Monthly Archives: August 2015

August 14, 2015 · 11:04 AM

One Thing At A Time

Normally I am the queen of multi-tasking.  I always have been.  As a teenager it wasn’t uncommon to find me curled up in a chair with a book, a bowl of soup, and the television on — and knowing what was happening with all three.

And now I normally have two browsers open with multiple tabs in each, as well as multiple Word docs. (Current count is six.)

And I am frequently working out scenes for novels while doing other things.

At one point I was even editing one novel, writing another, and outlining a third.

Right now, however, I’m finding it really hard to write and edit at the same time, which means that I am 10,000 words behind in my 1K-a-Dday challenge.

Yikes!

Not really.  I should have Onyx Sun to a beta reader by the end of the day, which will free up my writing time.  And I have four days off in a row next week, which is going to suck on payday but which will give me time to get caught up — and maybe even ahead.

Of course, I still have to find a cover artist, and write a blurb, and do the “front matter” and all that other stuff that goes with getting ready to publish.

And then there’s the fact that I want to start editing Book One of The Academy of the Accord.

*sigh*

Deep breath.

One thing at a time.

But at least that editing project will be in the same world that I’m writing in.  And since it’s just the first round edit of the first book, there won’t be any sense of urgency for it, no looming deadline.

And that’s the thing.

Right now I am so close to having Onyx Sun ready for a beta reader that I’m pushing to get it finished because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  (I can also see the next tunnel.)

For The Academy of the Accord all I’m seeing is tunnel.

Lots of tunnels.

One thing at a time…

 

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August 12, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #33 (8/12/15)

Welcome to Wednesday Words!  Every Wednesday I will post some sort of prompt for a flash fiction piece.  The prompt will go live just after midnight Eastern time.

The prompt might be a picture, or it might be a list of things to include in a story, or maybe a phrase or a question or something from a “news of the weird” type thing, or a… who knows?

After that, it’s up to you.  But if you do use the prompt to write a bit of flash fiction (say, 500 words or so) I’d love to see what you came up with, so comment below with a link to where it is on your blog (or on WattPad or wherever).

(And a pingback to the post here where you found the prompt would be appreciated but isn’t necessary.)

Oh, and this isn’t a contest or anything.  It’s just a (hopefully) fun thing for all concerned.

And, hey, if it inspires more than 500 or so words, run with it!

This week’s prompt:
(click for a larger image)

ww3

(Green Lake Austria Photo by @marc_henauer)

 

And, as always, I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

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August 10, 2015 · 1:20 PM

Might As Well Face It…

…I’m addicted to words.

I have a problem.

For one reason or another I haven’t been able to settle down to write all weekend, so now I’m 7.5k behind on my 1K a day challenge.  (I did manage to get three chapters of Onyx Sun edited, though, so that’s something.)

But the problem isn’t that I’m 7500 words below where I need to be.

The problem is that I’m starting to feel anxious — not because I’m behind but because I haven’t written.

I miss writing.

I miss watching the story grow and the characters interact.

I miss the surprises they have for me.

I even miss the times where every word is forcibly pulled out of almost set cement.

(Well, okay, maybe I don’t miss that last one quite as much as the rest.)

Seriously, I feel like an addict in need of a fix.

The icons for the half dozen Word docs I’m working with are sitting there, taunting me. “Open us,” they whisper. “You know you want to.”

And they are right.  I stare at them, hunger for them.  My cursor reaches for them…

And then I wake to the sound of seventeen other things clamoring for my attention in the real world, and thoughts of writing fade back into the world of dreams.

Today is my Friday.  After this shift I am off for two days.  I plan to overdose.

Reality be damned.

 

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August 9, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet August 9, 2015

More from Onyx Sun, a science fiction novel currently in second round edits, with hopes of finding its way to a beta reader or two in another week or so. (My pre-beta reader is already nagging for a sequel.)

Picking up from last week, with Taliya opening the box her grandmother had left for her at Starborne Fiduciary.  When she opened the box, an image of her grandmother appeared on the screen set into the lid, and started talking.

This goes over the sentence limit despite my best efforts at creative punctuation.  Ardelia got a bit talkative and there’s just no good way to interrupt the dead.

