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See Cath travel. Travel, Cath, travel. Travel, travel, travel.

Watch it rain. The rain is wet. Cath likes rain.

See Cath eat. Silly Cath! Don’t eat a donut for lunch! No food. Oh well.

See Cath read. Cath reads Ballad. Ballad is perfect. Cath likes Ballad.

See Cath read. Cath reads Superpowers. Superpowers has good characters. Superpowers has editorial comments.

Cath goes to a party. Cath meets interesting people. Hello, Steve Bucheit! Nice to meet you.

See Cath sleep late. Tired Cath! Cath was up at 3:30 in the morning.

Cath waits for workshop. Should Cath go see a lighthouse today? Should Cath work on the troll story?

Cath must think. Think, Cath, think. Think, think, think.

(I’ll probably do a little site seeing today before things get really, really busy. That was a long travel day yesterday!)

The airport, she is quiet at 4:56 pm.

Catherine

Is it worth it, then?

Besides getting ready to be away, and I am honestly on the cusp of away, the other activity I have engaged in this week is to read over the troll story, see what I have so far, and see where I need to go next. I’ve written books like this before. I want to go back and shore things up for the idea I have, rather than try to remember 20 things to add in later.

I’m not…displeased. It seems to work, and there are some surprises that my subconscious inserted that turn out to be just what I needed. The pages that I have represent steady work on the project since April, with the exception of about a week on Oliver Toddle. It’s not going at the pace Substance did, but few things do. I remind myself that this thing is writing itself at the speed it’s writing itself, and for a day job writer, I’m kicking butt and taking names on speed.

Here’s where the bottom falls out. I don’t know if writers are like buckets with holes in the bottom or what. I’m averaging a nice writerly thing about once every 5 months, give or take, and I get warm fuzzies. About a week or two later, I don’t feel like I’ve accumulated these nice writerly things. The bucket seems empty. I want more. I want to finish the troll story, send that out, and see if it’s the one. I want to have a book deal. It is all about filling the bucket.

My usual strategy in the face of impatience and angst is to count my blessings and remind myself of patience. It’s also to think of how close things are, and how much progress I’m making. You follow the journal. You know. I won’t bore you with enumeration.

However, there are times that you just want to scream. Times when you know you’re on the edge of something, getting an agent or a book deal, and the uncertainty of not knowing if makes you want to beat your fists against your savage breast (can we say that in 2009?) The no I can almost deal with more easily than the dance on the knife edge of not knowing.

So many of you tell me that this is the career, never knowing for sure about…everything, watching the knife glimmer and twist, hoping you don’t fall off the edge as it turns on you. Hoping that the writing ends up where you want it to be. Hoping that eventually it’s all going to pan out, whatever that next step in your career you want to take is. The book deal. The agent. The numbers. The next book. The advance. And so on.

Is it worth it? Especially since there seems to be a hole in the bucket, and the stuff you put in leaks out?

It seems to be, even then, because you guys keep dancing on the uncertain edge of the knife with a persistence that amazes me. I keep doing it too. I am discouraged and tired at points, but I keep going. Just like an addict?

There’s a point where we must believe in ourselves and not care about that sharp, sharp edge. I think if we stopped poking the bucket with the knife, maybe things would be different, and we could be more zen. Maybe.

Back to deep breathing and attempting to wait until it’s the right time for the cosmos. I’ve hammered my fists enough for now, and if I haven’t, I’m going to a support group for writers all next week. We can all be pathological together.

Meanwhile, you get a free ticket to angst here. I’ve succumbed to one moment of weakness. If you need to, knock yourself out.

Catherine

Are you READY? Are you READY?

No, really, am I ready? Almost. Work is reasonably in hand, papers are checked, troll story is printed out and being combed over, packing is almost done.

Getting up at 3:45 am so I can catch my flight at 5:45 am. Whose idea was that? Am I a dedicated writer or what?

We’ll see how posting goes next week.

Catherine

There is something to report, anyway. This may well be the only writing session for the week, but we had one!

I’ve completed the rough drafts of chapters 5 and 6 in the troll story. I’m feeling pretty solid about the work two scenes into chapter 5. After that, things get sketchy and need polishing We also need to insert some ideas that came up as we were writing down the line and activate some conflict in a lot of stuff.

The goal for my next writing week, beginning October 12, will be to revise chapters 5 and 6 before moving on to chapter 7.

Catherine

In the words of Card Captor Sakura (how obscure *do* you like your references?) RELEASE!

There are a couple of books I’m interested in coming out today.

The recently pimped on this siteOn the Edge by the couple that bill themselves as Ilona Andrews.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, which will be my first Priest tome, but which looks really good. As with On the Edge, the buzz drones huge.

Go out and get ’em! Well, if you trust my taste. And Publishers Weekly’s starred reviews.

***

Meanwhile, need more coffee. Big ole day yesterday. Big ole day today. Today, we get writing time, through some miracle of the paper checking gods. We’ll take it.

