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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A Few Notes

Good note: I'm almost done with chapter 1.

Bad note: I'm sick. AGAIN. Something about marriage has seriously messed up my immune system.

Random note: CONduit was all right. I liked a few of the panels, but a lot of it just wasn't up my ally.

I'll also have a guest blogger* coming soon, so get excited.




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*I'm fancy like that.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Just a note.

In case you were wondering, my protagonist smells like manure.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Cue Spaz

Word count for the day: 9

Basically I wrote the first sentence of TDSF and freaked out to the point where I couldn't continue.

My thought process:

Is this first line written well? Have I really considered how I want it structured? Have I spent enough time pondering this first scene to write it accurately? I don't have enough time to flow this, I need to start on a weekend. What about Weirs? My head is too stuck on Weirs right now. Waiting for the beta readers--I can't write new material if I'm waiting on my beta readers. My outline still says "draft" in the doc title! HOW CAN I WRITE A STORY WHEN MY OUTLINE SAYS "DRAFT" IN THE DOC TITLE??? I'M NOT READY TO COMMIT!!!

It's funny that I'm more nervous about starting this story than I am querying agents (which is also a nerve-wracking occurrence for me).* I've told myself I'd start writing this after CONduit, since I'm sure the convention will spark my creative juices, but I wanted to jump the gun (and failed). Once I start, I have to commit to a daily word count. I want to get started, but how well do I really know my story?

Sigh. I need a moment in peaceful solitude to ponder on it, but I don't know if said peaceful solitude is happening this week....


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*Finally wrote up a [4-page] synopsis for the book, so my query options are now slightly broader.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Wowed by WorldCon

There are some BIG names going to WorldCon, including (but not limited to) George R. R. Martine, Dean Wesley Smith, Patrick Rothfuss, and Lou Anders. I’m staring at the Renovation update right now, and I’ve just realized this isn’t going to be like the state-side conventions I attend. I feel very, very small.

And very, very stupid, since I don’t recognize half of the names on the list. When I get my hard-copy, I’m taking a highlighter to the names of people I want to meet or talk to. I’m buying some GRRM books so I can have him sign them.

Wow. There are going to be some amazing panels at this thing. After WorldCon, I’ll never view LTUE and CONduit the same way again…

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Also, a plug-in for my friend Nathan, who has published his first indie book, Paradise Seekers. Go check it out!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

The Day the Sky Fell

Working title, but I’m going with it for now. THE DAY THE SKY FELL (now to affectionately be known as “TDSF”) is the next novel on my agenda. In a nutshell, it’s a fantasy retelling of Chicken Little.* I’m eager to work on it.

This is my second attempt at a non-Caucasian protagonist (THE RAIMOS was my first, but as we all know, I’ve yet to finish it). I have some inspiration from both the Bible and Marillier’s Sevenwaters series in my basic magic system. I suppose there are three magic systems in the story, but none are extremely complicated or prominent.

My outline is coming along, though part of me doesn’t want to finish it—I could half discovery write the book, which is what my inner muse wants me to do (if you didn’t know, I’m anti-discovery writing). So that will be interesting. Meanwhile I have to go invent a new style of dancing. Hurray for secondary characters. :D



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*AKA the story that may-or-may-not-involve-chickens. I’m so funny, I know.

Friday, May 20, 2011

WorldCON Newsletter and JABberwocky

There’s a chance I may be working on the convention newsletter at WorldCON. I asked for more information on it a few months ago and have corresponded a little with the person in charge. My only worry is, if it’s really time-consuming, that I won’t get to spend lots of time actually conventioning/with my sister. One reason I’m so stoked for WorldCON is because I get to spend some real time with her! But working on the newsletter could be fun, and good experience. So we’ll see what happens.

I’ve done some babysitting for her recently to give her some free time to finish her book—the premise is a great one, and I think it would work well for Tu Books, since it takes place in Japan and most of the main characters are Japanese (Tu Books focuses on multicultural works). So get crankin’, Danny!

I have two official rejections for Weirs, the second being from Sara Megibow, who is also a very speedy agent.

The more Twitter feeds I read, the more I really like JABberwocky. They really advertise their writers—they just feel more AGENT to me, but they’re not yet open for submissions. (I think Dean Wesley Smith is getting to me. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing.)

Anywho, I’m hoping to start my story which-may-or-may-not-involve-chickens pretty soon. I’m thinking CONduit will inspire me, as writing conventions tend to do. :D

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

First WEIRS Rejection

Well Alyssa, I have gotten my first response!

Fastest agent reply EVER--under 24 hours for the rejection. I sent the query yesterday and got the response this morning. The agent: Jessica Faust of BookEnds LLC.

I stapled it to my cubicle.

I've queried five agents so far. Planning on sending another query to Vickie Motter this week.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Let the Querying Begin!

So my big revisions of WEIRS* is finished, so I'm left with my touch-up revisions--namely religious additions and character tweaks (which will focus mostly on Tock, since I did a lot of Thade/Teague character changes along with my plot revision). I don't expect these changes to take too long, so I've gone ahead and started my query letters. I sent three out today, will send more out this week.

