So, I finally made the very hard call to move my blog from here over to wordpress.com. I've imported all the posts from here and have made my first new one over there today.
It's with sadness that I leave this space, it was a good first blog home but wordpress is easier to customize and personalize, and has some features that I am looking forward to playing around with.
In future posts will be made over here, though I have no doubt I'll still make posts over here on the odd occasion.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Friday
It's a miserable day here - perfect for writing and getting other stuff done around the house.
Rewrites are going well, I am over 4k now, and well on track with my initial wordsperday goal - I am sure this will either get harder to do or just become a habit, and I'm not sure which way it'll go just yet. I could easily have NOT written last night but I told myself that no, I needed to get into it. And I'm not allowing myself to only write 1000 words even if that would get me to where my collective count divided by days writing would be at. That's cheating lol and not sticking to my plan and I don't want to start doing that so early on in the process, so I wrote exactly 1500 words (well, just a few over). I am sure there will be writing free days later on in the process - life happens.
Everything else is going really well I think, baby seems to be growing nicely and I can feel him/her at different points throughout the day moving around in there. Such and odd sensation but really pretty cool at the same time. Ivy is still adamant she only wants a girl baby, so fingers crossed! lol I would hate for her to be all upset and disappointed if it turns out to be a boy, but I guess we'll just have to deal with that when it happens.
Business course is going well, feeling really fired up about it at the moment and am charging through the material we have, hoping to get my next submission sent in this afternoon sometime - failing that it'll be tomorrow. At least if I do it today I might get the next bit opened up for me before the weekend. It's moving into the financial side of it all though and that's where it will get trickier for me.
Anyway, better get Ivy down to preschool, and then get back here and get busy!
Rewrites are going well, I am over 4k now, and well on track with my initial wordsperday goal - I am sure this will either get harder to do or just become a habit, and I'm not sure which way it'll go just yet. I could easily have NOT written last night but I told myself that no, I needed to get into it. And I'm not allowing myself to only write 1000 words even if that would get me to where my collective count divided by days writing would be at. That's cheating lol and not sticking to my plan and I don't want to start doing that so early on in the process, so I wrote exactly 1500 words (well, just a few over). I am sure there will be writing free days later on in the process - life happens.
Everything else is going really well I think, baby seems to be growing nicely and I can feel him/her at different points throughout the day moving around in there. Such and odd sensation but really pretty cool at the same time. Ivy is still adamant she only wants a girl baby, so fingers crossed! lol I would hate for her to be all upset and disappointed if it turns out to be a boy, but I guess we'll just have to deal with that when it happens.
Business course is going well, feeling really fired up about it at the moment and am charging through the material we have, hoping to get my next submission sent in this afternoon sometime - failing that it'll be tomorrow. At least if I do it today I might get the next bit opened up for me before the weekend. It's moving into the financial side of it all though and that's where it will get trickier for me.
Anyway, better get Ivy down to preschool, and then get back here and get busy!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Second Draft
It's been started! And it feels really good.
I wrote 2K yesterday with ease, and could have pushed myself on but I want to pace myself this time around, get into writing between 1.5K-2K per day without fail, and set up more of a habit and less of the 'full steam ahead!' attitude that accompanies novel-in-a-month challenges.
It's strange that this particular word count goal seems like something so incredibly attainable now, a few months back it would have daunted me beyond belief, but now, I know I can do it.
And, against all my thoughts and beliefs, writing this second draft doesn't feel 'hard'. Before now I had only really approached short stories for editing and rewrites, and they are so different than a whole novel. I have rewritten short stories before, and not usually been that happy with the outcome - so the idea of rewriting an entire novel just scared the hell out of me. When I first looked at editing this particular novel I was trying to find ways to expand it, I was working out the best way to break it up and then add everything into it that I wanted added in, and cut all the bits out that I no longer wanted in the story. It was hard, such hard work - but I was telling myself that it would be much easier than rewriting the whole thing.
I think I was wrong. I feel now like I have the skills (magically appearing from nowhere apparently) to rewrite this novel, while still keeping in tact the bits of the original that I wanted to. Perhaps it's just that I have enough distance from it now - really enough distance, not just thinking that I do - to say that no, I don't need to keep the exact words or lines or order of the original, to know that the story I wanted to tell will be told, that it will just be in a slightly different (better, longer) form.
It's not like my characters are going to change much, if anything they are becoming more of who they are and should be. The story line for the most part will remain the same with some really great changes. So it's not nearly as drastic as I am sure a lot of rewrites are when whole chunks of the story are changed dramatically. And by working with it in this way, through a total rewrite, I can enjoy it all again.
That was really the thing I was worrying about I think, that I was going to be bored, that I wouldn't finish a rewrite because I already knew what was going to happen. And while yes, I do have a very good idea, I am allowing for some movement in the story, and I am sure that there are elements in there that will be new to me, and the depth of detail and character development this time around are also going to be something new as well. I'm not writing this in a month, not trying to cram as much story into as short a space as I possibly can.
I was talking to my mother a couple nights ago about what I'll be working on with the novel, and she is of the opinion I should just have submitted it ages ago and it should have been published already. I told her that yes, it's a solid story, and yes I know a lot of people enjoyed it - but the point is that it's not the best story it can be, and if I want to have any chance of getting it published that is exactly what it needs to be. It's about peeling back the layers that I already have and seeing which ones need adding to and which ones need removing, about crafting the thing instead of just drafting it.
I feel more like a 'writer' this week than I have in a long time. I'm moving from being a first draft novelist onto being somewhere else in the process of novelling, and that's exciting, so very much so. I'm really looking forward to this new kind of journey, and I feel renewed and nourished by it, and strangely, not fearful anymore - I know I can do right by my novel.
I wrote 2K yesterday with ease, and could have pushed myself on but I want to pace myself this time around, get into writing between 1.5K-2K per day without fail, and set up more of a habit and less of the 'full steam ahead!' attitude that accompanies novel-in-a-month challenges.
It's strange that this particular word count goal seems like something so incredibly attainable now, a few months back it would have daunted me beyond belief, but now, I know I can do it.