Catherine

Bryon and I concluded our weekend with a lovely dim sum with our friend Kim (who was a terrific host!) and Caroline Stevermer. I hope I don’t over-groupie every time I see Caroline, but it still astounds me that I’m getting to know one of the writers of one of my favorite series of books. That’s a mythical thing, that someone you physically talk to took you to incredible places in your imagination.

While the conversation isn’t unprecedented in my experience (Bryon and I guest liaisoned for Peter Beagle, who is my favorite author across space, time, and dimension), what is unusual is that I actually am developing a friendship with such a person.

Part of you is trying to apply the normal brakes so you don’t appear to be a dork, and part of you wants to gush like a dork. It’s quite the tight rope. But I think I am getting better at walking it, and trying to talk to Caroline like she’s a person rather than a phenomena. 😀 Anyway, we had a good time.

Which brings me to next week, elbow to elbow with the likes of Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, James MacDonald, and Stephen Gould. I won’t drop all the names, but the firmament will be dotted with shiny stars of the publishing skies. I’ll be bringing along my anti-dork meds, and try to play it cool.

***

Viable Paradise looming on the horizon also means that I’m not sure how much writing I’ll get done this week. There are quite a few things to get in hand at work before I go. I don’t really want to take papers with me. I will have to check in with my students while I’m away, because they’ll be frantically writing midterms in one class, but I would like the week to be as much about writing as I can possible make it, so intensive prep.

Then, there’s housework. Bryon and I noticed we are pretty much up to our ankles in lint and dust, the universal signal of time to clean. Instead of going to the gym this week, it’ll be an hour of housework each night.

And of course, packing. Spending quality time with the Man (TM) before I am gone. Storing up love with the cats. Writing my squid prologue. (One of these things is not like the other!)

Will our heroine be able to get in some writing on the troll story so she doesn’t have to hang her head in shame over at JoNoWriMo? She’ll try. But since writing will be her ONLY priority next week, she will be forgiving of herself just this one time.

Finally, there are interesting clouds brewing on the writing horizon, but I still expect that while I’ve enjoyed a pleasant breeze, they will mostly blow over. I’ll keep you updated accordingly.

That work I should be doing? Yeah…

Catherine

So, where was I tonight?

At the Flux Author Event Extravaganza mostly to chat with Maggie Stiefvater and pick up my very own copy of Ballad which is now in my possession and I will tackle as soon as I am done with Territory. Authors Kirsten Cronn-Mills and Margaret Willey were also on hand to answer questions about their new books, which Bryon and I also picked up.

I had some unintentional fun at Maggie’s expense. I didn’t really introduce myself properly (oh the drama! the faux pas!) and so she didn’t know who the hell I was when she signed my book. There I was chatting around like I knew things–who she was, about her new book, where she was going after the signing, working on my dissertation–and slowly it dawned on her who I was. Well, sure. Why tell anyone who you are when you can mysteriously materialize behind the author and be a woman of mystery?

Maggie was kind enough to introduce me to Brian Farrey, who was the nice Flux editor kind enough to critique the first five pages of Substance. It was nice to put a face with a good deed.

We enjoyed the questions and answers. The audience asked a lot of good questions. I particularly enjoyed Maggie’s anecdote about Shiver, discussing how the editor wanted her to change Sam’s name, but instead she researched how many werewolves had been named Sam (a surprisingly high number). Maggie is right. Don’t name your kid Sam. The chances of him having teeth and claws are high. That, or I’m sure he’ll be a time traveler, as Quantum Leap and Life on Mars attest to.

There was pizza and soda. I headed out of there with four more books. Kim, Bryon, and I stopped for small sundaes on the way home. I couldn’t ask for a much better day. And I checked my measly stack of papers and read most of The Last Continent.

Also, Bryon found a cheesy Vampirella compilation at Dream Haven earlier, so he too couldn’t have asked for much more.

Tomorrow I get to spend some fun with Kim, Bryon, and Caroline Stevermer at dim sum, and I’m looking forward to it. Then it’s back home to begin a VERY busy week of teaching, cleaning, prepping for VP, paper checking, and (please god) writing. I need about two weeks, next week.

How are you all spending your weekends?

Catherine

A couple more scenes tonight, and I figured out how to work Stan in, and consequently give Nick an entry wedge. Slow, but steady.

I’m sure you’ve often asked yourself, how hard is it to find Needles and Bones? Where could I possibly buy it? Good news! I’ve discovered at least 3 venues you can purchase it at.

Here’s the link to Needles and Bones at Amazon.

Here’s the link to Needles and Bones at Fictionwise eBooks.

Here’s the classic link for Needles and Bones at the Drollerie Site.

And finally, because it makes me jazzed, here’s my Goodreads author page with a picture of the Needles and Bones book cover on it.

Yes. My newbie-ness is showing again. I’ll put it away now.

Off to Minnapolis for Maggie’s signing and dim sum with Caroline.

Catherine

This really is for me. I’ve got quite a list of projects I’d like to work on now and in the future, and I’d like to snapshot some synopses of them for my future reference.

You might find it interesting too, but if you don’t, under a cut they go. Follow along for more details.

Continue reading “Details of Current and Future Projects”