Category: The Writing

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2009 Goals

I’m a strong believer in setting goals and regularly checking my progress throughout the year.  I do tend to list pie-in-the-sky big goals that are humanly impossible, although I am doing better at setting realistic and achievable goals.  Would I love to finish every project on my plate next year?  Absolutely.  But I also have to be realistic.  I can’t write like a maniac for months on end and think my sanity, family, job, and health won’t suffer.  I have to work at balance, and that’s really hard for me.

Instead of listing things in some “priority order” that I’ll throw out the door as soon as I make a new sale *crossing fingers* or a new Bright Shiny Story shows up, I’m going to separate my goals into a couple of different areas.

Contracted or Promised/Committed Projects

  • The Road to Shanhasson.  Status:  Submitted.  Goal: Complete editor revisions as assigned. Deadline: TBD.
  • Return to Shanhasson.  Status:  First draft complete.  Goal: revise and submit.  Deadline: TBD.
  • Given In Fire.  Status: planning, plotting.  Goal:  draft, revise, submit.  First Draft target:  20-30K. Deadline: TBD.
  • Charon’s story.  Status:  Not started.  Goal:  plot, build, complete first draft.  First Draft target:  70K.  Consider as a NaNoWriMo project.

Ongoing Submissions

  • Letters to An English Professor.  Status:  On submission.  Goal:  Agent and/or Sell.

 

Current WIPs

  • Night Sun Rising.  Status:  Revision Xibalba in progress.  Goal:  complete revision and query.  Deadline:  1st quarter 2009.  TOP PRIORITY for 2009.
  • Arcana.  Status: first rough draft complete, some revision planning complete.  Goal:  devise final revision plan I can actually do, or file for later.  This story may be “beyond” me for now.

Pipeline Projects (aka Bright Shinies on the horizon)

  • Rayne and Crow.  Status: Idea stage.  Goal:  develop, plot, worldbuild.  Deadline:  1st quarter 2009.  First draft:  2nd quarter 2009.  First draft target:  70K.  SECOND PRIORITY for 2009.  Explore this idea and see if it’s a go. 
  • ANTs.  Status:  <20K first draft, notes.  Goal:  be prepared to pull proposal together if Letters sells.
  • Vicky’s story:  Only a go if Letters and ANTs sell (Vicky is Conn’s sister).
  • Equus story:  From a dream, consider under the Letters “brand.”

 

Personal Development and Other

  • Increase reading, targeting 52 books this year.
  • Write another short story to give away
  • Utilize spreadsheets to keep better track of progress (I did this in 2007 but got lazy in 2008).
  • Continue the Great Agent Hunt.
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2008 in Review

Let’s see how I did on my 2008 goals originally posted Jan 2.

1. Write every day. This is tricky, because not every day is going to yield new words, even if I’m working really hard on a story. That’s okay. When I’m in draft mode, I want 1K a day. Otherwise, I’ll be doing some part of writing every day, whether it’s career related (updating the website, requesting reviews) or revisions.

This is pretty much a given.  Even when I was supposed to take a vacation, I ended up re-reading my own work and making revision notes. 

2. Write 300K. I didn’t keep a spreadsheet this year, so I’m not 100% sure of wordcounts, so this is estimated.

Road to Shanhasson:  113,500

Return to Shanhasson: 104,900

Letters Revision (from 49K to 72K):  23,000

Night Sun Rising (hard revisions): 39,000

Prometheus Unbound:  2,000

RHP Revisions (unfinished): 6,000

Total:  roughly 288,400 words.  Not bad.

3. Write another draft of Arcana (formerly RHP), polish in first quarter 2008, and query. Started in January, but it wasn’t going well at all.  More research and planning is needed.

4. Write another draft of Night Sun Rising (the NaNoWriMo novel), polish in second quarter 2008, and query. Planning is complete; Revision Xibalba was in progress in Oct but not yet finished.  My first priority in 2009 will be to finish this.

5. Editor revisions (completed the third pass 12/31/2007, so this one’s close!) and promotion on The Fire Within.  Done.

6. Editor revisions and promotion on The Rose of Shanhasson.  Done.

7. Editor revisions and promotion on Beautiful Death.  Done.

8. Develop a revision plan to extend Letters to An English Professor from long novella to single title length.  Done, revisions completed, project queries floating about and continuing into 2009.

9. Finish a first draft of ANTs (may get bumped to the bottom of the list, but it bugs me because this story is 75% finished).  Not started.  No sense in working on this unless I sell Letters.  (The hero of ANTs is Conn’s brother, Victor.)

