Slow progress.

I’ve been working like mad on Pirouette the Third.  Up to 63k.  I’ve written almost every day, and while my wordcounts aren’t astounding, I’m getting back into the rhythmn.  That’s what counts, right?

Family drama is stil ongoing, and it was screwing with my progress.  Still screwing with Broken.  I wrote and then rewrote the first scene, but it’s not done.  And frankly,I’m not sure when I’ll be working on it again.  I think I’m too close to it, and my muse seems totally about working on Pirouette the Third.  So into it that she threw me a couple of curveballs.  One of them spawned a true sequel idea.  Another one was relating to Alisia’s power and such.  But I don’t want to have to re-rewrite everything.  So I’m trying to decide what to go with and what to save for another book.  So far, I’m considering the new sequel idea, and discarding the power thing.  I did make a few tweaks to Alisia’s relationship with one of the major characters and the villain.  This I think will make it more powerful.  But, that’s it. 

Still feeling the perfectionism streak.  I know one author who has had her debut novel plus the sequel published recently, and another who’s debut novel is coming out later this year.  Other writer friends are doing the agent hunt.  And I’m still creeping along.  I feel like I should be done with Pirouette the Third but I promised myself I wouldn’t shop an inferior book.  I want it to be the very best, no matter how long it takes to get there.

The Flamebound revision is going slowly but well.  I’m on lesson 3 of 22.  The priority has been Pirouette the Third, but I might want to send it through the HTRYN process once it’s ready.  So I would like to have Flamebound finished by then.  I hope.

Also been having some issues with motivation.  It just isn’t there.  Normally, my competitive streak keeps me going, but I think the family drama sort of killed that.  Some days I just don’t feel up to it.  But, good news, I’ve committed to writing every day again even if it’s a few hundred words.

So the new year is starting not with a bang but with a whimper.  We’ll see.

2009 in review and 2010 goals

This year hasn’t been the best as far as emotional stuff is concerned.  The family drama that started in mid-October is still ongoing, and kind of derailed me a bit.  But, I persevere!

As far as productivity goes, I did very well.  I started and finished Pirouette’s five One-Pass Revision, got it out to critters, and have been rewriting the draft, implementing suggestions, cutting, adding, and hopefully making it better.  I’m almost halfway through the draft.  I hope to be done with it early next year.

It’s taken me longer than anticipated, which is okay, but sort of screwed up my schedule.  But it is really okay, b/c I’ll take however long it takes to make it submission-worthy.  As such, no query letters were sent.  I’ve decided to wait till the draft is done and critted.  The story, while essentially the same, has been morphing in interesting ways.  Hopefully in good ways.

Flamebound is on its way towards being totally revised, using Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel class.  I have high hopes for this.  I want to get Flamebound revised, critted, and submitted somewhere next year.  I can do this.

I planned on participating in Nanowrimo and writing a new novel.  Unfortunately, life had different plans.  Two days in I ended up quitting.  The book was to be Soulfire.  I’ve come to the conclusion that the timing just wasn’t right on this one.

I finished Survivor, which was a HUGE goal.   I hope to rewrite it in the next few years (depending on if I sell something, etc).

I don’t think I broke 100k on new words, but that, too, is okay.  Because I said I’d do some serious editing and finishing unfinished projects, which I accomplished.

I submitted my poetry chapbook, Life as a Moving Target, to a publisher.  Did not bite, but that’s okay.  I might try again next year.

For next year, I have a few more projects besides Pirouette the Third and Flamebound.  I have Unforgiven, which is a personal challenge to myself for various reasons.  I also have MindBound, the next book set in the Flamebound world.  And I’m seriously considering pulling out Darkweaver and starting work on it.  And then there’s Pirouette book 2 (Blood Dance). Ambitious, I know, but want to aim high.

I think the biggest goal for 2010 is to get something submitted somewhere, be it Flamebound, Pirouette the Third, or something else entirely.  I need to start moving forward with my goal of getting published.  I’ve been working like a madwoman, but I need to focus on that more.  So, hopefully I can do something about that next year.

So, to all, Happy New Year (a few days early!) and reach for the stars.

