NANOWRIMO
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Katy Be Mine - Tony Carey
Topic: Writing
Whew! Nanowrimo is over and I have successfully completed the challenge! It was everything I had expected and I was able to follow my plan through to completion. Of course, the novel is not complete and I have hardly written a word on it since a fwe days before the end of the challenge, which was November 30. I managed to complete the challenge despite a couple of personal health set-backs, and in the back of my mind, I wonder if the challenge contributed to them. The greater part of my mind says no, because, in spite of the grueling nature of the challenge, it wasn't very difficult. As I have said a million times, getting words out is never a problem for me. And if I can dedicate a time slot daily for any length of time, I can pump out a book in fairly short order. The time slot dedication was the hardest part, but once I did, all else went smoothly. I do wish I could type faster, and perhaps I will work on that in the coming year (I am a hybrid hunt-and-pecker and a ten-fingered typist), because, of all things, that's what slowed me down the most.

In any case, I am not close to actually finishing the book. It's going to be pretty meaty, considering how much territory I have yet to cover. But, most importantly, I like what I have written so far. It will need editing, as all works do, but I like the characters, the characterizations, the scenarios, the themes...all of it. I just hope I have the skill to pull off on paper (or binary code)what is in my mind.

Yaaaaaaawn.
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: Pink Floyd - Dogs
Topic: Writing
My my...how the pendulum swings. These past few weeks have been the least productive in, well, weeks! I guess I haven't quite recovered from the Holy Week slow-down. The increased daylight hours don't help much either. When I have been able to write, I haven't been dissatisfied with the results. I know what I want to write and it comes out pretty much the way it should. I'm just not spitting out enough right now for me to meet my end of June deadline. I am sure it will pick up again. It's just the natural ebb and flow of productivity.

IOV is back out on the market, with the revision process FINALLY completed. What a clusterf*ck that turned out to be! For whatever reason, the printer kept printing copies of the pre-revision book for me to review. It took five tries and two months for them to FINALLY get it right. I still don't know exactly what happened.

Rejection?? Foul me instead!
Mood:  down
Now Playing: Device -
Topic: Writing
I received a rejection letter for Sweet Lil'one today.. Every writer who has ever submitted a work for publication has received them, so that's no big deal. In fact, often they can be very helpful, if the editor tells you why they are rejecting your work. What's ironic in this case is that one of the reasons stated for the rejection was sort of intentional. I wasn't intentionally trying for rejection, as they come readily enough on their own. As it was a narrative, in first person, I was having the narrator 'telling' his story instead of 'showing' it and I was having him 'explaining too much' much the way people who are guilty of something and seeking to justify their actions to someone tell much more than they ought to. So, in my failure to be accepted, I am consoled that I was effective in what I wished to present. So... now all I have to do is mate the manuscript with someone looking for just that technique.

On a lighter note, I am back to working on ' ...Ampersand...' after Holy Week. It was a worthwhile respite and I hope to be able to reacquire my pre Holy Week level of productivity. Personally, I think my productivity suffers during Daylight Savings time. Since I am an active day person, for writing, I welcome the night. With extended daylight hour(s), by the time night falls, it's after 8 PM, and I only have a few hours of time to write (I do have to get up mornings and go to my bills paying job, after all).

Oh... and don't think the "down" mood has anything to do with the rejection letter. You take those things with a grain of salt and move on, hopefully learning something from them to enhance the craft. I am down because you just don't have that far to fall when you are already down. How pathetic is that?

Half the Way
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Crystal Gale - 'Half the Way'
Topic: Writing
How apropo! half the way... I just thought about that I was wondering what to write. I just passed the 40K word mark on the first draft of 'Curves,' which, by all consideration at this point, is half way to completion. OK... maybe not HALF, but I am closing in on it. Doing about 3K words a week now, which is a fairly respectable clip. If I can maintain, which is a big IF, I will be able to complete another 42K words by my end of June deadline. That will bring me up to about 82K words, give or take, and that will be a fair sized manuscript. Not bad for a skeleton, huh? When I hang some meat on those bones, I expect a good 105 K words to be the final result. That's pretty meaty.

Playing now is "Scorpio" by Grandmaster Flash. Ummm.... I'll have to think of a way to fit that into the theme of 'Half the Way'

In The Flow
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: The Jones Girls - "Nights Over Egypt"
Topic: Writing
I must really be in the flow if I forego watching ths Superbowl (or any football) to write! Either that or I am not interested in this year's matchup. Probably a bit of both. Plus I have new incentive to complete "...Ampersand..." by April 1, then perhaps have the edit, re-edit and re-re-edits out of the way by Autumn. I remembered today that I wish to participate in the 2006 NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. Since I am always looking for a new creative challenge, that is one I shall rise to. I have a serious backlog of ideas that are just waiting for the chance to be put into some kind of finalized form and this will be a good chance to finally put words to those ideas. For those interested in knowing what it's all about, go here for mo'info: NaNoWriMo My loins are already burning at the thought.

Back in Action
Mood:  don't ask
Now Playing: Shabba Ranks "Mr. Loverman"
Topic: Writing
Well, I am back in action. After the long holiday season (T-G through MLK), not to mention NFL playoffs and the NCAAF Bowl Bonanza, I can finally sit down and work on "...Ampersand..." again! I managed to re-edit "IOV" during that time, hammering out a few wrinkles in the text that I thought I would be able to live with but couldn't. Now that that is finally complete, my focus is 100% "...Ampersand..." At least until the next distraction. Or set thereof.

Of slow computers and writing blogs
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: Planet P Project "A Letter From the Shelter"
Topic: Writing
Nothing is more frustrating than paying mint for DSL and then having to wait for a page to load so that you can update a blog. That said, I have resumed work on .. Curves of Ampersand at long last. I haven't done a damned thing with it since June. No, I wasn't experiencing writer's block. Laziness, maybe, but not writer's block. I have never experienced writer's block. I don't think it exists. Sometimes I may not like what I have written, but, like diarrhea, the words flow anyway, even if it is sh*t. It is good to be working again. Moreover, it is good to be working on something SF again. Sweet Lil'one, while a great experiment and a good experience, left me wanting. I learned a great deal about a great many things, including the level of my resolve, but the level of creativity that I require to satisfy me wasn't there. I created wonderful characters and situations, but I was restrained by the mundane. I could not reach beyond the normal realm of human experience, vast as those experiences can be, but now that I am working in the SF again, there are no bounds. No more shackles for now. For now, we write.