The Empty Mail Box

September 29, 2006 | HellHound, Writing

I find that whenever I have submissions out, I become somewhat obsessive about checking my mail. Today I checked it three times before giving up and accepting that there would nothing. Then, at nearly four o’clock, (our mail normally arrives between nine and one) I hear HellHound going ballistic at the front door. I emerged from my office just in time to see the mailman hightailing it away from our porch. (Not that I blame him.) The mail at last. But when I check, all that’s there is a bank statement and two fliers. Sigh.

This, of course, begs the question, isn’t no news good news where submissions are concerned? And the answer is yes, but I have to admit, the whole hurry-up-and-wait in this business is probably the hardest thing for me to deal with. I can handle the rejections. Don’t get me wrong I would much prefer to be offered the contract of my dreams, but one step at a time. Still, I find the months of waiting very frustrating.

I’ve had a full with an editor since the end of May and really that’s not very long. I’ve heard of writers with submissions at publishers for up to and over a year. That’s a lot of empty mail boxes.

Mood: Tired
Music: Diana Krall

New Look for my Blog

September 28, 2006 | Writing, life

I’ve been a little scarce this past week while my good friend, Karen from troll-baby, redesigned my blog. And how cool is it now? Karen-should you read this-thank you again. I absolutely love it.

Touch wood, but so far all my appliances are still running. DH managed to fix my washer.

The writing has even picked up. I’ve gone back to the werewolf paranormal. I know I said was giving that one up, but I was reading the first chapter and I really liked it. So after I read the rest, (it was over 200 pages and I hated to walk away from that) the problem suddenly became very clear. I’ve been reworking the earlier scenes and so far so good.

Received a rejection from an agent on a partial for Witch, but I promptly sent out a new query. I wish more agents and editors accepted equeries. Besides the expense of snail mail, the process via email is so much faster.

Okay, I would like to play here all day, but I must get to work. Besides, we’re out of coffee this morning which mean a trip to Tim’s. No coffee makes for a very grouchy Dawn!

Mood: So Good

Sit Down and Write

September 23, 2006 | Writing

There are days when writing comes easy, when the words flood my head so fast my fingers can’t keep up. On these days I marvel at my own brilliance, interruptions make me want to commit murder via dirty look and I don’t care if Lost is a new episode or not. These are good days.

Sadly, they’re a rarity.

On the other end of the spectrum are the days when coming up with a single paragraph takes two hours. (And it’s crap, anyways!) On these days I change my CDs frequently, cut my toe nails, respond with freakish speed to email. By the time I pick DS up from school, I’m lucky if I’ve managed to finish my pages for my WIP. Never mind rewriting or crits. These are the days that muse mocks the loudest from his bar stool and the demon, self-doubt, is perched quite comfortably on my shoulder.

Fortunately, days like this are a rarity also. Usually, I sit somewhere in the middle.

Interestingly, when I’m rewriting, and I remember my state of mind while I’d been writing the first draft, I’ve noticed the passages that had been like pulling teeth (I know cliche, but it’s a blog. Gimme a friggin’ break.) actually read much smoother and require less work the second time around.

So my point–and I am making one–is that no matter how much what your writing seems like the worst drivel to ever be born, you never know what a little time and perspective can do. In the end, sit down and write. You can make it good later.

Mood: Up
Music: Annie Lennox - Bare

It Happens in Threes

September 20, 2006 | Writing, life

So yesterday my microwave died. Shoved in a bag of popcorn (really, our microwave is just a big expensive popcorn maker–or was) turned it on, it went for a couple of minutes and then just completely shut down as if someone had pulled a plug. No one did, I checked. Not a big deal, right? Hell, it was probably over ten years old. I don’t use it all that often and it’s pretty inexpensive to replace.

Today, however, my washing machine is acting up. It’s one of those front load washers. Anyway, it’s not draining. I’ve been all through the house trying to find my warranty–which, of course, I can’t because fate hates me. I can find warranties to VCRs we no longer own, but I can’t find the one I need. Hopefully, DH will be able to fix it tonight when he gets home.

So my microwave is done, my washer needs repair, that leaves room for one more appliance. What will it be? Whatever it is I’m sure it will be expensive. (After all, I’ve been caught up on my bills for an entire five days. Of course something horribly expensive would go wrong.)

Okay, I’ll stop my bitching and moaning. So this week I thought I’d try the whole book-in-a-week thang. Because I don’t rewrite or research until the end of the book, I thought this might be an interesting exercise for me to try. Both my crit groups had slowed down, DS is in school all day, and I haven’t started Blood and Bone’s rewrite. So this week should have been a good week to do it. And in fairness, until today I was doing pretty good. I’d already surpassed what I normally do in a week and it’s only Wednesday. Today, though, is a write-off. I’m too wrapped up in my washer and just plain old pissed off.

Days like this there seems to be a certain futility to the idea of being a writer. I feel a little like a hamster running in a wheel. I’m running as fast as I can, but I don’t seem to be getting anywhere. I know I’m just feeling sorry for myself, but I can’t help it today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

The Silver Teapot

September 15, 2006 | family, life

I am completely addicted to tea. After spending most of the summer gulping down various green teas (the lime being my favorite), I am now hooked chi spice black tea and ginger lemon twist. Both are delish! Due to this relatively new preoccupation, I decided what I needed was a tea pot. My last one broke years ago and I had never replaced it. Anyway, I was in a little store a while back and came across a silver tea pot exactly like my grandmother had. It’s not fancy or terribly pretty. It’s a squat little thing with a long spout and wood handle, but my Nana’a always brewed a mean pot of tea. And to my delight, it only cost twenty-five bucks. (Unpublished writer=broke most of the time.) Obviously, I bought the little tea pot and made it mine. My Nana died two years ago. We were close and I miss her very much, but I’m not by nature a sentimental person. So it’s interesting to me how something as simple as plain silver tea pot can make feel oddly comforted. Why analyze? I think I’ll just sit back, think of Nana and enjoy my tea.

Four out of Five Aint Bad

September 14, 2006 | Writing

So last week I recevied a rejection from an agent who said, among other equally unflattering things, that my writing was just not that engaging. Ouch! A simple no thank you would have sufficed. But instead of sulking like I wanted to, I sent out five queries that day. So far, I’ve heard back from four, all requesting partials. So yay me!

Also I suppose I will never learn. Just when I had intended to give up on the idea of a paranormal, what do I do? I come with an idea for one. But no, says I, I don’t want to write a paranormal. I’m going back to Romantic Suspense. I should never have deviated from my sub-genre. But this idea wouldn’t let me sleep. The idea kept growing, the characters and all their background just seemed to pop into my head with such frightening ease. What choice did I have, really? So I shall write the paranormal as I develope ideas for my next rom/sus. At least that’s the plan. We’ll have to wait to see how it goes.

My friend also told me I need to update my blog regularily. Everyday or, at the very least, three times a week. I don’t know if I have that much to say.