10. Write The Road to Shanhasson (not sure of timing yet).  Done!

11. Write at least one short story to give away as a free read.  Done! 

12. Revise the website for quicker downloads and easier maintenance.  Done again, including transferring my domain off yahell.

13. Read 52 books.  Ugh, failed miserably on this.  I didn’t keep a careful list this year, but I’d be surprised if I hit 25 books.  Must read more next year.

14. Finished Return to Shanhasson as my NaNo project.

15. Continued the Great Agent Hunt near the end of 2008 with no luck yet.  My prey is proving rather ellusive, which only makes the hunt more thrilling.

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2008 Winds Down

The last Christmas presents have been opened.  We celebrated our last family dinner yesterday with Granny, my Beloved Sis, and my brother’s family.  The last Chiefs’ football game is on today.

2008 is almost over.

So this next week, I’ll be writing up formal goals for 2009.  I’ll look back to last year and see how I did on 2008’s goals.

Meanwhile, I’m reading.  Not from my reward stack, although this has been a very great reward.  I started with The Rose of Shanhasson, then The Road to Shanhasson, and finally, I’m reading the first draft of Return to Shanhasson that I just finished.  Oooooh, it’s so awesome to see the story all laid out and complete.  So much love.  So much blood.  So much Shadow.  The last book still needs work to bring it up where it needs to be, but the theme is definitely carried through to the end. 

Love, the greatest gift of all, and the greatest sacrifice.

2009 goals will be forthcoming.

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Twas the Night Before Story

Twas the night before Story, when all through my head
Not a character was stirring, not even a Fred.
The worldbuilding and rules I had already begun,
In the hopes that my character would soon to me come.
The photos were nestled all snug on my board,
While I knew how he looked, he still made me bored.
No hero to journey, and me without plot,
My Story was doomed to molder and rot.
When in my head there arose such a clatter
I sprang to my keyboard to record the sudden chatter.
In my scrapbook bible I wrote in a flash,
A few mannerisms I kept in my stash.
Like tugging his hair when lost deep in thought,
Or his palm rolling to and fro an ivory rahke.
When, what in my wondering mind should appear,
But shades of people, real people, my dear!
Key phrases only he would ever say,
A silver ring he wears night and day. 
A dark, dark secret held close to his heart,
The ratty blue shirt from which he refused to part.
With quirks and flaws, so interesting to see
How such little things were obviously the key.
More lively than cardboard, my character breathed,
Rounded and rich, I swore he would bleed.
And then in a twinkling, I heard a new voice,
His clear words to listen I simply had no choice.
Defining moments from my hero’s past,
Darkest secrets he shared with me at last.
Friends and family, and his enemies, too,
All his troubles and fears were mine to review.
How many times he had fallen in love,
What gods he honored in the heavens above.
His hopes–how they shone! His fears, how dread!
His secrets were like ghosts from which he fled!
His heart lay shattered like fragile spun glass.
No matter his goals, his past ne’er surpassed.
And now I knew the path I should set,
How best my hero to torment and fret.
His arc I saw like a gleaming thread,
A steep, dark ravine I would send him to tread.
The darkest moment, his innermost fears to face.
The elixir to lure him through this dangerous race.
His character scrapbook and his hero’s journey,
Soon gave me the framework for his grand story.
I spoke not a word but went straight to work,
And began plotting without a single shirk,
And laying the journey over ten even blocks,
And at my hero I threw bigger rocks.
I opened up Word, to my scrapbook a look,
And away my Story flew like all really good books.
But I exclaimed, ere I typed chapter one,
“Remember character is plot, and well you’ve begun.”

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NaNo Decompression

So now the real fun begins.

What I really have is a bunch of disconnected files.  Some are numbered in the correct order (001, 002, 003, etc.) but some are not (Mykal_001 or devalki_notes).  My job now will be to read through each file, smooth it a little, and begin forming a coherent “first draft.”

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on revisions right now, but I will be smoothing things and fixing notes to myself as I go.  Stuff like [go back and change two days to three] or [lay this thread earlier] or [Sal needs to say something pithy here].  This will give me a complete picture of the draft.  Did it succeed?  Did I carry the heart of the Story all the way through?

I know I did on this one.  It gave me chills to come back full circle and use all the elements that are precious to this story one last time.  Gregar even got in an arse competition.  *laughs*

This part isn’t work, not really.  It’s time to wallow in the words I wrote.  Luxuriate in the story I didn’t allow myself to stop and read while slamming toward the end.  Once I get this draft completed, I’ll set it aside to marinate while I return to Revision Xibalba.

