Holly Lisle's going to be starting up a Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF) magazine called Rebel Tales (thanks to Angie for the head's up).
The guidelines are here.
As I write this, she hasn't yet started accepting submissions, but it sounds to me like you better follow her guidelines exactly as she has them written (which only makes sense; but I guess some submitters might try to skirt that). As she said, the magazine's going to have her name on it, so she wants everything to be her way (or it's the highway for you, Jack).
I'll probably post again once I see that she's accepting submissions. (Or you can just bookmark that page, like I'm about to do, and see for yourself. :-))
Love and kisses,
~Nancy Beck
Showing posts with label Short story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Short story. Show all posts
07 April 2009
New magazine
Holly Lisle's going to be starting up a Fantasy & Science Fiction (F&SF) magazine called Rebel Tales (thanks to Angie for the head's up).
The guidelines are here.
As I write this, she hasn't yet started accepting submissions, but it sounds to me like you better follow her guidelines exactly as she has them written (which only makes sense; but I guess some submitters might try to skirt that). As she said, the magazine's going to have her name on it, so she wants everything to be her way (or it's the highway for you, Jack).
I'll probably post again once I see that she's accepting submissions. (Or you can just bookmark that page, like I'm about to do, and see for yourself. :-))
Love and kisses,
~Nancy Beck
The guidelines are here.
As I write this, she hasn't yet started accepting submissions, but it sounds to me like you better follow her guidelines exactly as she has them written (which only makes sense; but I guess some submitters might try to skirt that). As she said, the magazine's going to have her name on it, so she wants everything to be her way (or it's the highway for you, Jack).
I'll probably post again once I see that she's accepting submissions. (Or you can just bookmark that page, like I'm about to do, and see for yourself. :-))
Love and kisses,
~Nancy Beck
04 October 2007
Workin' on the Work in Progress
I should be finishing up the revision of Chapter 4 today, and, hopefully, I'll put it into high gear next week in between the online writers conference. I hope to get another two chapters done next week.
My interim goal is to join an online crit group. I did this before; last year, as a matter of fact. But I think it was too soon for me, as I psyched myself out. I now think I have a better handle on the "this is my baby" aspect of writing, and the "this is a business" aspect.
I also wrote a quick story the other day, which was supposed to be a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words), but I think there are well more than 1,000 words. :-) I like the concept, like the MC, so maybe I'll develop it just a tad more and send it out.
Who knows? Maybe some (paying) market somewhere will accept it. Don't know until you try. :-)
I'm also wondering about a story sitting on my laptop's hard drive. I originally thought about doing it as a short story, but now I wonder if I should expand it. It's about werewolves on Broadway in the 1930s; at least, that's the basic premise. I don't think I've developed it enough, so I may take another look-see, if not another writing stab, at it. Since paranormals are so hot right now (I know, I know - most books that are bought right now usually won't see the light of day for almost two years, so I really shouldn't follow trends), this might be the time to take a good, hard look at it. It's set during a time period I enjoy reading about, and maybe it'll be different and good enough for agents to look at.
Don't mind me; just doing a little dreaming.
~Nancy Beck
My interim goal is to join an online crit group. I did this before; last year, as a matter of fact. But I think it was too soon for me, as I psyched myself out. I now think I have a better handle on the "this is my baby" aspect of writing, and the "this is a business" aspect.
I also wrote a quick story the other day, which was supposed to be a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words), but I think there are well more than 1,000 words. :-) I like the concept, like the MC, so maybe I'll develop it just a tad more and send it out.
Who knows? Maybe some (paying) market somewhere will accept it. Don't know until you try. :-)
I'm also wondering about a story sitting on my laptop's hard drive. I originally thought about doing it as a short story, but now I wonder if I should expand it. It's about werewolves on Broadway in the 1930s; at least, that's the basic premise. I don't think I've developed it enough, so I may take another look-see, if not another writing stab, at it. Since paranormals are so hot right now (I know, I know - most books that are bought right now usually won't see the light of day for almost two years, so I really shouldn't follow trends), this might be the time to take a good, hard look at it. It's set during a time period I enjoy reading about, and maybe it'll be different and good enough for agents to look at.
Don't mind me; just doing a little dreaming.
~Nancy Beck
Workin' on the Work in Progress
I should be finishing up the revision of Chapter 4 today, and, hopefully, I'll put it into high gear next week in between the online writers conference. I hope to get another two chapters done next week.
