Category Archives: Life Sucks

Hard work

On Kill Zone, a blog I read, someone wrote the seven rules of writing. One of them is what I’ve been working on this whole week.

Writing is a solitary and thoughtful process.

Let me explain what I’ve been doing. I’ve been trying to edit. Word on my Windows computer seems to be corrupted, but on my iMac it works fine. I edited a whole bunch of stories for Grimaulkin Collected before trying it on the Mac, and the formatting has come out all screwy.

I have three stories left to write in Grimaulkin Collected (yes, still the same three as last week), and I have one story to edit on the iMac. The thing is the editor has suggested that I engage the characters more in this story.

So in between fighting off exhaustion, being still sick, and decluttering my house, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. The problem with thinking is that I feel that I haven’t been producing. There’s no words on the page. I’ve been trying to think of Ash and his interaction with Mike–because in the story right now, Ash is a paper character.

With all the other stuff going on, it’s very hard for me to concentrate on getting this/these stories done. I suspect that as soon as some of these stressors ease up, I’ll be able to concentrate on getting back into writing again. Hopefully by the end of this week.

In other news, Air’s audiobook should be coming out very soon. I listened to “Libra” this morning and wondered who the hell wrote this–it’s really good. I love when that happens.

Editing

I will admit, I did some writing when I was in the hospital. When I got home, I typed it up and sent it to my editor.

Not my best work.

The stories that I had done before the hospital were pretty good. And one of the stories I wrote in the hospital, I thought, was going to be a hit. Not quite.

I totally missed characterization of one of the main characters, having him be a cardboard cut out, and I didn’t realize it. This is what happens when you’re on drugs in the hospital. (lol)

I’m so glad I have an editor who is honest enough to tell me where I went wrong and what I need to do to improve the story. Because that’s what the point of an editor is: to tell you what’s good and what might need improvement. Line editing is something almost anyone can do. But editing both the story and silly things like punctuation and the overuse of words (mine is “just”) takes a special kind of person.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been editing. I have to rewrite my last story that I sent him, and I have three stories to go for Grimaulkin Collected. For some reason, though, these three stories seem to be the hardest to generate. I have them at top of mind, but I can’t seem to get started. I don’t understand why.

The other thing is what am I going to write next? I’ve been writing shorts for about a year now that I’ve almost forgotten how to write novels. I tried with Yellowtree, and it came out like crap. That is causing a writer’s block: What next? There has to be a What Next…

I’m so jealous of people who can writer 100K novels, when I have to struggle to write 30K books. I used to be able to write 50-60K without breaking a sweat. I feel like I need to get something out there, something fast. I also write like a journalist, not a novelist, so description is extra-far down the list of things I need to write.

I have three stories to get done by the end of the month. Provided I don’t get sick again.

Home again

So while at the hospital, I thought I could get some writing done.

Nope.

I was so sick. So I know better now. Going into the hospital is not a vacation.

I’ve finished about 2/3 of the stories for the Grimaulkin Collected anthology. I have submitted for Corporate Catharsis. I’m not submitting for the ARIA anthology this year, though–mostly because I can’t think of anything to write.

Max’s next novel was sent to the editor for a quick read-through. He approved, so I’m planning on working on that next.

I’m trying to think up a new work, and I’m tempted to go back to my first novel that I wrote when I was fifteen, pulling out that character and rewriting that story.

No longer a blank page

I finally sat down this morning and went back to writing for Grimaulkin Collected. After being sick for two weeks, I just couldn’t get the gumption to write.

Luckily, I had written the summary for the Knight in the Atheneum, a story of rebellion and return. My goal is to write that story today.

Yesterday I went to the Cumberland Monastery’s Author Expo and sold one Homecoming book. Which was better than some other people. Besides, I was there to network mostly, not necessarily sell books.

I have asked to assist in the editing of our local Association of Rhode Island Authors Anthology this year. I have nothing to submit, to tell you the truth, as my time this year seems to be spent on health and getting the books out for Paper Angel Press.

