Tag Archives: fiction

Six Sentence Sunday 3.20

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Here are my six sentences for today! Check out the official Six Sunday posts at SixSentenceSunday

He shouldn’t have been, but he was thinking about her. She threw him off and it unnerved him. It was her voice. The way she knew so much about living on the street, but obviously had a place to go at night. Her unusual offerings and naïve generosity—she’d given a homeless man her address. Who did stuff like that, these days?

I’m hoping to finish this piece before I head out of town Thursday. Hoping!

#WiPWednesday 3.16 & other stuff

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It’s Wednesday again!

Just  quick update on my WIP. I hammered at it some last week and spent a good amount of time pushing the story forward past an important point over the weekend. I sent it to a small group of people to check out and give some feedback and plan to work on it some this week.

I don’t know if it’s the time change or just general fatigue but I’ve been getting home around 5:30 or 6 and I just feel like passing out. Like a lot of writers, it is my “night job” or my hobby. I can’t write all day as I’m at work, so by the time I get home I’ve already had a full day. Then I try to read a little– it gets me in the writing mood, then I settle down to write by 7 or 8pm and I’m already yawning.

This happens at the beginning of the week, and maybe it’s beceause Monday and Tuesday are my hit-the-ground-running days. Wednesday- Friday tends to be less taxing, so I’m not as tired when I get home.

So  I said all that to say that I haven’t worked on my WiP since Monday, but I’m not feeling bad about it because I pounded out some words over the weekend. Last week I was at 18,500 or so words. As of right now I am sure I am over 27K. I wanted to keep this story short. I guess I am just incapable of that. Ha!

The other night on twitter, it must have been last weekend, I wrote about 6K words on a Sunday. Not a huge deal for me as I was on a roll and in the meat of the story. Someone responded that it was ‘amazing’. I added the caveat that I won’t likely keep all 6k, but I write them and count them. In editing, I cut a lot back, rewrite a lot, rephrase and prettify. What started at 6k might only end up 4k.

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Six Sentence Sunday 3.13

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I’m going to try to join in on this latest trend called Six Sentence Sunday, where you post six sentences from your current WIP. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I write a lot of sentences and my stories move slowly… six random sentences doesn’t tell you much of anything.

Well, I picked a set from some that I wrote last night. It’s erm.. PG-13, though I am sure I don’t have any underage readers. As a primer, this story is about a man who becomes homeless and meets a woman who tries to help him. In this scene, he accidentally sees something he wasn’t intended to see.

So….here goes!

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WIP Wednesday 3/2/2011: Something old, something new

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I actually sort of have an update for WIPWednesday!

Despite my groaning about doing another fanfic story, another idea crept into my head and I’ve been plugging away at it for a few days. I don’t want to pay too much attention to it, because if I do, it’ll go away. I think it has legs, though. It’s a bit different than I’ve written before, but then again, we all know I hate writing the same story over and over. I have issues with straddling the line between a complex plot and just way too much going on. I am hoping this will be a shortie (and in my world, a shortie is about 20K words. I know).

After that, I have an idea brewing for something original. I’m not as blazing about it as I was a few days ago, though. Mostly because trying to develop the story arc and define my characters has me drawing a blank. I may have just got caught up in a moment and let myself get overly excited about something. Who knows. It’ll come, if it’s coming.

I’ve official put away Caged Bird Singing. I’m about to remove it from my Writers Write page. It just never came together for me and I feel like if I let it go, I can stop trying to go back to it and torturing myself with the fact that I can’t get past chapter 1. I actually was reminded of this project when I read today’s post at Fuel Your Writing:

Don’t Let the ‘B’ Word Ruin Your Writing

Alight with potential, you settle in to write this thing. You eke out a few rough pages, hit ‘save’ and close the project down for the day. In the ensuing weeks, you tell everyone that you’re writing a book. You come to relish your new self-generated identity as an author. Visions of you sitting next to Oprah fuel your days.

There’s only one problem in this new, better version of yourself. After that initial foray into the content of the book, you’ve stopped actually writing the book.