Now *that* is a hard revision.

Meanwhile, I plan to read myself silly.  I have the entire Night Angels trilogy by Brent Weeks ready to go, along with In Too Deep by Portia Da Costa and of course the upcoming Stay the Night release by Lynn Viehl.  I also know that Santa brought me two Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries by C.S. Harris.

Come January, it’ll be back to Revision Xibalba while I plot and worldbuild the Bright Shiny.  I need a name for it, don’t I?  Hmmm.  Until I get a better title, I’ll call it Rayne and Crow, two of the characters.  More detailed 2009 goals will be forthcoming later.

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NaNo Day 52 – THE END

It’s been a long road,
Getting from there to here.
It’s been a long time.
But my time is finally near.
I can feel a change in the wind right now.
Nothing’s in my way.
And they’re not going to hold me down no more.
No, they’re not going to hold me down.

Cause I’ve got faith of the heart.
I’m going where my heart will take me.
I’ve got faith to believe,
I can do anything.
I’ve got strength of the soul.
And no one’s going to bend or break me.
I can reach any star.
I’ve got faith, I’ve got faith,
Faith of the heart.

It’s been a long night,
Trying to find my way.
Been through the darkness.
Now I finally have my day.
I will see my dream come alive at last,
I will touch the sky.
And they’re not going to hold me down no more,
They’re not going to change my mind.

I’ve known the wind so cold
And seen the darkest days.
But now the winds I feel
Are only winds of change!
I’ve been through the fire,
And I’ve been through the rain,
But I’ll be fine.

I’ve got faith, I’ve got faith,
faith of the heart.

It’s been a long road.

Today, I went back to the beginning, all the way back to Rose of Shanhasson.  I pulled up the original series theme song, Faith of the Heart, sung by Rod Stewart, and played it on an endless loop.

I brought 300,000+ words full circle.  Back to Dalden Bay, standing on the Sentinel, looking out over the waters.  Only Shannari’s answer was very, very different this time.

And yes, like a complete and utter sap, I bawled. 

This ending has been a long time in coming.  Five years to be exact.  I’ve dreamed and dreamed and dreamed this story.  Gregar haunted me.  Sal mocked me.  Rhaekhar threatened to challenge me a dozen times if I ever once thought about quitting.

I’m ashamed to say, I did, more than once.  But not for long.  I couldn’t.  This story would not let me go, and I’m so thankful that it didn’t.  Five years of growing pains, agony, blood, sweat and tears, have all gone into this story, and even in the darkest night, the moon shone all the brighter.

Today:  3,990

NaNo final count:  105,340

Snippet:  Final line, subject to revision.

Now, my heart, I run to you.

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NaNo Day 51

I did it.

No, I haven’t quite hit “the end” yet, but I’m only a few thousand away, at most.  I made it through the grueling second surprise and final climax of the story.  The bad guys are defeated.  The good guys limped away, for the most part.  Now I still have one more scene in mind near the present to wrap up the resolution, and then the epilogue that ends the ENTIRE series.

Bring out the Kleenex, ’cause if you’re not bawling by the last page, then I failed completely.  I’ve seen this ending in my mind for YEARS and it’s been a long time in coming.

Why yes, Virginia, there is an end in sight and I will hit it by Christmas.  Since I have tomorow off from the Evil Day Job, the end will come tomorrow.  I guarantee it, as long as the power’s not off or a natural disaster doesn’t strike.

Today:  4,505

NaNo:  101,350  *dies* 

Snippet:  Sorry, short once again to keep the spoilers to a minimum.  This happens right before the big second surprise is revealed.

Shadows flickered behind her.  If Gregar had her back, then Dharman would be free to assist Sal with the dragon.  He turned away and felt a lurch in her bond, a sudden surge of fear that sent the hair crawling on his scalp and his heart pounding like stampeding na’kindren.  He whirled.

Na’lanna Qwen had vanished.

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NaNo Day 50

How much do you want it?

That’s what I kept asking myself this morning.  After a long day of shopping yesterday and feeling like death warmed over for two days, I lay in bed this morning whispering that very question to myself.  How much did I want to finish this book? 

Enough to get up early on a Saturday?  We’re going to be gone all day today, celebrating our wedding anniversary (early) with an afternoon movie and dinner at my favorite restaurant, Mythos, in Joplin.  It’s very likely we won’t be home until 8:00 or later tonight after the hour and 45 minute drive back.

