Monthly Archives: November 2017

November 29, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #153 (11/29/2017)

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 pond with frogs and cattails
a staircase
a silent figure watching

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

 

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November 27, 2017 · 8:55 PM

Three Days to Go

And whatever is left of this one.

And I’m back to catching up!  I started today only 4630 below par, with 9630 words left to write for the month.  Currently I’ve only written 1075 words today because it seems that every time I start getting into the flow I get interrupted.

My phone rings. (Work called me twice (about something that I thought I had resolved with them a week ago) because one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing. And there are too many hands.)
The dogs want out.
I have to go to the bathroom.
I need to eat.
My computer freezes up/Word decides to be non responsive.
My open Word docs rearrange themselves.

You get the picture.

(To give you an idea of the freeze up, it’s taken me ten minutes to type those last two lines.)

I really want to have a 2k day today – 2500 words would be better – but so far it just doesn’t seem to be happening.  But it still might.

Anyhow…

I took a look at my outline just to see how far I’d strayed from it and I think I’m going to cry now.  I really liked the outline and the way Zin was supposed to meet his Warder. It was nice and neat and advanced the plot at a good pace and this version is none of those things and I have no idea how to get it back on track.

I think it’s going to end up being like the (still) nameless trilogy where I end up writing two versions just to see which one I like better. Only there’s more of this one to rewrite.

But this one still might redeem itself.

If my computer cooperates.

 

 

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November 26, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet, November 26 2017

Thought I’d give you all a break from Song and Sword (I’ll probably come back to it in December) and spend the month posting excerpts from whatever I’ve written for NaNoWriMo the previous week.

I’m working on a prequel to the Academy of the Accord series. The tentative title is Creating Accord and it’s set a few generations before the series.

Boyin and Zin have met for the first time and Boyin has agreed to be Zin’s personal bodyguard. What neither one knows or understands is the bond that is forming between them already.

(In the series it is established that some warriors are “Warders” (I will find a better name for that) who have an instinct to protect wizards. And sometimes a Warder finds his wizard (or vice versa) and they form a special – and very deep – bond. Boyin, however is the first Warder, and he and Zin are the first bonded pair.)

“I will.” Boyin nodded and turned toward the door of the wagon, finding that he was reluctant to leave.  This wizard had been on his mind since the first time he saw him and now that he’d found him…

So, I’ve found him, now what? he asked himself, shaking his head. He’s just a wizard, someone I just met, just my employer…  He sighed. He wasn’t fooling himself and he wasn’t used to avoiding a problem.

And this wizard was a problem. He had a price on his head and as military… Ex-military, he reminded himself; he was no longer under any obligation to turn the man in, although he could no doubt earn back his commission if he did so.

He couldn’t do it. He knew what fate most likely awaited Zin if the military got their hands on him and he simply could not bear the thought of that happening.  He shook his head. He didn’t understand it, but he was a warrior, a soldier. He didn’t have to understand it, just accept the truth of it and act accordingly.

And part of acting accordingly was getting back to the wizard as soon as possible. For some reason he found it almost painful to be away from him.

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.

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November 25, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-25-2017

rainbow logo 1

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

“I am so glad that you found me.”  Kaen stepped back and looked at him questioningly. “How did you know I was a vampire?”

“I’m a Hunter, remember? And in addition, you… You…” Gregor sighed, not having the words to explain, and finally shrugged. “You are my Blood Master… my family’s Blood Master. You… I had no choice but to respond to you, to go to you… It was so hard not to, the times that you would come to check on us…”

Kaen nodded slowly. “I think… I think I felt it… but I didn’t know what it was.”  He closed his eyes, remembering the feelings that had drawn him to the work sites. “I would go to check on the work being done, but that was an excuse. It was you. I – I wanted to see you. I didn’t understand why, but…”  He reached out and stroked Gregor’s cheek, awed by the connection the two of them shared.

Gregor smiled and kissed his wrist softly. “And now you are stuck with me.”

