November Check-In #1

Power Trio, book 2- 1700 words

Move- 30% complete, family reinforcements coming Monday, movers coming on Wednesday (for the big stuff)

Dinner- thinking of making vegetarian white chili

I've already made two trips over to the new place. I moved a lot of the kitchen items, and now I'm craving white chili. I don't have measuring spoons or mixing bowls, but at least I had the forethought to leave the can opener.

After I get that started (which will probably require a grocery store run), I plan on sitting down in front of the computer and duct taping my hands to keyboard until I get a decent word count. I have to make up for the last few days of slacking.

I'm struggling with the little things in Power Trio 2. I know the main conflict/antagonist. I have a smaller antagonist. I have the love interest(s). I know where my characters are going to start and where they're going to go (mostly talking physically, but I do have some sense of character growth/change that I want to cover).

I'm having a hard time coming up with the actual scenes. Which is why it's kind of perfect that I'm doing NaNo, because the whole point is to stop thinking and start writing. I'm sure if I just open the word document, something will happen.

But, first, the chili!!!

If anyone is up for a Word War later, I'll be on twitter. : )

My Life

My life in five bullets:

·         Just got back from an Infectious Diseases conference in Boston and I loved it (the city and the conference)

·         My foster cat is having major ear infection issues (I hate staph...)

·         Power Trio edits are going well, but I’m thinking about pausing for November to start on Book 2!

·         I am addicted to the new Korean shows (previously on Netflix but now on Hulu). Mostly the ones based on Japanese mangas (like Boys over Flowers), but especially Lie to Me. Looooves it!

·         I’m a Tweeter: http://twitter.com/#!/MakeARumble

Take a deep breath and let go

DragonCon was so fun, and it was awesome to watch TribeOne performing. A good group of my friends from college came out to see him too and seemed really into it. Unfortunately, the event was at the one hotel that wasn't connected to the others and it was raining a bit that night, so the crowd wasn't as huge as we had hoped. But there's always next time, and there's a big show coming up next month (at one of my favorite venues- The Drunken Unicorn- how hilarious is that name?) that should be totally awesome.

I love every performance, not just because I get to watch someone I care about do what he loves (that's a big part), but because I also get to use the experience in my Power Trio story. I'm constantly editing the music-related scenes and I've started noticing the quirky aspects of his shows that meant nothing to me a few years ago. What about you? Any aspects of your life serving "double-duty"? Do you cram writing time in at any random moment? Do you get inspired while grocery shopping?

On an unrelated note, after almost two years of updating the website for the cat shelter that I volunteer at, I've decided to step down from that role. It was a tough decision that I know was right. I spend all day at work sitting in front of a computer, only to come home at night and spend hours updating our 500 cats' bios and photos. And after all that was done, I had nothing left in me to sit down in front of the computer and work on my story. I loved the experience, getting to know all of our cats, but I am really excited to let it go and pass the torch along to another "crazy cat lady." And I hope it means that I'll have more time for the blog and more time for my writing. Life is all about setting priorities. I have a hard time letting things go, and I'm know I'm not going to be able to look at the site, because I'll want to change every little mistake I see. But I'm ready to take those hours and wrap up Power Trio!

Adventures in Beta Reading

Sorry for the radio silence, but things have been hectic. I just hopped on for half a second to share the exciting news- I sent my first chapter to a beta reader! She's a friend who is a journalist turned stay-at-home mom. Now the downside- she really liked it and only had a few minor changes. But that's not unexpected, considering I've spent the last two months working on the chapter (due to my getting hung up on minor things instead of looking at the bigger picture). And now I'm scared to send her the second chapter, because it's nowhere near as good! *insert Cathy-style ARGH here* Does it ever get easier to put yourself out there?

On a related note, my super talented boyfriend has been invited to perform at DragonCon this year. He'll be doing nerdcore hip-hop at the Kingdom of Loathing event (KoL is an online game that I've been playing since 2005! I get to meet the game's creators!!). For those of you not in the Atlanta area, DragonCon is our big sci-fi convention- a long weekend of autographs, comic books, video games, and general nerdiness. This is the first year I've gone as a participant, but I've been a few times to people watch before. I'm excited (not just to watch him perform) but also because there's a YA panel on Sunday morning that Beth Revis is part of. And about a billion other interesting things.