And, against all my thoughts and beliefs, writing this second draft doesn't feel 'hard'. Before now I had only really approached short stories for editing and rewrites, and they are so different than a whole novel. I have rewritten short stories before, and not usually been that happy with the outcome - so the idea of rewriting an entire novel just scared the hell out of me. When I first looked at editing this particular novel I was trying to find ways to expand it, I was working out the best way to break it up and then add everything into it that I wanted added in, and cut all the bits out that I no longer wanted in the story. It was hard, such hard work - but I was telling myself that it would be much easier than rewriting the whole thing.
I think I was wrong. I feel now like I have the skills (magically appearing from nowhere apparently) to rewrite this novel, while still keeping in tact the bits of the original that I wanted to. Perhaps it's just that I have enough distance from it now - really enough distance, not just thinking that I do - to say that no, I don't need to keep the exact words or lines or order of the original, to know that the story I wanted to tell will be told, that it will just be in a slightly different (better, longer) form.
It's not like my characters are going to change much, if anything they are becoming more of who they are and should be. The story line for the most part will remain the same with some really great changes. So it's not nearly as drastic as I am sure a lot of rewrites are when whole chunks of the story are changed dramatically. And by working with it in this way, through a total rewrite, I can enjoy it all again.
That was really the thing I was worrying about I think, that I was going to be bored, that I wouldn't finish a rewrite because I already knew what was going to happen. And while yes, I do have a very good idea, I am allowing for some movement in the story, and I am sure that there are elements in there that will be new to me, and the depth of detail and character development this time around are also going to be something new as well. I'm not writing this in a month, not trying to cram as much story into as short a space as I possibly can.
I was talking to my mother a couple nights ago about what I'll be working on with the novel, and she is of the opinion I should just have submitted it ages ago and it should have been published already. I told her that yes, it's a solid story, and yes I know a lot of people enjoyed it - but the point is that it's not the best story it can be, and if I want to have any chance of getting it published that is exactly what it needs to be. It's about peeling back the layers that I already have and seeing which ones need adding to and which ones need removing, about crafting the thing instead of just drafting it.
I feel more like a 'writer' this week than I have in a long time. I'm moving from being a first draft novelist onto being somewhere else in the process of novelling, and that's exciting, so very much so. I'm really looking forward to this new kind of journey, and I feel renewed and nourished by it, and strangely, not fearful anymore - I know I can do right by my novel.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
And today, there shall be word wars
There will be, regardless of whether I 'feel' like it or not, thank you Chibi :-)
And I do mean that, it's nice to know that you can get in there and write, no matter how you are feeling, and I am definitely ready to begin this second draft.
The outline is not complete, the ideas are mostly all formed though and I am well enough prepared to actually start. I think I need to, before I chicken out and don't get into it. Before some other idea pops up and I cave in and do that instead. This is the time for focus, and determination, and getting stuff done. I can do it :-)
It's SO cold here today, but thats ok, it's also a really beautiful day. Ivy and I got into the weeding yesterday and that was good, one of the three gardens is clear now and I am hoping to get another done this afternoon as well. Am looking forward to planning out where the things are going to go and doing some more research so that I can have the most successful and productive garden that we have can have - the less we have to spend on food the better I say! Also going to talk to my brother about planting some fruit trees and whether that would be ok with him, though they won't provide anything this year it'll be good for in the future.
Anyways, better go and do some more outlining, might as well!
And I do mean that, it's nice to know that you can get in there and write, no matter how you are feeling, and I am definitely ready to begin this second draft.
The outline is not complete, the ideas are mostly all formed though and I am well enough prepared to actually start. I think I need to, before I chicken out and don't get into it. Before some other idea pops up and I cave in and do that instead. This is the time for focus, and determination, and getting stuff done. I can do it :-)
It's SO cold here today, but thats ok, it's also a really beautiful day. Ivy and I got into the weeding yesterday and that was good, one of the three gardens is clear now and I am hoping to get another done this afternoon as well. Am looking forward to planning out where the things are going to go and doing some more research so that I can have the most successful and productive garden that we have can have - the less we have to spend on food the better I say! Also going to talk to my brother about planting some fruit trees and whether that would be ok with him, though they won't provide anything this year it'll be good for in the future.
Anyways, better go and do some more outlining, might as well!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Monday
The outline is progressing! I am... taking it slowly, and making it really basic, not writing down a lot of the details which will be added in the writing, just making some notes about how the story is going to progress. I am wondering whether I actually need to do it or not, but I guess because I have started I should finish - why not give it a go?
I went to my first WoW raid last night in ages. Which is a big thing for me. I used to not want to go because of the late nights it meant, but the reality is that I am not falling asleep until after midnight these days anyways, so that's no longer a valid reason. I put off going for weeks now... I was paralyzed by this fear that I wouldn't be as good at what I do in game as I used to be. They always labeled me one of 'the best resto druids around' in my guild, so expectations were high - but it's been months since I played my druid, I'm out of practice and was so afraid of being bad at it that I just couldn't move forward enough to even give it a chance and see how I might do.
I did not wipe the raid, I did not fall apart, and the world did not implode like I had feared it might. Funny how these irrational fears can be eradicated when you just find the courage to overcome them.
I've been like this about writing in the past - and about several other things. That whole 'I did this great once, what if I can't again?'. And it CAN be hard to move beyond that, to put yourself out there, risk being terrible, but if you don't risk it, you're never giving yourself the opportunity to be great either. Failure is a part of life, and the sooner that can be accepted the sooner we can open the door for the possibility of success.
So what if your next story lacks something that your last one didn't? Chances are that it's also better than your last one in some way. With each word written, each story/novel/poem completed, you get better, even if you can't see that right this minute. Every time you put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, thought process to reality, you are learning and growing - as a writer, as a person, as a creative being.
And besides, we can always go back and edit those stories so that each of them are as good as they other ;-) The joys of being a writer.
I went to my first WoW raid last night in ages. Which is a big thing for me. I used to not want to go because of the late nights it meant, but the reality is that I am not falling asleep until after midnight these days anyways, so that's no longer a valid reason. I put off going for weeks now... I was paralyzed by this fear that I wouldn't be as good at what I do in game as I used to be. They always labeled me one of 'the best resto druids around' in my guild, so expectations were high - but it's been months since I played my druid, I'm out of practice and was so afraid of being bad at it that I just couldn't move forward enough to even give it a chance and see how I might do.
