Second Time Around

I'm starting over editing ST. Not that the last round was bad, I've just been away from it for a month and I need to start again fresh. So, tomorrow I'll be good and start editing from the veeery beginning of page 1. Hopefully this little break away from the story will have given me the strength necessary to cut out 23 pages of non-essential prose and stream line the story better. I neeed to start up the tension faster. The action needs to rachet higher more quickly in chapter one. I need to get my main characters in trouble pronto, not on page 5, but ASAP.

So, that's my plan and I'm sticking to it. Updates will be forthcoming.

~A

I Won!!

And by that, I mean I have successfully completed the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days for NaNoWriMo. Oh, the story isn't quit complete just yet. There's still a little more since I've just written up to the Black Moment in the story (apprx. 3/4 through). I'll be totally completing DBWB sometime this month at my leisure.

Did I say leisure?? I must be nuts, since now I must get back to my ST edit. But DBWB will get finished.

As for the celebration, I chose veggie pizza and a huge, cold Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout Beer. Mmm . . . so yummy and delicious! I was in heaven and took the rest of the night off from writing. I'm taking tomorrow off too.

But, I DID IT! After trying twice before, this year I WON NaNoWriMo!!! WOOHOO!!!


NaNoWriMo, DBWB -

50,483 / 50,000 (101.0%)

~A

NaNoWriMo: DBWB --

I'm getting there . . .

43,866 / 50,000 (87.7%)

~A :-)

All In A Day

What was I thinking to sign up for NaNoWriMo (at the last minute) this year on top of everything with family going on plus T-day??

Reason: I'm insane. I must be. After the great feeling of accomplishment I had about finishing FP in Oct., I was on a roll from the writing high and wanted to continue. So, DBWB was born and I threw my proverbial hat into the NaNo ring seconds before the starting bell rang.

Gads.

Now I'm not so sure about this story. I've been working my assets off trying to get it written, and I'm not where I want to be. My goal was to reach 40K yesterday because this is the last week and the official "pencils down!" bell will go off at midnight Nov 30th. I'm sitting just shy of 38K right now.

And WHY am I blogging when I should be writing??? Procrastination is my friend. At least first thing in the morning until I get caffeinated and ready to tackle my lofty goal of the day (usually between 10-15 pages which for me is quite doable).

No, wait, dialogue is my friend. ;-) And I just finished breakfast -- 2 Lady Walton's Gourmet Creamy Dark Chocolate Butter Wafer Cookies totaling 6 points on my Weight Watchers chart and . . . soooo yummy!!! I'm on my second cup-o-Columbian Supremo, DH is at work, my kid's at school and the house is quiet. Even the cat's outside, though I can hear him up on our rook chasing squirrels.

Ahhh, it's writing time. :-)



NaNoWriMo: DBWB --

37,388 / 50,000 (74.8%)

~A

T-Day: Take Two

Yep, I'm doing it again. When my DH realized we weren't going to have any turkey or feast leftovers, I decided we'd have our own little family meal with all the trimmings. Made for a nice Friday night dinner, plus we now have plenty of leftovers to gobble down when we get peckish. ;-)

~A

In The Zone

The baking zone, that is. With the holidays in full swing, I've been cooking and baking for nearly a month. I always start off easy, a cookie or cake recipe that's an old favorite, then I move on to something a bit more challenging.

Much like writing a book -- start with what you know, research if necessary, and expand from there.

No biggie.

So, okay, the old stand-by muffins-out--of-a-box mix and spice cake went well. The new chocolate mint cookie recipe didn't even give me to much trouble. I liked that, and a few of them are still around for the family to savor for breakfast. Today I've pulled another old standard: candied pecans. I haven't made these in a couple of years, an they always turn out great. I have to do my fav maple pecan pie too for T-day. And . . . I'm trying out a new cake recipe from Paula Deen's TV cooking show, Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. Mmmm!!! So easy and quick.

Not like writing a book, which takes time and an whole heck of a lot more effort to get just right. ;-)

For me, baking and writing are so similar: you start with the basic elements or ingredients, mix them up, see what it needs and add a pinch of this or a smidgon of that or turn it over to a crit partner, adjust and mix a little more then bake it or write "The End." Volia! You have a great final product to read or eat.

Not too difficult to figure out. The process (of writing) can get detoured by life interferences, and right now I've caught up on my obligations, but waaay behind on my own stuff, especially NaNoWriMo. I'm 32,000 in, and I have 18K to go to finish by the end of this month. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

Maybe.

No! I WILL FINISH THIS STORY!

And catch up on emails, and report to my BIAW group, and get my butt to the gym at least 2 times today, and clean the kitchen, and-and-and . . .

