Tag Archives: soulless

RoW80 Check-In: What Happened to the Weekend?

“     ‘We’re paying you to care about rescuing the girl,’ Estialog stated simply. ‘What happens afterwards is categorically none of your business.’
     ‘And if we have a moral concern?’
     Tayahyla snorted again, but held back comment. ‘An odd bunch of brigands,’ Estialog murmured, ‘to be concerned with morality.’
     ‘We never claimed to be typical.’”

As I was writing the title of this Wednesday’s Round of Words in 80 Days check-in, I’m thinking to myself, “But, L, it’s Wednesday. You’re halfway to the next weekend already.” And that just really highlights how busy last weekend has felt, in the fact that my brain is still back there on Sunday or something, while time rushes on through to the next weekend.

I’m used to the weekends being busy and a little crazy; it’s par for the course when you work in retail, and it’s usually the weekdays that mean relaxation, especially the earlier, mid-week days that aren’t so hot for shopping. There’s a lot of crazy, exciting things going on where I work, so everything’s in a whirlwind, things are really crazy, and I was really looking forward to spend today getting back in touch with my writing, and then a coworker asks if I can cover for her tonight. Sigh. This means working six days this week, including one day for 9 hours in an 11 hour span (I got a 2 hour break in between, half of which was driving between locations). I want to shake my fists and just yell “ARRRGGGH,” but I know that this is just the start. There’s a good chance things will get crazier, so I’m bracing myself.

And using all the wonderful writing and reading to keep myself centered and Zen. Everyone’s been noting how I really seem in control of my shit lately, and I intend to keep in control and ride through the chaos like an unfappable breeze of serenity. And I think it’s my writing and the fact that, no matter what happens with my Day Job, things are happening with my Dream Job, too, and that’s just incredible.

The print proof for Bowlful of Bunnies arrived the other day, which is such a trip. I took it to work and showed it off to everyone, too, but I think I want a much smaller size, so today I’m reformatting and resubmitting it for review. Part of my brain wanted to just go with what I have now, but then I had to remind myself that patience is a virtue. While it would be exciting to start shilling this print version now, it’s much better to make sure it’s exactly what I want it to be before I let it out in the world. CreateSpace was incredibly fast…much quicker than they had projected…so I doubt I’d have to wait too long again. Plus, the excitement gets me in a fabulous mood, and, whenever I start to get irritated, all I have to do is think about how, in a few days, I’ll have a print proof of my potential book that people without Kindles can actually buy, whaaaaaat?

I’ve been plugging along with Serpent in a Cage, too, finally getting to the point where I think the dragging middle expositionary section gets back into the action again, which should pick things up. I played around with the idea of bringing in Tayahyla as a narrator again, but I think three is enough for now. Her story can be told better in the next book. I’m also poking at Soulless, the haunted house, and the western with dragons a little bit, too, and wondering if I should skip NaNoWriMo this year or go for it. There’s still time, I must remind myself. People are already talking about it, though, which gets me flailing slightly. I have trouble refusing a challenge when it’s presented, yet maybe I should force myself to show some restraint. We shall have to see.

I’ve still got those book reviews to do (I’ve realized that I’ve been putting them off because I don’t particularly like doing negative reviews, and these ones are not glowing, no), but, other than that, all my attention has been mostly on BoB and SiaC and this craziness that is my life lately. Next week, I might be taking what I’m going to call a brief “writer’s retreat” for a few days, and that should definitely help me anchor my center through the chaos…and allow me some uninterrupted, undistracted chunks of time for writing!

How everyone else doing? Did you get a chance to check out any other RoWers today? (If not, you can find them here!) I’m off to do more formatting and reading and scribbling.

Happy writing!

RoW80 Check-In: The Waiting Game.

“Locke grunted, trying to hold down his irritation. ‘Men lie, Majani,’ he said, ‘and quite often, and that’s why I ask. You didn’t honestly believe us to just blindly follow anyone with enough gold into caves and secret dungeons, do you?’”

I wasn’t sure if I was going to pull off a check-in post today, but, thanks to an agreement that has me working all day tomorrow, I was released from work early today and could have enough time to pen this after all. It’s not going to be much of an update, a little quick and dirty, but things have been going really, really well. Not so much with my Round of Words in 80 Days goals, but with life in general. And I’ve strayed a bit from the goals, but other accomplishments have surfaced, which makes me feel a little better about it. Especially since the whole point of RoW80 is the flexibility.