I did not wipe the raid, I did not fall apart, and the world did not implode like I had feared it might. Funny how these irrational fears can be eradicated when you just find the courage to overcome them.
I've been like this about writing in the past - and about several other things. That whole 'I did this great once, what if I can't again?'. And it CAN be hard to move beyond that, to put yourself out there, risk being terrible, but if you don't risk it, you're never giving yourself the opportunity to be great either. Failure is a part of life, and the sooner that can be accepted the sooner we can open the door for the possibility of success.
So what if your next story lacks something that your last one didn't? Chances are that it's also better than your last one in some way. With each word written, each story/novel/poem completed, you get better, even if you can't see that right this minute. Every time you put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, thought process to reality, you are learning and growing - as a writer, as a person, as a creative being.
And besides, we can always go back and edit those stories so that each of them are as good as they other ;-) The joys of being a writer.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Sickness
It struck on friday... it lingers still. Except that now it's spread and Simon is home sick from work - I'm still trying to decide whether Ivy is well enough for preschool this afternoon. She seems fine, but she still has a cough, and she's not really been eating a whole lot yet. Her energy levels have certainly returned to full force though!
I've had some of it as well, and spent saturday morning and sunday afternoon in bed sleeping/reading/resting. It certainly helped because I feel much better today.
I have also been suffering from some mild pregnancy craziness, ok, it didn't feel mild at the time and as much as I can stand back from myself and tell myself logically that none of my crazy trains of thought are real or make sense, emotionally I can't. Sometimes I guess you just have to let things out, and after doing so yesterday I do feel better. More sane, getting back on track, less depressed. I was worn out, and sick, and looking after sick people, and sometimes when that happens I can feel a lot like no one actually cares about me because I am the one who has to do everything. It would be nice for once if I was the only person to get sick and everyone else could run around after me for awhile lol.
I did start my outline, it's not complete yet, but it is coming together and I am aiming at getting back into the writing of it this week. I am not going to set a day, I do not want to set myself up for failure. I figure I'll get all the sickness out of the house first and then get onto it, hopefully I'll be able to finish up the outline today sometime.
I've had some of it as well, and spent saturday morning and sunday afternoon in bed sleeping/reading/resting. It certainly helped because I feel much better today.
I have also been suffering from some mild pregnancy craziness, ok, it didn't feel mild at the time and as much as I can stand back from myself and tell myself logically that none of my crazy trains of thought are real or make sense, emotionally I can't. Sometimes I guess you just have to let things out, and after doing so yesterday I do feel better. More sane, getting back on track, less depressed. I was worn out, and sick, and looking after sick people, and sometimes when that happens I can feel a lot like no one actually cares about me because I am the one who has to do everything. It would be nice for once if I was the only person to get sick and everyone else could run around after me for awhile lol.
I did start my outline, it's not complete yet, but it is coming together and I am aiming at getting back into the writing of it this week. I am not going to set a day, I do not want to set myself up for failure. I figure I'll get all the sickness out of the house first and then get onto it, hopefully I'll be able to finish up the outline today sometime.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Friday
And I am still no closer to having my outline done...
Today tho, I mean it!! lol all efforts will be slightly hindered by my sick child, who is being kept home and hopefully will feel somewhat better over the weekend. I feel for her, it's not often that any bug prevents her from eating and means she is pale and lethargic. I discovered today that most prescribed medicines are free for kids under 6 though! How cool is that? She'll be better in no time I am sure.
I'm feeling somewhat lethargic myself today. I woke up at around 1230am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I lay on the couch for a couple of hours listening to the classical music radio station via Sky. And then went back to bed and lay awake for awhile there, eventually getting back to sleep at who knows when... only to wake up around 6 and not be able to get back to sleep once again. No wonder I feel like I need afternoon naps...
Today tho, I mean it!! lol all efforts will be slightly hindered by my sick child, who is being kept home and hopefully will feel somewhat better over the weekend. I feel for her, it's not often that any bug prevents her from eating and means she is pale and lethargic. I discovered today that most prescribed medicines are free for kids under 6 though! How cool is that? She'll be better in no time I am sure.
I'm feeling somewhat lethargic myself today. I woke up at around 1230am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I lay on the couch for a couple of hours listening to the classical music radio station via Sky. And then went back to bed and lay awake for awhile there, eventually getting back to sleep at who knows when... only to wake up around 6 and not be able to get back to sleep once again. No wonder I feel like I need afternoon naps...
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
on being slack
It's kind of settled in a little since I finished the latest novel. On the writing front anyways - I've instigated a TV ban for Ivy and have been working my ass off at making sure she's fully entertained and occupied away from that devil box. I mean, I like TV, I enjoy it, I wish she could enjoy it without getting obsessed about it, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Her behaviour in the last two days has been SO much better than it would be if she was watching even an hour of TV. So while it's more work for me, for now, it's better in general because I don't have to loathe the way my little girl is behaving.... I hate feeling like that, but the whining, the tantrums, the over the top tears and the agression that surround the TV are just things I can't live with.
We'll see what it's like in a couple weeks, I am fearful that her early exposure to endless hours of TV (prior to her living with us, for the first year of her life) means that it's like a security blanket for her, one which she finds it hard to detach from. So we'll see. But I can't let it slide now, I won't be a parent who is ruled by TV or their child's behaviour.
I want the best for her, and TV does not bring that out.
So, on the writing front I do have some goals for today: I want to finish the section I'm doing on my business course (I have to write the plan), I want to go through and make a list of short stories and poems that I can submit places and find some places to submit for the rejection collection challenge, and get that darn outline down on paper ;-) I think that's probably more than enough to keep me going for today, being that none of this will get looked at or done until after 12 when Ivy goes to preschool.
In the meantime I have a headache I should really attempt to deal with or I'll end up getting nothing done at all today!
We'll see what it's like in a couple weeks, I am fearful that her early exposure to endless hours of TV (prior to her living with us, for the first year of her life) means that it's like a security blanket for her, one which she finds it hard to detach from. So we'll see. But I can't let it slide now, I won't be a parent who is ruled by TV or their child's behaviour.