“And quite happily at that,” Kaen said, kissing him back. “Thank you, for coming to me.”

“I had no choice.” But Gregor’s smile said that he knew he was where he belonged.

“Do you want a choice?” Kaen asked quietly, searching Gregor’s eyes.

“If I had one,” Gregor replied, “it would be to stay with you.”

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 24, 2017 · 6:37 PM

One Week Left

So much for catching up! A couple so-so days of writing, plus losing most of Wednesday with cooking for Thanksgiving dinner (two nurses in the household – holidays happen when they happen) and I started yesterday 8414 below par.

I had a good writing day yesterday, though, to the tune of over 3300 words, so started today 6912 behind. Now if I can just have a few more back-to-back 3K days…

I’m not sure it’s going to happen today, though. I have about a thousand words done and lots of time yet, but I’m running just enough of a fever to feel like crap. But I will push on. I want to get at least two thousand words in for the day.

I’m liking my revision of how the story is playing out as far as Zin and Boyin meeting, but I’m really dreading revising the beginning of this thing.

I’m dreading revising the middle that I’m writing right now, too, because a lot of it is just stuff to get words flowing and is probably going to need to be cut, but there is enough good stuff popping up that I’m not ready to throw in the towel and skip ahead just yet.

Besides, if I do that then I’ll be missing the fun of getting there, not to mention that sometimes things happen that I can use later.

(No, I’m not pantsing this. Yes, I do have an outline. Yes, the outline is being followed. Sort of. Sometimes.)

And meanwhile I have a million ideas for other creative projects crowding into my head, and fingers itching to hold a crochet hook.

One more week…

I’d better get writing.

 

 

 

 

 

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November 22, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Wednesday Words #152 (11/22/2017)

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 child/teenager hears the voice of their dead father. The trouble is, their father isn’t dead.

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

 

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November 20, 2017 · 6:38 PM

Very Short NaNoWriMo Update

I’m catching up!

I had a 2500 word day yesterday and ended the day only 4444 words below par and I made it through one blog hop.

Of course, I started today 6111 words below par and still have the bigger blog hop to do, but I’m catching up!

And words seem to be rolling faster even though some of them are total garbage.

So, yeah, I’m writing a lot of stuff that I know is going to get cut (seriously, who needs a blow by blow description of Zin changing out of wet clothes and fixing himself something to eat and deciding whether or not it’s safe to sleep?) but they are words and I’ve found that if I just babble long enough, eventually the story comes back into focus and moves forward.

Louis L’Amour said, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

And I think that’s the best writing advice I’ve ever read.

 

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November 19, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Sunday Snippet, November 19 2017

Thought I’d give you all a break from Song and Sword (I’ll probably come back to it in December) and spend the month posting excerpts from whatever I’ve written for NaNoWriMo the previous week.

I’m working on a prequel to the Academy of the Accord series. The tentative title is Creating Accord and it’s set a few generations before the series.

This snippet is the aftermath of a battle between wizards and soldiers. Aslir managed to get Zin away before the main fighting started and has gone back to check on the situation. He found a room full of dead wizards, with one bound to a chair in the center of the room.

“Panima,” he whispered softly, and her head came up.

“Where are you?”   

“Behind you. I’m invisible.”

“And Zin?”   

“Somewhere safe.”

“They’re looking for the two of you. Kraskir. Kraskir gave them your names, said you were the only two missing. He helped them. Helped them restrain me.” Her voice was flat, broken, with only a trace of bitterness.

“Yphier?”

“They killed him.” Tears filled the broken places in her voice. “He was the gentlest person I ever knew and he tried to stop the fighting and they killed him. He was a healer. He would have helped their injured if they’d asked but they killed him. And they left him here…”

Aslir followed her gaze to the body at her feet. Her brother’s dead face looked up at them and he knelt and closed his eyes. “I am so sorry,” he whispered.

Find more great reading
at the Sunday Snippet group.