Your fantasy of yourself, once so seductive and energizing, has coiled back on you like a snake let loose from its charmer’s basket. Your dream is now coming back to attack you – as a monstrous, frightful demon.

You avoid writing anything, and soon you also avoid all the people you told you were writing abook. You can’t stand the innocuous question that drives you crazy: “How’s the book coming?”

Convinced that you’re a putty-spined loser, you let the vision of writing the book fade as you settle back into your routine. Who were you to think you could write a book, anyway?

This was me, right after I decided I could write a book.  I was intimidated by the book. And then the book stopped happening and I stopped writing a book. The same thing has happened with MamaSaid. I REALLY want to put something out there, but it is going to take more work than I originally planned and by the way, I WAS WRITING A BOOK!!!!!! Ugh. That one will resurface, I am sure.

So, fellow writers…. what are you working on???

GYWO: February 2011

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It is that time of month, again! Word Count report… YEAH!

For those that may be new to this blog, I participate in a yearly challenge called Get Your Words Out, through LiveJournal. The idea is that writers only keep and use a portion of words written. So the more you write, the more you use and in return the better your writing skills. The challenge is to set a goal to push yourself further than before, and then to WRITE. I don’t write to a specific word goal, but it does give me incentive to keep moving forward when I want to be lazy. The year before last, I aimed for 200K words. I came in well over 300K. Last year I aimed for 300K and I hit around 350K. This year I am going for the gusto– 350K, or the INSANE level.

Yes, I certainly am quite certifiable.

So, last month I had a banner month to kick off the year, over 3oK words. Most of that was three chapters of my fanfic serial, in an effort to finish it. That effort hung over into February, in which I completed 2.5 chapters and some other smaller projects that I probably won’t complete. However, I wrote the words, so they count. I came in around 24K words in February (not sure of the exact number because I don’t have my spreadsheet with me and the database at the community won’t be updated until the 5th). I’m sure, though, that I have over 50K words down for the year. Only 300K to go.

Weeeee.

I was a bit concerned when I finished All I Wanna Do. At about 9800 words per chapter, it has been a main source of word count, for me. For a few days after it was done, my mind was pretty much mush.  I worried that I wouldn’t be able to come up with a new idea that would keep me writing and therefore keep my word count healthy. I hate to start counting blog posts. I’m trying to keep the word count JUST on fiction (or non-fiction, when it comes to Mama Said). I’m happy to say that I do have a couple of ideas rolling around in my head. Now to just get them down on paper, develop characters and story arc and figure out how they’re going to end. I have to know that before I can work back to the beginning.

So, I am excited again about dipping my toes into something new and that the creative vibes coming out!  On to March!

The End of an Era… Now What?

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Yesterday I put the finishing touches on the final chapter of All I Wanna Do, my fanfiction serial story. I started writing it in January of 2009. I really wanted to finish it last month, but it just wouldn’t be rushed! I posted the final chapters today and I can’t stop smiling.

Is it literary perfection? HA! Hardly. Some of it is really bad. Some of it is boring. A lot of it is unrealistic and just plain reaching, especially to me, and I wrote it! What it is, is 2 years of progress. Two years of writing, two years of practice, two years of improvement. I can definitely see a difference between my first chapter and my last– all the tips I’ve picked up from writing blogs, and books on writing, and tips from writers and from novels. The change in how my writing has developed is obvious.

It was not easy. In fact if you read through this blog, you’ll find that I flail about quite easily and frequently. It’s hard for me to fall in love with my own words, when I want the words to literally jump off of the page and into your mind and heart. I want readers to nod along and understand, and as James Patterson has coined the phrase, “unputdownable”. I want that word to describe the things that I write.

I feel like I have a ways to go before I get there. But today I am closer to that than I was two years ago. And that’s what I call progress.

So now I am sitting here twiddling my thumbs and thinking… now what? For the first time in years, I don’t have a new chapter brewing in my mind. I don’t have an end point that I have to reach. The story– which was burning inside me, demanding to be told– is complete.

Maybe now I can think past this story… past this genre and write something new. Maybe something original.