 

“Taliya, I know you are feeling hurt and confused right now, and I’m going to guess that with my passing things between you and Maureena have devolved into near warfare.  I’ve been expecting it for a long time, so I took the liberty of establishing an un-trust fund for you.  I am calling it an un-trust fund because I started it because I don’t trust your mother not to try to rob you blind after my death; in fact, I trust that she will.

“I was a fool in a lot of ways, but I promise you, Taliya, that everything will work out in your favor if you are only patient.  You have gifts you have not even begun to realize yet.

“Meanwhile, this box contains a letter of introduction to an old friend of mine, Ivo Cheyne. Go to him if you need any assistance: he is an attorney and he knows all about you.  You can trust him.

“Now, about other matters.  The HoverWing is yours, of course, free and clear; it was a gift and your mother has no say in it.  The jewelry in this box is also yours.  The pieces have been passed down for generations and they are now yours to do with as you wish.  I was going to ask you not to sell them, to keep them safe and keep them in the family, but what do I care? I’m dead and you are alive and may have need of the money they will bring.”

She sighed.  “I do wish I could still be there. Not to guide you – you’ll do just fine on your own – but to go on adventures with you.  And that brings me to one final thing.

My instructions to the crematorium were for my ashes to be held for you to collect.  Please scatter my ashes some place that I would have liked to go.  I have spent too much of my life bound to Pendelia Four:  please don’t leave me here in death as well.”

 

 

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August 7, 2015 · 11:54 AM

Patchwork Writing

So, I’m finally working on Book 7 of the Academy of the Accord series, and it’s rather slow going at the moment as I try to rework some scenes from Book 5 and tie them to some other scenes that I’ve written.

I’m hoping that once I get past the merging part things will get better, but it will be awhile before that happens.

And then I still have scenes (cut from Book 12 last month) that will need patched in. I may also need to snag some scenes from Book 8. (*sigh* What ever made me think that books running along a concurrent timeline would be a good idea?)

Those scenes are all much further along in the book, though, and shouldn’t be quite as difficult, as they won’t impact the timeline of other books. At least, I don’t think they will.

Meanwhile, I feel like I have a bunch of oddly-shaped pieces of fabric that don’t quite match in size or color and I’m trying to turn them into a quilt.

And I don’t sew.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that I’m already 4500 words behind on the 1k-a-Day challenge this month, but considering that I didn’t even start writing until yesterday, that’s not too bad, and I’m pretty sure I can not only get caught up but actually finish Book 7 this month.

Courtesy of all those “scraps” of story, the word count for Book 7 is currently around 44k, although I’m pretty sure that some of that is going to be cut – I copied fairly large chunks of Book 5 without paying too much attention to trimming them.

I’m not sure I like this method of writing — patching scenes together.  In a way it’s far more time consuming (and mentally challenging) than just writing. (And it doesn’t help that I currently have six Word docs open that I’m working between.)

But on the other hand, that’s a lot of words that I don’t have to type.

And typing is going slowly.  I can’t seem to really get on a roll with it because another piece of the quilt is always just a scene or two away from needing to be patched in.

But they say that the best quilts tell stories.   Let’s hope that holds true for writing, too.

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August 5, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #32 (8/5/15)

Welcome to Wednesday Words!  Every Wednesday I will post some sort of prompt for a flash fiction piece.  The prompt will go live just after midnight Eastern time.

The prompt might be a picture, or it might be a list of things to include in a story, or maybe a phrase or a question or something from a “news of the weird” type thing, or a… who knows?

After that, it’s up to you.  But if you do use the prompt to write a bit of flash fiction (say, 500 words or so) I’d love to see what you came up with, so comment below with a link to where it is on your blog (or on WattPad or wherever).

(And a pingback to the post here where you found the prompt would be appreciated but isn’t necessary.)

Oh, and this isn’t a contest or anything.  It’s just a (hopefully) fun thing for all concerned.

And, hey, if it inspires more than 500 or so words, run with it!

This week’s prompt:

a dog
midnight
a knock on a door

 

 

And, as always, I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

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August 3, 2015 · 12:05 AM

Writing Goals

Does anyone else plan their writing goals?

