Monday’s Randomness on Tuesday

May 11, 2010 | Uncategorized

Oops, meant to post yesterday, but didn’t get the chance. As my little potato man word meter from Writertopia indicates, the wheels on my WIP kind of fell off over the weekend. But I’m not worried. I’m back at this week, and making up for lost time. (Touch Wood.)

I plan to start subbing Blood and Bone this week, finally. It’s actually been ready to go for a while, but I’ve been humming and hawing over the first chapter. From the beginning, I’ve been unsure about whether or not keep that scene. I must have gone back and forth on it a hundred times. Well yesterday, I came up with a compromise that I think works quite nicely. Now, my plan is to start submitting as soon as possible before I change my mind…again.

Happy belated mother’s day, by the way. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. I had lovely day. DH and the kid gave me some fancy teas and chocolate truffles. My favorite things. DH also made pancakes for breakfast and cooked dinner while I enjoyed a quiet, lazy day. Very nice.

I’m really enjoying the teas, maybe even more than the chocolates. I know, how shocking is that? Today’s tea is vanilla orchid. Of the flavors I’ve tried so far, this, I think, is my favorite.

Mood: Up

Music: Trouble Me, 10,000 Maniacs

My Ears Are Ringing

May 5, 2010 | Uncategorized

So I’m dog sitting Diva this week. Now, despite the coming rant let me just say, I’m a dog person. I love dogs. You know how some women see babies and want to have another child? I’m like that with puppies. I see a puppy and I want another dog. However, these visits from Diva remind me why sometimes one dog is just right.

The hysterical barking going on in my house this week is beginning to ware on nerves. Now, Hellhound will bark. Usually, when someone comes to the door or if he happens to see another dog walking by. Diva, on the other hand, will bark at everything. She barks at things out side, she barks when she wants something, she barks when I come downstairs, she barks when I stand up from the couch. The whole thing is exhausting. When her barking would usually inspire Hellhound to join in, even he’s too tired these days to do more than lift his head.

Now, for the most part Diva is a nice–if somewhat demanding–dog, and she’s probably out of sorts staying with us this week instead of in her own home. But I have to admit, I’m kind of looking forward to her going home and we go back to being a one dog family again. Ahh, the blessed quiet.  

Mood: Tired

Music: Hash Pipe, Weazer

Can’t Blog, Writing!

May 3, 2010 | Uncategorized

I know, I know, it’s been a while. I’ve been a bad blogger, but on the upside I’ve been writing like crazy.  Yay! It always goes so much smoother when I let the characters tell the story instead of forcing them to do what I want to move the plot forward. In fact, I’ve learned two very important things while working on this novel.

The first, never underestimate the importance of chemistry. This is not my first stab at this story . I had actually written a few chapters some months back. While the hero and heroine were okay together–they didn’t seem to genuinely hate each other or anything–but there was no spark between them. I kept hoping that as I dug deeper into the story, they would gel, that the chemistry would appear. Then I wrote a scene where the hero was interacting with a potential suspect and the chemistry between those two was smokin’.  I had no choice. I was forced to tweak a few things and introduce a new hero. What a difference. Incidentally, that first hero and potential suspect will likely be getting a book of their own.

The second lesson, the power of momentum. Though, to be fair this was a lesson I already knew. Maybe to say that I was reminded of that particular truth while working on this book would be more accurate. A common piece of writing advice is to write every day. This isn’t just as a means of upping your word count and finishing faster, though, writing every day will do that too. But writing every day keeps your momentum going forward, keeps your head in the story, let’s you stay connected to your characters. When I stop writing for more than a day, it’s harder to dig back into the story and find my way back into my characters’ heads. Also, taking too much time away from a story gives self-doubt the chance to creep in and rear its ugly head, which can either stall your progress or halt it all together.

So that’s where I’ve been the past couple of weeks. I’m trying to get back to blogging three days a week again, but if I miss a day, you’ll know it’s because I’m writing.

Mood: Busy

Music: Karma Police, Radiohead