WIP Wednesday- Whatcha workin’ on?

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It’s Wednesday again… how does that keep happening?

I am happy to say that I may actually be working on the last chapter of my Fan Fiction Serial All I Wanna Do.  We’ll see. I’m fleshing it out right now but I don’t think I have enough story left for two chapters.

Completing this story means a lot to me, and completing it in January would be awesome because I started it in January of 2009. Two years have gone into this thing and I will be sort of sad to see it go, but I really want to work on something different.

While I think I’ll always write fanfiction, I’m not sure if I’ll ever do a long story like this again. Or if I do, I won’t drag it out for 2 yrs.

So, it’s #WIPWednesday… what are YOU working on?

A rare “That Didn’t Suck” moment

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Another chapter (technically two) down the hatch in my fanfiction serial All I Wanna Do. It’s amazing to me, the effect that reading has on my writing. It’s my goal this year to keep it up and let the two feed each other. The more I write, the more I read. And the more I read, the better I write.

Chapters 59&60 are set in Greece- they’re still on vacation. They are the last two Greece chapters because I just didn’t want to go on and on. For one, the research and keeping things sounding authentic slows down the process a lot. I need a visual so I can show, not tell. I spend so much time looking for details, like how do people get from Santorini to Volos and what time do Greek people eat dinner and is there satellite TV in Greece and picking out hotel rooms so I can envision the space. It’s quite time consuming and frustrating when I don’t find what I think I am looking for– perfect but not “perfect”.

I recently was listening to the audio book version of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Ms Durrow reminded me of what good writing is, and how authors paint a picture with words. I think listening to books is having a better effect on my writing than even reading them. I’ve started The Kitchen House, now. Eager to dig into that, and I’m loving the Irish brogue and dialect! It’s another beautifully written book that I’m sure is going to help me bring out details and write above the fanfiction stereotype of badly written prose in which a teeny MC moons over a handsome rich celebrity. I don’t write those kinds of stories.

I continue to be impacted by these last two chapters… Serena is finally in her “hometown” of Volos, where her native Greek grandparents are from. She gets a chance to take a piece of her history back with her. That she gets to experience this with someone she loves so deeply and who loves her more is icing on the cake. THough I do enjoy writing them butting heads, I also really enjoy writing her vulnerability and her walls finally coming down and carefully, very tentatively, trusting him.

The other thing I’m enjoying is the bit at the end of Chapter 60– switching things up and letting the woman take over a traditionally male role is fun. So is him not playing along. He’s kind of a butthead. It’s now going to be fun for him to play with her for a little bit.

I also did a bit of writing this week on Caged Bird… not really writing but some journaling that helped me dig into the main character. I’m still struggling with where to pick up the story. I need to get out of the linear writing habit. I just feel so stuck on this story and the longer it takes me to write it the more idiotic I think it is. But it won’t leave me alone! Lol.

This week more reading and some chapter planning. I say this every chapter but seriously, this story is ending very soon. Maybe in the next chapter… I don’t know. That’s why I need chapter planning!

Easily Amused by Karen McQuestion [Review]

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Easily AmusedEasily Amused by Karen McQuestion

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Easily Amused is the short, sometimes funny, lightning fast read about Lola, editor of a Parenting Magazine, sister to the ever so perfect Mindy, friend to Piper-the-busy- mom and Hubert– the friend with the girlfriend she can’t stand. She lives in an old house on King Street, bequeathed to her from her Aunt May. Lola fills her life with her job and her friends and the occasional online date.

When Hubert’s girlfriend blessedly dumps him, Lola gains a sudden roommate. When Mindy gets engaged, she gains a sudden problem. Ever the competitive siblings, Lola and Mindy have spent their lives one-upping each other. The ultimate one up is coming– Mindy is both younger, thinner, prettier, more put together and is getting married before Lola. She intends to use her wedding to as an opportunity to stick it to her sister– Lola turns 30 on Mindy’s wedding day.
Piper to the rescue! She devises a plan that just might work, if only they knew a tall, dark and handsome man for Lola to take to the wedding and announce… an engagement!