My newest book, Air, is out under the Zarra Knightley imprint, if you want to check that out.

What I’m reading
Memory and Metaphor.
I normally don’t like sci-fi. but this is really well-written, and is keeping my attention. However, there’s a couple of books I have on Kindle Unlimited that I want to read before my subscription expires next month.

The Snarky Writer
I’ve posted a few things on this page. It’s a fun page to see how the writing life has affected us as writers in strange and weird ways–interactions between friends and coworkers and even strangers.

Homework: check

I just finished my entry into the Corporate Catharsis anthology. Titled “Hextron” (though I may change it to “Hextron, Inc.”) it’s a mashup of old hex magic with corporate America. One of the speeches that one of the VP’s gives in the story made me laugh out loud–I never realized that corporate lingo was so obtuse and cliche’d..

Nothing’s really changed since the last entry. I’m feeling much better now that I’m done with antibiotics. I still have the upper respiratory wheeze, but that’s not as loud as it had been. I’ve added Memory and Metaphor to my reading list and will probably get to that because Blackbird in the Reeds is just boring as hell.

Tree

In the Lenormand card deck, the tree is the card of health. When it comes up in a reading, you have to look at the cards around it to see whether health is good or bad.

The Tree came up on one of my readings, but I don’t remember the cards around it. I think Mountain was one. Mountain means “an obstacle to climb.”

If it’s what I remember, it came true with a vengeance. Somehow I got pneumonia about 2 weeks ago, and it hit me as just shortness of breath. No coughing, sneezing, fevers (though yes, to chills). I learned alot about hospitals and protocols and rules and how they handle blood transfusions (yes, I got one of those), so these things will probably make it into one of my books or stories someday.

That’s the funny thing about how things happen in your or a close person’s life–it ends up as fodder for a story. As a patient who is a writer, you’re part patient, part anthropologist, documenting everything later for use in a scene or something.

And all that endless television watching. I watched NCIS: Los Angeles all day Sunday with the sound off predicting, “Oh, they’re gonna do this, and this is what’ll happen.” And most of the time I was right. I suspect I got the police procedural story formula right!

So although I’m feeling a little better, I’m not 100%. That may take some time. Air will be out next Wednesday (Valentine’s Day!) though it is available for pre-order for only $2.99 on Amazon right now. I had a lot of fun with this book, and I think it’s got one of the best stories of the lot in there. I worked really hard on the history, so I hope people notice.

While in the hospital I wrote a scene for Grimaulkin Collected, not realizing I had already written it. But the second scene was better. That, ladies and gentlemen, is called a rewrite, not a revision. I usually do revisions. I hardly ever do rewrites.

My next event will be next week (fingers crossed I don’t end up in the hospital…again…) at the Cumberland Monestary. It’s the same place mentioned in the Grimaulkin series. Come down and see the place! The stage is gone but the buildings are still there. I’ll be there from 1-3.

Also, I’ll be there looking for writers for my publisher’s new anthology, Corporate Catharsis. Go take a look if you’re interested in participating. I will be entering with a working title “The Hex Office.”

What I’m Reading:
Blackbird in the Reeds
Dustin comes home to find some weird stuff taking over his childhood town. Getting a little slow to start up, but I’m hoping things pick up pretty soon or I’ll be moving on.

Health is everything

Last weekend I went into the hospital because my kidney (yes, I have only one) isn’t working well and I had to stay overnight. This weekend I slept wrong, and I have pain, I mean almost labor-like pain, in my neck, left shoulder and arm weakness.

I say all this not for pity, but to explain that if you’re not healthy, you can’t write.

It took me all day to do something that would normally take me 3 hours. I edited the three Fire stories, “War Mage,” and produced the new back-flap of “War Mage.” I couldn’t (and still can’t) type for long periods. My day job is agony.

I’m going to Physical Therapy for it, but it’ll take some time before it heals. In the meantime, I’m skipping the October fall festivals and going to concentrate on RI Comicon. Hopefully this pain will be gone or at least eased up by then.

