Click the highlighted link at the bottom of the post to read this author’s plan of how to write a book in 6 months. You never know… this could work for you!❤ Most authors have heard of National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. It is a novel writing challenge where participants try to […]
Today is the first day in months I’ve relaxed and remained relaxed until now.
It began with a nice long sleep – up into the afternoon – and then getting ready and getting out of the house with writing equipment: tablet, foldable keyboard, squid (I thought) and flash drives. I am really upset with myself the squid was left at home. Still, being squid-less isn’t making me truly upset, especially since there are plans for tomorrow to get out and do some more writing, with the squid this time.
If I am not mistaken, The Husband is going to go out with me tomorrow to get a few things done while I’m working busily away at the library.
Currently I am in a Starbuck’s on Richmond Road here in Lexington with The Husband and our best friend, Marine. He even got me a delicous drink, decaf even. Before coming here we ate at Logan’s, another one of my favorite places and did a super quick in/out at Barnes & Noble’s. I can’t complain about anything, really tonight.
Tomorrow my goal is to get up early and do tons of wonderful writing. Getting out really is the ticket for me and rejuvenating amount of words.
I would really like to bring my laptop with me, but it doesn’t fit in any of the messenger bags I have and don’t like to lug around the backpack. So, for a while, I will be running around with my black purse being my briefcase and the several different pieces tucked securely inside.
Things are looking up, folks.
Thank You, God, for everything.
I feel stagnant and creative. How in the world can these two paradigms co-exist in one
person at the same time?
The story is progressing…but…. You name it. I have the need, even the energy to be creative and sitting in front of the computer to get the draft done is driving me crazy. More correctly: I’m letting it drive me crazy because…?
I think I feel stagnant because I haven’t gotten out of the house except to a doctor’s appointment after having a wonderful time at the Asher family reunion. I believe I need to just schedule a couple of writing days out – away from the house.
Getting out of the house requires a lot of organizing and planning at the moment, but it can be done. I just need to pack up and go do it: an entire day out, away from the house, working at Barnes & Noble with access to cafe’ mochas and sugar cookies and sandwiches, and not the same four walls. A day writing at the library downtown is also called for, I think. These are my favorite places to go as it is, and I haven’t visited them solo for many months.
Cheyenne and Sniffles are having an egress and access ramp made for me beginning in October. I need to get out before then, especially since there are only two weeks left in this month and my self-imposed deadline is racing at me full-in-the-face. I would prefer not to change it, but, I accept, I may need to. I don’t want to rush out a bad story and receive some reviews I’ve given in relation to the Three P’s: poor planning, plotting, and proof reading. I empathize with each one of the writers I’ve reviewed – good and not-so-good – because they want to tell a good, entertaining story as much as I do. I also believe in being fair and honest about reviews. After all, it is only my opinion and no one else’s. However, if others are giving similar reviews, there’s a good chance something is wrong and you need to look at it.
Because of this reason I am considering looking into CritiqueCircle.com for reviews about the book as the chapters come out. I would much rather have everything come out chapter by chapter than all at once on Amazon. Besides this, I don’t like how Amazon takes down bad, or less favorable reviews. This doesn’t help any of us writers, story tellers by merely stroking out egos. This is especially true if we want to learn and improve our craft. I know not everyone is going to like what I write, but hopefully the genuinely favorable will be better the non-favorable.
Just writing these few paragraphs about the entire writing process I’m going through has helped, as well as comments I received on another post. I feel like I am actually getting support from fellow writers who understand just how glorious and gloriously difficult telling a story can be! Believe me when I say I appreciate all the words of support, sharing of techniques, and general support. I need them.
From here on out The News may only get a weekly blog entry because of The Big Push. I am also taking the advice of Brian Bixby of Sillyhistory fame and tell a good story regardless of whether the word count matches what I think it should be and to solve a problem each day I write. Excellent advice and advice that makes sense to an almost fuddled brain. Thank you, again, sir.
I am also taking the advice from an email from a reader who wishes to remain nameless: “Enjoy the bloody thing! If it means writing in your underwear, naked while popping peanuts (good for the brain), or as far away from the Ivory Tower as you can get: Enjoy the process of telling the story.” This also is true.
Now, I am going to go muck up the poor girl’s, the hero’s love interest, life even more; however, she will thank me for it later.
The leaves are beginning to turn here in Lexington. The trees are still mostly green, though, and there is still summer heat, but it’s different. There is a definitive feeling of its fading in the not-so-distant future. For the first time in many, many, many years, I’m OK with the change of season. So much has gone on in the past year I believe I am finally adjusting to feeling safe without fear of having to move at a moment’s notice. It has taken me quite a while to feel secure: an entire year almost.
Sniffles and Cheyenne really played the biggest role in helping me and The Husband regain a sense of being, safety. I don’t know where we would be without them. The thought makes my insides shiver, so I make sure and not dwell on that fact. So, instead, let’s talk about the pick-up Labor Day D&D game held here.
