My Writing Life

2003-09-26T19:11:00.000-04:00

I made myself a new Val's Writing Life on LJ. Mostly, I switched because LJ supports RSS feeds better and Evolution has a fun feed for just updated journals on the front page. Plus, LJ also has the regularly updated Friends page and most of my writing buddies are on LJ, so ::shrug:: random I know. Oh, well my primary blog isn't going anywhere.

2003-09-13T07:17:00.000-04:00

NaNoWriMo Approacheth. Counting like the Romans, there are 49 days left until October 31st. I want to do NaNoWriMo this year which means my plate needs to be cleared of the other things I'm working on. This means that I should have No Use Wind done by then...I don't know if I can do it though. Yes, I'm completely capable of writing at high speeds and writing well at high speeds, but I haven't done it in so long...I want No Use Wind done though and I want to break this cloud that's been hanging over my writing. Looks like I've talked myself into it. I'm gonna give it a go, but, right now, I need to finish getting ready for work. I'll calculate what my daily word count needs to be when I get home.

2003-09-11T16:07:00.000-04:00

Getting It Together. Didn't do the 3-Day marathon- school was starting that week, and I totally forgot how much work that was going to be getting myself ready. I've finally got some form of schedule worked out and I'm thinking about writing for fun again. My advanced comp class is cool--I had to read this essay called "A Writer's Habits" and I've been really thinking about it, especially the "Habit of Completion". I need to finish what I start.

No Use Wind, Update. Opened up the document, re-read it, then stared at it for almost an hour, without writing a new word. Opened up a new document, copied and pasted the third scene to be the first scene (I don't want to delete anything in case I want to use it later). I love this scene: it's Tangier and Reese, but starts off with Tangier remembering the night Paul saw her scars. It starts right off with conflict and sucks you in the story rather than dancing around it. Of course, now the novel starts off in Tangier's P.O.V. rather than in Reese's but I don't think it will be an issue...still haven't written anything really new, but I can feel my brain turning things over...

2003-08-30T09:51:00.000-04:00

Overslept. I had to deal with some school stuff, so didn't get to take a nap. Went to bed just before midnight, intending to get up in a couple of hours and start writing. Slept until after eight o'clock this morning. :-( Oh well, between all the stuff I've had to do this morning, I've written a little over 400 words (total writing time was about a half-hour). And it was without the reward/bribe of a quarter to push me ahead. :-) I've got to get ready to go now, but I'll write more when I get home. I want to make this first scene a lot more vivid; it's pretty bland right now.

2003-08-29T21:38:00.000-04:00

This explains what I write. I was sharing an issue I've been having about people being shocked that I don't write Christian fiction and Robert says "So, people are pissed that you, a devout Christian, tackle issues of sin and forgiveness in deeply Christian themed literature, without getting preachy." I love how that statement snapped me back into the reality of who I am and what I write.

I've been blocked lately. Robert rewards himself with a quarter each time he makes word count. I started doing it, it's worked a couple nights in a row so far. And this weekend is 3-Day Novel Marathon Weekend. I'm not shooting for the 40k goal. I don't actually have one of the goals in mind, just a lot of words. I have an idea for a story, a girl I trained with grew up travelling with the state fair and it totally sparked something in me. I'm going to try 1st person pov because I want to get comfortable writing in that voice and I'm writing with a way different tone than usual. It will be fun. There is a reason for the experiment though, I have an idea for a novel to market to Red Dress Ink and similar publications and I want to see how comfortable I am with the voice that would need.

I'm totally incoherent right now. I think I'll take a nap, so I'm refreshed before midnight. I think once it hits midnight, I'm gonna try for an all-nighter...I'm going to the races with my cousin tomorrow, so that will cut into some of my day writing time...I want to get a good start now.

I'll be sure to post my progress.

2003-08-08T22:36:00.000-04:00

Uncomfortable Realizations. Noticing that some of the themes in No Use Wind parallel my life. I suppose that has to be true in order for a work of fiction to be powerful, you have to mine it from something deep inside of yourself. However, not sure if I wanted to realize that I was struggling with these particular questions. What if when he finds out how damaged I am, he doesn't love me anymore? I've been living under this mask for so long, what if I've forgotten who I really am? What does it really mean to love and am I capable of it? Does my past determine who I am now and who I will be? Thinking about this stuff makes my spine feel like it wants to crawl out of my body. It makes for good writing though...that's one good thing.

2003-07-30T11:02:00.000-04:00

Looking Back. I just re-read my archives. I've skipped through a couple different sets of projects since last year. I'm going to stick with No Use Wind until it's done, then go back to Hush Little Baby. Not sure what I'm doing about Four More Exits yet.

2003-07-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

Fits and Starts. My knee problems prevent me from sitting in a chair for a long period of time (and by long, I mean, 30 minutes), so the writing has been 100 words here, a 100 words there. And the pain (which the pain pills are NOT decreasing) has shot my concentration all to pieces, so I'm mildly screwed. I'm trying though, every bit counts. I scrapped my original (3/4 of the way done) beginning scene for Chapter Two and I'm about halfway through the re-written one. It was pretty stupid--I'm writing the same thing with the same characters, but I came at it from a different angle, so it actually works now. I'll see what I can get done today.