Not just for things like NaNoWriMo events, but long range goals.

I actually have a Word doc called “Writing Goals” that not only lists the things I want (or need) to work on, but which also attempts to set up a time frame for them.

As usual with my lists of things to do, though, I tend to be overly optimistic in what can actually get done in the time allotted.

Still, it does help some with focusing on the projects at hand.

I recently pulled it up so I could cross off finishing Book 10 of The Academy of the Accord series.

A lot of the things that I had planned for this year aren’t going to happen, but at least I know what to start on for next year.

(Yes, I do realize that there are still a lot of days left in this year, but my current focus is on The Academy of the Accord.  I just finished Book 12 during Camp last month, and I want to get Books 6 and 7 finished by the end of the year.)

(And speaking of Books 6 and 7, I have finally figured out how to untangle their beginnings from the end of Book 5.  I think.   It makes sense in theory but we’ll have to see how it goes in actual practice.)

My goals for 2015 were to finish book one of the unnamed trilogy (done!) and write its alternate version (still not done, although the entire series is done except for that bit.)

I’m also supposed to be writing sequels for Sanguine and Song and Sword.  I also had planned to do an outline for The Other Mages Book 3, although I’m not sure why: other than rewriting the beginning I don’t think it’s going to change much.  (An outline for Book 2 was not on the list. Apparently I’ve given up trying to make it follow any sort of coherent order and am just going to let it wander at will until time to edit.)

Oh, and the person who pre-beta read Onyx Sun wants a sequel.  It’s not even published yet!  I still have a second round of edits to do on it before I send it off to a beta reader and then get it formatted and published… and already there needs be a sequel.  This is a happy thing, but, still…

I also rather optimistically decided I was going to outline the remaining four books of The Academy of the Accord. Ha!  What was I thinking?  I’m currently winging it like crazy in this series and having a lot of fun and finding some unexpected things.  (On the other hand, an outline would make it more coherent and less challenging in the rewrite.)

I plan to outline the remaining two books, though, or at least make a rough list of things that need to happen.  It will make writing them go a bit faster and easier, and I really want them done by the end of the year.   Plus, I have bits and pieces of them written so I need to have an outline of some sort so that I can aim the story line toward them.

I think that’s going to be my project for tomorrow.  I’m going to pack up the folder project and head for the library to finish moving notes for three of the finished (rough drafted) novels into their notebooks, and then attack books 6 and 7 to get them organized into some form of coherence.

With luck, I’ll have the energy afterwards to get their official documents set up (as opposed to files named “stuff for AotA7”) so I can get to work on them.

And I do need to get to work on them – I have done absolutely nothing toward the 1K a Day Challenge this month.

 

 

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August 2, 2015 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet August 2, 2015

More from Onyx Sun, a science fiction novel currently in second round edits, which are sort of on hold while I do Camp NaNoWriMo with a goal of 62,000 words this month.

Skipping ahead several paragraphs.   Taliya is at Starborne Fiduciary, the bank her grandmother’s message had told her to go to and has been seated in a private room and given an ornately carved wooden box.   The woman who gave it to her told her that the key that would unlock it was in the box she had gotten from Aelind Osbert earlier that morning.

 

Taliya waited until they had gone, then took the box from Aelind’s office out of her case and fingerprinted it open.

Inside was a single key, and a note.  Curious, she unfolded it and read a note written by her grandmother, not to her, but to Aelind.

“Aelind Osbert.  I am not the only one who knows I am leaving this with you.  If Taliya does not receive it, intact and in a timely fashion following my death, certain of your business dealings will be reported to the appropriate boards and authorities.”

Taliya smiled, suppressing a chuckle.  Her grandmother always had treated the lawyer as if he was an addle-pated schoolboy and she spent a moment imagining – and enjoying – the look on his face if he had managed to open the box and read the note.

He hadn’t, though: the box was intact – forcing it open would have broken the locking mechanism beyond repair.

She put the note down and picked up the key, her hands shaking as she inserted it into the wooden box that had been brought to her here.  She had not even known about this place and she wondered what other secrets her grandmother had hidden away for her.

 

Want to read more snippets from some really great authors?
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