My interim goal is to join an online crit group. I did this before; last year, as a matter of fact. But I think it was too soon for me, as I psyched myself out. I now think I have a better handle on the "this is my baby" aspect of writing, and the "this is a business" aspect.
I also wrote a quick story the other day, which was supposed to be a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words), but I think there are well more than 1,000 words. :-) I like the concept, like the MC, so maybe I'll develop it just a tad more and send it out.
Who knows? Maybe some (paying) market somewhere will accept it. Don't know until you try. :-)
I'm also wondering about a story sitting on my laptop's hard drive. I originally thought about doing it as a short story, but now I wonder if I should expand it. It's about werewolves on Broadway in the 1930s; at least, that's the basic premise. I don't think I've developed it enough, so I may take another look-see, if not another writing stab, at it. Since paranormals are so hot right now (I know, I know - most books that are bought right now usually won't see the light of day for almost two years, so I really shouldn't follow trends), this might be the time to take a good, hard look at it. It's set during a time period I enjoy reading about, and maybe it'll be different and good enough for agents to look at.
Don't mind me; just doing a little dreaming.
~Nancy Beck
My interim goal is to join an online crit group. I did this before; last year, as a matter of fact. But I think it was too soon for me, as I psyched myself out. I now think I have a better handle on the "this is my baby" aspect of writing, and the "this is a business" aspect.
I also wrote a quick story the other day, which was supposed to be a flash fiction piece (less than 1,000 words), but I think there are well more than 1,000 words. :-) I like the concept, like the MC, so maybe I'll develop it just a tad more and send it out.
Who knows? Maybe some (paying) market somewhere will accept it. Don't know until you try. :-)
I'm also wondering about a story sitting on my laptop's hard drive. I originally thought about doing it as a short story, but now I wonder if I should expand it. It's about werewolves on Broadway in the 1930s; at least, that's the basic premise. I don't think I've developed it enough, so I may take another look-see, if not another writing stab, at it. Since paranormals are so hot right now (I know, I know - most books that are bought right now usually won't see the light of day for almost two years, so I really shouldn't follow trends), this might be the time to take a good, hard look at it. It's set during a time period I enjoy reading about, and maybe it'll be different and good enough for agents to look at.
Don't mind me; just doing a little dreaming.
~Nancy Beck
08 June 2007
Update
I'm happy to say that the short story is still cranking along, lol. It'll probably be 5,000 words before this puppy is done. (The rough draft, that is. ;-)) Anyway, the MC and her son are now past the bridge and the toll collector (I'm not talking about NJ Turnpike toll collectors here), and are heading off to the countryside where the MC originally grew up.
She's really not sure if she wants to go back. Someone lives there whom she hasn't seen in a while...but she has no choice but to be reacquainted with that person.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next week or so. After that, I'll let it rest a day or two, only coming back to it after I take a look at my WIP (my novel, which has Egyptian stuff in it).
An Aside
Speaking of Egyptian stuff, I'm currently listening to a course on Ancient Egypt that's utterly fascinating. I got it from The Teaching Company. It's a big course, and it costs more than the other courses I've bought, but I got it on sale (and it was definitely worth the price). The guy who's the instructor is an Egyptologist, and his enthusiasm is infectious. As is his knowledge of Ancient Egypt. I mean, we're talking about a civilization that lasted 3,000 years! Sure, there were "down times" (when there was almost complete anarchy, like tomb robbing), but the kings/pharoahs reappeared even after those down times. Unbelievable.
The course isn't on sale right now, but if you want to check it out, it's here.
Keep writing!
~Nancy Beck
She's really not sure if she wants to go back. Someone lives there whom she hasn't seen in a while...but she has no choice but to be reacquainted with that person.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next week or so. After that, I'll let it rest a day or two, only coming back to it after I take a look at my WIP (my novel, which has Egyptian stuff in it).
An Aside
Speaking of Egyptian stuff, I'm currently listening to a course on Ancient Egypt that's utterly fascinating. I got it from The Teaching Company. It's a big course, and it costs more than the other courses I've bought, but I got it on sale (and it was definitely worth the price). The guy who's the instructor is an Egyptologist, and his enthusiasm is infectious. As is his knowledge of Ancient Egypt. I mean, we're talking about a civilization that lasted 3,000 years! Sure, there were "down times" (when there was almost complete anarchy, like tomb robbing), but the kings/pharoahs reappeared even after those down times. Unbelievable.
The course isn't on sale right now, but if you want to check it out, it's here.