Good thing is, with the NaNo project completed, in Dec. I only have a couple of things to do. I have my online workshop for FTHRW ("Writing By The Signs: Creating Believable Characters with Astrology" starting Dec. 17, 2006 -- the info is on my website if you're interested in taking the class, www.AnnJR.com). Plus I'm going to write a story just for me and because I want to. Kind of like a present from me to me. So far, my working title is "Down For The Count," and it's about a modern everyday witch who owns a little bakery, her magical mishaps, and what happens when she meets a real European Count with a sweet-tooth. I've plotted out the story outline, and will get to the rest later. Gonna have fun with that one.

Gotta so play catch-up this morning--more later.

Happy T-day!

~A

My Progress

Well, I'm writing and editing, but I've lost count of my pages over the past week. I have 2 WIPs and 1 complete manuscript I'm editing, plus all the baking for the holidays.

The house smells yummy, and my heros are becoming even yummier as I progress. I love it when I get to this point, just beyond about 1/3 of the story. It makes sense, motivations seem real, goals are realisticially out of reach (for the moment), and my Muse kicks my butt into a higher gear. :-)

And tomorrow I have my very first function as an official Room Mother to help with my son's Thanksgiving Feast at school. Gonna love it. :-)

~A

Not Getting It

Yesterday was frustrating at best. I didn't get back to my writing until last night after averyone was alseep. I still think I can finish Nano, if I can stay on track. I'm pretty close to the halfway point, and my other WIP is almost complete (realized a new twist toward the end, so I have to write that in).

Yesterday would've gone a lot better if I'd brough in my notebook to write on as I stood in line at Fry's waiting to check out for almost 45 minutes. Yep, their computer system was down, and they didn't bother to let anyone in line know. Even long-hand, I could've written at least 2 to 3 more new pages. But I had to stay because we need a new battery for our base phone. Two more days until Mercury turns direct and things settle down.

Hopefully today will be better.


~A

The ill MIL

DH called and found out him mom's been in the hospital for the past week. Of course she didn't want anyone to worry, so she didn't tell anyone! Nasty things, kidney stones. She's home and doing better, thank goodness, but not going to make it up for T-day.

Who else is coming in? Brother-in-law? Maybe?

I have no idea, because no one tells me until the last minute!

Going to my Tai CHi class now, then back to writing.

Grrr . . .

~A

Powering Up

Okay, the last few days have been almost too smooth. I've editted almost 100 pages on my WIP (not the new NaNo story), and I'm trying to figure out when the monkey-wrench is going to drop.

(sigh)

Okay, I'm just going to keep going and hopefully it'll be smooth sailing through the weekend. :-)

~A

T-Day Planning

Not to be confused with "D" day. But sometimes I think it's the same thing.

My sister emailed to find out our plans, and, well, my DH informed me his mom is coming. And his brother. And I don't know who else.

So, I emailed my sister back to plan this shindig. We figured the moms would have a nice chit-chat and enjoy the grandkids. I've frantically pulled out my recipes and check out the pantry (defintely lacking!), and in short, I NEED to schedule an extra shopping day. I usually do this every year, it just sneaked up on my this year.

And writing? Well, it's getting done, slowly. More on that later.

~A

Chaos Rules!

Oh, geez, so many pages to write, so little time! So many errands, a family to do for, animals wanting food, and we need groceries again. Gotta get toilet paper! And vote!

No, wait, I did the early voting thing last week. (Thanks goodness)

Making a list . . .

Oh, yeah, and the holiday season's started!

Goody. Now I can't sleep until Dec.

~A

Maybe Baby

Seems like I'm getting the hang of this new story. It's been bothering me to start, so I've started working on it already (yep, even before I've finished the last one). So far, so good, as the baby steps see to be working and the chapter is almost completed.


~A

FP

52,388 / 50,000 (104.8%)

THE END!!!


~A :-)
(doing the happily-ever-after dance)

I Did It Again

Well, I've jumped head-first into the NaNoWriMo challenge. (Geez, what have I gotten myself into now???) I *think* I'll be able to complete my current WIP and start the next one within the week, so I won't really be behind. I've already plotted out the new story (no title yet), and I pretty much know the main characters. A bit of a departure from my norm, as it's a contemporary paranormal instead of a futuristic/SF.

We'll see how this goes.

Wish me luck.

~A

Update & Getting Organized

Maybe. I haven't updated in a while, and having decided to take on the NaNoWriMo challenge again this year, I thought I'd better get to it:



ST -

87,500 / 100,000 (87.5%)

FP -

35,750 / 50,000 (71.5%)

Okay, so about the getting organized part, well, it's more like figuring out how much time I what to spend on writing down the stories in my head. This month, I was challenged to write a 70K, but I had to alter it to 50K because the story is working out like it wants to be logically finished at 200 pages, which is perfectly okay by me. This week I'm taking 2 online workshops that promise to be very helpful and informative (Candy Havens' Revision Hell, and Terry Spears' Feeling Rejected??). I'm looking forward to both. :-)

In Nov. for NaNoWriMo (Natl. Novel Writer's Month - check out their website), I've plotted out a contemporary paranormal romance story about an average everyday witch living in the motral world who doesn't want to fall in love with the king of the werewolves. And in December, I have 2-3 short stories planned just to give myself a break from the long stuff.