Enter Ryan, the most mysterious neighbor on King Street. Suddenly there’s a new rivalry between Mindy and Lola over Ryan, Hubert (who’s developed feelings for Lola) and Ryan over Lola, and the entire neighborhood and Ryan. Much to Lola’s surprise, Ryan seems interested in more than posing as her fake fiancé. Lola falls headlong into like with him, despite the suspicious rumblings of her friends and much -too-curious interest from her engaged sister.

I bought this book from Amazon Kindle because it seemed interesting and it was cheap. $2.99 will get me every time! I find I read two types of books. Vapid and deeply dark. Sometimes I just need a break from the deeply dark, so on my break from Columbine, it was nice to get lost in some fluff.

I saw some criticism in other reviews about this author being unsigned and such… I did not honestly know that until I’d finished the book and read the reviews. I don’t think it’s fair to say I don’t like something without saying why I didn’t like it, so here’s what stood out to me in the Needs Improvement Department:

Easily Amused didn’t come off to me as amateur, but in hindsight it could have used some editing and, for lack of a better word, primping. The characters seem to need more development (especially Mindy and Ryan) and the story moves very quickly. I was disappointed in the climax — the conflict reaches a crescendo and then the story screams back down the cliff. I wanted to read more about the confrontation. I also noted a few misspellings, but nothing that stands out glaringly.

I say, kudos to Ms. McQuestion for not wrapping the entire Lola/Hubert story line in one big unbelievable bow. I love the dangling question at the end of the book. I just wish there was more development along the Mindy/Ryan/Lola line. I also felt like there wasn’t enough information given about Ryan to make me sufficiently suspicious, though I was starting to feel a bit iffy about him.

I keep fighting between 2 and 3 stars for this book. I’ve settled on three. It was enjoyable, moved a bit slow but not an awful read, once I got a few chapters in.

View all my reviews

The first 10,000 words of the year…

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A new chapter in my fan fiction serial saga “All I Wanna Do” has been posted at my archive here and at the fan fiction archive here. It is just barely 10,000 words or the maximum that can fit into one chapter on efiction archive software. I’m hoping that since I have the initial travel and the first day down, that I can skip through a few days in the next chapter while still making it meaningful. It has to be about more than looking at ruins. The relationship has to sort of… change… on this trip. At least that’s my plan!

What I liked about this chapter: I don’t know, ask me in a couple of days. By the time I post a chapter I’m tired of reading it. I guess what I liked is being able to write these two really truly in love with each other instead of the biting and fighting I’ve posted before. I’m a sucker for conflict, especially if the guy is nice and the woman is difficult.

What I didn’t like about this chapter: Heavy on the details. Since they’re not “at home” and in a special place, these chapters require a lot of research about everything from what kind of money they use to how a person might get from place A to place B. That takes up a lot of time and a lot of room.  It also makes me susceptible to mistakes.

At any rate, the chapter is up and I need to begin work on Part II, which will cover the rest of their trip and my female MC’s birthday in gorgeous Greece. I’ve been so jealous of my characters while doing research for this chapter.

I’m writing, I swear. Swear.

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I wrote some last night, almost 2000 words. Then I did some editing and writing at work today. I got up to a particular point– a pivotal scene… okay it’s a sex scene. I couldn’t write that at work, what with people coming up behind me. I got up to almost 9K words. Since this is a double chapter, I have ~9000 more to go. :/

Reading as well. My good friend and author Rebecca Abbot Miller just finished her new book Going Home (third in the Quintessential Series) and I got to read the final chapters. Can’t wait until it’s out and everyone can read it. I’m still trying to get through Columbine as well. It’s a really tough read. I think I just started chapter 19 and I have about 1/3 of the book to go. I’ve been interspersing it with lighter fare, lest I get depressed myself.

I’m glad I wrote some earlier because I had a few other issues to sort out tonight and wouldn’t have had time to concentrate on writing. I’m still planning to read for a bit tonight… in fact as soon as I press publish!

Oh, as an added note, one of my “real life” friends read my 2009 NaNo project and she loved it! I’m beaming! Yay.