I'm worried. Mia hasn't left my side all day. She has been curled up under the blanket beside me. Any time I get up, she cries and cries until I sit back down. Normally, on a Saturday, she'll wander off into the other room and chew on her toys, but not today.
So tonight's post is short, and I'm going to skip the writing to cuddle with her. Hopefully, she'll feel better tomorrow.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
First Draft Ick
I'm just over 1100 words into my new WIP, and already I'm looking at it and thinking, "I can't use this!"
But then I started thinking about it, and I realized that's the way I work. I write a first draft to get to know my characters. The story isn't going to actually start until probably about 10k, but that's okay. That first 10k gives me backstory. It lets me meet my characters. It lets me figure out their quirks. It lets me realize which adjectives I'm using way too often for each of them. ;)
And when I'm done this first draft? I won't just edit what I've got. I'll do a full re-write.
I can hear the screeches from the plotters out there.
That's just how I work. My first draft is the equivalent of an outline. There may be a few scenes here and there that I'll keep, a few phrases that just stick, but the second draft is, for me, where the story becomes a real story and not just back story. The next edit will look more like what most people probably think an edit should look like.
The important thing, though? Once I sit down and do tonight's session, I'll be around 1500 words, and I'll be on a three-day writing streak. It feels so good to be writing again!
But then I started thinking about it, and I realized that's the way I work. I write a first draft to get to know my characters. The story isn't going to actually start until probably about 10k, but that's okay. That first 10k gives me backstory. It lets me meet my characters. It lets me figure out their quirks. It lets me realize which adjectives I'm using way too often for each of them. ;)
And when I'm done this first draft? I won't just edit what I've got. I'll do a full re-write.
I can hear the screeches from the plotters out there.
That's just how I work. My first draft is the equivalent of an outline. There may be a few scenes here and there that I'll keep, a few phrases that just stick, but the second draft is, for me, where the story becomes a real story and not just back story. The next edit will look more like what most people probably think an edit should look like.
The important thing, though? Once I sit down and do tonight's session, I'll be around 1500 words, and I'll be on a three-day writing streak. It feels so good to be writing again!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Natural Magic
I've been on a bit of a Dawson's Creek kick lately. I'm not entirely sure why. At first, I thought it was maybe because I've been considering writing a YA novel, but then I realized that a) my YA idea only goes as far as the first page because my voice has never been right for YA and b) while Dawson's Creek is all full of the melodrama of youth, it's not the most accurate portrayal of young people. Unless you were me, in which case, it actually was frighteningly like my high school years; lots and lots and LOTS of talk and very little actual action.
Why is this important? Well, a few nights ago, I watched the episode where Joey has a date with AJ, the college guy, and they go to watch the aurora borealis. That got me to thinking. It's been close to two years since I've seen the northern lights, and I miss that magical display.
It's funny, because when I lived in Canada, I mostly took them for granted. On almost any clear winter's night, you could see them from my parents' back yard. It was really awesome to sit outside in the hot tub, surrounded by snow and ice, the steam rising up around you, and look up to see the lights dancing. I know, it sounds cheesy to say the lights were dancing, but that's really what it looked like. If you've never seen the northern lights, you're missing out. I'd direct you to a YouTube video, but that really doesn't capture the experience.
The northern lights don't make much of an appearance in the southern US.
And then I started thinking some more. I may have given up the northern lights, but I found some other magic down here. Up until I moved here, I had never seen real fog. I'd seen fog from a fog machine, with that special, sickly sweet cotton-candy smell, but never real, honest-to-goodness, made-by-nature fog. Here, though, there's a lot of fog, especially on these hot summer nights, after a good rainstorm. The fog just lays on the roads, sometimes only an inch deep, sometimes a couple of feet deep. It swirls around, chasing the cars as they drive through. It's a little bit of magic.
Another new experience has been lightning bugs. I had never seen lightning bugs before. I remember the first time I walked outside on a summer night and saw a little green light over by the trees. I blinked a few times, sure that I just had something in my eye. Then I saw another. And another. And then there were a dozen little green lights, flickering on and off, floating around the trees. I just stood there and stared for a few minutes, mesmerized. I don't remember where I was supposed to go that night, but I do remember that I was late. Even now, four years later, I can still lose track of time staring at lightning bugs.
So maybe that's the trade-off. I gave up the lights and motion of the northern lights, but I got dancing fog and lightning bugs to make up for it.
Why is this important? Well, a few nights ago, I watched the episode where Joey has a date with AJ, the college guy, and they go to watch the aurora borealis. That got me to thinking. It's been close to two years since I've seen the northern lights, and I miss that magical display.
It's funny, because when I lived in Canada, I mostly took them for granted. On almost any clear winter's night, you could see them from my parents' back yard. It was really awesome to sit outside in the hot tub, surrounded by snow and ice, the steam rising up around you, and look up to see the lights dancing. I know, it sounds cheesy to say the lights were dancing, but that's really what it looked like. If you've never seen the northern lights, you're missing out. I'd direct you to a YouTube video, but that really doesn't capture the experience.
The northern lights don't make much of an appearance in the southern US.
And then I started thinking some more. I may have given up the northern lights, but I found some other magic down here. Up until I moved here, I had never seen real fog. I'd seen fog from a fog machine, with that special, sickly sweet cotton-candy smell, but never real, honest-to-goodness, made-by-nature fog. Here, though, there's a lot of fog, especially on these hot summer nights, after a good rainstorm. The fog just lays on the roads, sometimes only an inch deep, sometimes a couple of feet deep. It swirls around, chasing the cars as they drive through. It's a little bit of magic.
