Category: General

Last night, my elbow started twittering, so I quit my writing session about 15 minutes in. The heartache! However, I managed to get this great sequence into Hulk Hercules before shucking out.

“Hera is coming over. To talk, she said.”

Hephaustus whistled low. “I don’t want to be anywhere near that.”

“She’s calmed down a lot over the years.”

Hephaustus flung back the box lid and grabbed a jumbo piece of pepperoni.

“Sure. And Aphrodite and I are getting back together.”

***

It’s now 8:11 am. I’m at Coffee Talk waiting for a 3:15 osteopath appointment. (Arm girl doesn’t drive, so a friend will take her to said osteopath when friend is finished with work at said Coffee Talk at 2ish). And I’ve had a reasonable night of sleep for someone with a head cold and a bum elbow, so carpe-frikkin’-diem! I’m working like gangbusters on the books!

***

And now, it’s 9:42 am, and I’m done with the Hulk Hercules tasks for the day. I’ve revised the Hera scene, and added the first two drafts of a Tony in science class scene, and a Bianca perspective scene, both of which I will revise next session, along with the wrestler potluck scene. My work count is current 39, 431, and the scene counter looks like this:

8 / 37 (21.6%)

The highlight of the Hercules’ day was learning about swamp gas for a much, much later scene, and integrating it earlier here.

***

Onto Substance, I finished today’s revision today at 10:30. I’ve finished the first part of the book, and I’m ready to revise into the Esme’s trial part. I’ve whacked out a lot of deadwood, but I’ve replaced a couple of scenes with older ones. The overall effect is that Errol seems more genuine, and I think the characters seem less arch than they did.

In the next section, I broaden out Milo’s role more, and work on developing those interiors. I’m feeling pretty good. Word count has increased to 72, 783, and as you can see below, we are close to having revised a third.

105 / 386 (27.2%)

And that’s it for today. See you tomorrow!

Catherine

It’s a big, big day for Maggie Stiefvater, whose novel Lament comes out today. Maggie is truly an inspirational writer. I haven’t had the good fortune to meet Maggie yet, but I have to tell you how much she impresses me. In the writing world, it is so easy to spin, moan, and worry. I have never heard Maggie do this. Her journal is upbeat and positive, and she’s always talking about the possibilities, rather than the drawbacks. I’m sure she’d disagree with me about how she feels, but she looks great in cyberspace!

The story of Lament is the story of the discovery of a good book. Lament languished in the slush pile, and was rescued from there. Then Maggie found an agent (she had to choose from 4, if memory serves!). It goes to show you that there are all sorts of ways to get published if you are patient and bide your time.

Maggie inspires me to enjoy the ride. I’m an unagented soon to be published by small press writer. This is an okay place to be for now. Right now, my life is still flexible in regard to my writing. That’s a plus. I can still explore projects I want without publishing deadlines looming over me. That’s a plus. I am enjoying the submission process and the revision process. That’s a plus. I’ve got an opportunity to write a series for kids that might get bought for film. That’s a big plus! Thanks, Sonya!

I’ll eventually be somewhere else as a writer, and maybe even soon I’ll be an agented writer, but since life is uncertain, and publishing is full of bubbles that pop at a moment’s notice, maybe I’ll just appreciate what I’ve got. It’s an important thing for all of us to remember, no matter what we’re doing, no matter where we are in our life. Maggie, thanks for making me think of this!

Champagne to you, Maggie! You can read some of Maggie’s wisdom at David Bridger’s excellent blog.

***

Oh, and Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard book also comes out today. I was lucky enough to hear an excerpt of it at Fantasy Matters in Minnesota last year, and I’ve been looking forward to it since. However, I’m sure Neil’s machine will gear up to tell you all about it.

Me, I’m pulling for Maggie!

Well, of course I’m supposed to be writing an academic paper proposal, modifying generic syllabi, and working on my writing research trip to Chicago! That’s exactly why I’m choosing to procrastinate.

I’ve been reading Jim Hines this morning, and he linked to a post about the books that he’s written. Some of you have done this before, and just yesterday Tina Gray and I were talking about this topic. I suppose it got me thinking about the big projects, so mostly for my own reference, here’s a list of the novels that I have written or started.

Continue reading “Books from Before”

This just in: Julie Rose has posted her latest podcast with Alex Dalley MacFarlane on the Writers and Their Soundtracks web page.

***

Let’s talk about tonight. I’m really colding, so creating isn’t as easy as revising. Hulk Hercules: I revised the Hera scene, but didn’t have it in me to write the important science class/bully scene, or the scene where Dalton tells Bianca that Tony has gone to the office, and she meets Hannah and works on the newspaper.