I want the best for her, and TV does not bring that out.
So, on the writing front I do have some goals for today: I want to finish the section I'm doing on my business course (I have to write the plan), I want to go through and make a list of short stories and poems that I can submit places and find some places to submit for the rejection collection challenge, and get that darn outline down on paper ;-) I think that's probably more than enough to keep me going for today, being that none of this will get looked at or done until after 12 when Ivy goes to preschool.
In the meantime I have a headache I should really attempt to deal with or I'll end up getting nothing done at all today!
Monday, June 30, 2008
No more writing
Well not really, not this month anyway.
I did spend some time talking about ideas and new directions for the novel in edits though, with Chibi, and am quite excited by what came out of it all. I plan on sitting down today and hashing out an outline to work from with the rewriting/editing. There is a lot of rewriting to be done! lots of changes... it will be a long process, but I can do it. It'll be different for me because generally I don't work to an outline, I just write.... So, I hope I don't get bored and sidetracked along the way.
Nothing else much to report. Ivy's overnight stay at my Mum's went ok, and mum mentioned a 'next time' so it can't have been too bad ;-)
Am catching up on the cleaning and washing today since it's sunny omg! lol We haven't seen the sun in days, so I am going to make the most of it.
I'm also organizing my desk in the spare room to set it up for working on the novel rewrites. It's time I got that space sorted out so that I don't get distracted watching TV or whatever else might come along. Work space, for working in.
I should probably go and do that, so that I can get on with the work and not spend the whole day procrastinating. I'd like to have it ready to write tomorrow.
I did spend some time talking about ideas and new directions for the novel in edits though, with Chibi, and am quite excited by what came out of it all. I plan on sitting down today and hashing out an outline to work from with the rewriting/editing. There is a lot of rewriting to be done! lots of changes... it will be a long process, but I can do it. It'll be different for me because generally I don't work to an outline, I just write.... So, I hope I don't get bored and sidetracked along the way.
Nothing else much to report. Ivy's overnight stay at my Mum's went ok, and mum mentioned a 'next time' so it can't have been too bad ;-)
Am catching up on the cleaning and washing today since it's sunny omg! lol We haven't seen the sun in days, so I am going to make the most of it.
I'm also organizing my desk in the spare room to set it up for working on the novel rewrites. It's time I got that space sorted out so that I don't get distracted watching TV or whatever else might come along. Work space, for working in.
I should probably go and do that, so that I can get on with the work and not spend the whole day procrastinating. I'd like to have it ready to write tomorrow.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Mystery Baby
It's shy ok? Didn't want to flash it's bits to some strange scanner lady.
I was really quite disappointed, but I am pretty much over that now - we may decide to go for another scan sometime to find out, but if we don't I think I can live with not knowing whether it's a boy or a girl.
No yellow though, folks. No yellow, we are anti yellow clothes and baby things lol.
Everything looks good though with the baby, which is a good thing. Will hear more back from the midwife on Thursday, as they don't really go into detail with you during the scan. Bubs was curled up a lot of the time and not being the most co-operative thing in the world but I'll forgive it, it's not really the most pleasant experience in the world and I would have been curling up myself if I'd been allowed.
So, no name picking, no rushing out to buy little boy or little girl things - it's a bit sad not being able to get organized without just going white on everything. I've decided to start anyways, and make some things, purples, and reds and greens and whatever other interesting colours are around. Just no yellow...
Haven't done any writing today, and may not either at this rate lol, but I did spend quite some time discussing my novella. It's now turned into something a lot bigger and better (I'd like to think) I just have to get around to rewriting, adding, and editing :-)
I was really quite disappointed, but I am pretty much over that now - we may decide to go for another scan sometime to find out, but if we don't I think I can live with not knowing whether it's a boy or a girl.
No yellow though, folks. No yellow, we are anti yellow clothes and baby things lol.
Everything looks good though with the baby, which is a good thing. Will hear more back from the midwife on Thursday, as they don't really go into detail with you during the scan. Bubs was curled up a lot of the time and not being the most co-operative thing in the world but I'll forgive it, it's not really the most pleasant experience in the world and I would have been curling up myself if I'd been allowed.
So, no name picking, no rushing out to buy little boy or little girl things - it's a bit sad not being able to get organized without just going white on everything. I've decided to start anyways, and make some things, purples, and reds and greens and whatever other interesting colours are around. Just no yellow...
Haven't done any writing today, and may not either at this rate lol, but I did spend quite some time discussing my novella. It's now turned into something a lot bigger and better (I'd like to think) I just have to get around to rewriting, adding, and editing :-)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Day 26: 'The End'?
I wrote the words, though I am not sure I mean them just yet - time will tell. It feels like it's missing something though I honestly can't say what I think that might be. Chances are high it's fine as it is and the residual issues I am having with it are things that need to be fixed in the story over all rather than just the ending, and right now I'm not even going to think about going back and fixing it all up, it's done, it needs to sit, get out of my head.
All up it didn't come out anything like I had hoped - which isn't to say I don't like it, because I do. But I'd hoped to write something funny, at least in parts, funny by my standards, not by everyone else's. It didn't happen, not in any sense of the word, unless it's to point and laugh at some of the terrible sentences I have no doubt used.
There were bits in the book that I totally adore, characters which I thoroughly enjoyed and who didn't really get enough development pre writing. I think that's the thing when you are the explorer type writer - by the time you get to the end of the book you really know your characters, which can mean that who they seemed to be at the start of the book isn't always quite right. You might think you know them, but you discover more about them, they round out over the course of the story and so you need to rework things to make them the same person throughout, even though they might have things happen to them which change them in some way.
Sadly I don't think I can write any other way, lol there is always going to be the need for me to go back and rewrite character stuff, unless of course it's a sequel cause by then I know the main players well enough to know how they would react to anything.
Anyways, enough thinking about that. I need to kick the story out of my mind so I'll be critiquing a piece of writing Chibi sent me in the next couple of days and giving myself some space to get back into editing mode - exciting stuff, the stuff that feels like real work, lol at least it did last time. I am excited and nervous to get back into it, a little fearful that I'll stuff things up along the way in the novel, but sometimes you just have to make a change and see how it pans out, sometimes you can't tell before hand whether it's the right change or not.