Keep writing!
~Nancy Beck
Update
I'm happy to say that the short story is still cranking along, lol. It'll probably be 5,000 words before this puppy is done. (The rough draft, that is. ;-)) Anyway, the MC and her son are now past the bridge and the toll collector (I'm not talking about NJ Turnpike toll collectors here), and are heading off to the countryside where the MC originally grew up.
She's really not sure if she wants to go back. Someone lives there whom she hasn't seen in a while...but she has no choice but to be reacquainted with that person.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next week or so. After that, I'll let it rest a day or two, only coming back to it after I take a look at my WIP (my novel, which has Egyptian stuff in it).
An Aside
Speaking of Egyptian stuff, I'm currently listening to a course on Ancient Egypt that's utterly fascinating. I got it from The Teaching Company. It's a big course, and it costs more than the other courses I've bought, but I got it on sale (and it was definitely worth the price). The guy who's the instructor is an Egyptologist, and his enthusiasm is infectious. As is his knowledge of Ancient Egypt. I mean, we're talking about a civilization that lasted 3,000 years! Sure, there were "down times" (when there was almost complete anarchy, like tomb robbing), but the kings/pharoahs reappeared even after those down times. Unbelievable.
The course isn't on sale right now, but if you want to check it out, it's here.
Keep writing!
~Nancy Beck
She's really not sure if she wants to go back. Someone lives there whom she hasn't seen in a while...but she has no choice but to be reacquainted with that person.
I'm hoping to get this done in the next week or so. After that, I'll let it rest a day or two, only coming back to it after I take a look at my WIP (my novel, which has Egyptian stuff in it).
An Aside
Speaking of Egyptian stuff, I'm currently listening to a course on Ancient Egypt that's utterly fascinating. I got it from The Teaching Company. It's a big course, and it costs more than the other courses I've bought, but I got it on sale (and it was definitely worth the price). The guy who's the instructor is an Egyptologist, and his enthusiasm is infectious. As is his knowledge of Ancient Egypt. I mean, we're talking about a civilization that lasted 3,000 years! Sure, there were "down times" (when there was almost complete anarchy, like tomb robbing), but the kings/pharoahs reappeared even after those down times. Unbelievable.
The course isn't on sale right now, but if you want to check it out, it's here.
Keep writing!
~Nancy Beck
30 May 2007
Still Not Yet Finished
I thought I'd finish up the short story yesterday, but alas and alack, such was not the case. I did manage to move the story along some more, though, so all wasn't lost. ;-)
I see now that I'm going to have to prune quite a bit, but I'd rather have too much to chop off; usually for me, it's the other way around, as in, "What the hell am I going to add here to make this work?" I have an idea what I'm going to chop out (and add in), but I'm sticking to finishing the draft first, to get the unabridged story out of my mind.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? The 2 below have both paid me. Click on the referral links:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
I see now that I'm going to have to prune quite a bit, but I'd rather have too much to chop off; usually for me, it's the other way around, as in, "What the hell am I going to add here to make this work?" I have an idea what I'm going to chop out (and add in), but I'm sticking to finishing the draft first, to get the unabridged story out of my mind.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? The 2 below have both paid me. Click on the referral links:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
Still Not Yet Finished
I thought I'd finish up the short story yesterday, but alas and alack, such was not the case. I did manage to move the story along some more, though, so all wasn't lost. ;-)
I see now that I'm going to have to prune quite a bit, but I'd rather have too much to chop off; usually for me, it's the other way around, as in, "What the hell am I going to add here to make this work?" I have an idea what I'm going to chop out (and add in), but I'm sticking to finishing the draft first, to get the unabridged story out of my mind.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? The 2 below have both paid me. Click on the referral links:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
I see now that I'm going to have to prune quite a bit, but I'd rather have too much to chop off; usually for me, it's the other way around, as in, "What the hell am I going to add here to make this work?" I have an idea what I'm going to chop out (and add in), but I'm sticking to finishing the draft first, to get the unabridged story out of my mind.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? The 2 below have both paid me. Click on the referral links:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
29 May 2007
Finishing the Short Story
I'll be finishing the short story at lunch today, which means it'll probably take me another week or so to get it into shape. :-) I have an idea as to how I'm going to end it (with the MC, Bella's, son Marcus and daughter, finding out something about the witch they're visiting...), but who knows? The characters could take me in a different direction, lol.