All this lead to a realization. Watching TribeOne (my boyfriend's "rapper name") get prepped and ready over the last few weeks, I've discovered a new respect for him. I've always been the shy one, and I've admired his ability to get up in front of a crowd. But now that I've writing something and gone through the nerves and the anxiety that come with sharing my writing, even with close friends, I can see how difficult it can be to put not just your physical self out there, but your thoughts and words as well... man. I have oodles of respect for him and for every other artist out there who takes a risk and shares something with the rest of us. Which of course applies to all of you out their in cyberland- thank you for sharing with me- via your blogs and your books. Looking forward to reading more from all of us!

Updated Grades (aka 'Editing down a storm'?)

Le sigh. Sometimes I feel like because I'm in my late twenties, I should be a better writer/editor/whatever than I am. Then, I have to remind myself that I have never writing a story before in my entire life (unless you count the glorious ten-page saga, The Magic Ring, which I don't).

In a late night fit of something that is not editing, which is what I should be doing, I am forcing myself to revisit my report card. As you may recall, I got an A in Editing in a previous post, Editing up a storm.

I can only assume I had some sort of inappropriate relationship with the person assigning those grades, because I am not sure it was very well deserved. I've got a mean grader evaluating this time (a less caffeinated me), and here are my new grades:

School of Life
Student: Elizabeth

Thinking about editing while doing something else: A+
Turning on the computer and opening Power Trio: A
Actually editing: C-
Working an a WIP or blog post, so that at least my fingers don't forget how to use a keyboard: B
Editing up a storm: C-
Editing down a storm: What does that even mean?
Going to bed instead of editing: A+

So, maybe I like to tease myself a little bit. But I'll do anything that helps prod me into getting some actual work done. It's happening this week- no more excuses. I made a schedule and I'm going to stick to it. I will finish editing by July 31. Wish me luck.

Night everyone!

Back and better than ever!

Or, okay, maybe I'm back and about the same. But it feels good to get back into in the swing of things. I've picked up a couple new books (at the closing of my favorite Borders- nooooooooo). I'm still editing Power Trio and haven't been quite as successful as I would have liked, but I am finally letting someone else read it. However, that person is my significant other (I know, I know, not a viable critic). But in his defense, he is a writer and a librarian, and I think he secretly likes to hurt my feelings (He told me one of my favorite paragraphs distracts form the scene! How dare he!).

I have definitely been missing reading all of the amazing posts from you all. I'm excited to get caught up. And that direct correlation between writing on the blog frequently and working on my story frequently holds true. It's hard some days to sit down and write, even lately when I've not been so busy, but just typing this makes me want to open my WIP (I miss amnesia girl!). Maybe I'll try to get in a little writing tonight.

I'll also have to give you all an update on my latest animal adventure- I'm fostering a semi-feral cat from the shelter I volunteer at. He's been quite the treat, although I'm not convinced that he's semi-feral. He's definitely a little awkward, but even after 10+ years of minimal human interaction (before coming to our shelter), he seems to crave it. I think he'd really like to meet my other cat, but she's not so into it yet. We'll be introducing them gradual. Good things come to those who take their time.

Done, Done, and Done!

Done 1: The French Memo Board door project

Close-up of the fabric, blue

ribbons, and white brads.



The final product turned out infinitely better than I could have imagined. Three of the four panels are perfect, and one is way off, but I stuck that on the bottom and I'll cover it with a big photo or something. Yay!

  

Done 2: Scientific publication accepted

A first author publication in a well-known, peer-reviewed journal- nerd dream come true! All I've got to do is respond to the reviewers' edits (and I've got a few weeks to get it all done).

annnnnnd



Done 3: Power Trio first draft!!!

3 years and 8 days, 99,953 words, and 36 chapters later, the first draft of Power Trio is done. Time to start editing. But first, a read through. There are chapters I haven't touched in months!