For the holidays, I'm going to break out the baking stuff (of course!) and have fun. My family always begs for fudge and cookies and pecan pie and candies, so I have them collecting nuts from the 4 pecan trees on our property. They shell 'em, and I bake with 'em. That's the deal, and it works like a charm every time.

That's about it right now.



CURRENT MOOD = okay

PAGES WRITTEN TODAY = 4 pages detailed outline for DBWB

MUSIC = silence is golden

AFFIRMATION = I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . . That's right, I'll just keep telling myself that. ;-)

ACTIVITIES = walked 1 mile, biked 8 miles, got scared by 1 spook at the gym (actually was funny because a friend sneaked up behind me), step aerobics = 45 minutes, weight training = 15 minutes, abs = taking the day off.

DINNER = baked chicken and potatoes with steamed veggies


~A

Early Retro

CURRENT MOOD: Annoyed

PAGES WRITTEN: 0

CURRENT MUSIC: none

DAILY AFFIRMATION: I'm learning to manage my time wisely.

DAILY ACTIVITY: Walked son to school and back total = 1/2 mile (30 minutes). At the gym: 5 miles on the bike (25 min), Tai Chi (30 min), Pilates (45 min), Step Aerobics and free-weights (60 min), stretching (15 min).

To Do List: Rush order at work and to post office = 2-1/2 hours.



Mercury goes retrograde on Oct 22, which means trouble with communication and transportation of any sort. And I've already seen the beginning effects, which can start up to a week early. Yesterday at the fabric store, I was standing in the checkout line and gazing at all those cute "can't live without" items on the stand.

Well, I happened to remember my 5-yo had what looked like a black ink spot on his white shirt, and I picked up a little bottle of interesting spot remover and decided to buy it. The folks in front of me tried to complete their checkout, but the computerized register system hung up. After about five minutes, the cashier (nice and smart lady I've dealt with many times over the past several years) called the manager and moved to the second register to check me out. I had a debit card, which also hung up.

Another ten minutes passed, and the first register finally cleared itself and a new cashier found she was able to accept cash, then checked several more people from the growing line. But, she also got hung up when she tried to run a check.

In the mean time, I still had a RUSH order at work to get back to and complete and get into the mail by Priority TODAY. I told myself to be calm, and that things would work out. The "help" desk for the register system was on the phone to the manager and offered no help, just thinly veiled accusasions the cashiers weren't doing their jobs right. Arrgh!!

Then the first register cleared, and the cashier was able to again accept cash payments. I didn't have enough cash for my purchase, which is why I wanted to use my debit card. It dawned on me that if I didn't have Granny's spot remover, I could make my purchase by cash. I told my cashier this, and she moved to yet a third register and got me checked out quickly with a cash sale.

Fate tends to work in mysterious ways, I've found, for our best interest (though we might not see it as such right away). Maybe I didn't need the spot remover, and by the computer system malfunctioning plus my not having enough cash, I was kept from a frivoulous impulse purchase. I have two other spot removers at home already, I just meed to dig them out and see if either will work on the ink spot.

The RUSH job was completed and mailed on time, but again, not without incident. My printer said it was out of ink, but it printed my mailing label anyway. Not a great print, but still readable. I had a bad feeling about it. Since this was an important order, I stood in line at the post office for an extra 20 minutes (typical, but not too bad) to get my package checked in. I got the counter, but the label wouldn't scan. It wouldn't acknowledge the manually keyed number code either.

The gal knows me and also knew from my label I had paid for my shipping online, so she kept at it. About the dozenth time, the system accepted the number, and she added her little coded label to show she had already seen it at our end. I walked out of the post office after thirty-five minutes, or what usual would've taken me two minutes to drop the package on the check-in counter and get back out to my car.

Mercury's at it again. The Retro in March '06 was more frustrating then problematic for me, and this summer in July '06, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, with mostly only delays. Since in Astrology my Sun is in Gemini (ruled by Mercury), I learned very early in life to duck and cover during these times so I could avoid as many problems as possible. Three times per year for three weeks I don't force issues and try to go with the flow more than usual, which sort of gives me a bit of a rest anyway.

Starting on Oct 28 to Nov 18, watch out for communication and transportation problems. Arrange a little extra time for things to save you headaches.

~A

Early Retro

CURRENT MOOD: Annoyed

PAGES WRITTEN: 0

CURRENT MUSIC: none

DAILY AFFIRMATION: I'm learning to manage my time wisely.