2003-07-25T00:49:00.000-04:00

Some Words Are Better Than No Words. 180. Pretty icky. But there was some other stuff that had to be taken care of before I started writing. And like my title says "Some words are better than no words". I'm happy that I didn't just blow off No Use Wind completely tonight, like I did all last week. I'm going to go to bed now. Have to remember to wake up early in the morning, some laundry must be done. It would make for good writing time as well...

2003-07-25T00:24:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's Words. I got 656 words on the first scene in Chapter Two (I like saying that *Chapter Two*). It wasn't a 1000, but I knew sitting down to write that I wasn't going to have the time or energy to make it to 1k, but I sat down to write anyway. That's pretty exciting; I wrote anyway.

Today. I woke up five minutes before I had to leave the house (if I missed the bus I was going to be an hour late to work); I made it (Thank God!), but only had the stuff I needed for work and nothing to write on. I came home, changed, walked right back out of the house to go line dancing-my one social event of the week (hey! don't knock it till you've tried it, baby!), and got home about fifteen minutes. And now, I'm going to get some work done, but I haven't decided if it's going to be on No Use Wind yet.

2003-07-22T22:24:00.000-04:00

Chapter One Finished! The final Paul/Tangier scene ended up being shorter than I planned. Only 1470, instead of 2k, but I'm happy with what I have right now. I think I'll look back at it and see some points where I could give it some added depth. Tangier repented by the end of the scene, but I found myself wondering if she was still trying to manipulate Paul (and it was in his POV; he didn't suspect anything, so I'm not quite sure)...it might throw a wrench into the works. An interesting one though.

2003-07-22T20:21:00.000-04:00

Moving Along. I just typed up 1052 words that I wrote longhand on the bus ride to/from work today. Well, I actually only wrote 944 new words (I included the 108 from yesterday in that count). I'm halfway through the Paul/Tangier scene; Tangier is still being as manipulative as she was in the last scene, but, at least, Paul's realized it. He's fed up. I have to break to make some phone calls to people who actually go to sleep at a normal time (I know that if I don't stop now, the calls won't happen), then I'm at least going to finsh up the second half of this scene. I'd like to start working on the next chapter tonight, but we'll see. If nothing else, I wrote my 1k goal for the day and that's a good feeling. I love to write. I love to write every day. I don't know why I slack.

2003-07-22T09:14:00.000-04:00

Forgot to Post. I wrote 1064 words yesterday, finally finished the scene that I've been stalled on for almost a week. Tangier turned out to be a lot more manipulative and bratty in this scene than I had originally planned for (I had serious cramps yesterday and I'm still trying to decide whether or not that had anything to do with it...). So, No Use Wind is now up to 6260 words and I have 3 scenes. I'm averaging 2086 words per scene which is absolutely phenomenal for me since they are all real words. I also have some talking heads (I'm getting better at that though) and some telling not showing (getting better there too), so when I go back to fix them then the scenes will have more length. I started working on the next scene (and the final scene in Chapter One! w00t!) which is between Paul and Tangier, wrote 108 words there before I decided I needed to go to bed. I'm a little self-conscious about this scene already, my internal editor is throwing a fit, but I'm going to perservere, not weasel my way out of it like I normally would. So, total word count yesterday was 1172. I'd like to write 4k today and be able to claim a 5k pip for the Monthly Marathon, but we'll see. Onward!

2003-07-19T17:58:00.000-04:00

Bad Val. Again. I didn't write yesterday. I have to write today, I have to. Ick. I was doing well, then I just slide backwards. I don't even care about being behind on my goals, it's the fact that I didn't write anything. My lack of discipline makes me sick.

2003-07-18T09:34:00.000-04:00

Update. Wrote 1000 (and change) on Tuesday. Didn't write at all on Wednesday or Thursday. Bad Val.

2003-07-15T09:28:00.000-04:00

Typed. I typed up my longhand scene from last night; it came out to 2,119 words and brought up my manuscript (which only consists of two scenes) to 4,171 words. Today, I'm tackling the third scene: Tangier's flashback and the conversation between Reese and Tangier. I'd like to get another 2,000 words today (only 20 100-word chunks), but I'll sette for a 1000. I have to leave for work in forty minutes and I still have to eat, shower, and get dressed. *wink* I'll pst my updates later.

2003-07-15T00:55:00.000-04:00

Good Night. I haven't updated this in awhile. Anyway, I was out of the country (in the Ukraine) saw a lot of interesting things that will make it into worldbuilding and various stories. However, the purpose of (finally) updating my blog was to mention that I just finished my writing for the night. Finished with a wordcount of 2102: all on No Use Wind, all on one scene and it's the second scene (one I skipped working on the other day because I couldn't get it started). And I wrote it longhand because my "composing fiction on the computer" mindset hasn't been kicking in lately. But it's nice and it's 2k long! I love it when I actually manage to write a long scene. I was going to stop it at 1500 and then this lovely twist came up in the conversation between Eddy and Ben and I just ran with it. And now, my writing is grammatically incorrect and disjointed, so I'm going to bed. I'll try to actually update this from now on. Oh, and I think I'm gonna get some more scenes out of some twists that have been germinating in the back room of my brain since I last blogged. So, 2k a scene should work out nicely for my finished total. w00t! The first two scenes of No Use Wind have been re-written. I'm doing good. And now I'm going to sleep. Really.

2003-06-24T00:41:00.000-04:00

Revisiting NaNoWriMo. I finally decided to stop thinking of my NaNoWriMo novel as a piece of work that needed revision and expansion. I hit a block every time. The piece I wrote last year for NaNoWriMo last year is less of a novel and more of an extended (50k!) brainstorming on No Use Wind...

