Category: General

Because of my arm hang ups, I didn’t get to blog live during the book group’s consideration of Tanya Huff’s Valor’s Choice. This is going to be a shorter version of the usual as well.

Readers who both liked the book and who didn’t like the book had the same main reason: the book was predictable. About half of our group appreciated the nods to the genre of paramilitary science fiction, and found the book to be a familiar roller coaster ride that they enjoyed. They relished the familiar. On the other hand, part of the group felt that the book should have broken away from what they felt was cliche and predictable. The English teacher (yours truly) suggested that the book was beloved genre to half the readers, and predictable cliche to the other half.

One reader suggested that the real story starts about chapter 5. Again, some of the readers suggested that they liked the back story of the characters and disagreed. Others wanted to get right into the action. Interestingly, we had two separate editions of the book, and they were marketed to different expectations. The older version, which focused on the action and the choices, frustrated readers who wanted the plot right now. The new version of the book focused on the main character and her growth, and those readers felt that the book delivered on its marketing promises. Certainly, the consensus of the book was that it was closer to the marketing blurbs of version 2.

Other things at random: last part of the book was strongest part. Someone felt there were too many characters. Some folks wanted more of support characters. Others thought that it was definitely Torin’s book and should remain that way. Many of us appreciated the nod to the Michael Caine film Zulu.

Overall, the book was touted as a fun ride, better for some than others.

NEXT MONTH: Happy Hour of the Damned by Mark Henry, just in time for Halloween. Get your questions for Mark to Cath by October 10th. Book talk, Monday, October 20th at 6pm at Coffee Talk Cafe. All are welcome. Do read the book.

I think I overdid it a bit on Monday. I took yesterday off work completely and rested my arm, and things are much better today. Still, I will be cautious. I won’t write much here, because I need to save it for the first draft.

I do want you all to know that my friend Michelle’s lumps all came out BENIGN. I can’t be unhappy with any arm problems I’m having with that news.

See you with more writing, later.

Catherine

A few nice links for you.

First of all, Julie Rose has her newest interview with Jason Erik Lundberg at Writers and Their Soundtracks.

Secondly, Jay Lake links to MH Bonham again, this time on about finding time to write.

Finally, the return of Blood Is Thicker than Water. I cobbled my way through the last pages of chapter 2 (ow!). Chapter 3 is already entered, so for the next several weeks, it’ll be a matter of cutting and pasting while the arm heals.

Catherine

Right now, we’re at

37,414 / 55,000 (68.0%)

If all goes well, the first draft will be finished Wednesday.

***

Retraction: Chiron is not the bad centaur we’re looking for. He does get wounded because of Hercules, and he trades his immortality so he doesn’t suffer from the arrow tipped with hydra’s blood. Now, what’s the real name of the villainous centaur who causes Hercules to suffer and eventually die?

By the way, kudos to Mochi Monkey for catching my mistake.

The end of the first draft is in sight, which means that the first draft may well not be the 55K I envisioned. There’s a lot to add in and sharpen so we’ll see what the word count is finally. I expect there will be some whacking also. Right now we’re looking at a usual first draft. Ain’t no one seein’ this baby until we make it fit for human consumption. But it’s coming along. There’s been some draft magic. For example, Nonna stopped being Bryon’s grandma and turned into my junior high librarian. Bianca is a much more likeable character than I envisioned. And I still think Duane Johnson is my best choice for Leo.

Paul, you’ll be interested to know that an incarnation of Georgie Porgie’s, complete with car show, seems to have worked its way into the book as well.

Word count!

36,184 / 55,000 (65.8%)

That’s from yesterday, so I still have to get on today’s.

***

Trivia. The bad centaur is Chiron. Does anyone know what other thing Chiron does that is important in the Hercules myth?

I’ll try to post a snippet next time, if anything snippet worthy presents itself. I have to say it’s both good and bad to have the splint off. Good for typing. Bad for, well, anything that involves bending your elbow or rotating your arm. Overall, I think an improvement.

Gotta write.

Catherine

First, two days of work make the Herc-o-meter grow substantially!

35,019 / 55,000 (63.7%)

Trivia: The answer to yesterday’s trivia. Hercules’ centaur friend is Pholus. He visited Pholus before he went out to kill the Erymanthian Boar. During this visit, Hercules made a centaur enemy. Do you know his name?

***

I’m at the hospital, so I don’t want to capitalize this computer. I came over for x-rays, and now I’m waiting for a friend’s lumpectomy/biopsy. My news is good: I get to take my splint off on Sunday. Then I get to wear the sling more often, and work on my mobility. No driving for another three weeks, though.

We’ll see how Michelle does after her operation.

See you guys with more words, and an outcome tomorrow.

Catherine

Go to this link. It’s about good writer hygiene, or habits, if you will.

Gaining Good Writing Habits

Courtesy of Jay Lake and of course, MH Bonham.

I just spent the last three hours working on the book. Dictating a book is very different than writing. Lots more mistakes made, and I let it get away with more mistakes. It’s tiring. I didn’t get as much done has I’d hoped, but I did get yesterday’s word count, and about half of today’s. What remains to be seen is if I get tougher, while I’m doing it.

The last thing I want to do right now is be witty, so I’ll just give you the word count.

32,076 / 55,000 (58.3%)

All right, a little trivia. What is the name of Hercules’ centaur buddy?

Catherine

Good morning, everyone.

This is me using Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It’s wonderful. My arm doesn’t hurt at all! It’s also very easy to use.

I think it’s going to speed up my writing time. A lot. Sure, I have to get used to making mistakes and correcting them, but since I have a friendly, Midwestern accent, I tend to speak clearly. Dragon NaturallySpeaking is also making me more careful about how I speak.

I suppose I will also become a better proofreader, because I’m using this program. Tomorrow I will be home writing all day. I will use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to move forward on the book. It’s not a perfect solution. I don’t think I can get angsty and dramatic and act out scenes, but if I think about the scenes. I can say them in a measured way that captures their content well.

Hmmm… I wonder how Dragon NaturallySpeaking will spell an exploding sound. My first experiments, show me not too well.

I’m done showing off. See you later with the Herc-o-meter.

Catherine

Bwah hah hah! There was an explosion tonight, chemistry teacher approved. It has to be finessed, but still…groovy.

Word Count. Over 30K.

30,503 / 55,000 (55.5%)

Tonight’s trivia: Can you describe why Geryon was so unusual? What did he look like?