March #writemotivation Roundup

Well, the month ended quietly with a beautiful day and a well cooked meal in my house.  My son was well behaved and ate everything we put on his plate.  On top of that, he loved his Easter gifts and new clothes.  That was all that went well during the month.

It had been a hectic month with long hours and tough days at work which took away a lot of my writing and revising time. Most nights I was too tired to even focus on my emails and other messages let alone try to figure out how to revise one chapter without losing too much of the content.  I did, however, manage to get some done.  Not a lot, but some.

Just a few days before Easter, I lost my job at Wal-Mart.  Which meant I needed to get a few things done before I could focus on anything.  But, I used the extra spare time working on SoNL.  I also spent some extra time with my son, too.  Something he really enjoyed.

So, for now, I am searching for a new job and getting things set up with unemployment and food stamps.  My big priority for now is figuring out what to do with my 401K money.  Other than using some to get this month's bills took care of, I need to invest the rest.  Thankfully, I do have a few good places to talk that over until I make a decision.

1) Finally do the edits and revisions to chapters 8 through 15 on SoNL.

I got to chapter 11 before the month ended.  Saturday saw nothing done due to a lot of shopping both for me, my boyfriend, and my son.  Sunday was spent paying attention to family and food instead of writing.  Family IS more important than any craft.  They are our first inspirations for doing what we do.  At least work was done on it.  Amazingly, I kept almost half of the content of the original chapter.  Chapter ten was so long, I decided to split it up into two chapters, so technically, I did get to chapter 11.

2) Try to come up with a good name for the book itself while I edit.

Sorry, no decent names have popped into my head, yet.  Past Through Shadows as the book name remains and still sounds lame and clunky.

3) Try to write at least one more chapter to Black Friday 2.

I didn't write a thing on this one.  I probably would have gotten some done over the weekend if I wasn't shopping.

4) Brain willing, come up with names for Black Friday 2.

I have a tentative idea for a name, but nothing I'm willing to note, yet.  So, no, incomplete again.  :(

5) Revise the beginning to Test of Ascension

Didn't even touch it.  >.<

6) Pre-write the ABC challenge posts.

I got to the letter M and I am so happy!  Half the alphabet to buffer.  I'll knock out the rest during this week between applications.  So... I guess I can cross this one off.  I got farther than I expected.

Exciting, Isn't It?

Tonight, I am writing a combination post to make up for last night and tonight.  But, I have some good news.  Honestly, I never thought it would happen to me since there are way better authors and artists out there.  I’m not saying I’m not good, but I judge my own work more harshly than others judge it.

You can say I do set some pretty high standards for myself as far as quality, but not so much on the quantity.  I can’t help it.  If I am going to reach high enough to hopefully touch that elusive star, I want my work to be at its absolute best.

Anyway, what I was going to say before chasing that tangent is, I was chosen to participate in a Blog Hop.

One of the posters in the Book Marketing group on Linkedin chose me and about 11 others for a ‘Get to Know You’ blog hop showcasing newer and unknown writers.  She’s already sent out the questionnaire which I will be going over and answering in preparation of the ‘release’ date of this hop.

Yeah, I know, it isn’t something huge like PCH stopping at my door or snagging a publisher because they stumbled across my blog one night while following links on the net, but it is big enough for someone just starting out.  This will be a nice start and help kick me in the pants to get out and promote everywhere I roam and that is including all the art forums I frequent.  The posts I make here will show on the most important sites; Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Yahoo.

It’ll be fun if a lot of work.

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Since October, or September, I haven’t worked on my Erotic compilation.  That is a very long time.  Then again, I’m focusing more on SoNL for now to get it ready for the long haul of pitching to agents.  I’m sure I’ll need to trim these stories down a bit.  Each is a bit long to be called a short story, but definitely not a novella in length like Test of Ascension did.

Test of Ascension ran away with itself once I started working on it.  The characters came to life in my head and danced around as I worked through the plot toward the end.  I have to admit, this story has the best death scene in it as well as the shortest.  It had me in tears when I finished those few paragraphs.

The current story I’ve been working on deals with a druid apprentice and a kitsune causing mischief in the druid’s camp.  I got to where the druid has started her quest to find the kitsune, but that’s it.

It has been suggested that the kitsune be infatuated with the druid, sensing in her something stronger than the magics she’s been learning.  But, she is blind to what the tricks and traps are really for and still turns a blind eye when he reveals himself to her for ‘capture’.  The woman will be oblivious and may not even really understand why he’s been pestering her even after they have their little tryst.

Not all the pairings in this compilation will become couples.  Some, like in another story which has been plotted to an extent, will remain friends but tradition will not allow them to be married.  They’ll have the friends with benefits thing going on.

I will be returning to work on this one once I have SoNL sent out beta-readers and I’ve finished the query letter.

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Due to the last excerpt I had posted of Way of the Comet, I’ve re-read chapter ten.  It’s unfinished and the story begins to bog down in my opinion.  I will push through all of that when I am able to focus on multiple books at a time.  For now, the MC is captured.

She’s met who will become a great ally later in the book.  This ally, the hawk-type gryphon she was talking to, also sparks a sub-plot to help him and his people.  More than likely, he will, in a way, teach her how to be a wise leader before she finds her way out of captivity to get to her destination before special comet comes into view.

I think, this far in, I can fix a lot of the cliche-ness of the girl who didn’t know she was a royal until a super special friend appears looking for the missing queen and princess without losing too much of the flavor of a teen girl growing up and realizing that is more than just your average girl.  She’s special beyond what stories or medals make her.

Okay, this may be my one and only YA book since the MC is a teen.  I had forgotten that she was pretty young.  I believe I made her 16 or 17 in high school.  She’s old enough and mature enough to take care of herself but still too young to fully understand and gets into trouble thanks to her temper and general wilfulness.

I do like this character and her support staff.  There is a little romance in there but I’m not sure I’ll let it last or not.

Not too bad for a quiet three days, eh?  What all have you accomplished this week?