I think I'll rewrite the beginning of the novel (the one that's in edits) anyways, and I can always add that to my word count for the month to push it over that 60K threshold (I'm only 155 words shy of it, but I am not the kind of person who will just write an extra 155 words on a novel I am considering done just to hit a number goal).
Scan day today!! Baby best keep its legs uncrossed because there are about 25 people waiting to hear whether its a boy or a girl, not to mention me who is just hanging out to know.
All up it didn't come out anything like I had hoped - which isn't to say I don't like it, because I do. But I'd hoped to write something funny, at least in parts, funny by my standards, not by everyone else's. It didn't happen, not in any sense of the word, unless it's to point and laugh at some of the terrible sentences I have no doubt used.
There were bits in the book that I totally adore, characters which I thoroughly enjoyed and who didn't really get enough development pre writing. I think that's the thing when you are the explorer type writer - by the time you get to the end of the book you really know your characters, which can mean that who they seemed to be at the start of the book isn't always quite right. You might think you know them, but you discover more about them, they round out over the course of the story and so you need to rework things to make them the same person throughout, even though they might have things happen to them which change them in some way.
Sadly I don't think I can write any other way, lol there is always going to be the need for me to go back and rewrite character stuff, unless of course it's a sequel cause by then I know the main players well enough to know how they would react to anything.
Anyways, enough thinking about that. I need to kick the story out of my mind so I'll be critiquing a piece of writing Chibi sent me in the next couple of days and giving myself some space to get back into editing mode - exciting stuff, the stuff that feels like real work, lol at least it did last time. I am excited and nervous to get back into it, a little fearful that I'll stuff things up along the way in the novel, but sometimes you just have to make a change and see how it pans out, sometimes you can't tell before hand whether it's the right change or not.
I think I'll rewrite the beginning of the novel (the one that's in edits) anyways, and I can always add that to my word count for the month to push it over that 60K threshold (I'm only 155 words shy of it, but I am not the kind of person who will just write an extra 155 words on a novel I am considering done just to hit a number goal).
Scan day today!! Baby best keep its legs uncrossed because there are about 25 people waiting to hear whether its a boy or a girl, not to mention me who is just hanging out to know.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Day 25: ah, 300 words?
I started one word war this morning, got thoroughly distracted about 3 minutes into it and never got back into writing.... bad day, lol I was feeling very dizzy and stuff but that seems to have cleared up - I'm going to attribute that to large doses of cranberry juice, obviously the stuff is good for me.
I did some reading from baby books last night, and am finding that whatever i read before i go to sleep, i dream intensely about. So baby dreams last night, dreams about businesses and stuff the night before, and I'm not sure the night before that... my memory is pretty shot at the moment.
Took Ivy for a swim this morning and it was just raining a little when we got out of the car, halfway to the pool it started to hail so I picked her up and ran, hard work when shes over 20kgs now and I'm 20 weeks pregnant.
Yes, 20 weeks! halfway!!! and scan day tomorrow :-)
So that means I have to try and get closer to writing 'the end' on this novel, and you know what, this time I might actually write The End, just for kicks, never done it before, and hey it will add two words to my count ;-)
I did some reading from baby books last night, and am finding that whatever i read before i go to sleep, i dream intensely about. So baby dreams last night, dreams about businesses and stuff the night before, and I'm not sure the night before that... my memory is pretty shot at the moment.
Took Ivy for a swim this morning and it was just raining a little when we got out of the car, halfway to the pool it started to hail so I picked her up and ran, hard work when shes over 20kgs now and I'm 20 weeks pregnant.
Yes, 20 weeks! halfway!!! and scan day tomorrow :-)
So that means I have to try and get closer to writing 'the end' on this novel, and you know what, this time I might actually write The End, just for kicks, never done it before, and hey it will add two words to my count ;-)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Day 24: 3K
Got a fair bit of writing done yesterday, and it was good as well. The end is in sight now and I can see how it's all going to come together - always a good thing when you can count how many thousand words left to go on two hands.
Anyways, nothing more from me. Been feeling very dizzy the last few days so I'm going to go and lie on the couch in front of the box, or maybe just go to bed and sleep.
Anyways, nothing more from me. Been feeling very dizzy the last few days so I'm going to go and lie on the couch in front of the box, or maybe just go to bed and sleep.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Day 23: 1k
I got back into writing again today after a break over the weekend, and while it wasn't a massive word count day it did help me to get back into the story - and have some realizations.
Which suck, cause I am already seeing things that need editing/changing/fixing and I have to just ignore that and finish the novel.
At some point my MC's best friend just kind of dropped off the face of the planet lol, I got wrapped up in the other things going on (you know: young love, family secrets) and neglected the friend big time - in much the way that my MC was doing, the friend I know though wouldn't let that happen, she'd have something to say about it so... that'll all have to come into it at some point in the story, and in the meantime i have to try and include her in the conclusion of the story. I don't even know how I am going to include the other characters that are not the MC, her mother and her father, hopefully a good way shows itself to me shortly.
I also realized I need to get working a bit harder on all of this if I want it done by 1pm on friday, because there is very little chance I'll feel like writing once I've seen baby again.
In other news: well, I really didn't do a lot yesterday lol, I managed to get some more work done on my next business module and am hoping to email that off on Wednesday, I need to put some hours into it today. I had a fantastic talk with Chibi on the kiwiwriters chatroom, that girl is wise beyond her years and it was just so energizing to have that particular talk with her, lol it's always so nice when you can walk away from a conversation and know that everything is going as it should be, that the world is a beautiful place, and that there are others out there somewhere that share your view/belief on some things.
Oh, and Hubby has kindly agreed to Kerryn and Mark staying here when they come up at the start of August!! So very exciting!!! There is a lot going on in the near future and it's nice to know there is stuff happening.
So today, where does that leave us: husband doesn't for work til 145pm this avo, child is home all day, it's wet, cold, and pretty miserable weather and I'm feeling very low on energy.
I do need to write another K or so today though, and work through some more sections of the module. The house was cleaned all over yesterday so I just need to do the dishes today to keep things ticking along.
Plus I better come up with an interesting thing to do with Ivy otherwise we're going to end up driving each other crazy lol.
