MLE

Still not quit done.

13,257 / 12,000 (110.5%)

~Ann

MLE

10,056 / 12,000 (83.8%)

~Ann

MLE

8,145 / 12,000 (67.9%)

~Ann

MLE - Update

Busy over the weekend and still going strong.

7,459 / 12,000 (62.2%)

~Ann

MLE

Almost halfway done.

4,775 / 12,000 (39.8%)

~Ann

MLE

I've done 3355 words so far.

3,355 / 12,000 (28%)

~Ann

Reindeer Games

Okay, needed cheering up, so I played along. Look what it got me . . .

You Are Comet

A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge! Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Rejection, ha! I'm feeling better.

~Ann

Rejected . . . Again

I just received my first rejection of 2006. Phooey. It was from the last agent on my list. Now I get to start all over and make another list and continue my search for representation. That'll have to wait until I write more on MLE. And eat some chocolate.

Oh well. Back to square one.

~Ann :-/

My Loving Enemy

New project: a short story that won't leave me alone. Goal is 10-12K, to be finished by this coming weekend. I just started today, and hopefully, I can complete this story quickly and get back to editing the biggie. ;-)







~Ann

Six in '06

Happy New year!

Well, I've survived another hectic holiday season, an I'm eager to get back to my writing. Resolutions aren’t usually my thing, however this year there are several things I really want to accomplish. Currently on my desk are three completed manuscripts and one unfinished story. For this new year, I’m devoting the first quarter to completing and polishing all four, plus I’d like to write two new stories. Hence the “Six in’06.”

Of course there are other small projects like articles I want to write and classes I’d like to teach (one is already approved, yea!), plus I want to post here at least once per week instead of once per month. I’ll have to see how everything shapes up and post it here so I can stay honest about my progress. ;-)


BIAQ Goal = edit 4 projects:

Jan - 110K novel
Feb - 90K novel
March - two 25K novellas

0 / 250,000 (0.0%)

Happy writing,

~Ann

Missing Posts

Okay, I just noticed I'm missing some posts, so I'll dig the drafts back up and republish them.

Married with . . . Cats

Forget the Christmas list. Forget ever getting the entire house clean at one time. And forget ever writing undisturbed again.

About two weeks ago, unbeknownst to me, my loving DH decided in his infinite wisdom to give me very special gift this year. We were blessedly down to only one pet (German Shepherd) after our Norweigen Forest cat, Tinker, died 1-1/2 years ago. Since we also have a pre-schooler, cleaning up the mess of a small family was fine with me.

Not so with my DH. It just so happens, he works with a gal who also runs a cat rescue. And she had 2 dozen animals to find homes for. For all his masculine bravado about not missing Tinker, my DH covered his soft spot for our dearly departed pet well. Fast forward to about one week ago. A lunchtime phone call interrupted my concentration and flow of new words to the page when I heard, "I'll email you a picture of Bob."

I opened my email page to see "Bob." The cat. A very big fluffy black and white cat who was obviously part Ragdoll/Norweigen. A pretty cat. A cat with a big scowl. He apparently doesn't like having his picture taken.

"Sure, we can go see Bob," I answered my excited DH, who'd previously expounded on the benefit of getting an outdoor cat to help curb the population explosion of squirrels nesting and feasting in all our pecan trees. I saw this as a definite asset, especially since I wouldn't have to do cat-pan duty.

The next day we visited THE CAT LADY.

Even though I'd popped an allergy medication (I'm mildly allergic), my senses were assaulted when we walked into The Cat Lady's home. I've never seen so many cats in one place except in a shelter. They were all running free. They were curious and talkative (meowing like crazy). All were happy and some quite content to remain at least an arm's distance from us, especially my preschooler. I understood why my DH was so eager to adopt. He'd related horrid accounts of news reports he'd read about old people dying and not being found for a week and the cats snacking on them because the animals had no other food. EEWWW!

We had no choice. It was our humane duty to adopt.

So, we sat, and the cats came to us. They talked, rubbed on our ankles, and looked into our eyes as if to say, "pick me!"

Bob ignored us, of course. He wanted *nothing* to do with us. He wouldn't even let The Cat Lady pick him up and bring him to us.

My DH was disappointed. My son laughed and played chase up and down a hall with one cat. I calmly sat watching the whole process and dutifully petted two little domestic short-haired cats (aka, mutts) who'd curled up comfortably in my lap and didn't want to leave.

An hour later, my sinuses clogged, my nose running and my eyes swelling, we decided it was time to leave. Then my DH made the astute observation, "those little cats really like you."

Duh. They'd been in my lap almost since the moment I'd sat down.