I have eight agents in particular I want to query. Once I get their rejections, I'll move to my secondary agents, then to the editors and publishing houses themselves (for some unknown reason I'm particularly interested in pestering Loud Anders at Pyr).

We'll see where it goes. If nothing else, I have lots of cubical space waiting to be plastered with rejections. Too much gray wall in there. ;)

My husband said the ending of WEIRS made him like it more than CSH, so that's a good sign, I think.

I'm also not specifying in my queries whether the story is Adult or YA, since I think it could flop either way. That's cheating, I know. Hopefully no one holds it against me.




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*I think you're supposed to all-cap titles now....

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Why Writing Makes Me More Physically Fit*

49 pages left in my plot revision, THANK THE LORD. Granted, I’m not done once I finish those, but I will be done with the hardest part. The other revisions should come a bit easier, so I hope. I don’t know how much longer I can go. XD Have to rewrite the epilogue, but it shouldn’t be too difficult (or very long). Then I’ll actually look at my prologue and make an interesting hook so people will actually want to read more than one sentence.

Worked out on the elliptical at the gym yesterday. Elliptical = Story Ideas. (Unless I watch TV, but the stair-stepper elliptical isn’t by a TV, so I just listen to music and think.)

One of the nice things about being a student was, during boring class periods, I could just daydream and plot out my novels and upcoming scenes, so by the time I sat down to write them, I already knew what to do and how to do it. While I’m glad I’m no longer in school, I do miss those daydreaming sessions. The only time I do them anymore is, as previously stated, on the elliptical. (Doesn’t work with weights—too busy counting reps to think much.)

ANYWAY. Maybe I’ll get this pesky revision over by the end of the week; then I can focus on character tweaks and religion bolstering. :D

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*Alliteration not intended.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Still Bogging Through

Busy week, still alive. Chapter 19 of 22 in revisions, just realized I have two very similar fight scenes and I need to fix one. Will do that tomorrow, methinks, if not tonight.

Need to put more effort into planning my next novel which-may-or-may-not-involve-chickens, but now that Husband isn't working nights I get more easily distracted. Mainly because he's so good-looking. :D

Only reason I'm updating now is because the web system I'm using at work just went bonkers and I'm waiting for its repair. :D

CONduit in 17 days!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

My Antagonist’s Antagonist

I’m on chapter 18 of my edits, and I recently read over (and fixed) a scene with my central antagonist, and I feel . . . guilty. Guilty for doing this scene to him. I’ve revised this book to make him a rounder character, hopefully more relatable, more human. And now I feel bad. It’s because of a scene I added earlier in the story, and the tweaks I made to this chapter. I’m a horrible person.

Sigh. Hopefully it works out for the book as a whole.

Meanwhile, Kylah, the main character for my next story which-may-or-may-not-involve-chickens, is becoming pretty awesome inside my head. I have a lot of outlining to do still, but I have high hopes for him. (I’m also giving a second try to having a non-caucasian protagonist. I had done this initially with The Raimos, which is frying on the burner somewhere behind the back burners. . . .)

[Spoiler warning]

Random question to David Farland, who doesn’t read this blog: So I’m on Wizardborn, #3 of your Runelords series, and I’m confused. Anders, a wind wizard, just sent a bunch of rats to Mystarria to kill Iome. But we just established that Earth wardens are the ones who have jurisdiction over animals, as Averan just did her whole deer-summon shindig and whatnot. So how can a wind wizard summon all these rats out of the sewers to go attack Mystarria? Since when did wind have any power over rats? This is deeply confusing me. Please explain.

The end.

Monday, May 2, 2011

I Haven't Taken Math Since I Was Fifteen*

Revisions = I hate my story.

Not so much that it’s a bad story, per say, just that it’s driving me up a wall. I NEED ANOTHER PROJECT but I shan’t take one because I MUST FINISH THIS ONE. I’m not even done with my plot revisions yet.

Me = Whiner.

And really, I’m not that far off. Once this revision is done (And I’m on chapter 15!), the other revisions will come much swifter. The religion revision will take less time, and the small revisions after that should be cake, in comparison. Until someone points out another major flaw in the writing and I have to rehash everything AGAIN.

Whining = Not Productive.

I have extra free time this week too since Husband is slaving away at his last week working for the demon pharmacy,** so I have a lot of evenings free. (One of those evenings I’m driving to my sister’s and babysitting her kids so she’ll work on her own MS. As soon as she said she might not finish by WorldCon, I knew I had to take drastic action.)

Anyway. I’m doing my plotting of my next novel which-may-or-may-not-involve-chickens whilst revising Weirs. Once I get my official WotF rejection, I’m sure I’ll be more motivated to write another short story. (In case you forgot, I’m not so swell with the short stories to begin with. . . .)


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*Which explains why my “equations” don’t actually have numbers in them.

**Here’s hoping he gets an internship!