Which suck, cause I am already seeing things that need editing/changing/fixing and I have to just ignore that and finish the novel.
At some point my MC's best friend just kind of dropped off the face of the planet lol, I got wrapped up in the other things going on (you know: young love, family secrets) and neglected the friend big time - in much the way that my MC was doing, the friend I know though wouldn't let that happen, she'd have something to say about it so... that'll all have to come into it at some point in the story, and in the meantime i have to try and include her in the conclusion of the story. I don't even know how I am going to include the other characters that are not the MC, her mother and her father, hopefully a good way shows itself to me shortly.
I also realized I need to get working a bit harder on all of this if I want it done by 1pm on friday, because there is very little chance I'll feel like writing once I've seen baby again.
In other news: well, I really didn't do a lot yesterday lol, I managed to get some more work done on my next business module and am hoping to email that off on Wednesday, I need to put some hours into it today. I had a fantastic talk with Chibi on the kiwiwriters chatroom, that girl is wise beyond her years and it was just so energizing to have that particular talk with her, lol it's always so nice when you can walk away from a conversation and know that everything is going as it should be, that the world is a beautiful place, and that there are others out there somewhere that share your view/belief on some things.
Oh, and Hubby has kindly agreed to Kerryn and Mark staying here when they come up at the start of August!! So very exciting!!! There is a lot going on in the near future and it's nice to know there is stuff happening.
So today, where does that leave us: husband doesn't for work til 145pm this avo, child is home all day, it's wet, cold, and pretty miserable weather and I'm feeling very low on energy.
I do need to write another K or so today though, and work through some more sections of the module. The house was cleaned all over yesterday so I just need to do the dishes today to keep things ticking along.
Plus I better come up with an interesting thing to do with Ivy otherwise we're going to end up driving each other crazy lol.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Day 21/22: nothing written
going to keep it short and sweet cause I am working from the laptop and it's too hot and uncomfortable to be resting on my knees for long.
My graphics card is fried and I am unable to use my PC. I am not impressed about it.We also didn't win the graphics card we were bidding on Trademe, and we can't really afford to buy a new one right now so for the meantime, I'm reduced to laptop use and borrowing hubbies when he's not using it, which, lets face it, isn't often when he is home, thank heavens for work hours!
Other than that I slept all day yesterday, I have been so tired it's just not funny. My tummy is stretching and growing, so I've been quite crampy and uncomfortable - and lets not even talk about the back pain lol fun times!! Am doing my best to keep active and stretch lots, do the best I can for my body while it's developing this new life inside it. I may have to resort to morning swims on a daily basis because that definitely made me feel better last week.
I can almost feel bubs kicking from the outside now, I know where to put my hand to feel the slight movements, but it's too small for anyone else to be able to pick up just yet - but thats cool tho, means it won't be long til hubby and Ivy can feel it too, I'm looking forward to being able to share that with them.
Anyways, going to get off this laptop and get some things sorted for the day. I have a lot to catch up on writing wise this afternoon once hubby has gone to work - he's working lates this week which is good, I can watch the final of Desperate Housewives in peace.
My graphics card is fried and I am unable to use my PC. I am not impressed about it.We also didn't win the graphics card we were bidding on Trademe, and we can't really afford to buy a new one right now so for the meantime, I'm reduced to laptop use and borrowing hubbies when he's not using it, which, lets face it, isn't often when he is home, thank heavens for work hours!
Other than that I slept all day yesterday, I have been so tired it's just not funny. My tummy is stretching and growing, so I've been quite crampy and uncomfortable - and lets not even talk about the back pain lol fun times!! Am doing my best to keep active and stretch lots, do the best I can for my body while it's developing this new life inside it. I may have to resort to morning swims on a daily basis because that definitely made me feel better last week.
I can almost feel bubs kicking from the outside now, I know where to put my hand to feel the slight movements, but it's too small for anyone else to be able to pick up just yet - but thats cool tho, means it won't be long til hubby and Ivy can feel it too, I'm looking forward to being able to share that with them.
Anyways, going to get off this laptop and get some things sorted for the day. I have a lot to catch up on writing wise this afternoon once hubby has gone to work - he's working lates this week which is good, I can watch the final of Desperate Housewives in peace.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 20: 1.7k written
I got back into the story yesterday, adding a little to my word count. Am looking forward to finding time to add even more over the weekend and see where the story goes to. I know now where the MC will meet her mother, but it's what happens there, and how we get to that point which is still fairly unknown. Oh wow... see, this always happens when I blog, I say I don't know what's going to happen, and then I come up with a solution. This is one of the things I love about blogging.
So now I know how my book kind of comes together in the end, which is different to how I imagined it would, but good as well. Now I'm looking forward to writing it even more! And you never know, things might change by the time I get there but it looks like a pretty solid option.
Brother stopped around today and dropped off four bags of baby clothes - mostly boys - so now I hope we do have a boy cause we'd be totally set up! lol that said, if it's a girl I get to do lots of shopping... Ivy is having lots of fun going through and talking about how cute things are, there are a couple pieces with tigger on them and so she's been hunting for something with winnie hehe, I can tell this baby is going to be a winnie the pooh baby ;-)
He also gave me his wireless keyboard and mouse which is cool, and just charging batteries for the mouse before I give it a go. Will be nice to get rid of a couple more cables from the desk.
Nothing planned today. I don't think I said yesterday that Ivy's sleep over at my Mum's was cancelled cause Mum is sick, but that's all good, we'll reschedule it for when Mum's better. Simon is at work this morning and we've just been chilling out. I should really plan something for the day! Oh well hehe, maybe its finally time to rearrange the bedroom and do the small organizational tasks that are needed in both the spare room and Ivy's.
So now I know how my book kind of comes together in the end, which is different to how I imagined it would, but good as well. Now I'm looking forward to writing it even more! And you never know, things might change by the time I get there but it looks like a pretty solid option.
Brother stopped around today and dropped off four bags of baby clothes - mostly boys - so now I hope we do have a boy cause we'd be totally set up! lol that said, if it's a girl I get to do lots of shopping... Ivy is having lots of fun going through and talking about how cute things are, there are a couple pieces with tigger on them and so she's been hunting for something with winnie hehe, I can tell this baby is going to be a winnie the pooh baby ;-)
He also gave me his wireless keyboard and mouse which is cool, and just charging batteries for the mouse before I give it a go. Will be nice to get rid of a couple more cables from the desk.