If I wanted to guarantee time to write, I had to get up.  So I did.  Not a creature was stirring, not even the monsters, and I wrote for a good two hours this morning uninterrupted.  I made it through the first big surprise and all hell is breaking loose.  Shannari suddenly finds herself with neither Mykal nor her two nearest Blood at her side for the first time in years.

And surprise number two looms just around the corner.

Today:  2,721

NaNo: 96,845

Snippet:  Certain details removed to keep the secret.

:If I shift, I’ll be a dragon that you’ll still have to put down.:

:Nobody is going to put you down,: she snarled back, letting him have a good taste of the White Dragon.

:I’m ruined, brightheart.: 

His control wavered a moment, long enough to let her see his injuries more clearly.  Laughing, a man tilted a silver flask over Mykal’s lower abdomen.  Howling, bucking, he fought to get away from the acid that smoked and blistered his flesh.  It ate away his body, caving his stomach in, dripping down his legs and ribcage.

:Let me die.:

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NaNo Day 47

The creeping crud has attacked.  I only got a little over 100 words this morning before starting work, and every single one was like pulling teeth.  Worse, my energy levels dropped in a death spiral through the afternoon.  I wasn’t even tempted by the Bright Shiny.

Really all I want to do is curl up with a good book, but other than contest reading, I’ve sworn not to read any fiction for pleasure until Return is done.  (Contest reading I still have 2 more to go.)

All is not lost.  I pushed to get at least notes down for how these next scenes play out.  A few things clarified in my mind.  I’m technically off from the Evil Day Job until 12/26, but will likely be checking in quite frequently at least through Monday.  Hopefully I can get caught up on my rest, drink a lot of OJ, and grind through the rest of this book before Christmas.

Today:  459

NaNo Total:  94,124

Snippet:  Everything I wrote was crap today, but that’s okay.  It’s progress toward “the end.”  To prove that I leave [notes to myself] this is the “fight scene” I wrote today that will need to be entirely rewritten. 

As she watched, the two fighters reminded her more and more of dragons.  The wicked curved blade was a claw, perfect for eviscerating the dragon’s prey or slicing open its throat.  The shorter blade was a tooth, perfect for puncturing a vein and spraying blood, or slipping beneath armor to sever a joint or spine.

[there’s telling here but I’m not inspired to write a fight scene right now.  Watch Mummy 3 for inspiration.  Showcase Mykal’s skill.  They don’t fight for blood like the Sha’Kae al’Dan do — they fight to kill.  So lots of graceful flow, strike, but then a hesitation, drawing back of a blade that would have beheaded the opponent.]

Breathing only slightly more rapidly than usual, Mykal crossed his arms over his chest, weapons held aloft, and bowed to her.

 

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NaNo Day 46

Oops, title fixed.  Don’t know where “16” came from.  That was like a hundred years ago!

The last big climax approaches.  *shudders*  It’s actually several bad events that happen BAM BAM BAM.  At least two big surprises (I hope, if I’ve done my homework).  I don’t feel like I’ve hit that downhill slide yet, although surely I’m close.

I finally dragged my fanny up Dark & Early this morning, although not so early (6:00 a.m. instead of 5:00 a.m.).  Sadly, that’s the earliest I’ve been able to get up for weeks.  This time of year just kills me.  Plus my cold worsens.  I actually lost my voice tonight and sound like I ate sandpaper for dinner.

I had to be a hardass with myself today.  Why?  Because I WANT THE BRIGHT SHINY.  So I told myself I had to write x words first on Return, and then I could work y minutes on the other.  It let me get a modest word count this morning, spend a little time over lunch on the new idea, and then tonight while cooking dinner, I continued working on Return.  The back and forth approach let me get quite a bit done on both.  The trick is managing my obsessive tendencies.

Today: 2,172

NaNo Total: 93,665

Snippet:  The beginning of big surprise #1 of this climax.  Mykal just realized he’s in even deeper shit than he thought.

“Dragons will occasionally bring kills to the female they’re attempting to woo,” Mykal said, his voice flat.  “One of the tals attempts to win the White Dragon’s favor.  This man refused your will, and now he’s dead.  He’s a gift.”

His bond felt tight and withdrawn, singing with alarm that only grew with intensity.  Lightly, she stroked his cheek and he flinched, his gaze jerking toward hers.  “What is it?  I know you had no part in this.”

“It’s a very deliberate message.”  He licked his lips, fighting to keep his gaze on hers.  “Someone knows who I used to be.”