It kind of hurts to phrase it like that, but I learned a lot of valuable stuff from pushing myself to write that last November. I gutted it today, tore it all the way down to the foundations, used a Fast Plotting technique (involving index cards) I learned over at Forward Motion and figured out how to make the plot I stumbled across last November actually *work*. And I did. And it does. I have 36 scenes, I wanted 50 but couldn't work out any others (although some may sneak in when I start the writing), which means my scenes are going to have to be about 2800 words a piece to make it to 100k. Then, I strung all my scene cards into a narrative barebones outline (the very *rough* makings of a synopsis) and it was a little over three single-spaced pages long! Almost 1500 words! And I really like the twists it took, there's actually motivation for some of the stuff that got thrown in there last November. And my characters aren't as prissy. And there are actually subplots: they might need more development, but they're there! I want to actually have something solid to stand on before I start racing to write the actual words again. I'm happy though. Exhausted, but happy.

2003-06-15T13:43:00.000-04:00

Today's Word: orphan

She sat on the dock, kicking her feet in the water, watching the ripples spread. Families were like that, everybody affecting each other, no one was alone. No one except her. They were all gone now. She was left here to wait

2003-06-14T08:45:00.000-04:00

Today's Word: end

It was over. She should have realized it when he had asked to come over so late. He said that he had something to discuss with her, something serious. She'd ignored the feelings of dread that had accompanied his statement, sure that she was wrong, sure that this wouldn't happen to her, sure that

2003-06-13T08:47:00.000-04:00

Fun New Site. AlliKat posted the link to this one. It's called OneWord: It gives you one word at the beginning of each day and then you have 60 seconds to write about whatever that word conjures up in your mind. The word is the same for each person who uses it on any given day, so if you're planning on trying it out, don't read the rest of the post.

Today's Word: floor

She sat on the floor, watching her blood cover the floor. It was stupid really, that she had been shot for just coming home at the wrong time. Burglars should hang a sign or something: "Armed robbery in progress. Do not enter" and now she was dying. It was stupid

That was kind of morbid, but interesting as a warm-up exercise. I could keep going. And I meant the second "floor" to be "hardwood", but my fingers typed something else and I didn't want to waste time to erase.

2003-05-29T01:14:00.000-04:00

Sleep. Finally. I had to skip writing totally yesterday which made 1000 words missed. I wrote 1013 today though (just finished actually. ugh! I was using sleep as my reward). So, if I wrote another 1k tomorrow, then I'll be on track again. My scene ended up about 600 words short though. I only made it to 1400 and change with the second scene (I was shooting for 2k), but that's still a nice improvement over my usual one. Maybe I'll hit 2k with the hospital scene I'm working on now. Rather late in the word count I had to switch over to writing long hand because my eyes were crossing at the monitor...ahh, well...

2003-05-27T09:09:00.000-04:00

Real Life (tm). I wrote a little over 100 words yesterday. A bunch of stuff conspired against me and I couldn't get back to the computer. I ended up not getting home until 1 am, and by then my contacts were in rebellion. I'll just have to make up that ground at some point.

2003-05-25T00:18:00.000-04:00

By The Hair On The Skin Of My Chinny Chin Chin. I made my goal tonight. Rough writing though, but I persevered and got 576 words. For the record, I actually made it an inch before midnight (not that it matters, my night's not over until I go to sleep, well, until I take out my contacts at least). And tomorrow is my day off. I can write, but if I do it's not planned, it's just bonus. That's a nice feeling.

2003-05-24T18:43:00.000-04:00

New Keyboard. I probably just spilled water on it, so it should dry out shortly and work fine. Al loaned me a keyboard (the joys of having family in computers): A Microsoft Natural! w00t! I'm in love with it already. I still have to get my writing done for the day, but I'm about to start working on it right now.

2003-05-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

Slow And Steady. Wrote 513 words today (had it done before I reached home on the bus). I re-wrote the beginning of the second scene in HLB (what I was thinking about starting yesterday). I came home intent on typing it up and getting everything all squared away, but my keyboard to my computer is on the fritz. Something must have spilled in it or something because it is acting really oddly. So, I'm typing on Skip's computer. Trying to get my work done. I wrote long-handed, but I want to get it saved to disk. I'm writing 500 words a day; consistency is the ticket. I'd eventually like to be able to write fast and steady, but until I can increase my wordcount and still write every day, I"m gonna stick with slow but steady.

P.S. It's hard writing on another keyboard. Skip's is a bit smaller than mine which makes it hard to adapt to.

2003-05-22T19:21:00.000-04:00

Made my goal. I ended up with a solid first scene for HLB of 521 words. I might try to start my re-write of the second scene (what I wrote on Sunday was pretty dismal), but I haven't decided yet. Baby steps is the ticket, I've learned. So, I'll shoot for 500 solid words on a scene that will end up being a little over 2k long. That is if I decide to work on it tonight. I probably will.

Apprehensive. HLB's first scene scares me a little. It's not graphic at all, Di gets knocked unconscious before anything actually happens and she wakes up after it's all over, but still...The first line is "Thought you said we was gonna get a white girl this time."...I can't think of any other way to start it and I don't really want to soften that. I've been working really hard to say what I mean and not weasel my way out of it, but still...*sigh*...

