There was something different in the air this year or maybe the water. Continue reading
A Christmas of Contrasts, Part the First
This year, Christmas morning took me back to when my children were little – waking up early, tearing into the brightly colored packages, squeals of excitement.
Oh, and the vomit.
Note: The following blog post does NOT contain scenes of a disturbing nature to those with weak stomachs. I promise.
Holy Crap, I Did NaNo!
In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t win NaNo, but what I learned changed my writing life.
Beta Readers Weigh In
Crazy Making
I say it every year, but, really, this time I mean it — this has been our busiest Summer ever.
Not only did we have the usual stuff with kids home and hubby working (4) 10 hours days and home on Fri, but also unexpected oral surgery (and the outrageous cost), a yard sale, creating a new website, and then my work schedule changed about every other week, so had to frequently rearrange all the doctor, dentist, and orthodontist appointments I’d carefully set up.
Oh, and in between all this, I finished my novel, sent it out to beta readers, then outlined the second book and started writing.
If I wasn’t so frazzled, I’m sure I’d feel a great sense of accomplishment.
I wish you all a calm, peaceful few weeks. Hopefully, a little of that will head my way, too.
I’m Moving Soon
I hereby give notice that very soon, I’m moving this blog over to my new website!
Brass Tacks #10
The busy season is here! Lots of concerts, holidays, doctor appointments, and changing work schedules going on at le Chateau Carmel lately. Not to mention five days recently without the Internet, compliments of Mother Nature and a falling tree branch.
I’m sure you’re probably in the same boat. It’s a challenge to find enough quiet time and mental space to work on creative projects, isn’t it? Well, if nothing else, it’s comforting to know we’re dealing with similar issues.
C’est la vie, right?
While my overall output has decreased recently, my spirits haven’t. Well, not too much, anyway. The difference this time is that I keep coming back, working a little bit each time. I see that gorgeous light at the end of the long-ass tunnel I’ve been in and want to get to the end.
It’s so close now.
After finishing the big, big revision I’ve been working on for months, I realized that working with one word processing file was unwieldy and truly awful. Now was the time to buy Scrivener. After all, people have only been raving about it for years. I wanted it not only for breaking the one huge file down into more manageable chapters and scenes, but also for the compile and format features when I want to publish. After that, I can’t wait to dive into the great stuff available while I’m drafting my next story. (Ideas are already pinging in my skull!)
So, I imported my file into Scrivener. It took me a while to separate the scenes and figure out how to print it. Now, I’m reading through (for the bazillionth time), mainly for grammar, spelling, flow, etc. Along the way, I’ve caught a couple of things I missed, rewriting a paragraph here and there. But, I’m this close to finishing!
And then it’s on to beta readers!!
I can’t tell you how freakin’ happy this makes me. I’ve been working at this writing gig for nine years. Granted, I’ve worked on two major projects in that time, but I’m seriously ready to get my work in front of readers.
Anyway, that’s what’s going on with me. How about you? What projects are keeping you busy?
Brass Tacks #9
Hmmm. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, I’m back and Happy Friday to you!
Despite my lack of blog posts, I’ve still been working on my WIP steadily. Here’s what I’ve been doing:
- I finished writing the new climax and ending. Wa-hoo!
- I did the type-in of my first revision which I had hand-written on the printed pages of my first draft.
- After a read-through (which was fun, because now it’s starting to take shape!), I wrote a list of things I needed to fix. So, now I’m filling plot holes and seeding the new characters and situations that support the new ending into the rest of the story.
I’ll continue that last one for a little while, though I’m almost done. Then, I’ll switch focus to language. I can’t have everyone sound the same, now can I?
Though my life doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down any time soon, I’ll attempt more regular updates. Thanks for reading and thank you for your encouragement!
Brass Tacks #8
I’m on a roll now.
I got 1724 words for the week, which was two and a half scenes. While last week’s total was all written in one day, this was written over the course of five days. Sadly, no Friday #writeclub on Twitter for me today. I had too much other stuff going on.
This week, I’d like to finish the lead up to the climax, which will be one and a half scenes long. Hopefully, I can get started on the climax itself.
Have a lovely weekend & Happy Easter!
E. K. Carmel 