I’ve been doing really, really well with a-page-a-day on Serpent in a Cage, although I feel this chapter is kind of a hot mess. I’m just going to keep plugging along. This is the boring travel chapter, where I have to rely on character interactions to carry it, and I don’t think I’m doing as well as I could be with that. However, that’s what edits are for, right?

I started transcribing what I have for SiaC‘s sequel, too, and, oh man, is it bad! It’s almost kind of funny. It was last year’s NaNo, so, when I was writing it, it was all about word count. SiaC is still my main focus between the two, obviously, but I’m really going to have to roll up my sleeves when I get to cracking down on this one.

But the real catch in my recent progress is that pesky song of the Muse. Sometimes, I feel like I have practically no attention span at all, but my Muse makes me feel like I’ve got the focus of a GOD. Lately, two of my previous WIPs (Soulless with the zombie dystopian world and the one with the super haunted house) have been calling to me, and, not wanting to ignore them, I’ve embraced them with a little bit of scribbling here and there, too. Now, I know I’ve talked a lot about how I was going to push back the fear of finishing Serpent in a Cage, but a part of me still feels, “Maybe not yet…” So if either of these WIPs continue to demand my attention, I might switch my focus again, but we shall see.

I’ve also got two book reviews that I’ve been lazy about writing, and another one to come up shortly, too, so the reading’s going well, too.

And the most exciting news of all?

The print proof for Bowlful of Bunnies should arrive sometime this week. Wait. Did I say print proof? I do believe I did! I’ve finally hopped on over to CreateSpace to give their program a try, and so far, I am incredibly impressed…as well as completely flabbergasted by how incredibly easy it was! Granted, I haven’t gotten the print yet, so I don’t yet know how it’s going to work out, but if it does….having a print version of BoB is going to open a lot of doors. I have a lot of exciting things planned, and I can’t wait to get them started. Definitely stay tuned!

And, in the meantime, why don’t you hop on over here and visit my fellow RoWers? You’ll be glad you did.

Happy writing!

RoW80 Check-In: Sunday, July 8th.

“     The details of last night reformed themselves, building the scene again for him. Each dull pain reawakened as he revisited every blow, every smash, pain imbued into each muscle and bone in his body. It all started with an argument, a slammed door, Awngel’s dagger glare. And then there was Hederrick, the man from the book cart, with the glistening spiked rings on his fingers that dug into Locke’s cheek. The blonde-haired woman with eyes like pools. Knolan had said she was a Battarack, and another word lingered.
    ’Asyentai.’
     He had not intended to speak the word, but it came out as a faint whisper when he struggled to open his eyes….”

I’m quite fond of blaming the heat lately, but I’m afraid I must do it once more, as I’ve spent a good portion of last week since the previous check-in for A Round of Words in 80 Days contemplating my goals. Of course, the heat has cooled a little bit in the last day; we have the windows open this morning instead of the AC on, and it’s absolutely lovely. The 70 degree range is the perfect temperature for me, especially when there’s a breeze. I don’t even care that it threatens to scatter all my papers. The breeze is lovely and I know the cats are content because they love few things as much as being able to sit in an open window and breathe in the fresh air.

It definitely had me recharged this morning, but I’m still wondering about the goals I set for A Round of Words in 80 Days. I knew that working simultaneously on several novels until one stood out was going to be a little challenging, but I never really bothered thinking about what if none of them really stand out and I don’t have to keep up with page-per-day goals I set? So I’ve mostly decided not to stress out about it, to just follow the muse, and so long as I’m writing, that’s all that matters, until a better idea of what I really want to hanker down on and get finished starts to develop. Either way, here’s what I’ve been working on and how I’ve been doing with it:

Serpent in a Cage: I thought I had made a stupid mistake and so I tore out a few pages to rewrite, only to realize that I hadn’t made a mistake at all. So I’ve been rewriting the pages I thought I was going to rewrite as something different as exactly the same. Which is to say that there’s been no progress, but that particular scene (the opening to the second part and where the excerpt above is derived) has got a little extra polish on it.

Western with Dragons: I would love thoughts on the prospective title of Wanted: Dread or Alive. I haven’t worked much on this one because I thought I lost the notebook, but it turns out I had just used a different part of it to scribble down an idea for a short story and then forgot. Lulz.