Next session, then, will be to sharpen up the Hera, Bast, and Livy scene, and hopefully create the next two new scenes. So, the meter doesn’t change for tonight, but should move forward tomorrow, and actually get a little longer.

7 / 38 (18.4%)

***

In Substance, I have added in a couple of old scenes and whacked them up a bit to make them less austere. I think that the Hamwiches are introduced more naturally. I’m running out of the agent’s material, so I’ll need to sweep through the rest of the book on my own, working on deepening the points of view and destiltifying the dialogue. Milo may get more of Amanda’s bits than previously. We’ll see how that goes.

79 / 384 (20.6%)

Now, to relax and embrace the cold…

Catherine

The second part of the Forte/Broadstead debate from Blood is Thicker than Water.

Arm on ice, but here’s today’s count for Hulk Hercules.

7 / 38 (18.4%)

The Augean Stables tale was pretty broad and fun to tell, and so it required little revision. Next session, however, will be pretty much brand new: introducing Hera and Libby. Hercules may get all my attention next session. I also want to get Tony and Bianca back to the school and get a Bianca POV scene before I start in on the Herculean love triangle. So, we have some new tents to pitch.

***

Now for Substance. I added in two old scenes and polished up Stephan’s questions about the curses. Next session I will go back over that section in a smoothing rewrite, and move into the chapter that introduces the Hamwiches in earnest, as well as polish Atreus’ custody battle for his children. I’ve almost reached 75 pages for the resend, but of course, I must revise the entire novel first.

67 / 384 (17.4%)

Catherine

So, today’s glamorous word counts!

Hulk Hercules: Began work on chapter 3, revising an interpersonal scene between Bianca and Tony, and set up the wrestlers potluck. Next session will be Nonna’s retelling of the Augean Stables.

6 / 38 (15.8%)

***

Substance of Shadows: The beginning of a new chapter. Not too much wrong with the Ma’at stuff. Next, a big revision: the meeting between Stephanas and Professor Borgia, which needs quite a bit of work. I’m also trying to think about whether to insert the Hamwich scene before the Atreus meets Enid scene, or after, which will serve the story best. We’ll let that stew.

58 / 376 (15.4%)

I know, I know. I’m not supposed to be here, so I’ll keep it brief.

When you write, do you become so involved with your characters that you feel them? You become them, you carry their sorrows and joys, you don’t want to leave them at the end of the day?

Not all the time, but during those projects when I seem to have a tie to the characters, then I am most alive. Revising Substance yet again, and putting the characters’ voices back in this draft hearkens back to when it first came to me. I’m not in love, exactly. I feel full of light and full of tears, even at the same time.

I write for myself mostly, it’s true. But I feel so soulful as I write this book and return it to its former self that I truly, truly hope I can share it with all of you some day.

My schmaltz on your friends list, I remain,

Catherine

Today’s more modest revision effort, to engage in elbow protection.

Hulk Hercules:

5 / 38 (13.2%)

Next session is more of Chapter 3, which requires some major refocusing of events. I’ve mentioned all the major characters save Hera, who will be introduced in two more scenes.

Substance of Shadows

44 / 377 (11.7%)

Chapter 1 is finished, and has been split into chapters 1 and 2. The agent seemed to enjoy the last part of the chapter, as not much was required in revision. That section always makes me cry, and I’m glad to have gotten through it. Ready to move on to the new chapter 3. Does anyone remember the Ma’at attacks scene?

Ice, ibuprofen, The Fugitive, and lunch. If I get some elbow back, it’ll be time for some paper checking. That’s the glamorous life of the English teacher indeed.

Hope you are all doing well!

Catherine

Sure. I probably shouldn’t have written for five hours yesterday. But writing is so sweet and tasty! Things were going so well that I just wanted to keep going.I was in the zone! I was cranking it out!

Adrenaline is one of the reasons I write. When writing works, it makes me feel very good.the last thing I want to do is stop in those instances. Writing can sometimes be difficult, so you also hate to waste the time when it works.

However, when your arm is broken, it’s not best to be an idiot and keep working with it. I thought if I took a break in the middle of the day, I would be okay. *headdesk*

So today, I’m paying. I’m working on this entry with my voice activation software, and I’ll be staying off the keyboard tonight. I hope I don’t have to do it tomorrow as well, as it’s a writing day.

Boohoo! I want to write! What do the rest of you do to quell the hunger to write in times you can’t, for whatever reason?