So I have nothing else to report. I do suggest that if you’re going to write, that you try to stay as healthy as you can because without it, you can’t do anything else.

How big are those bathrooms, anyway?

WorldCon 76 is just about a month away, and we plan to have a large presence there. There will be not only my books–Grimaulkin Redeemed is now available and it’s a really nice contrast to the dark colors of the first two, a great eye-catcher.  There will also be books by J Dark in her Glass Bottles series, Building Baby Brother by Steven Radecki, and Children of the Wrong Time by Flavia Ada.  And dragons. And card readings.

I had an event yesterday and sold one book, which I was happy about. These small fairs, though, are a real crapshoot. Most of the people who come to them are older folk looking for stuff for them or their grandchildren. I happened to get lucky and get a 15 year old who was so excited to read his first “New Adult” book that he kept saying, “I can’t wait to read this!” He probably started reading it in the car.

After the event, I decided to sit down and start War Mage again. I’m following my own advice and making up stuff based on research. The history is all wrong, there is no Firebase Jackson, there is no Colonel Parlance, but there is a 10th Mountain Division. I just put them there because from what I’ve read, those guys kick ass. I have the sinking feeling, though, I’m not going to get 50K words out of it. We’ll see what happens.

A new podcast is up at Dark Mystic Quill. It’s about magic and writing. Together.

Fire is on hold until after WorldCon while the publisher gets things ready for that. All I care about is fitting in the bathroom on the plane. If I don’t, you’ll see me on youtube and CNN as the idiot lady who got stuck in a JetBlue bathroom. I’ll be famous! And sell lots of books!

 

Life suckage

I’m up to 27K words in Grimaulkin Redeemed–almost half way there! About half-way. My goal is 60K words, but with my luck, the story will end between 50K and 60K.

Life has been getting in the way recently. Suffice it to say I’ve had to scale back some things. One is the game, not because it’s a bad thing, but because I only have a finite amount of time during the week and weekends, and I’m trying to concentrate on writing and my hoarding issues here at home. I haven’t played the game in 3 weeks (one week was due to no electricity). I’m feeling guilty, but there was only one person I played with on that game. Unfortunately I haven’t seen him when I’ve checked in, either, so maybe he’s running into the same issue that I am–Life intrudes.

“Capricorn” is finished and gone through its first editing pass. The as-yet-unnamed story tie-in for Grimaulkin Redeemed also went through its first pass and was just returned. The publisher and I are not in a hurry for that one, but the novels are what I’m being pushed to deliver. Gee, wonder why? (laugh here)

I plan on trying to get a podcast out this week or next weekend, and it will be about this statement: “A bell isn’t a bell if it hasn’t been rung; a song isn’t a song if it hasn’t been sung.” This statement pisses me off.

Lesson Learned

A person I know–an acquaintance, not really a friend, someone I hadn’t seen for about 10 years–went kayaking and has disappeared. Upon first hearing the news I thought, “Been there, did that; I hope his wife doesn’t do what I did.”

What I did was shut out my family and friends. I realize now that it was a bad idea, but it’s too late in my opinion to go back to people. They might think I want something. That’s how I felt when my cousin, who I hadn’t seen in six years, suddenly invited me to his wedding. What does he want from me? I didn’t go.

This vision of people wanting things is something I’ve carried with me since I was a child. People I’ve met over the past couple of years don’t understand how I can put worth on people and their actions. It’s something that I’m trying to learn to let go. The example of my unsupportive friend because she won’t buy my books or even read them is what is causing me to distance myself from her. She doesn’t understand why I write, what I write, and doesn’t seem to care. So I’m dumping her. My life is too short to support people who won’t support me. Selfish, yes, probably. But we’ve been friends for 30 years. If she doesn’t understand me by now, she’s never going to.

Okay, so, moving on…

My next appearance will be at the Cumberland Library Author Meet & Greet on February 17 at the Cumberland Public Library. A scene in Grimaulkin takes place in the park that is behind the library. I’ll have the free downloads available on instafreebie in paper form. They are SO cool in real life. And they’re free!