Soulless: I hit a little bit of a snag, but I think I got past it an now I’m just focusing on pushing the plot along. Usually, when I do that, my snags take care of itself, but, other than that, nothing too exciting about this one.

Battarack Girls: I haven’t had much of a chance to even glance at Battarack Girls lately, but the sample still stands as my Featured Story in celebration of Bowlful of Bunnies selling 25 copies (and it’s recently dipped below the ranking number I wanted to keep it at, so I’d like ot try to push a few more copies if anyone wants to help with that). I’ve had lots of scenes playing out in my head for it lately, though, so it’s almost a shame that I haven’t gotten a chance to peck at it much.

Space Cowboys: I’m really digging this one a lot, too. I think The Unknown Scourge (see below) has a good chance of being my next book, but this one’s got a good chance in the running, too, if I can just get past the part that kind of stopped me up last time I tried to write it. (I need to write with better outlines, lol).

New Novel Project: One thing about the New Novel project that I love is that, since the page count goal is based on the days of the month, it’s really easy to figure out where I should be. I’m a little behind, but this latest version of The Unknown Scourge is coming along nicely, I think. I just finished up with the prologue, and it’s onto the first chapter. It’s usually around chapters three and four that I get stuck on this one, so we shall see how things turn out this time. I’m on page 6 out of 8.

Short Stories: I’ve been working on short stories a bit more again, since I want to start sending them out to magazines and I used up all my short stories for Bowlful of Bunnies. I’m mostly working on one that’s my take on Jean-Paul Sartre’s “Hell is other people” quote and another one for a really interesting magazine called The First Line, where every issue includes stories starting with the same line. The upcoming issue (due August 1st) will feature stories starting with “A light snow was falling as Charlie Reardon left the diner and made his way down Madison Street.” So I’m trying to get that finished by then, and, if not, there’s always the next issue to work on (“Sometimes, when it’s quiet, I can remember what my life was like before moving to Cedar Springs.”) Needless to say, because I’m working on the other short stories, we can say good-bye to

750 Words: 750 Words is a really good resource…when I’m stuck. When I haven’t got any other projects to work on. When I’ve got fifty billion projects to work on, I just think about how I “have” to log on and type up 750 words that are distracting me from my other WIPs, and I say forget it. There’s a time and a place for this challenge and right now (like last Round) is not one of either.

The 100 Books Project: Since my last review, I’ve finished two (that’s right, two!) more books, with another one close behind them, so I’m off to a great start this round. We’ll see if the pace keeps up, since a lot of those books were close to being finished anyway, and now I’ve started in on a bunch of new stuff. Either way, I’m standing at 25/100 with 4/30 for this round.

Exercise: Exercise has kind of fallen off, mostly because of the heat. Weather has cooled down a little and maybe I can still swing in some yoga while visiting my parents. It would be nice to return to this one (especially since I barely got it started), but we shall see. Frankly, when given the choice between writing or working out, I’d much rather be writing!

On another note, the blog might be a little quiet in the next few days. An unexpected string of days off showed up on the schedule, so I’m taking an impromtu trip back home for a few days. I know I’ll have internet access, but whether or not I’m really up to posting will be another matter. It’ll be so nice to see family and friends for a few days, especially since my stepsister and her family happen to be visiting this week, too! I hit up the train station this afternoon, and I can’t wait.

Happy writing, everyone!

RoW80 Check-In: July 4th/5th.

Hooray! It’s here! It’s the new Round of A Round of Words in 80 Days! Oh, yesterday was also Independence Day, but….new Round!! (lol, priorities) I posted my goals a little bit ago, and I got an early start on them because my orderly brain demanded that starting on the 2nd would throw everything off, so I’ve been picking at them a little bit and have already questioned if I’ve made them too lofty. Whoops.

Then again, Tuesday was a truly odd day on several accounts. While I managed to finish another book, I missed a whole slew of my writing goals. Then there was the moment when I thought to myself, “Oh, I’ll organize the pantry” and “Oh, I think I’ll super-clean the cat box.” Five hours later…

I was feeling a pretty good mojo yesterday and got a lot of work done, despite the Day Job interrupting. I didn’t manage to finish my check-in, though, so I’m posting it today so I don’t fall into the habit of skipping it entirely. So let’s have a peek at what I’ve been working on:

Serpent in a Cage: After a brief set of scenes that were taken from the original manuscript, I’m back to welding together the intersecting storylines and writing from the new approach. I’ve also played around with the idea of dividing the story into parts (as I’ve thought of before), where each part basically represents a different day (since the course of events only happens over three days). I need to sit down and figure out the exact page count goals for this one (and my others, as well).