I was the GM and the players were having to face a city being attacked my a blue dragon and a host of skeletons commanded by death knights, and dragon cultists looking for a dragon mask within the city they were in. First of all, the players discovered there was one of the masks they were looking for when the dragon attacked.
The battle was mighty. One death knight was taken care of and his surrounding skeletons. There was a second death knight was walking in mid-air across a huge hole opened up by an explosion to begin an attack on two players who were on the magic carpet when one player, the Minotaur, sent an eldritch blast at the blue dragon who was really just hanging out in the air watching the heroes battle. He was really just enjoying watching the fight. Until the eldritch blast hit him.
For those of you who don’t play Dungeons and Dragons, a blue dragon’s alignment is lawful evil. They live by their own code. There is a 50-50 chance you can reason with them. Yes, they’re going to do whatever it is they want to do, but they respect certain things. This blue dragon actually was beginning to admire the mortals fighting below. Then he was attacked without reason. How dare they!
So, said blue dragon swooped down out of the sky and opened his mouth to swallow the Minotaur and the Minotaur jumped simultaneously. The Minotaur’s intent was to do like Tommy Lee Jones’ character in Men In Black where he is jumping up and down and screaming, “Eat me!” Unfortunately, this was a dragon and not a cockroach from space. The heroic Minotaur didn’t make it long enough to cut his way out of the dragon.
The dragon (he had to swallow twice to get the Minotaur fully down) swept back up into the sky and leveled his gaze upon the flying carpet and said occupants: a young adventurer and a tiefling ranger.
The young adventurer saw the dragon inhaling, preparing to unleash his lightning breath weapon and gauged how far he was from the ground. Thinking his chances would be better in surviving the fall, he jumped, landing 30 feet later. The tiefling who was on the carpet took 70 points of lightning damage. He was no more. Surprisingly, the magic carpet was still a magical carpet, just charred around the edges and his tassels, which is also his name (Tassels), brought the burned corpse down from the sky to the temple of Lethander, where the heroes left to help save the city.
With heavy hearts, the priests of Lethander, along with the remaining heroes, brought the heroic tiefling into the temple and were placing his remains in a burial jar when a beautiful beam of sunlight broke out from the ceiling and centered on the burial jar. It was not an avatar of the god Lethander, it was Lethander! The orc monk reached out and reverently touched the sunbeam and was flung back to a far wall in loving playfulness by the god.
Lethander lifted the tiefling from the jar, restoring his form just as he was, yet different. Some would say even better than before. And the Minotaur? Lethander was willing to bring him back as well, but Deepwater decided it was time to rest for an eternity or two before returning.
This is when the GM said, “Now we’re on hiatus until January. The GM needs a break and another book to continue forward with the campaign. Congratulations! Most of you survived!”
Mouths dropped open and stunned eyes looked about to each other for confirmation.
I love being GM, especially when I can tell the players are happy with the game they’re playing.
Today’s word count: 1577
Going to go play a video game now. More tomorrow.
Today is Saturday and a holiday weekend. You know what I’m doing today? I’m role playing. My elf soldier-at-arms is determined the maggot pile currently in human form must die! It is a moral, religious, and destined-to-die bad guy!
(There may be an update later.)
This was supposed to have posted last night, but it didn’t, so am sending it again. Wagon train forward! Ho!
Spent the day reading over what’s been written so far. Tightening up, if you will. This process helped put me on my writing feet again and refreshed the writing spirit, too.
I was much surprised to see there wasn’t that much wrong, although the word count, or increased lack thereof, does still bother me; but, not as much as it did. Tonight I feel like I can rest in sleep instead of just dreaming about looming deadlines and battling monsters.
It’s September! It’s September! O’ my gosh, it’s September!
Why yes, I have been freaking out a little bit over the beginning of a new month. “Why?” you ask? Because November is just a hop, skip, and tidy little jump away and I’m still working on the fantasy novel.
Yes, I know, the first draft is completed and I’m doing, basically, the secondary draft. I’m not changing everything in the original, but, I do need to admit I’ve changed quite a bit because of flow, continuance, and the second plus third books planned. Initially, I thought I knew what I wanted to be in each book, and, as this draft has gone forth I’ve realized there is too much material for what the first book needs to be. Besides this, I’m having to work very hard against the dreaded inner editor.
Another thing I’m fighting against is the fact I’m having to force myself to sit in front of the computer and keep plugging away. So, for the next little while, I’ve decided to make sure and write here on the blog every day and put down some accomplishments of the novel writing process.
Word counts windows and logs are making me freak out some. Part of me thinks the word count is too low, but when I see the pages racking up and how well the story itself is moving, I don’t think the story is bad or progress inordinately slow. Still, I’m going to make myself sit in front of this computer until the manuscript is ready!
Does anyone who self-publishes with their own deadlines have any advice on how to keep the freaking out down to a low roar? I really could use some about now.