DAILY ACTIVITY: Walked son to school and back total = 1/2 mile (30 minutes). At the gym: 5 miles on the bike (25 min), Tai Chi (30 min), Pilates (45 min), Step Aerobics and free-weights (60 min), stretching (15 min).

To Do List: Rush order at work and to post office = 2-1/2 hours.



Mercury goes retrograde on Oct 22, which means trouble with communication and transportation of any sort. And I've already seen the beginning effects, which can start up to a week early. Yesterday at the fabric store, I was standing in the checkout line and gazing at all those cute "can't live without" items on the stand.

Well, I happened to remember my 5-yo had what looked like a black ink spot on his white shirt, and I picked up a little bottle of interesting spot remover and decided to buy it. The folks in front of me tried to complete their checkout, but the computerized register system hung up. After about five minutes, the cashier (nice and smart lady I've dealt with many times over the past several years) called the manager and moved to the second register to check me out. I had a debit card, which also hung up.

Another ten minutes passed, and the first register finally cleared itself and a new cashier found she was able to accept cash, then checked several more people from the growing line. But, she also got hung up when she tried to run a check.

In the mean time, I still had a RUSH order at work to get back to and complete and get into the mail by Priority TODAY. I told myself to be calm, and that things would work out. The "help" desk for the register system was on the phone to the manager and offered no help, just thinly veiled accusasions the cashiers weren't doing their jobs right. Arrgh!!

Then the first register cleared, and the cashier was able to again accept cash payments. I didn't have enough cash for my purchase, which is why I wanted to use my debit card. It dawned on me that if I didn't have Granny's spot remover, I could make my purchase by cash. I told my cashier this, and she moved to yet a third register and got me checked out quickly with a cash sale.

Fate tends to work in mysterious ways, I've found, for our best interest (though we might not see it as such right away). Maybe I didn't need the spot remover, and by the computer system malfunctioning plus my not having enough cash, I was kept from a frivoulous impulse purchase. I have two other spot removers at home already, I just meed to dig them out and see if either will work on the ink spot.

The RUSH job was completed and mailed on time, but again, not without incident. My printer said it was out of ink, but it printed my mailing label anyway. Not a great print, but still readable. I had a bad feeling about it. Since this was an important order, I stood in line at the post office for an extra 20 minutes (typical, but not too bad) to get my package checked in. I got the counter, but the label wouldn't scan. It wouldn't acknowledge the manually keyed number code either.

The gal knows me and also knew from my label I had paid for my shipping online, so she kept at it. About the dozenth time, the system accepted the number, and she added her little coded label to show she had already seen it at our end. I walked out of the post office after thirty-five minutes, or what usual would've taken me two minutes to drop the package on the check-in counter and get back out to my car.

Mercury's at it again. The Retro in March '06 was more frustrating then problematic for me, and this summer in July '06, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, with mostly only delays. Since in Astrology my Sun is in Gemini (ruled by Mercury), I learned very early in life to duck and cover during these times so I could avoid as many problems as possible. Three times per year for three weeks I don't force issues and try to go with the flow more than usual, which sort of gives me a bit of a rest anyway.

Starting on Oct 28 to Nov 18, watch out for communication and transportation problems. Arrange a little extra time for things to save you headaches.

~A

FP

I slowed down a little . . .

33,250 / 70,000 (47.5%)

. . . but I'm still writing. :-)

~A

Back to Work . . . Tomorrow

I'm having too much fun today playing online and not writing, a hold-over from this past weekend at my family reunion. But, in all fairness, it is Columbus Day, and just about everyone I know is off work. Today is also the first day of the monthly BIAW I do with one of my online RWA chapters, and I did do a little writing this morning, plus I plan on doing more this afternoon. Since working at home means I don't usually get days off, I decided to putz around for awhile. Take a look at what I came up with:







So, as I digress into fantasyland, I feel pretty good about being compared to some of these ladies with my no-makeup pic that taken at our local Renaissance Faire this past spring. And now that I'm feeling pretty good, I'll go write something profound from my heroine's point of view.

~A

MLE -- Out Again

MLE is offically out the door to another publisher who wanted to read the full. Now I get to play the waiting game again. But I still have ST to finish editing for the other requested full for a different publisher.

I also sort of slacked off the past few days on FP due to my day-job demands. I'm about halfway completed with the first draft, and I'll be hitting it hard this week to get all the juicy story tidbits out of my brain and into my computer, and hopefully finished. ;-)

~A

ST & FP

ST =

85,500 / 100,000 (85.5%)

FP =

32,000 / 70,000 (45.7%)

~A

Progress - ST & FP

ST -

71,750 / 100,000 (71.8%)

FP -

23,500 / 70,000 (33.6%)

Still going strong. :-)

~A