Hope everyone's (in the U.S., anyway) Memorial Day weekend was a safe and relaxing one. Went to a couple of parties over the weekend, to my one brother-in-law, another with good friends from the local bar. Good food and hilarious conversations (although there were some touchy moments on Saturday, at the brother-in-law's house; everything ended well, though).
I started another book just recently, Karavans, by Jennifer Roberson. This is a new author for me, but this is her latest. I'm up to Chapter 8 already (daggnabbit, left it at home!). It's about a bunch of people who are trying to latch onto a karavan after leaving their home behind. It's been conquered by another country, and they're trying to get to the woman's relations' home. However, that'll take them by a forest called Alisanos, which moves. (Shades of Lord of the Rings, there; huorns, I think those, um, trees/whatever were called.)
What I find interesting so far is all the religious stuff. Everyone believes in spells and charms and amulets and diviners. All kinds of cool/weird stuff. There are a couple of aliens, who can be killed, but they only completely die after the 6th time they've been killed. (They just won't let any humans know how many times they've been killed.) Anyway, so far, so good. I think it's a series ::sigh:: which seems to plague the fantasy genre more than other genres; yes, I know mysteries, like the Stephanie Plum series, are multi-book stories, but the particular mystery in the particular book is solved by the end of that book. Not so with a lot of fantasy series (World of Time, anyone?).
I'm not sure if Karavans will turn out to be the usual leave-us-hanging-until-the-next-book, um, book, or if it'll wrap up the main problem in this first volume. I have a feeling it's the former, but I'll have to wait and see.
~Nancy
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
Hope everyone's (in the U.S., anyway) Memorial Day weekend was a safe and relaxing one. Went to a couple of parties over the weekend, to my one brother-in-law, another with good friends from the local bar. Good food and hilarious conversations (although there were some touchy moments on Saturday, at the brother-in-law's house; everything ended well, though).
I started another book just recently, Karavans, by Jennifer Roberson. This is a new author for me, but this is her latest. I'm up to Chapter 8 already (daggnabbit, left it at home!). It's about a bunch of people who are trying to latch onto a karavan after leaving their home behind. It's been conquered by another country, and they're trying to get to the woman's relations' home. However, that'll take them by a forest called Alisanos, which moves. (Shades of Lord of the Rings, there; huorns, I think those, um, trees/whatever were called.)
What I find interesting so far is all the religious stuff. Everyone believes in spells and charms and amulets and diviners. All kinds of cool/weird stuff. There are a couple of aliens, who can be killed, but they only completely die after the 6th time they've been killed. (They just won't let any humans know how many times they've been killed.) Anyway, so far, so good. I think it's a series ::sigh:: which seems to plague the fantasy genre more than other genres; yes, I know mysteries, like the Stephanie Plum series, are multi-book stories, but the particular mystery in the particular book is solved by the end of that book. Not so with a lot of fantasy series (World of Time, anyone?).
I'm not sure if Karavans will turn out to be the usual leave-us-hanging-until-the-next-book, um, book, or if it'll wrap up the main problem in this first volume. I have a feeling it's the former, but I'll have to wait and see.
~Nancy
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
Finishing the Short Story
I'll be finishing the short story at lunch today, which means it'll probably take me another week or so to get it into shape. :-) I have an idea as to how I'm going to end it (with the MC, Bella's, son Marcus and daughter, finding out something about the witch they're visiting...), but who knows? The characters could take me in a different direction, lol.
Hope everyone's (in the U.S., anyway) Memorial Day weekend was a safe and relaxing one. Went to a couple of parties over the weekend, to my one brother-in-law, another with good friends from the local bar. Good food and hilarious conversations (although there were some touchy moments on Saturday, at the brother-in-law's house; everything ended well, though).
I started another book just recently, Karavans, by Jennifer Roberson. This is a new author for me, but this is her latest. I'm up to Chapter 8 already (daggnabbit, left it at home!). It's about a bunch of people who are trying to latch onto a karavan after leaving their home behind. It's been conquered by another country, and they're trying to get to the woman's relations' home. However, that'll take them by a forest called Alisanos, which moves. (Shades of Lord of the Rings, there; huorns, I think those, um, trees/whatever were called.)
What I find interesting so far is all the religious stuff. Everyone believes in spells and charms and amulets and diviners. All kinds of cool/weird stuff. There are a couple of aliens, who can be killed, but they only completely die after the 6th time they've been killed. (They just won't let any humans know how many times they've been killed.) Anyway, so far, so good. I think it's a series ::sigh:: which seems to plague the fantasy genre more than other genres; yes, I know mysteries, like the Stephanie Plum series, are multi-book stories, but the particular mystery in the particular book is solved by the end of that book. Not so with a lot of fantasy series (World of Time, anyone?).