Nothing planned today. I don't think I said yesterday that Ivy's sleep over at my Mum's was cancelled cause Mum is sick, but that's all good, we'll reschedule it for when Mum's better. Simon is at work this morning and we've just been chilling out. I should really plan something for the day! Oh well hehe, maybe its finally time to rearrange the bedroom and do the small organizational tasks that are needed in both the spare room and Ivy's.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Day 19: No writing
And I feel slack - slack in that I still have story to write and I haven't been - on the other hand I did get some of the things done yesterday that I wanted to. And the swim really helped my back out, at least for yesterday.
I hate being that person with JUST over the goal mark, and so at some point today I'll be writing again, though it might not be until later on.
This morning after I drop Ivy off I have to go and finish the gardens at the old house. It's all dragged out for a lot longer than I would have like, and I DID them the week before we moved, of course that was almost a month ago now and they are weedy again and for some reason Dad thinks that's my problem and not his, he even told us off for not mowing the lawn last week, like... that was mowed the week we moved! The whole thing is a mess, it wasn't handled well by them or by us and in the end we're all left feeling unsatisfied with the whole thing.
I didn't have it done by the time we moved and they don't appreciate that, I scrubbed walls for hours which they then sanded over and had to re-wipe. I vacuumed carpets which then had sanded stuff and plastering gunk on them, and some of which were then removed from the house anyway - and I don't appreciate that they asked me to do those things when obviously they were pointless things to be spending my time doing. Next time anything like this is set to happen I'll be sitting Dad down and asking him what I should actually bother doing, where my time could be usefully spent and outlining exactly what each of us is to do.
I think it's unfair for them to get annoyed at how long it took anyways, I KNEW they would take weeks to get the place done so it was not a high priority thing. Nothing that I did or did not do slowed down their progress with repainting and tidying the place up, they didn't have tennants lined up or a date by which things must be completed, and the reality is that they have always been slack in giving us what we needed with the house so meh, I didn't feel like I needed to hurry either. We'll note having an oven that only had two working elements that we had to try and cook meals with for 2-3 weeks before it was replaced (the inside didn't work at all), and the leaking roof which took about a year to get fixed despite the fact our walls were crying and my flatmates ceiling caved in (Dad did manage to patch it up, but still, it was due to be replaced long before we moved in).
So yeah, I am annoyed. But I'll do the gardens again because otherwise Dad will probably get caught in the middle. I'll do it because that's just how I am, and even though I am annoyed about it I won't bring this up to him, or to her, because I don't want to cause them any more hassles.
At least once this is over with, it's done - though I am sure I'll hear back about how I didn't do a good enough job and whatever. I don't care. I'm not going to feel useless because I don't live up to their standards. The reality is that no matter how good of a job I do it won't be good enough so they'll end up doing it over. It's always the way it is.
/rant off.
So yes, gardening this morning, then home and some writing I think! My right hand is all crampy and in a little pain from cutting up photos to send out with our thank you cards so I am going to have to bite the bullet, put some on CD and take them to get printed somewhere... I have to save my hand the hassle of cutting up anymore lol.
I hate being that person with JUST over the goal mark, and so at some point today I'll be writing again, though it might not be until later on.
This morning after I drop Ivy off I have to go and finish the gardens at the old house. It's all dragged out for a lot longer than I would have like, and I DID them the week before we moved, of course that was almost a month ago now and they are weedy again and for some reason Dad thinks that's my problem and not his, he even told us off for not mowing the lawn last week, like... that was mowed the week we moved! The whole thing is a mess, it wasn't handled well by them or by us and in the end we're all left feeling unsatisfied with the whole thing.
I didn't have it done by the time we moved and they don't appreciate that, I scrubbed walls for hours which they then sanded over and had to re-wipe. I vacuumed carpets which then had sanded stuff and plastering gunk on them, and some of which were then removed from the house anyway - and I don't appreciate that they asked me to do those things when obviously they were pointless things to be spending my time doing. Next time anything like this is set to happen I'll be sitting Dad down and asking him what I should actually bother doing, where my time could be usefully spent and outlining exactly what each of us is to do.
I think it's unfair for them to get annoyed at how long it took anyways, I KNEW they would take weeks to get the place done so it was not a high priority thing. Nothing that I did or did not do slowed down their progress with repainting and tidying the place up, they didn't have tennants lined up or a date by which things must be completed, and the reality is that they have always been slack in giving us what we needed with the house so meh, I didn't feel like I needed to hurry either. We'll note having an oven that only had two working elements that we had to try and cook meals with for 2-3 weeks before it was replaced (the inside didn't work at all), and the leaking roof which took about a year to get fixed despite the fact our walls were crying and my flatmates ceiling caved in (Dad did manage to patch it up, but still, it was due to be replaced long before we moved in).
So yeah, I am annoyed. But I'll do the gardens again because otherwise Dad will probably get caught in the middle. I'll do it because that's just how I am, and even though I am annoyed about it I won't bring this up to him, or to her, because I don't want to cause them any more hassles.
At least once this is over with, it's done - though I am sure I'll hear back about how I didn't do a good enough job and whatever. I don't care. I'm not going to feel useless because I don't live up to their standards. The reality is that no matter how good of a job I do it won't be good enough so they'll end up doing it over. It's always the way it is.
/rant off.
So yes, gardening this morning, then home and some writing I think! My right hand is all crampy and in a little pain from cutting up photos to send out with our thank you cards so I am going to have to bite the bullet, put some on CD and take them to get printed somewhere... I have to save my hand the hassle of cutting up anymore lol.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Day 18: Winner.
You'd think I would have posted this yesterday right? I mean it was only like 4pm when I crossed the winners line, I had plenty of time to write something up about it. But no...
Doesn't mean I wasn't happy or excited, but I was also tired, sore, cold and headachey.