Status update

Just wanted to talk about my progress.  It’s been going pretty well.  I finished the first edit of the Pirouette Rewrite and have made notes.  Cut a few scenes and have a few more that might be on the chopping block.  I’ll have to see.

I’m using Holly Lisle’s One Pass Revision process, a first for me, and I’m a bit nervous.  This is my very first actual revision.  And this story is dear to my heart.  I want to do it justice.

One thing I noticed was that I’d forgotten some of the nuances and scenes.  Which is good, because it means that I had enough time to get enough distance.  They say that you should leave it long enough so it feels new.  And it did.  I’m also blown away by some of it — I automatically assume my first drafts stink (I’m very hard on myself), and this just proves that I don’t suck.  There are always issues, yea, I’m not perfect, but it’s better than I thought.  And that feels good.

Flamebound is back in action and I’m going to finish it either tonight or tomorrow.

Hereafter is on hold at the moment.  I might write it concurrently with the Revision, if the Revision doesn’t devour me whole.

I also made some notes on Blood Dance, Pirouette’s sequel.  It’s going to be good. 

So that’s where I’m at right now.  Things are going wonderfully, and I feel good about next year.

Update and an anniversary.

One year ago, on Easter Sunday, I started this blog.  It has had more than 1000 visitors since then.  🙂 

Granted, Easter was in April last year, but let’s just pretend this is April.  Thank you.  🙂

Update -y

Pirouette is up to 132k and growing.  I’ve entered the final third of the book, and I’m hoping to finish in by May (to coincide with the end of 70 days of Sweat).  I’ve been primarily voice reccing it, but this week, I switched back to typing because my wrist has been fine.  I imagine I’ll have to do more voice than typing overall, but that’s ok.  At least I can produce during my flare-ups.

Been doing alot of thinking about themes.  Because I’d like to try to work them into the next draft.  The original theme was redemption.  It still is.  But I’ve added a few more to that: silencing the ghosts, balance, and tough choices.  Alisia has to deal with all of these at some point in the book.  I want this book to go deeper than just the surface story.  I want it to resonate, man.

Also considering what comes after I finish the draft.  I might take a few weeks off and work on something else, to give myself distance.  That something else will prolly be Survivor, because it’s nearly done and next on my list.  It has been calling to me for about a year now, and I miss it terribly.  It’s one of my strongest stories.

Another book has called to me, too.  So strongly that I saw the opening scene in my head vividly.  It’s Darkweaver.  Wynd, the protagonist, has been pitching a fit in my head.  I keep telling her to wait her turn, but she’s a persistant little wench.  I might at some point write that first scene just to shut her up.

Something that’s been on my mind (if that isn’t enough, LOL) is Pirouette’s sequel, Blood Dance.  I have two potential plots that I’m trying to work out.  One will be the plot, and the other will be held back for a future book.  One involves a very unique type of mating and the other involves doppelgangers and insanity.  I wish I could do both, but the book would be mammoth.  So I gotta figure that out, too, so I can put together an outline.

And finally, I am happy to report that I’m back in the the darkroom.  Last weekend I took the plunge and developed a roll of film.  It was not without trouble, mind you — it’s been about two years — but I’m proud to say that it came out beautifully, and so did the resulting prints.  It’s my goal to get my backlog done before I move in June, as well as try out another type of infrared film.  Infrared film is a special kind of film that makes everything glow, plants turn white, and people’s skin becomes translucent.  It’s really neat, and tough to use/process but it is SO worth it.  My favorite kind, Kodak HIE, has been discontinued, so I found a comparable type: Rollei 400.  And I’m going to buy some and run some tests.  If it works, I’ll continue to use it, and do more shooting. 

It feels good to have my hand in photography again.  I’m also updating my website, putting up new pictures and redesigning the pages.  It’s very outdated.  And, I want to be able to show possible editors of photo mags current stuffs. 

So that’s my grande plan.  Muhaaaaa.

On 70 Days of Sweat, I’m up to 16,640 words.  Not bad for 22 days, eh?  And most were dictated, too.

Happy Easter to everyone.