Just Some Ramblings...

Nope, I do not have a new word count. I just had some time to kill today, so I thought I would grace you with another post. ::Snorts:: Yeah, I am so not like that. I adore all of my followers and love your comments. Speaking of... if you are following me and I have not followed you yet, leave me a link. Don't be subtle, it takes a sledgehammer to get my attention sometimes.

I have been reading some Nora Roberts books lately. (Don't judge me, she has awesome freakin' plots! I skip over all that mushy love/sex crap anyway.)

I have just one question as far as Ms. Roberts goes...

How does she do it????? You crack open one of her books and you are faced with two pages, TWO PAGES, of her written works. She is about to run out of room. Then again, maybe it has been bumped up to about 3 pages these days as these are older books I am reading.

How? How? I can barely juggle the two stories I have in the works and do not even have time to sneeze on any other idea.

Speaking of, I need to write down said ideas before I lose them completely.

Insane. Granted, though, I do not know how often she puts out a book, but seriously, she's like a machine.

Stephen King got the same way for awhile, but then his books weren't doing very well (in my opinion) and got kind of boring. But Roberts has fresh ideas, at least from my perspective. I am not a big fan of paranormal romance, let alone romance. If it doesn't have a good, strong plot, forget it. I don't want to read page after page of hot monkey sex. But again. MY opinion. Doesn't count for much, but it is mine, my own, my precious.

I would like to be able to discipline myself to get to the point where I could crank out a story a year, but I am still so new to my world building, plus having to introduce this young world. Perhaps someday I will get there.

Am I being too "Instant Gratification-ish"? How fast do you come up with ideas or do they take you forever? Do you focus on one idea at a time or do you bounce back and forth to keep fresh perspectives?

I'm sure I am being redundant in this post, I know I posted something similar a little while back, but it still baffles me.

Have a great end of the week and weekend!

Okay, Okay...

Okay so I got a little caught up in my reading more than my writing this week. However, word count:

8,989

Not bad for a poor white girl.

I've been reading "Regina's Song" by Leigh and David Eddings. OMGah... I SO did not know they had written this book. I'm loving it. I love finding books by my favorite authors in different genres. It is kind of repetitive in places, but I'm giving them a break as they had to be repetitive for so long writing the Belgariad and Mallorean books. Have to remind us fantasy whack-o's what we're reading you know.

Soooo.... yeah. I will be getting help from my husband this week on this scene I am sort of stuck on, which is why I picked up some books to read. It is his character, after all. He tells me what he wants to see and I write it out for him. We're a great team. I'm excited to get this revision done. I want to move on to Crowning Absolution!

I think that's it for now boys and girls. I've been loving your comments, even if I haven't been responding much. I do not like being limited for time on the internet, but you do what you have to do to get by. And get out of the house. I hate being stuck at home. So it is a win-win situation! Wee!

Have a great rest of the week!

Can I Get a Drumroll...

No, it might not seem like a big deal to most people who don't write. But we authors know exactly how it feels to watch that word count grow. Especially when you are in the revising stage!

At the moment, I am sitting at 8,403 revised words for LoBR.

Can I get a "Woot!"?

I have been struggling with this story since I first wrote it during last years National Novel Writing Month. I have issues. Mostly, I have so much information that I've used to build my fantasy world that I try very hard to shove as much of it down the reader's throats as I can in one shot.

It obviously doesn't work, hence the struggling on my part. So I decided to take those huge chunks of information from the first draft and use them to sprinkle throughout my story and therefore starting said story in the middle. Where it should have started. In the first place.

I suppose those who write high fantasy feel this way sometimes as well. You have all this cool information about your world that you want to share all of it in one huge lump.

Well, I have forced myself to hammer that lump down to a thin wafer. While it is still not polished to absolute perfection, it is far better and different than what I started with. This is the same thing that happened with Crowning Absolution. I will take the huge chunks of world building from that as well and shave it down to fit nicely into its little niche.

Oh the joy of being an author. ::Chuckles::

I hope everyone has had a great week and hope you all have a great weekend!

So tell me how you whittle things down to fit?

Getting Caught Up...

I've been forcing myself to get back into the writing habit. I've been a lazy girl. Rain doesn't help especially when it seems this has been one of the rainiest summers I've experienced up here in my 4 years.

However, not only am I enjoying how this revision is working out on LoBR (current revision word count is at 5,400+) but I am stoked about finally having figured out the background and history of my deadly little assassin, Nightshadow. I worked it out and talked it out with my hubby about what makes her tick and why she fell onto the path of being a hired killer.

Woot!

'Nuff said about that. IF I get my tail in gear and am able to get LoBR revised completely before NaNo hits again this year, I have two ideas waiting in the wings. I really need to get my writing organized, write down some notes and keep this stuff on paper rather than trying to keep it all in my head. After writing last night and coming up with Night's background, I couldn't sleep. I was dog-tired, but my brain refused to shut down. I hate those nights sometimes. Other times, if I am not too tired I will get back up and write until my brain is satisfied and the voices in my head finally shut up and go to sleep! Grr.

Well that is all for the moment. I'll have to share some of what I came up with for Nightshadow once I get to that point. In the meantime, everyone have an awesome week!

A Little Better...

So I'm resorting to bringing my computer into town and connecting on the library's WiFi. This still isn't ideal, but much better than getting a mere 45 minutes to do anything I want to do online. I at least get 2 hours. That is more than enough time for me to get re-connected with you all and start reading blogs again.

I've been feeling rushed in doing my online thing as well as paranoid about who is looking over my shoulder as I write. :D Maybe I should start writing erotica and see who walks away from my computer. ::Snorts:: That'd be kinda funny, but I wouldn't do it.