I actually intended to write more on the novel after that, but never got back to it. Hubby was home sick, after I won it was almost time to get Ivy and then the night routine just kind of took over and I said I would go and do something in game with hubby, which turned into several things and I ended up being on there until 11pm. Much longer than I wanted, and it was worse because it took me over an hour to get to sleep when I did get to bed, and hubby much the same, I hate that, lying in bed, awake, not being able to sleep and the fact that someone else can't sleep as well makes it that much more worse.
So this morning I am still cold, sore, tired and headachey, and there are things to be done which also need my attention.
So no writing this morning, I'm going to answer all the questions on my list of things for my business course, wash the dishes and tidy the house up some. Brother, SIL and nephew are maybe visiting today so I have to make sure the place looks tidy. Old habits die hard, it might not be a house inspection but it doesn't hurt.
I told Ivy we could go swimming today and as much as I don't feel like it one little bit we'll still go, and I can only hope the water is warm and it helps my back to feel better than it does right now.
I should also get back into some those thank you cards, get as many more out of the way as I can - I have no idea where the address book has gone in the move, so thats need locating as well, oh the joy! lol
I may get back into the writing later today, when some of these other bits and pieces have been worked on. But I feel like I have been putting a lot off in order to get my 50K and so now I have to return at least some of my attention to those things that have been a little neglected.
Doesn't mean I wasn't happy or excited, but I was also tired, sore, cold and headachey.
I actually intended to write more on the novel after that, but never got back to it. Hubby was home sick, after I won it was almost time to get Ivy and then the night routine just kind of took over and I said I would go and do something in game with hubby, which turned into several things and I ended up being on there until 11pm. Much longer than I wanted, and it was worse because it took me over an hour to get to sleep when I did get to bed, and hubby much the same, I hate that, lying in bed, awake, not being able to sleep and the fact that someone else can't sleep as well makes it that much more worse.
So this morning I am still cold, sore, tired and headachey, and there are things to be done which also need my attention.
So no writing this morning, I'm going to answer all the questions on my list of things for my business course, wash the dishes and tidy the house up some. Brother, SIL and nephew are maybe visiting today so I have to make sure the place looks tidy. Old habits die hard, it might not be a house inspection but it doesn't hurt.
I told Ivy we could go swimming today and as much as I don't feel like it one little bit we'll still go, and I can only hope the water is warm and it helps my back to feel better than it does right now.
I should also get back into some those thank you cards, get as many more out of the way as I can - I have no idea where the address book has gone in the move, so thats need locating as well, oh the joy! lol
I may get back into the writing later today, when some of these other bits and pieces have been worked on. But I feel like I have been putting a lot off in order to get my 50K and so now I have to return at least some of my attention to those things that have been a little neglected.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Day 17: 46530
It's a good number! More than I expected to get to last night but the story picked up in a big way and it's really taken off. All the back story has come to light and the cards are on the table as such. No more secrets, just a few problems that need solving and a few events that need to take place - I'm still unsure what some of those things are, but I finally figured out how the mother comes into play and how that interacts with my MC's transformation.
I'm happy with how it's coming together and I just love the scene that I am writing right now, even though I'm still not sure what will happen straight after it. I may give it another week (in the story) to let the things that have come out to develop before plunging into the next big ordeal.
Other than that I had a phone call from my Dad which made me think about a few things. Not things I'm going to talk about here and now, but it definitely made me think more deeply about my relationship to some individuals in my life, examine the way I feel and the reasons why I think I might be feeling that way - generally a worthy way to spend ones time, even if you aren't exactly thrilled with the outcome, in this case because it's not like I can do a single thing to change the dynamic, but at least I can work on reacting less to it myself.
Back to writing I think! Ivy is at pre-school and Simon's home sick in bed, so I have the house to myself, mostly.
I'm happy with how it's coming together and I just love the scene that I am writing right now, even though I'm still not sure what will happen straight after it. I may give it another week (in the story) to let the things that have come out to develop before plunging into the next big ordeal.
Other than that I had a phone call from my Dad which made me think about a few things. Not things I'm going to talk about here and now, but it definitely made me think more deeply about my relationship to some individuals in my life, examine the way I feel and the reasons why I think I might be feeling that way - generally a worthy way to spend ones time, even if you aren't exactly thrilled with the outcome, in this case because it's not like I can do a single thing to change the dynamic, but at least I can work on reacting less to it myself.
Back to writing I think! Ivy is at pre-school and Simon's home sick in bed, so I have the house to myself, mostly.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday
I didn't set any specific goals for myself today, well, not official ones - though unofficially I am hoping to get 2.5K words a day through til Friday so that I get past that 50K mark.
I've not really done a lot with my day so far, well, it doesn't feel like it. I finally got onto our thank you cards for everyone who came to the wedding and that's proving to be more time consuming than you might think. I started just writing them randomly and then decided maybe I needed to do them in groups, like, all my aunts in one go so that I could make sure I didn't write the exact same thing on each of their cards. Not that they will likely be comparing their cards, but still, if it happened by chance I'd rather they think I was trying to come up with different things rather than giving them the same spiel.
I can't wait to have it done to be honest, and I will have them out of my hands by the end of the week and no later. I got some more ink for the printer and am going to set about printing some photos to send with each card, which will also be a mission but at least I won't feel like I totally suck because they will all be a little more personalized.
Nothing much else to report! I think it will feel like an unproductive day no matter what I do with it due to the lethargic mood I am in.
Will no doubt update again later after I've done some writing.
I've not really done a lot with my day so far, well, it doesn't feel like it. I finally got onto our thank you cards for everyone who came to the wedding and that's proving to be more time consuming than you might think. I started just writing them randomly and then decided maybe I needed to do them in groups, like, all my aunts in one go so that I could make sure I didn't write the exact same thing on each of their cards. Not that they will likely be comparing their cards, but still, if it happened by chance I'd rather they think I was trying to come up with different things rather than giving them the same spiel.
I can't wait to have it done to be honest, and I will have them out of my hands by the end of the week and no later. I got some more ink for the printer and am going to set about printing some photos to send with each card, which will also be a mission but at least I won't feel like I totally suck because they will all be a little more personalized.
Nothing much else to report! I think it will feel like an unproductive day no matter what I do with it due to the lethargic mood I am in.
Will no doubt update again later after I've done some writing.
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