Tonight is a good night.

I will note that even all of these accomplishments don't get me out of having to scoop the cat litter boxes tonight. These cats have it good.

Updates of a writer

When I started this blog, my intent was to chronicle my “journey of a writer.” Or, as more commonly known, the trials and tribulations of those of us trying to put words on a page, and make them interesting enough that someone might want to chip in a few dollars to get to read them (The whole thing seems like a really weird concept when you spell it out, right? That someone would want to pay to hear what I have to say. Most days I can’t pay people to listen to me!)

Anyway, I’ve noticed that lately my posts have gotten away from that original intent. But for good reason: I’m just trucking. That’s it. No major updates. No drastic life changes. No massive announcements. I’m working, slow and steady. But now, as I’m nearing the end of the first draft of Power Trio, I’m starting to get excited.

Even that sounds like a bigger deal than it is, because even though the first draft is almost done, I’m nowhere near the end of the road. I haven’t been writing for long, and the more I go back and read the first part of Power Trio, the more I realize that there is a lot (and I mean a lot) of work to be done. The best part, though, is realizing how much I’ve grown in these 100,000 words.

Because I haven’t been so great about sharing my progress, I wanted to provide an update tonight (even though I hope to provide a major announcement about finishing my first draft soon).

My progress, to date, is as follows:

Power Trio first draft file: 95,390

Messy incomplete word vomit: 2,234

Word counts are kind of meaningless, so it probably provides more insight to say that the messy file only contains two chapters. Two more chapters. That's it. When I clean them up, plump them up, and put a little mascara on them (so they’re ready for the world), I’ll move them over the Power Trio file. Then, it’ll be time to celebrate!

Editing up a storm

I wanted to share a little progress report with everyone:

School of Life

Student: Elizabeth

Science: A+

Math: Incomplete (I still need to finish my taxes!)

Home Economics: C (The laundry is not going to do itself.)

P.E.: B- (Time to hit the gym.) 

Procrastination, with a concentration in TV watching: A++

Blog Updating: B-

Editing: A

That's right- an A in Editing!! Aren't you proud? Feel free to hang it on your refrigerator, I know I will.

I've made some really awesome progress on Power Trio. I'm not sure how other people go about doing this, but here's my approach: I have a document, entitled 'Power Trio', that contains my first draft. I have a second document entitled 'Extra Lines' which is full of 10,000 words of things I wrote in that first draft and then deleted or funny quips or lines I thought of that haven't made it into the actual document. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Yet to be determined. Then, and this one has been the bane of my existence, I have a third document labeled 'Second half- incomplete 11 2010.' Sigh. I work in that documents and move the chapters over to the 'Power Trio' file. Over time 'Second half' shrunk to 'Third third' and now it's hover at about 'Final fifth.'

If all goes well, I'll officially finish the first draft by April! How fantastic!

Also, I have some incredible news to share. I'm always blabbing about how I only recently discovered the world of writing. I was not one of those kids who grew up writing. I couldn't even keep a journal. Instead, I grew up with my chemistry set and my science summer camps (Why, yes, I was a Young Astronaut!). 

But wait! I have stumbled upon a gem of all gems. This is the Holy Grail of Wannabe Writer history. I wrote a story! And I did the illustrations. After reading it and laughing so hard I sobbed, I have decided to share it will you for Elizabeth P.'s upcoming blogfest. You should consider participating too, but definitely come back here on April 1 to join me in celebrating my progress as a writer.

Yay! Contest! Winner!

I'm happy to announce the exciting conclusion of the super sweet Spring contest:

The winner is... Elizabeth Poole! Congratulations!
I have to add that I've been reading her series on How to Write a Novel and learning a ton! For example, I've noticed that I overuse exclamation marks in my writing! Can you believe that!

Elizabeth, shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you the list of ARCs (teaser: I've got some strange ones).

Thanks again to everyone for being a part of my journey to writer-dom. I didn't get much editing of Power Trio done last night, but I did a good bit of reading, and I am more convinced than ever that