Even though this is a bit of a drag, it does get me back online. I've got just over 3,000 words revised on LoBR. I wrote up a new beginning....not sure if I mentioned that before I moved. So the word count I have up there currently is still part of the revision but, like I said, I started a new beginning. It is moving better, I like where it is and it plays out very well. We'll see what happens. I've got to get things moving or I will not be doing NaNo this year. I'm already behind in my revising of last year's book. To begin another and have it waiting in the wings until I'm done with those revisions would kill me. I hate being so disorganized and am trying to improve myself to finish what I have started. Otherwise, no one would get to read these damn books. Lol!

I read lots of blogs where authors have two or three WiP's and it amazes me how they can juggle so many. I get that once you get an idea, you have to write it down so as not to lose it, but I get so caught up in it, nothing else would get finished so I patiently plug along and keep it in the wings of my mind. I have little notes here and there of what I want to do. So if I do participate in NaNo this year, I'm moving to the Paranormal genre. I've got an awesome story waiting in the wings, dusty as they are. So perhaps it would be worth it to get it written out and dust it off once I'm done with revisions. I certainly have to start sticking to my personal deadlines.

Hope you all have had a great week and have a wonderful weekend. I'm praying for sunshine. :D

Still Hanging In...

Nope, no internet yet. Still working on that, but even in the midst of it all I have new followers.

Woot!! Welcome to anyone who is new.

So I got a question from N. R. Williams (Nancy). What kind of Fantasy do I like?

I have to say, I'm partial to High Fantasy. Lord of the Rings sort of stuff. I like to write High Fantasy as well. I'm all about creating my own little world and having fun running it. I play games like Port Royale and Crusader just to get a feel for it. But I am also a history buff and participate in Medieval Re-enactment. Gimme a cutlass and allow me to don my pirate hat and away I go. Arrggh!

So yes, High Fantasy seems to be the favorite but I do read all sorts of fantasy. I've just picked up a couple of books at the local Salvation Army store of "Year's Best..." fantasy in my case. Several years old, but still good stories. There were a couple in there I didn't particularly care for, but hey, can't please them all can you?

That brings me to another subject I've been mulling over these past weeks. As I've been in and out of the library I run into all sorts of people and have had some fun conversations. One in particular was being asked what I wrote.

"Fantasy," I replied, trying not to grit my teeth. "Oh." There it was. That one tiny word with the downcast look as if I were a beggar on the street asking for alms for the poor.

"What?" I just had to ask, I couldn't resist and plastered a smile on my face as I spoke. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

I flustered the person and finally got an answer out of them about the subject of fantasy as in why do people say, "Oh". I was told, sincerely even, that fantasy is "okay, but there's no real work to it."

Insert whatever facial expression you desire. "No real work," I repeated. "Hmm... Well what do you call all the medieval history research I have to do to even make the fantasy that I write SEEM real to those who read it? I can't just make up a word for armor and expect it to fly. I have to show that I do know a little of what I write about. Not just 'he donned his barak for fighting...'" Okay now, I have to admit that was kinda cool. I could just make up stuff, I continued to explain patiently, but then I would lose the reader. They would see I have no intelligence, no real talent and no one would ever publish my book.

All writing is work. You can't just tell people that the genre of their choice sucks because they get to make up stuff. How many others have been told this very thing or did I just get lucky enough to find the one person who would be honest with me about it way up here in my corner of the world???

I'll stop ranting now. :D I'm sure you all missed that. ::Snorts:: Anyway, N. R. Williams, I hope that answers your question and then some. I see you are a fantasy author and would love to look you up on the internet. I will do just that. Perhaps I could get some pointers from you, what do you say? ;)

Have a great week everyone. I will be back as soon as I am able. Miss you all terribly.

Nope... Not Yet...

Still waiting on internet. Our options are thinning out rapidly, sadly. I still am trying to get to the computer as often as I can and at least say hi.

So... HI!!!

Not much to say at the moment. Revisions are going slow, but going. I've been unpacking, cooking dinner... (Cooking is actually kinda therapeutic for me) crocheting and watching movies. Joy, joy. Oh and reading as well, of course. Our new house is quite large, everyone has their own space and it works out well. My plants are growing large and fast. I have a tomato plant that might need to come inside as it has been mostly cold and rainy around here more than anything. My broccoli is getting huge as well!

My cats are enjoying their race track of a home and we hear them running practically everywhere all night. Silly critters.

Hope everyone is doing well. I will be back in a few days. Have a great week!

My Tale Of Woe...

So I moved. Yes, it is a pain in the arse, but you know how it goes. Oh well, that is the least, VERY least of my problems.

I called the phone company here to get my phone connected after having to hunt down the physical address at the borough's office. The landlord had forgotten, bless the man. :) Our phone got connected, we had (so we thought) internet! Woohoo!

Alas, we were first told there was an outage in our area with no scheduled repair date. Really?? Then I called back, wondering if I could find out the repair date only to be told that there was no DSL available in our area and we were on a long waiting list.

WTF?

Then I called to see what my other options were. Well dial-up or MiFi. Hmm... MiFi sounding doable at the time until I walked into the local phone office here in town and was told I had to pay a $250 deposit up front, on top of the already expensive little box I could slip into my back pocket.

Pshaw...I don't think so.

So while I sit and wait for information on either satellite or cable, I will have to bide my time, contemplate my navel and work on my edit of LoBR. Joy.

I'm missing all of you terribly and will at least keep you all posted when I drive into town and stop off at the library to get my internet fix. ;)

Have a great weekend everyone, and a great coming week as well!

Just a quick note...

So, moving is done. Thank goodness! I HATE moving. Anyway, phone service in a small town is just like postal service. S.L.O.W. So I won't be on for at least another week. That way if I get on earlier it will be a surprise. Have a great week everyone and can't wait to start posting stuff again!!