2003-05-22T17:47:00.000-04:00

Random Fact. The fingerprints of koala bears are very similar to human fingerprints, so similar that they've actually been confused at crime scenes...I wonder if one day I'll be able to work that into a novel. I've always wanted to do a mystery series one day. I also joined a professional writer's group run by S.L. Viehl; I'm very excited about that. I'm rewriting the first HLB scene, going to try to develop it to 500 words. That's all on my end. Back to work.

2003-05-18T15:38:00.000-04:00

Oops. I fell asleep at the keyboard. I started the scene I was having trouble with (got 235 words in, just over a ms formatted page long) and next thing I know Mom's asking me if I want to lay down in the bedroom. :-) I don't think I've ever done that before...

2003-05-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

Jumpstarting The Muse. Having a little trouble getting the fingers going today. I wrote the first scene of Hush Little Baby, only 386 words, but I wasn't trying to do ten pages yet. That scene was supposed to be short, there's really no getting around it. Now, I have to use Mark's (Dad's)) P.O.V. to show him waiting for Diana to get home (his over-bearing protective skills kicking), the family dynamics involved, and his reaction to her showing up on the doorstep bruised and dirty. A lot to cover. And I can't figure out how to get started. And I'm at home (the parents' house) and Mom's got the TV blaring and so much is going on. Guess I've gotten used to working in my own space...Well, back to work.

2003-05-16T09:14:00.000-04:00

It Works! I had a great session with Kay last night! She thinks that Diana could be declared incapable of making that decision. Her only issue was whether the doctor would willingly perform the procedure on an unwilling patient. However, we discussed it and realized that Di is only 14. Her father took her to court because he was worried about what decision she was making, all the adults in her life are telling her to think about the future, the judge orders it over her nay-say. The doctor says "Sweetie...you're not even responsible for the decision", she goes along with it, because of the medical complications, the procedure is performed immediately. She regrets it after it's done, but it's already done. w00t! I'm so excited. I'm going to try to finish up all my other plotting (one-line scene descriptions) today, so I can start writing. And there's a monthly marathon over at FM this weekend, so maybe I'll be able to break in the new novel with a bang. :-) :-)

Something For Me To Work On. The length of my scenes. They always seem to be about 500 words or two pages. I need to work on developing them more (not just having two heads talking). Well, developing without padding (I learned to pad at NaNoWriMo last November). I'd like to be able to write a ten page scene, but we'll see...I think one of the main issues is that I focus on something too little to write for awhile on.

2003-05-15T17:43:00.000-04:00

You are a narrative writer. Usually a writer of
stories rather than poetry, you grew up reading
Shakespeare's less popular and heard of plays--
like King Lear or the Henry series. Your
writing contains a certain order and
organization--be it chronological or otherwise.
If you are to write poetry, it has to convey a
logical (or perhaps unreal) story with some
sort of order behind it.

What's YOUR Writing Style?
brought to you by Quizilla

2003-05-15T16:43:00.000-04:00

Brainstorming Appointment. I e-mailed Kay this morning and just got her reply when I got home. We're going to meet in FM chat at seven o'clock this evening. Look at me being proactive about plotting.

And Congratulations... To Robert and Nonny who, on Monday, finally got to drop the "long-distance" phrase out of their relationship. I'm thrilled for you two.

2003-05-15T09:35:00.000-04:00

Switched Projects. I decided to shelve Four More Exits for a little while. I love the seed idea still, but I think I need to let it grow on its own for a little while. I've been pouring water on it, shouting "Grow! Grow!" and all I've succeeded in doing is drowning the poor thing. So, time to let all that water absorb is the prescription I've decided one. I moved on to an idea I had years ago (Hush Little Baby) about a girl who gets raped, gets pregnant, and refuses to have an abortion. It's one of those ideas that haunts me at night: interesting, twisted, morally stretching ("how far would you go to "protect" the ones you love?" sits right at the center of the novel). I used one of Sheila's plotting templates and that worked really nicely for this novel. However, now I really need to catch Kay (an FM associate and a lawyer) in chat so I can see if my ending is plausible. I have to build a very specific set of details into the entire story to support it and I'm reluctant to start writing until I know whether I can make it work. If not, it's still a good idea, but a separate set of details has to be built in to support the other direction it could go in. All in all, I'm rather excited {{shiver}}.

2003-04-30T19:16:00.000-04:00

Fell off the wagon...Again. Oh well, nothing to do but start again. I signed up for a dare this month at Forward Motion, I'll be writing short stories all month long based on an Instant Muse Story Starter. It should be interesting. Maybe, I'll post a couple here. Meanwhile, I have a new writing quote: " 'The cat sat on the mat' is not the beginning of a story, but 'The cat sat on the dog's mat' is." (-John Le Carre) That's all for now. I have class tonight. And the dare starts tomorrow.

2003-03-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

Plot, Val. Plot. I'm slogging through (yet another) outline of Four More Exits. Would you believe I lost my other one? Ages ago; I was trying to do it without it. But it's just not working. So, I'm trying a template that Sheila Kelly posted over on the Forward Motion board. It seems to be working all right. I really need to figure out how this whole outlining thing works for me. I can't keep slogging like this.

2003-03-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Back On The Wagon. With modest goals (courtesy of On Writing by Steven King) to get me back into the habit of writing. 1000 words a day, six days a week. No exceptions.

