Yikes! August is Over...

I can't believe August is ending today. Where did the time go?

So, what is everyone else up to? I've cried on your shoulders (a lot) lately, now it's your turn. What projects are you working on? What writing problems have you run into? And, if you're not a writer, what's life doing to you right now? 

My personal life has been difficult lately. I'd love to hear about your problems, it'll make my problems sound less difficult.

Anyway, sorry I haven't been around much this month. Writing has been taking a backseat to my personal life. I'm always apologizing for that, but I wanted to get on here and tell you I'M NOT DEAD, I swear. Just hibernating, or licking my wounds, if you like.

Thanks so much for all those who take the time to read this, and holler at me with any news you may have on YOUR problems, I'd love to do an article with some ideas on how to fix 'em.

Writing quote of the day:

"Most things good for writing are bad for life. “May your life be not very good material” is a blessing I offer students." —Lorrie Moore

Have a great day and happy writing!

Out of Balance -- Life and Writing

My life tends to be either very calm and boring, or very exciting and chaotic. Rarely do I make it to a nice, even middle.

When is it, do you think, that I do the most writing? Of course, it's when life is calm and boring. Whenever life gets chaotic, I don't have the time or health to write. Am I alone in that horrible trait: allowing your writing to fall to the wayside?

I believe that the truly successful writers are those who don't allow their writing to ever fall by the wayside. If only I could be one of them. Somehow, I have to find a way to make do with what I was given. This time, I'm determined to finish this book and get it published. But...my writing WILL fall away into unimportance when life gets hectic again.

I'd like to take this time to thank all those who took the time to encourage me to continue writing (I still shudder when I think of that Twilight/Harry Potter crossover fan-fiction) and to tell you I have gotten some writing done. Just not as much as I would wish. But progress is progress, right?

However, I have another plea. Am I the only one who finds the act of writing easy, but the work of writing hard? Once I sit down and write, the words flow like magic. It's the sitting down and writing that I have such trouble with. Sometimes, I am not mentally able to handle the work of it. Other times, I'm not physically able to sit in the chair for long hours. More often than not, I'm distracted by other problems. Does anyone know of a way to get work done every day, no matter what? To force myself to work?

My life is out of balance. Whenever my writing is doing well, my life sucks. Whenever my life is doing well, my writing sucks. Is there ever a way to make the see-saw level out?

Thanks for listening, and for any advice you may care to offer. Here's our beautiful writing quote of the day:

"Capture your reader, let him not depart, from dull beginnings that refuse to start." -- Horace

Happy writing!

Past Due

So, as many of you know, I had a tentative writing goal of finishing my first draft by July 31.

I did not succeed.

My next goal is for September 15, 2011. At that time, I desperately want that first draft complete. While it is true I have a third goal, a goal that absolutely MUST be met, set for December 31 of this year, it would be nice if I could make it by September 15.

Only problem? That's a little more than a month away and I am not even half-way through the first draft. I know I can do it, if I set my mind to it, but it won't be easy. Because of that fear of failure and the difficulty I am facing, I have a request of all of you who are kind enough to be reading this.

Can you give me your support?

I need you to needle me a bit, push me to get this work done. Even now, the current chapter I'm working on (oh, the depressing facts; it's Chapter 4) lies open on my computer. I just haven't written anything in it today. Or yesterday. Or the day before that. If I have any hope of meeting my next deadline, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

 

Writing quote of the day:

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." William James

Happy writing all and thanks for all your help!

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! (Blog on Fire Award)

I have wonderful news! The beautiful, talented, and wonderfully kind artist's charm awarded me with the Blog on Fire award shortly before my recent short sabbatical from blogging. Thank you so much, Anna! I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to say anything, but life has been seriously crazy.

Plus, I went to the library. In fact, you'll find that many of my unscheduled sabbaticals from blogging stem from having visited the library. I truly love books that much.

Anyway, I have seven things about me to tell you again:

1.) I hate the smell and taste of alcohol. Even though I'm old enough to drink, legally, I haven't found many drinks that I like. Plenty I can tolerate, but none that I may enjoy.

2.) I love to sing and dance and act.

3.) I have a quite beautiful and powerful singing voice. Unfortunately, it fails me quite often on stage or in public. I have issues with being on stage as myself.

4.) I have acted parts in 2 plays, both musicals, and done spectacularly. My stage fright vanishes when I pretend to be a different person on stage.

5.) I dance okay. Not good or well, but okay. At least, my dancing isn't an embarrassment.

6.) I am allergic to the smell of cigarettes. They make my childhood asthma act up, and I feel as though I can't breathe whenever I'm around the smoke.

7.) I am a MAJOR procrastinator. I can procrastinate with the best of 'em, let me tell you.

And, as for the 5 people I'm passing it on to:

1.) Alice at Alice's Bucket List

2.) J. M. Dow at Obscurity and Competence

3.) Hazel at Pablo's Angel

4.) Stephanie at To Write a Better Story

5.) 3red at Everyday Adventures

Now, time for our writing quote:

"And all writing is creating or spinning dreams for other people so they won't have to bother doing it themselves." Beth Henley

 

Have a great day, and happy writing! Tune in next time for more of an update on my writing life.

Extra Scenes, Take One

So, I've been thinking about my book a lot of late. In particular, I've been considering many of the scenes I want to write that I don't believe will make it to the final draft. Somewhere inside of me, there's a place that requires those scenes to be written in order to finish the book at all. But I also know that they'll kill some of the surprise and intrigue if I allow them in the final draft.

The problem is: I think those scenes might be some of the best in the whole, flipping book.

Of course, I haven't written the whole, flipping book yet, so I can't say for sure. But that's the way I feel it will be. I know I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I'm wondering if I should include those extra scenes in whatever packet I eventually send to an editor. You know, so they can judge whether some should be included while others be excluded.