Another new experience has been lightning bugs. I had never seen lightning bugs before. I remember the first time I walked outside on a summer night and saw a little green light over by the trees. I blinked a few times, sure that I just had something in my eye. Then I saw another. And another. And then there were a dozen little green lights, flickering on and off, floating around the trees. I just stood there and stared for a few minutes, mesmerized. I don't remember where I was supposed to go that night, but I do remember that I was late. Even now, four years later, I can still lose track of time staring at lightning bugs.
So maybe that's the trade-off. I gave up the lights and motion of the northern lights, but I got dancing fog and lightning bugs to make up for it.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
I have an idea!
After several weeks of utter despair that I might never write again, I have an idea!
I don't know if you can grasp just how happy this makes me!
It's a love story, which strikes me as a bit odd, because I've written off the idea of romance in real life. Of course, I still adore reading romance novels, and stories with romantic elements, so maybe it's not as surprising as I first expected. I may not believe that everyone will find their 'true love' or get a happily-ever-after ending, but hey, it's still fun to read about, right?
I'm really excited about this. I've started writing tonight, and I'm feeling good about it. Even if this story goes nowhere, I'm writing, and that's a very good thing.
Maybe the rest of my life will start to come back together again...
I don't know if you can grasp just how happy this makes me!
It's a love story, which strikes me as a bit odd, because I've written off the idea of romance in real life. Of course, I still adore reading romance novels, and stories with romantic elements, so maybe it's not as surprising as I first expected. I may not believe that everyone will find their 'true love' or get a happily-ever-after ending, but hey, it's still fun to read about, right?
I'm really excited about this. I've started writing tonight, and I'm feeling good about it. Even if this story goes nowhere, I'm writing, and that's a very good thing.
Maybe the rest of my life will start to come back together again...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
An apology
I'm very sorry, Blogglings. I've been neglecting you horribly. Unfortunately, this summer has turned to be... different than I had anticipated.
I've got a lot going on in my head, and a lot going on in my life, and I'm not able to talk about it right now. Unfortunately, these things are all that I can think about, so I've been at a loss to come up with blog posts that weren't just total cop-outs.
I'm sorry.
Please, please, consider keeping my blog feed in your favourite reader! I promise, once this big ol' pile of stuff gets sorted out, I'll be in a much better place, and I'll be able to write and blog again (no, I haven't written a word in two months. It's not a good feeling).
Hang in there, Blogglings, and I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, try not to melt if you're stuck in the heat wave that seems to have covered all of North America!
*hugs*
I've got a lot going on in my head, and a lot going on in my life, and I'm not able to talk about it right now. Unfortunately, these things are all that I can think about, so I've been at a loss to come up with blog posts that weren't just total cop-outs.
I'm sorry.
Please, please, consider keeping my blog feed in your favourite reader! I promise, once this big ol' pile of stuff gets sorted out, I'll be in a much better place, and I'll be able to write and blog again (no, I haven't written a word in two months. It's not a good feeling).
Hang in there, Blogglings, and I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, try not to melt if you're stuck in the heat wave that seems to have covered all of North America!
*hugs*
Friday, July 15, 2011
Better late than never?
Yeah, I suck. My life has been a little crazy lately. First, I've spent the last month trying to move, trying being the operative word. I had to delay moving day by a week, and I'm still not completely unpacked, and it's having a profound effect on my ability to deal with life.
Second, I just got back from a week-long vacation in Canada where I got to visit with my brand-new niece!
Second, I just got back from a week-long vacation in Canada where I got to visit with my brand-new niece!
She is the most beautiful little girl, and I am completely in love with her. It was sooooo hard to leave her and come back to my boxed-up home. Luckily, my sister is all about the technology, and we've already Skyped several times, and I've been getting 'baby-of-the-day' photos in my inbox everyday, which makes me very happy.
Third, since I've been home, I've been sewing. Many of you have already visited Colby's blog, so you know how awesome she is. This week, I made her a dress. No, not just a dress, a snake dress. For last night's Harry Potter opening, Colby was dressed as Nagini. It was pretty epic. Soon, I shall have photos to share, because it really was awesome.
I know, I know, I shouldn't have abandoned you all like that, and I'm sorry, Blogglings. But I have been busy, and out of town, and it's always been my policy to refrain from mentioning any travel plans online until after I have returned. I am, however, fully back, with real internet and everything at home. Hopefully, this post marks the return of your regularly scheduled blog-reading.
Enjoy your weekend!
Monday, July 4, 2011
I might be an idiot.
Or maybe I'm just sleep-deprived. You see, in the past week, I've been trying to switch over my cable service, so I haven't had Internet access at home. I can't blog from work (not only is personal internet use frowned upon, many sites are blocked). So what did I do? Nada. I didn't blog.
Today, however, I remembered that my phone, being an iPhone with an unlimited data package, could get online. D'oh. Let's blame this little lapse on being really freaking hot in the past few weeks, and being preoccupied with my sister's pregnancy. Which is now done! She has a beautiful baby girl! So I'm busy being an auntie this week ;)
I'll try to have some photos up, and I'll do my best to a) get my cable sorted and b) remember that I can post from my phone!
Today, however, I remembered that my phone, being an iPhone with an unlimited data package, could get online. D'oh. Let's blame this little lapse on being really freaking hot in the past few weeks, and being preoccupied with my sister's pregnancy. Which is now done! She has a beautiful baby girl! So I'm busy being an auntie this week ;)
I'll try to have some photos up, and I'll do my best to a) get my cable sorted and b) remember that I can post from my phone!
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