2003-02-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

Pushing On. Got another 3000 words of rewriting done on my NaNoNovel (I didn't feel like typing that long title). I'm feeling good about that considering I got my period today (and felt really sick) and had to work. I'm writing almost completely new scenes: I switch POVs, take out all the randomness that managed to creep in, add information that I skipped over. It's like I'm writing a whole new book (with the same basic ideas). I'm happy with what I've got so far, but I think I'm going to have to do at least one more full revision after this (since just now am I writing the book I should have written in November). Time for sleep now though; 6am comes really early.

2003-02-19T21:09:00.000-05:00

Inspiration is found in music apparently. At least, for me it is. My soundtrack for Four More Exits which I finally got some more work done on is:

"Why Georgia" by John Mayer (a live version)
"Joyful Girl" by Ani DiFranco
"Make Me Stay" by Ani DiFranco
"Test of Time" by Gypsy Soul
"32 Flavors" by Ani DiFranco
"A Love Song" by Yuko Ohigashi
"You Belong To Me" by Vonda Shepherd (the piano playing chick from Alli McBeal)
"I Try" by Macy Gray
"Midnight Train To Georgia" by Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls (a live version)
"Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini" by Rachmaninoff
"Back To You" by John Mayer
"Fallen" by Alicia Keys
"When Doves Cry" by Ani DiFranco and Aimee Mann (a live version)
"Ain't No Sunshine" by Jackson Five
"Once You're Gone" by Matt Lande
"You Belong To Me" by Jason Wade (the guy from Lifehouse; this is off the Shrek soundtrack and yes, it is a different version of the song by Vonda Shepherd up above)
"My Love Belongs To You" by Al Strickland
"Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini" by Rachmaninoff
"Comfortable" by John Mayer
"Longing For You" by Yuko Ohigashi
"Test Of Time" by Gypsy Soul (same song as above but a different recording of it; there's a man doing backup on this one)
"Don't Go" by Yuko Ohigashi
"I Remember" by Lauryn Hill
"Your Body Is A Wonderland" by John Mayer
"You Belong To Me" by Jason Wade
"Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini" by Rachmaninoff

A couple comments about my soundtrack:
*the first portion up to "Rhapsody on a Theme" is for Anya; the second chunk to the next "Rhapsody on a Theme" is for Jay; the third bit to the last "Rhapsody on a Theme" is all Mark (they're my three main characters-->Anya being the one I focus the most on).
*I like John Mayer and his lyrics rock.
*I also like Ani DiFranco.
*I repeat certain songs because the lyrics and music work perfectly for more than one character; sometimes I use different versions of the same song.
*Yuko Ohigashi is a fantastic pianist.

2003-02-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

Slacker. That would be me. I need to get my butt back in gear and write myself a schedule.

2003-02-01T13:09:00.000-05:00

2534 And I've earned another cup of tea, food, a shower, and an extended stretch break. I think my other 2500 words today will be in revisions on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows. I was in the zone with Four More Exits got jolted out and have been clawing out word after word. Editing and expanding will clear my head for tomorrow.

2003-02-01T11:23:00.000-05:00

1537. Over a quarter of the way through my 5k goal to ransom linedancing tonight. I'm playing (mostly) instrumental music to keep my attention focused. And have one foot in the "Writing Only" chat at Forward Motion to keep myself motivated.

2003-02-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

And They're Off! 10k or bust! I need to make at least 5k today. And I'm going to use Four More Exits since I'm so far behind where I should be on that.

2003-01-30T09:52:00.000-05:00

Super Weekend. Forward Motion hosts a monthly marathon the first weekend of every month. I signed up for the 10k level. So, Saturday and Sunday are going to be rockin' writing days... Today will be one too. Okay, I'm really going to be late to work if I don't leave now.

2003-01-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

Today's Goals. 2000 words of new material on Four More Exits. Hopefully, I'll also get 2000 words of revision on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows.

Sheila (aka S.L. Viehl) has an incredibly cool project called Author in the Window on the table. I'm hoping I'll be able to get involved.

That's it for now. Time to work.

2003-01-30T00:43:00.000-05:00

Cursed Eyesight. 1100 words and one flipped P.O.V. (Reese to Tangier) scene later, my contacts are in full shutdown. I really need to buy a new pair of glasses; I have another 3900 words left in me, I'm not tired at all, unfortunately, my eyes have other ideas. I'll be up early tomorrow though. And I'll write more once my eyes have decided to play nice again. That'll teach me to let Real Life (tm) interrupt my writing time.

2003-01-29T23:50:00.000-05:00

Real Life Interruptions. Shortly after I posted my goal for the night, my aunt and cousin came over, then my mother and stepfather called, then my boyfriend and his sister came over to drop something off. He fell asleep on the couch, but his sister and I had stuff that needed to be discussed. Three hours gone...*sigh* Back to work.

2003-01-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

Productivity. My goal is 5000 words (of revision) on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows [that title is so long; I really have to change it]. It should all be new stuff since I have to switch a couple scenes into other P.O.V.s and expand the ones that are staying in Reese's P.O.V.; time to work.

2003-01-25T14:35:00.000-05:00

Huzzah! So far, I've cranked out 3500 words on Four More Exits, which means that the scenes I flod previously are now rewritten and my first chapter is done! Although, I think I might expand the 4th and 5th scene...they're a little over 200 words each and that's short. I like where they start and where they end, but I think I could add some depth to the dialogue. We'll see. I'm proud of myself, especially since that was in about three hours and I got interrupted quite a few times. Forward Motion's site is down due to a virus which means I don't really have any excuse not to write until I'm supposed to go hang out with a friend later.