Western with Dragons: I’m thinking of tentatively titling this one Wanted: Dread or Alive. Any thoughts on the title would be helpful, but the “western with dragons” concept is turning out to be the most popular one out of the list of potential next books, so I’m charging forward with it. It’s got a little bit of a Sherlock Holmesy vibe to it, too, Victorian mystery, and I’m definitely feeling like I want to dig up The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. with this one, too. So it’s a little bit of a wild-carriage ride for me at the moment, but it’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. I’m about halfway through a second chapter at the moment, developing the world and the characters and the plot as I go along.

Battarack Girls: I’m writing this one with a different approach than I write my other books. I’m basically writing a page of each girl’s voice, leaving it unfinished like a prompt for later, and then moving on. This way, I think I’m going to get a better perception of tone, voice, and timeline as I scribble things down. It’s sort of working like an elaborate outline this way. Also, since I’ve finally sold 25 copies of Bowlful of Bunnies, I’ll be releasing a little sample of Battarack Girls on the blog tomorrow, as per contest, so be sure to stop on by for that!

Space Cowboys: I know I’ve attempted this one a few times, so I’ve taken up the task of rewriting the beginning I like best, because, reading it, I sort of forgot which direction I was taking it, and so now it can adopt a new organic direction. It’s definitely coming along nicely.

Soulless: I’ve decided to keep going with Soulless, too, even if I think I’ll need to change the title on account of a lot of other books having that title, too. But it, like the others, is coming along nicely, though I thought I was in a little bit of a block with it. It’s coming along great now!

New Novel Project: This month’s novel is The Unknown Scourge, a science fiction, government conspiracy, blah blah blah book that takes place in the future of the same world as Serpent in a Cage. I have tried to write this book so many times, I’ve lost count, but I will always keep trying until I hit the right angle. Maybe this is the one? Who knows? Either way, the odd days (and probably this killer heat!) have me a little bit behind. I’m on page 3 out of 5 for the day, hoping to play some catch-up today.

The 100 Books Project: Just finished both Soul Music and another book due for a review, with a third and fourth book not far behind. So that’s a good swing of getting some of the ones that have been on my reading list out of the way, and onto other ones! I think I might be able to finally get some of that catch up done this Round. Books read: 22/100 (2/30 for this round).

750 Words: I have decided to utilize the 750 Words website, although I’ve already missed two days. That’s okay, though, I’m definitely not allowing myself to stress out about it. Right now, I’m using it just to push me on getting more of my Grimm stories done. “Just Right,” one of the stories in Bowlful of Bunnies, was written using 750words, and I think it would be really neat if the other stories in the series were crafted via the same challenge.

Exercise: I’m glad to say that this one? I have been keeping up on. I haven’t pushed myself too much. I’m not going to deny that I am definitely out of shape right now (round is a shape, though, right? har har), so I don’t want to over-exert myself too soon. I’m easing into it. This means a few minutes of stretching and toning and yoga, increasing the time a little bit longer each day. I’m trying to limber my body and get it ready to take on some workout videos on Netflix recommended by my friend Nikki, who recently lost around 75 pounds. I’m shooting for just about 30 myself, so I’m definitely taking her advice. Girl looks incredible. But I’ve got to get my body ready to push for it as hard as my mind wants to.

Also pretty sweet? I managed to clear out my email a great deal last night. When I woke up this morning, I actually had an inbox that was less than 4000 unread messages! Go me! (And, yes, that’s 4000 messages, so if I’ve been quiet or have missed something or haven’t gotten back to you on something yet…hi, Elizabeth! Hi, Grace!…this is why. But I’m slowly but surely battling down the mountain).

….I think that’s everything. Biiiiig update, because I’m juggling a lot of projects. I’m sure this’ll whittle itself down once I get a clearer picture of what book I want to try to get done for publishing next, but, as it is, I’m going to place a whole bunch of eggs in a whole bunch of baskets.

How’s your Round shaping up so far? Have you had a chance to check-in with any other participants here? RoW80 just keeps getting bigger and better, and I’m so glad to be a part of it, even if I’m not as good at making the rounds as I used to be!

RoW80 Update: May 23rd.