We adopted them. Both were already neutered, thankfully, and had all their shots and leukemia tests. They get along with the dog. Merlin is black with an interesting counter-ermine pattern (tiny white hairs in a few places all over his black hair). The little cream colored cat (like light brown sugar) started life as Blondie, then became Sugar. Now he's answering to Pywacket.

So, this year instead of a new CD or Witches Almanac or a book about writing, I got cats for Christmas/Yule.

I'm still popping allergy meds and hoping to quickly rebuild my tolerance. Merlin and Pywacket like to sit in my lap purring like endless chainsaws as I write (yes, they're both there now ;-)) I'll probably still get the CD and books I asked for. I'll even accept the additional cleaning up in the house plus daily cat-pan duty because I love the cats.

But not when they jump onto the kitchen counter.

More Amusements

Okay, just a couple of sidetracks . . .



"The Captain"


Which Firefly character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla




You're Mal, the Captain of Serenity. You fought
(and lost) for the Independents in the war.
You're a natural leader, and a rebel with a
heart of gold.


Which Firefly Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


(Do I sense a pattern emerging??) Now I'm going to go write. ;-)

~Ann JR

Maab's Not Amused . . .

Today I'm about 30 pages behind my self-imposed weekly goal, because yesterday instead of writing I re-edited the previous day's work. I really need to learn to quit doing that so I can get this story totally completed, to my CP, then out the door!

Geez, my Muse (Maab) is NOT amused. After keeping my up for the past two nights with a great unexpected plot twist, I haven't rearranged the time to actually write down the scene. That was supposed to be my 10+ pages written yesterday. :-/ I'll make up for it this afternoon. I have a whole entire hour to myself (sans my 4-yo and DH) for peace and *quiet* to write everything down as fast as I can.

So, what am I doing writing this stuff . . . ?

Bye-bye 'til later!

~Ann JR

Writing Heaven

I love it when time, productivity and creativity come together. Yesterday brought me 16 pages closer to my 100 page goal for this week.

And motivation can be found in the strangest places. I took a little sidetrack this morning and click a link that asked, "Which Pirate Of The Caribbean Are You?" Here's my answer:

Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?


Arrr, arrr matey! Time to go pillage the pages and plunder my Theasaurus! Arrr!

~Ann JR


PS: Don't bother leaving me stupid advertizing links as comments, because I'll delete them! Arrr!

Rants and Roasts . . .

It turns out last Saturday wasn't as smooth as it seemed. The gal who invited me to participate in the demo apparently got a nasty bee in her bonnet about a few things I won't go into. Needless to say, my spinning time will probably not include that demo next year. 'Nuf said, or I'll go into a ranting fit about unappreciative snobs, illiteracy and the fact my spinning wheel broken 5 minutes into continuing my project when I got home. (grrrrr . . .)

Good thing my DH's cooking dinner.

On a better note, I've pledged to write 40 new pages and edit 60 pages for my online chapter's BIAW this week. Okay, those blank pages are waiting, and my Muse is babbling!

~Ann JR

Dead Tired

Wow, yesterday's demo was *interesting.* I spun, I talked, and I even warped uo my Inkle look and did a little weaving for one gal. Amidst all the activity (it was also the library's yearly Craft show), there was the usual beginner questions and distractions. Hopefully all the folks had fun.

~Ann JR

Spinning Yarns . . .

Once upon a time, storytellers told stories verbally, or "spun their yarns" to those who would listen. I haven't personally researched it, however logically I think this practice can probably date back to an earlier time when spinning and weaving were common daily activities in a household. A spinner could both fascinate their audience by the art of making yarns and threads from fibers, and at the same time expound a tale to the captive audience.

Spinning and weaving are other hobbies I enjoy because they're relaxing and productive. And that's why I agreed to participate in a demo this coming weekend. I'll probably not "spin" and yearn tales, just get started on a new Christmas project, meet new people, and gather more interesting ideas to write about.

~Ann JR

Dragons, Dragons Everywhere

Well, I've been doing more creating this week then writing. One hobby is dragons, unicorns and other fantasy creatures, which I've been making a lot of lately for this coming weekend's local Celtic Heritage Festival. After this weekend, things'll calm back to normal again. (hahaha!!)

~Ann JR

No Power In The 'Verse Can Stop Me!

From writing, that is. :-)

Last night SERENITY was AWSOME!!! Great plot, believeable characters, ambitous goals with strong motivations, fantastic conflicts and a hellova 'Black Moment.'

Did they survive?

I'm not telling. But you can be sure, Captn Mal and the FireFly crew are wiser and will fly again into new adventures. And in the mean time, I'm going to see that movie at least a few more times.

VIVA SERENITY!

(I'm definitely inspired to go write . . .)

~Ann JR