2003-01-25T11:15:00.000-05:00

Anya's Soundtrack. I'm writing the first scene for Four More Exits now. My soundtrack for Anya's POV consists of: "Why Georgia" (John Mayer), "Joyful Girl" (Ani DiFranco), "Make Me Stay" (Ani DiFranco), "Talk To Me Now" (Ani DiFranco), "Wild Women Do" (Natalie Cole), and "Breathe" (John Reuben). I'm sure it will expand as I continue to write and I also have some ideas for when I write scenes from the boys' POVs. I've discovered that I write better to music...it's just the way I work. Time to write.

2003-01-20T22:34:00.000-05:00

No Way Around It. I'm going to have to flod all of the first four scenes I wrote for Four More Exits. I might be able to rework them once I get a better handle on the direction the story is going to go, but for now I'm sending them to the scrap pile. I wrote those first scenes and then the story stopped dead in its tracks. I haven't been able to get anything new on them for over a week now...so, I'm starting again. Analyzing the outline I made because it was hasty and flawed (even though I thought it was perfect when I wrote it) and starting again. I know it's necessary though, so I'm not too annoyed by it. Round Two, here I come...

2003-01-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

Slacker. That's me. I'm lagging on the stuff that I should really have done by now. I think I'm going to have to rip apart the four scenes that I had done for Four More Exits, they feel really flat. But the revision on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows is going amazingly well. And I ordered a book (Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass) with a giftcard I got for Christmas...gotta love the bookstore giftcards, people know me so well...

2003-01-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

Update. I wrote 5000 words (of revision) this weekend on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows. I also finally retrieved my notebook with all my plotting for Four More Exits in it. Discussed the plot with my Mom, she found it intriguing; always a good thing.

2003-01-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

Writing Resolutions. Write something every day (preferably in the 1k to 2k range, but something). Send a piece out to get published (it doesn't matter if it gets accepted or rejected, I need to take the first step). Remember that writing is something I love, no matter what else happens this year.

2002-12-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

New Depths. A Forward Motion person, Erik, recently set up his web cam. I've taken to opening it in a little window while I'm on the Internet. It's pretty amusing when we're all in chat together since Erik has a really expressive face. But, in reality, it's just another way to procrastinate when I should be writing (or re-writing). [grin] Erik also sky-dives, I've always wanted to go sky-diving but always said I wouldn't until I actually knew someone who had gone and enjoyed it...guess I don't have an excuse any longer. Maybe this summer? That could be fun.

2002-12-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

Dares. I've signed up for the Jan-Feb Dares over at Forward Motion. I realized how much having a little push helps me to keep my goals. So, I've committed to rewriting my novel (...And You're The Only One Who Knows), writing eight new chapters of at least 1000 words each (Four More Exits), and writing 2000 words per day (that's to be averaged at the end of the two months, and isn't that big of a deal since all the rewriting I do on ...And You're The Only One Who Knows counts).

2002-12-27T15:27:00.000-05:00

Rewrites. I spent Christmas at my parents' house. They have a laser printer, so they graciously allowed me to print out ...And You're The Only One Who Knows. I loved having the weight of all that paper in my hands, such a thrill. I edited the first couple of pages, but I need to set up a schedule. I plan on having it completely overhauled by the end of January and then send it out for Opal to critique.

Distractions. Life has decided to intrude on my lovely little writing schedule. Not that I mind about the manner in which it has decided to intrude, but it looks like I will be switching to knocking out my 1k in the first part of the day rather than in the latter half. I've had entirely too many late nights recently...

2002-12-17T23:16:00.000-05:00

Concentration. I'm trying to work on the hospital scene from ...And You're The Only One Who Knows tonight. But I'm finding it incredibly hard to concentrate. I really shouldn't be surprised. I'm sick and that always screws me up. I'm also feeling scattered for other reasons. I don't think I'm going to be able to get anything else done tonight...

2002-12-14T16:58:00.000-05:00

Resolution Take Two. Yeah, I didn't write that 1000 words yesterday. I consider the 200 I did write an accomplishment since I left the house before 9am and didn't get home until after midnight. So, I started again today. And I've already written my 1000 words (thank you very much!).

Productivity. I also brainstormed on a scene that's been nagging me from ...And You're The Only One Who Knows. I mean, the whole novel is crying out for revision, but I've been thinking about this scene since I wrote it. It's in the hospital where Reese and Tangier (and Paul and Jedediah) have to go visit their dying (abusive) mother. I really rushed through the scene and since it plays a key part in the novel as a whole and it has such great potential (the mother is evil!), I really needed to get some ideas to draw it out. The folks over at Forward Motion helped a lot with some ideas and some absolutely amazing snippets of dialogue the mother could say ("Thank God you can't have kids. I mean, what child could ever love you?"--> Tangier; and some others that are much meaner...). It was great. I've got a whole pageful of ideas I can use to expand the scene, really develop the mother's character (since this is the only time she is directly in the novel) and show the effect that she still has over her daughters. I'm actually cringing at how awful she is to them and that's a good thing. ;-)

2002-12-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

Resolutions. I know it's not January, but I made my first resolution and thought I'd share it. I've decided that I need to build a habit of writing daily (I cranked out those 50k last month, even though I wasn't always consistent to sit down and type every day). So, with that thought, I've decided on a low daily goal. 1,000 words a day. Easy. But since it's so little, I can crank it out every single day without fail. And I will, starting today.