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November 18, 2017 · 12:01 AM

Rainbow Snippet for 11-18-2017

rainbow logo 1

Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, bloggers, and readers to gather once a week and share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).   Check out all the other awesome snippets by clicking on the picture above.

I’m switching gears for a bit, taking a break from Onyx Sun and posting some excerpts from Sanguine, a science fiction semi-paranormal M/M erotic romance.

Following from last week’s snippet, in which Kaen and Gregor were discussing anal sex.

 “We should wait,” [Gregor] murmured into the kiss, “until Trini has gone for the day.”

Kaen nodded, then took a deep breath. “I don’t want to wait.”

“Neither do I. But I also don’t want us to be interrupted.”

Sometimes,” Kaen replied, punctuating his words with kisses, “your practical streak is really annoying.”

Gregor laughed and kissed him hard, his lips hungry. “Kaen,” he murmured, and Kaen tightened his arms around him.

“I love you,” he whispered into Gregor’s ear.  “I can’t help myself.”

“Then don’t,” Gregor murmured back.  “Don’t stop.”

Blurb:
Kaen Yblis is a man with a past – if only he could remember it. He lost his memories in a duel with another vampire, and for centuries he has been alone, not even aware of all that had been torn from him.

Until he meets Gregor Vladescu, a young human who stirs desires and emotions that Kaen didn’t know he had, and whose blood brings back fragments of memories.

As Kaen returns to his ancient home, a threat from his past arises and threatens to once again tear away everything that is precious to him. Will ancient blood and ancient soul bond be enough to save them all or will they be the very things that destroy them?

(NOTE: Sanguine is a science fiction, semi-paranormal, M/M erotic romance. It contains sex scenes. You have been warned.)

Available at Amazon for Kindle
and at
Smashwords for everything else

 

 

 

 

 

 

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November 17, 2017 · 10:43 PM

Number Crunching

I started today at 6962 words below par at the start of the day.  That’s worse than on Monday but a little better than my 7001 yesterday. And I’m looking at a 2K day today which will be the most I’ve written in one day all month. (Now if I can just keep it up until I catch up…)

I’m doing too much telling and not enough showing (a fairly common flaw in my first drafts and I’ll fix it later) and description is sorely lacking. (I struggle with description. Fixing the tell/show thing is a lot easier than describing people and places.)

Sometimes the words are yanked kicking and screaming from my head to the screen and sometimes they flow willingly. The kicking and screaming ones are the worst parts: stilted, awkward, and definitely not happy about being forced to come to the party.

And I’m now at over 23,000 words and still haven’t introduced the second main character.

I think I’ve figured out how to fix that, though. I’m going to be cutting a lot of what I’ve written (basically anything to do with Boyin, which should cut a fair number of words) and make him the second main character. I can merge Boyin’s current back story with the back story created for the original second main character, Arthen. (And get rid of the name Arthen which I wasn’t really happy with anyhow.) I’m still not sure where or when he’ll show up now, but hopefully soon, since Zin is almost free of the Fortress.

I might also cut a lot of the stuff at the beginning, before Zin leaves his home, and put it in journal entries at the start of each chapter instead. We’ll see.

But all of that is for later. Cutting stuff from the novel is for rewrites and editing, not for first drafts. In the meantime, I’ll just cut all of those scenes mentally and once Zin meets his partner I’ll use Boyin and pretend that everything else never happened.

Meanwhile, I’m addicted to the stats page on the NaNoWriMo site. It lets me set small goals for myself as I write.

For instance:
Words Written Today = 1673 means that I just need 27 more words to hit 1700. (I told you they were small goals.)

Total Words Written = 23044 means that I need 56 more words to hit 23100.

And by then the number of words I need to hit par for the day will be low enough that I can reach the next hundred on it. (I keep a calculator open on my computer and run numbers through it every time I update my word count, which is frequently.)

Maybe tomorrow I’ll get lucky, the words will flow, and I’ll have a 3K day.

 

 

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