So, yeah. Tonight's writing time was apparently sponsored by the Internet and Television. I'm hoping to make up time tomorrow night. This novel won't write itself, you know.

In truth I'm a little nervous about the next part. The Big Climactic scene is starting up, and I'm worried that I'm going to screw it up. Writer angst and all that, blah blah ( Read more... )

So, yeah. Last week I hit a wall in my Stormy Weather outline. I'm rewriting/expanding/making awesome a YA ... novella ... I wrote about four years ago. I like the concept and I like the characters, so I wanted to clean 'em up and see what I could do with 'em. I got about 10K in before reworking the outline again. (This is usual for me: outline, ( Read more... )

The writer angst. What brought this round on?

Several friends have found agents in the last month.

Another is very, very close to selling her first novel.

Still others have finished their obviously brilliant novels and are ready to query.

And still others have written a bazillion words in the last week when I've not accomplished a whole heck of a ( Read more... )

My half-marathon training is going well, I think--today I almost made six miles and will shoot for that again Friday--but the result is my writing productivity is in the toilet. I'm ashamed to say my word output for May was 4K. Seriously, 4K? One short story? Not good, not good at all. I feel the scales of balance tipping too far away from the ( Read more... )

Almost. One more chapter and then I start on the "middle" of The Daphne Project.

This is my sixth (!) book, and I've always had a problem with middles. When I get an idea for a book, it's usually in the form of a few images from the beginning of the story. The plot catalyst and a few characters are clear in my mind. After tossing the idea around ( Read more... )

I've had two odd occurrences happen to me in the last week.

1. An author whose book I reviewed a few months back managed to find my e-mail address. Did I mention the review was less than complimentary? It actually wasn't horrible--I simply said that while I liked the characters, voice, and setting, I didn't finish the book for a very specific ( Read more... )

Only 200 words tonight. I have got to get my ass in gear.

The other day Ken and I were discussing my writing. Readers of this blog know this is a regular occurance. He is my Idea Man, my sounding board, my rock. Something Ken said the other day has stuck with me. I paraphrase:

Me: I think after The Daphne Project I'd like to go back and rewrite Stormy Weather. Make it one book rather than the first of a ( Read more... )

I voted this bright and early this morning. I pulled into the church parking lot at 6:05 a.m. and nearly couldn't find a parking spot. It was a madhouse! Usually when I vote before work it's three elderly ladies and a few farmers ahead of me but today everyone wanted to beat the rush and, in doing so, made a rush of their very own. I was the 75th ( Read more... )

For me, plotting is hands-down the hardest part of writing a book. I've started outline the next WIP--I don't have a title yet--and meh. I've got the first few chapters pretty solid in my mind, and I know who the bad guys are and what they want, so I'm not completely fumbling in the dark. It's more like I'm trying to find my way through an old ( Read more... )