2002-12-10T22:38:00.000-05:00

Plotting, Part Two. After stumbling and limping my way through thinking my way through my idea for Four More Exits, I hit gold this morning and have managed to work my way through about three-quarters of it. I'm stalled again now, but I'm going to start working with what I have now. In other news, found out that one of the bartenders of the restaurant I work in is a creative writing major...

2002-12-08T21:10:00.000-05:00

Plotting. I'm trying my hand at actually kind of knowing what's going to happen in my novel before I start writing. I've found some good resources on outlining/plotting at Forward Motion, and so I'm attempting to work from those. I might need to ask one of the writers who's experienced at plotting like that to give me a hand. I'm just not sure if I'm going about it in the right way. Oh well [[sighs]] maybe I'll end up figuring out a way to plot that absolutely works for me....

2002-12-06T11:37:00.000-05:00

New Project. I started something new yesterday called "Four More Exits" (yes-I ripped off song lyrics for my title again: this time John Mayer's Why Georgia?). I've had a couple of ideas knocking around in my head but it really gelled when I overheard a conversation on the bus yesterday. Anyway, I guess we'll see where it goes. It will at least keep me occupied until it's time to start editing "...And You're The Only One Who Knows" (which still might end up with the title "Reese's Pieces" because I think it's funny)

2002-12-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

Feedback. This is from Opal, one of the authors I met through NaNoWriMo (she got to read my novel because I got to read hers): "...it was pretty much a constant read for a day. I was reluctant to put it down, which is definitely a good sign. The characters were interesting and engaging. I'd be very proud of this as a thirty day draft. Way to go!" She also volunteered her services as an indepth critic when I'm done with my editing. :-)

2002-11-30T03:06:00.000-05:00

Do A Little Dance. Or a really big dance because I just finished a novel!! 50,000 words in 30 days! It's 3:00am and I really wish someone was awake that I could jump up and down and scream with. My modified, solo celebration includes a handful of animal crackers and sleep (blessed sleep)...But, dude, I wrote a NOVEL. How cool is that?...

2002-11-30T01:36:00.000-05:00

I Inch Closer. 941 words left. [[grin]]

2002-11-30T01:16:00.000-05:00

Almost Done! 1308 words left to go. I'm not going to sleep until I'm done. It's only 1308 words. Write, Val, write!

2002-11-29T01:21:00.000-05:00

Exhausted. I'm at 46,006 words right now. I really wanted to crank out another 500 or 1k or so tonight, but I just can't do it. My nose is all stopped up and my body aches. Stupid cold. I have high hopes of finishing tomorrow night rather than on Saturday night. It's only 3,994 words (which I'm perfectly capable of writing in a single day), but we'll see what happens. I've also been listening to the same three songs over and over again, they've managed to gel in my mind as the perfect writing music...for tonight, anyway.

2002-11-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

Caught Up. My word count is now 44,105. And now, I can go to sleep. Or I can stay up for awhile longer and mindlessly surf the internet...

2002-11-27T20:08:00.000-05:00

Four Days Left. And, Dude, I just wasted an entire hour at the website of the guy who played Wesley Crusher (on Star Trek:The Next Generation). He's actually kind of cool. Anyway, I'm chugging away--skipped out on about a thousand words yesterday because I got stranded at the house I was babysitting at (the roads were bad), but I'm making it up now. Encouraging Thought: My mom will force me to sit and write if I'm not at the right word count tomorrow when I go home for Thanksgiving...

2002-11-24T01:42:00.000-05:00

Fried Brain. I'm done for the night (sleep might be a good thing, especially when you wear contacts and have to be at the first service for church tomorrow). So, my final word count is 35,624... And I'm still planning on cranking out those 2300 words later today.

2002-11-24T00:18:00.000-05:00

Progress. Since I just realized that my roommate called me eight hours ago saying that she was on her way home and I haven't heard from her since, and possessing a rather vivid imagination and an active worrying streak, I have just paged her. Deciding that sitting, staring into space isn't going to help and that I'm not going to be able to sleep, I've decided to write. Productivity is a good thing. I have now dashed across the 35k line and am sprinting down the last 15k. The finish line is in sight (but not for tonight- what kind of powerhouse do you think I am?)

2002-11-23T23:42:00.000-05:00

Latest Word Count. 34,650 words which means I am 69.3% done. Only 15,350 more to go and I have seven days left. Looks like I'm actually going to make it.

2002-11-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

Procrastination. Today's procrastination attempts included making myself two cups of hot cider (from a packet, not the real thing) and about eight cups of tea; going to the bathroom at least twice for every cup I drank; researching cremation (hey, it had to do with my novel at least); staring into the distance thinking of various questions my roommate could answer for me (she did take that death & dying course last semester); deciding that I don't particularly care for MS Word or even MS Office in general and switching (on the recommendation of another NaNoWriMo participant) to OpenOffice.org (or Ooo1.01 as they persist in calling it) an open-source office suite (which so far I rather enjoy).

Productivity. I did sit down though and have my entire word count cranked out before 8pm. I rewarded myself with another cup of tea, a bag of buttery popcorn, eight saltines, and allowing myself to watch Pretty Woman. As it is now almost midnight (and this is the first opportunity I have had in ages to actually go to bed reasonably early), I might want to be done for the rest of the night. But probably not.