At this point, it really doesn't impact anything I'm doing. I just find myself thinking about it an awful lot. Regardless of my decision, I'm going to write those scenes in the first draft, and then revise the book in such a way so that you discover those things through another avenue. It doesn't matter what I decide, that will be how I write it, and I'll take those scenes and place them in a folder labeled Extra Scenes.

But what would you do? Would you write them, delete them, and think the story was better without the baggage, even if they were some of the most exciting moments in the story? Or would you keep some of the best of them in? Or would you take them all out, and share them with someone else, to get their opinion?

Writing quote of the day:

"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential." Jessamyn West

Thanks for your time, everyone, and for all the reading and commenting you've done of late. I truly appreciate it. Happy writing!

One Lovely Blog Award

I still get all jittery inside whenever I think of the beautiful award passed on to me by Hazel. Thank you so much, Hazel!

So, I promised I'd post seven things you don't know about me the other day, and now I shall live up to that promise. Check this out:

1.) I am a chocolate fiend. I adore the stuff and can eat enough to make myself sick without straining. That's why I have a sign in my room: Forget Love...I'd rather fall in CHOCOLATE.

2.) I am one of those survivalist weirdos. I love survival skills and country living skills, and study them constantly. I also really want to have my own homestead (which I'm steadily building) where I produce my own power, food, water, and livelihood.

3.) I have a dog named Bella who is almost as large as a horse. As it happens, I also have a horse.

4.) I haven't dated anyone in 3 years. Nor have I actively tried. 

5.) I am seriously picky about men. They have to really be something special for me to be willing to allow them close to me.

6.) I have Social Anxiety Disorder. I can't stand crowds, in fact I almost had a heart-attack in one once. In order to eat at a restaurant, I have to sit in a corner facing a wall. That way, I don't see the people and can eat my food without having to puke.

7.) The first story I ever wrote was when I was around 4 years old or so. It was about a baby cheetah making friends with a baby panther and their adventures together in spite of their parents dislike of one another. I wrote it on one piece of paper, front and back, without paragraph breaks. It stunk, and I was smart enough to know it. This scared me off writing creatively (outside of school) for another 7 years, although I still made-up stories all the time. I never wrote them.

So, now that you all know me a little better, let's get on to the part all of you are really here for. The passing on of the torch. The 7 blogs I most think deserve this award are:

1.) 365 Days to Forever

2.) Nathan Bransford, Author

3.) Jewel Clicks

4.) Meri-Goes-Round

5.) We Wandering Clouds

6.) Leah's Treasures

7.) Diary of a Drama Queen (although I can't comment on this blog, because the comment box doesn't work)

Writing quote of the day:

"Don't annoy the writer. They may put you in a book and kill you." Anonymous

That's all for today. Tune in next time for more abnormal musings. Have a great day, and happy writing!

An Award, New Fans, And Other Classics

Wow! I shut my computer completely off about a week ago, and haven't touched the thing since, and when I come back, what do I find? Someone I know and love (Hazel) has awarded me with the One Lovely Blog Award. My first award!

Plus, I have new followers! Yay! Welcome to my blog, oh lovely, new faces.

Maybe I should take a week off more often. All kinds of exciting stuff seems to happen when I'm gone.

Honestly, I needed a break from the computer. It's unhealthy, how much I use the thing. Plus, I visited the library. I always go missing for a while if I go there. I LOVE the library. They have books there, you know. Tons and tons of books.

I love books.

So, I've been reading a lot the last few days. Some of the books were re-reads, some were very new, others were instructional. And I had so much fun! But, alas, all such things must end. One book I checked out from the library I still feel iffy about, though, and I thought I'd share my feelings on the subject in this newest blog post.

As many of you might know, I'm a writer (how many times have I said that?). And, as I've been told many a time, writers should like the classics in literature. Not just The Aeneid and The Iliad (true classical literature), but books by Mark Twain, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens. Shouldn't I be in awe of such authors? After all, they were geniuses. There is no denying the sheer brilliance of their work.

But they're so...wordy. I just read a few chapters of Oliver Twist By: Charles Dickens for the first time, and, while there is simply no denying the fact that Dickens was an incredible wordsmith and wrote very tongue-in-cheek digs at the "respectable" community in a way that is quite cute, but IMHO the story suffers from Dickens sophisticated wording and sarcastic twists in thought. I'm so busy following the twists and turns in his language, the story falls flat for me. How do you get into something when all the author does is dance around the point?

Of course, this was written a long time ago, and supposedly people enjoyed that sort of storytelling then. But I'm a writer! I'm supposed to love the classics! Is it bad that most of them bore me to tears? Or that the few I can tolerate usually leave me depressed for days with their sad endings?

The only classic that I can remember adoring is Pride & Prejudice By: Jane Austen. I LOVE that book, and melt whenever I watch the movie. It's seriously one of my all-time favorite books. I'm so glad I took the time to read it.

Still, most of the books on being a writer say I should read and study the classics...which I can't stand. Does that make me a bad writer? Or just really uncultured?

Anyway, moving on. It's now time I come full circle and discuss the award thingy. Thank you so much, Hazel, for giving me this One Lovely Blog Award! I greatly appreciate it. If you'd like to check out Hazel's blog, the link is here. 

Tomorrow's blog post will be all about the seven things you people don't know about me, and the seven people I will pass this award on to. Tune in next time, because who knows? Maybe your name will make the list.

Writing quote of the day:

"I will write what makes me smile, what makes my heart flutter, what keeps me up at night with ideas, characters, dialogue." — Natalie Whipple

Have a great day, everyone, and happy writing!