“         Taluin gave him a wan, indulgent smile. ‘That is how they are best known, yes. Such an act truly leads on to infamy. But they are also the First Six of Humankind, and they are also the Six Who Shall Return. It’s the latter part that concerns us so; it is a prophesy. And the Codex is the only key we have to crack through the Ancient language and lead us on the right path to finding the reincarnated Asyentai to bring Aryneth to the glory of the Gods once again.’
         ‘Is that something we want to even mess with?’ Jaxson asked, though there seemed to be genuine curiosity underneath the sarcasm. ‘Maybe the Asyentai sealed the Gods for a reason.’”

So, I’ve been taking it a little easy lately, and I think that’s been a fairly good idea. The last few days have been great for reconnecting with my work and my writing and setting me on the right track. I’m not exactly sure what set things off-kilter; it might not have been anything at all, but merely the fact that sometimes, even the straightest courses will curve a little bit. I skipped Sunday’s Round of Words in 80 Days check-in, and so I’m making sure I get today’s up. As usual, it’s probably not the most exciting check-in, as things are just continuing along at a steady, somewhat leisurely pace, but things are still moving along.

Let’s have a look:

Bowlful of Bunnies: I’m sort of sitting on this one for a little bit, and I think that was what set things off for me. Ideally, I wanted to release this sucker on May 31st, but I haven’t heard back from two beta readers yet, though I know they’re working on them. I considered just asking for what they’ve finished so far, but then I thought, no. Let’s not rush this. If I can make improvements and make it just a little bit better by waiting an extra week or so, I want to do that. As much as I want to get this ball rolling, I definitely want it to be the best it can be before I give it that nudge into the actual world, so I’m going to be patient and wait. Then one more revision, chatting with my cover artist, and then the fun world of formatting. A week or so into June, it should definitely be ready. I don’t mind waiting a little longer, especially if some valuable information might come out of it, but, if you are one of my betas, if you can get that to me soon, that would be awesome. I’m going to wait a little bit longer before I start pestering you all by email. Thankfully, I have other projects that are keeping me delightfully distracted.

Serpent in a Cage: Continues to go along nicely into the CHAPTER OF EXPOSITION. I think I’m doing well with it and not making it so much of a big fat INFODUMP. I’ve missed a few days of writing the page before bed like I’m supposed to, but I keep kicking myself back into gear with it, too. I’m not writing as much on it as I used to, as I’m giving other projects precedence for a little bit, but anyone who reads this will know I always love working on SiaC. Page count: 80/141.

Soulless: Most of my writing attention has been channeled into Soulless, which is shaping up really nicely. The plot seems to blossom more and more by day, and I think it’s a really strong contender for the second book to publish this year, so I’m trying to just fly through a rough draft. It’s been really great so far, and I’ve even started thinking a little bit about the second and third books, since I definitely want this to be a trilogy. It just has a trilogy feel, and I could do something like Heartless or Mindless or Whateverless in the titles, though part of me wonders if that’s too contrite. But, like Elliot pointed out last week, I do like my titles….I don’t think I can work on a book for too long without needing to have a title for it. Usually, the titles even come first.

The 100 Books Project: I’m nearing the end of at least two books and making progress on others, though at the moment I don’t have anything finished. I definitely feel like I’m dragging my butt on reading this year, but hopefully, that just means I’ve been doing much more writing instead. Books read: 16/100. (5/38 for this round)

Other Books: When I say my writing has really picked up, I definitely mean it. I’ve been also picking at To Cross a River of Blood and I’ve dug up my circus book, too, so things are continuing with those pieces. I’m working on typing up my modern Orpheus myth, too, so that’ll be ready to be posted by SUnday and then after that, I’m brushing it up for submission, and onto another short story. I want to try to do a new short story a week. I’ve tried in the past and failed, so let’s see how this more recent attempt goes.

There you have it! Like I said, a lot of writing being done, I’m out of my funk and back into the groove and it’s lovely. I think it was just the distress I had over Bowlful of Bunnies, and that’s been alleviated once I let myself be okay if it takes just a week or two longer. Flexibility is the key to these sorts of things, I think. Most people might tout the importance of a hard and fast deadline, but it if means something will be better in the long run, is it really so bad giving it a little bit of an extension? I think not.

And, on a completely unrelated note, Ben and Jerry’s Volun-tiramisu ice cream? Amazing. I got it because it was on sale at Target and I am in looooooove.