2002-11-23T00:35:00.000-05:00

Home Stretch. I'm at 32,204 words which meanse I have 17,796 more to go (in eight days!). I can do that though. As long as I discipline myself to sit down and write, I can crank out the 2300 words I need a day to finish this novel. Anyway, with those almost 18k words I have to finsih up Mon and Tues and maybe Wed morning (my novel spans a week in my main character's life and it started Wed eve, so depending on how it goes I might cover the next Wed's am) and an epilogue; oh, and flesh out the prologue. [[shrug]] It's going well. I'll definitely finish it (especially if I manage to crank out more than the minimum word requirement tomorrow and Sunday)...

2002-11-20T00:22:00.000-05:00

Like Pulling Teeth. That's what writing was today. I persevered though and managed to hit my target word count plus 59 extra words (for a total of 27,629 words). I am now 55.258% done with ...And You're The Only One Who Knows (the latest title which I enjoy even though it is rather long). In other news, I must have the most supportive Mom in the entire world. Oh, and Thin Mints are great rewards when you hit your word count...

2002-11-19T00:21:00.000-05:00

Halfway. And Then Some. So, I hit 25k about 90 minutes ago. My official word count is 25,530...I should have hit that on Sat/Sun, but I went out both days and wasn't productive (I had a blast though). I can still finish on time writing a little over 2k a day (which isn't actually that hard to do when I actually sit down to write). I can't wait to be done with this so I can rework it. I glanced through it today and noticed a lot of glaring holes. I actually like my story it's just not anywhere close to presentable at the moment...

2002-11-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

Social Obligations. Okay, my writing time tonight just dropped to nil...I just agreed to escort my cousin and three of his friends to the movies tonight. Fortunately, I am now at 21,190 words. So, I'm thinking that between now and the bus ride to the house of the girl I mentor I'll be able to crank out another 1000 words (I hope, I hope, I hope). I might be able to get another five to six hundred words between the time that I get picked up and the time we're at the theatre. I won't be home until 12:30am at the best. So, I'll type up whatever I wrote out longhand, sleep (sleep? what's sleep?) and crank out another couple thousand in the morning. I, at least, know what my plot is doing right now (the abusive mom is dying and her daughters have to deal with it. die, abusive mom! die!), so I don't have to worry about waiting for inspiration to strike.

2002-11-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

20k...And Going Strong. My current word count is 20, 368! Of course, I'm supposed to be at 25k by the end of today (its the halfway mark of the month!), but whatever. I'm much farther along than the 17k I started with this morning. I'll be completely caught up by the end of this weekend (well, hopefully, my social life has decided to reinsert itself into my time). I'm actually planning on hitting 25k before I go to bed tonight. And why not? I didn't work today and I'm all alone in the house. Well, off I go. Onward with the writing!!

2002-11-07T23:43:00.000-05:00

Over 10k! Okay, so I am only over by 44 words--over is over, don't quibble about technicalities. And I am officially 1/5th of the way through my novel. *grin* I've got a really hard scene to write next (Reese and her sister were abused as children and they're discussing it), so I'm glad that I get to be done for the night. I have to be at that conference at church tomorrow, so who knows how much my word count will increase tomorrow...Since, I've been truckin' along at about 2k words/day since I scrapped my first attempt and started again; I should (hopefully) have another 10k words in five more days. Hmm, we'll see.

2002-11-07T17:27:00.000-05:00

In a shameless attempt to boost my word count (I fell behind yesterday), I have had my male lead (Jedediah) repeat an almost verbatim account of a road trip that one of my friends took a couple summers back and told me about on Saturday (that was good for 588 extra words-that I made tie in with the story line). Today, my female lead (Reese) had a karaoke moment on her college campus and sung almost all of the lyrics to "Hey Mickey" (that scene was worth an additional 516 words). Gotta love the randomness. Hey, it all ties in with the plot...so it's legit padding. *wink*

2002-11-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

Starting Over. Yeah, I wrote 3,000+ words that weren't going to go anywhere. Honestly, there was nothing I could do, I swear. So, I trashed them. And started again (that was on Sunday). Much of the same plot, but I changed some fundamental details about them both--so I'm much happier now. I also pilfered everything that was able to transfer from one story to the other. I'm having a blast, rocking it out with the writing.

2002-11-01T19:54:00.000-05:00

Day One. I just finished my word quota for the day (I have to write 1,667 words per day to hit 50k in thirty days...I made it to 1,683 just now: Go me!) I'm remembering how warped my sense of humor is and how much more warped it sounds on paper. Oh well--after thirty days I can edit to my heart's content. Hey, this reminds me of Finding Forrester when Forrester tells Jamal to just write. Don't think, write. If any movie gets me in the mood for writing it is that one...I bet I watch it more than a couple times this month...

2002-10-31T10:09:00.000-05:00

What Am I Doing? I just randomly signed up for the NaNoWriMo. My palms are sweating already. Anyways, it's all her fault. [[grin]] This is exactly what I need though...a kick in the pants. I have no idea what this novel is going to be about...and I stole the title from Billy Joel's song "And So It Goes"...well, it's not exactly stolen from there, but that was definitely the inspiration. I'll probably change it before it's all done with...but, maybe I should go back to my normal life now, since it's all going to change tomorrow...[[grin]]