I have some motivation.

I have absolute faith in the HTRYN process. I know what it did for Werewolves for Dummies, and I have every faith it can take Chasing Shadows that much closer to the story I want it to be. Of course, it won’t do that if I don’t actually apply it, so there’s the general problem with that idea. Hmm…Could be fear of failure. Of course, not revising the story at all is even more clearly a failure, so that should be an incentive…

Okay. Tomorrow I intend to work through Lesson 3 of HTRYN. ALL of Lesson 3. And get a few words written, of course. Wish me luck!

Another Year’s Goals

I don’t do “resolutions” per se, but I do set goals at the beginning of every year. I don’t always reach them, but I strive to do my best to get there. This year, I didn’t set a lot of goals. I know it’s going to be a busy year, what with finding a new job and continuing my back-to-school journey, so I didn’t want to over-reach myself and get distracted. That being said, here are my goals for the year:

1) Revise Chasing Shadows
2) Revise Witches
3) Complete the 2YN2 story (probably about 40k left to write)
4) Completely re-do and finish the sequel to Werewolves for Dummies
5) Do NaNo

As far as non-writing-related goals, I only have two:

6) Complete a half marathon (“complete” meaning some walking is okay)
7) Carry a 4.0 in school

Of course, “revise the zombie story” will hopefully be added in sometime this year. And I should mention that the NaNo story will probably be something new and completely different…NOT a sequel to anything else. I have some ideas percolating…I can feel them. I’m currently querying Werewolves for Dummies, and I’ll start querying Chasing Shadows when I’m done revising it, as well.

So, yeah, those are all my goals for the years. Anyone else setting any for the year?

It’s All Coming Back to Me Now…

How much work school is, that is. Seriously. I’d forgotten just how busy it kept me, and that was when I was taking regular classes. And not working a full-time job. Online classes are just as much work (if not more), and I haven’t had time to do any writing in the past…week and a half or so. Nor any revising. At all. And I’ve decided not to worry about it. I’ve got the bulk of my homework done this week already, and I only have two quizzes to study for (as opposed to the three quizzes and a test I had last week), so if I get time, I’ll do some writing. Or maybe some revising. And if I don’t get time, well, I’ve given myself permission not to stress about it.

I’m still trying to decide whether or not I’ll be doing NaNo this year. The thought of NOT doing it bothers me a lot, I’ve done it the last four years, and I enjoy it. Yet, logically, time will probably be an issue, even though we don’t have classes the week of Thanksgiving, and I could probably get a lot done. Guess I’ll have to see. I have finals the first week of December, and I’ll be moving back to Texas shortly thereafter (Yay for going home!), with all that entails, so I’ll just have to wait and see. For now, I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.

Back To The Grind…

So, I’m back from vacation. I’m not exactly thrilled to be back, really more…resigned/annoyed, but I’m back. I had a great time, except that now I’m tremendously homesick. But hey, what are you going to do?

I’ve actually been writing on the 2YN sequel some since I got back. Not a lot, or anything. I set myself some really modest goals. I only got about 250 words yesterday, and about the same today. But it’s a start. It’s progress. And considering what else I have going on…I’m happy with it.

I also started back to school. Online classes, but I haven’t taken any classes in…we’ll just say “a long time”, so I’m a little worried about the adjustment. I’m taking four classes, and hoping/praying I don’t get overwhelmed. So far, so good, but it just got started, so it’s really too soon to tell.

My goal is to keep up with all my classes (definitely the priority), write about 2k per week, and try to do a little bit of revision on last year’s NaNo story (the faerie story). Oh, and TRY to hit the gym four days a week (which is why I’m up at the crack of midnight). Not to mention work full-time. And possibly try to sleep a little bit in there somewhere…zzzzz…..

Happy Dance!

Do you have any idea how much time it takes to type in 92k-worth of novel revisions? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 hours. How do I know this? Because I did the entire type-in on the werewolf story this weekend! It. Is. Finished!

My legs and back ached from hunching over my keyboard. My eyes were crossed and bloodshot. My wrists hurt. I had finger cramps. But finally, at almost 11 p.m. last night, I finished it. Running spellcheck was almost anti-climatic.

I’ve been so focused on this revision for the past five months, that now, with it done, the sensation of not having anything to work on has me feeling a little lost. (Okay, to be honest, I’m feeling like one of the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, but that’s another story.) I don’t do well with nothing to do.

Fortunately, I have a query letter and a synopsis to write. And beta readers to get the story out to. And a partially written novel to finish. And that other revision I’m in the midst of…

There’s no rest for the wicked…or is that the weary?

(Sorta) Finished

I’ve been working through the hands-on part of the werewolf revision for the past few weeks. Sunday, I finally finished going through the MS, which means I added 26k of new material (I lost 15k in the computer malfunction), and got to THE END with this story for the first time. Yay! I’ve mentally been doing a happy dance since then.

Now I’m going through the MS one last time, focusing on Style & Grace, Pace, and Beginnings & Endings. I was actually feeling pretty good about the story, until I picked up the new Mercy Thompson book yesterday and immediately got sucked in. I was unable to put it down. Which, of course, made me wonder: Is the pacing in MY story that good? Will a reader be so sucked in they can’t put it down, or will they be able to set it aside for a while easily? Is my Muse just messing with me, trying to make me feel inadequate, or is this a serious problem?

Now, if I only had the answers…

Bodyslammed By Real Life…

In a BIG way, this week. I’m getting towards the end of the revision for the werewolf story, which means all my scene “revisions”…are writing new scenes from scratch (due to the great computer malfunction, a.k.a. sporadic backup habits). So each scene is requiring a little bit more work than just revising already existing scenes. The good thing is that I have written most of the scenes before, so I have a feel for what needs to happen. The bad things is, well, having to write them again. My own fault, but still annoying.

At this point in the week, I intended to have six new scenes done. How many do I actually have done? Two. Yep. Just two. But I have a plan…I have an appointment for academic advising this morning, then I’m going to the job early, to spend some quality, internet-free time writing before I actually have to BE at work. I’m hoping that will get me another couple of scenes. Then, possibly, I’ll have time to do some extra tomorrow and/or Friday. Which leaves me with Saturday (again, my goal is only two scenes), and Sunday–to finish up all of the “hands-on” part of the revision.

The angel story is languishing a little bit right now, but I’m hoping to get a few lessons in on it this week, too. And I wouldn’t be quite so behind, except I’m baby-sitting a 4-month-old puppy this week. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do ANYTHING when there’s a puppy with severe separation anxiety around, one that insists on being underfoot every second, and whining and howling when he’s crated for the night? NOT EASY, I tell you. So I’m not sleeping much this week, either….