I'm not sure if Karavans will turn out to be the usual leave-us-hanging-until-the-next-book, um, book, or if it'll wrap up the main problem in this first volume. I have a feeling it's the former, but I'll have to wait and see.
~Nancy
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
Hope everyone's (in the U.S., anyway) Memorial Day weekend was a safe and relaxing one. Went to a couple of parties over the weekend, to my one brother-in-law, another with good friends from the local bar. Good food and hilarious conversations (although there were some touchy moments on Saturday, at the brother-in-law's house; everything ended well, though).
I started another book just recently, Karavans, by Jennifer Roberson. This is a new author for me, but this is her latest. I'm up to Chapter 8 already (daggnabbit, left it at home!). It's about a bunch of people who are trying to latch onto a karavan after leaving their home behind. It's been conquered by another country, and they're trying to get to the woman's relations' home. However, that'll take them by a forest called Alisanos, which moves. (Shades of Lord of the Rings, there; huorns, I think those, um, trees/whatever were called.)
What I find interesting so far is all the religious stuff. Everyone believes in spells and charms and amulets and diviners. All kinds of cool/weird stuff. There are a couple of aliens, who can be killed, but they only completely die after the 6th time they've been killed. (They just won't let any humans know how many times they've been killed.) Anyway, so far, so good. I think it's a series ::sigh:: which seems to plague the fantasy genre more than other genres; yes, I know mysteries, like the Stephanie Plum series, are multi-book stories, but the particular mystery in the particular book is solved by the end of that book. Not so with a lot of fantasy series (World of Time, anyone?).
I'm not sure if Karavans will turn out to be the usual leave-us-hanging-until-the-next-book, um, book, or if it'll wrap up the main problem in this first volume. I have a feeling it's the former, but I'll have to wait and see.
~Nancy
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
25 May 2007
Short Story and Other Things
I'm more than halfway done with the first pass on my short story; it's taken a slight detour, but it actually makes sense (takes care of one plot point as to why Bella, my MC, hesitated to get her family to safety earlier...). Besides, I'm of the opinion to write straight through the first time around and revise later. (There'll be plenty of that, you can be sure.)
What else? Hmm. Just finished the second book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series, Living Dead in Dallas. Icky in parts, but fun. The MC, Sookie Stackhouse, cracks me up. (It's in first person, BTW.) And I love the little in-jokes Ms. Harris throws into the mix. For instance, Sookie's vampire, Bill, is shipped in his coffin by Anubis Air (as vampires are now part of the mainstream in U.S. society) to Dallas. Anubis was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. I know, eyeball rolling time; but I thought it was a good choice by Ms. Harris. And the only reason I got it is because I'm taking an audio course from The Teaching Company on Ancient Egypt. Really fascinating stuff. Try to pick it up whenever it's on sale.
One last thing: The demise of Miss Snark's blog. Boo hoo! No, really, boo hoo! I hadn't looked over there for a little while due to personal stuff, but I start reading it again (without posting) and, all of a sudden, she has post where I can't leave any comments! WTF? So I scrolled down a bit...and that's when I found the post saying she couldn't do the blog anymore. She was putting a lotta work into it, helping those of us who want to be legitimately published, but doing it with her brand of snark (which I really liked).
So, farewell, Miss Snark's blog. It won't be the same without your snarkiness.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
What else? Hmm. Just finished the second book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series, Living Dead in Dallas. Icky in parts, but fun. The MC, Sookie Stackhouse, cracks me up. (It's in first person, BTW.) And I love the little in-jokes Ms. Harris throws into the mix. For instance, Sookie's vampire, Bill, is shipped in his coffin by Anubis Air (as vampires are now part of the mainstream in U.S. society) to Dallas. Anubis was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. I know, eyeball rolling time; but I thought it was a good choice by Ms. Harris. And the only reason I got it is because I'm taking an audio course from The Teaching Company on Ancient Egypt. Really fascinating stuff. Try to pick it up whenever it's on sale.
One last thing: The demise of Miss Snark's blog. Boo hoo! No, really, boo hoo! I hadn't looked over there for a little while due to personal stuff, but I start reading it again (without posting) and, all of a sudden, she has post where I can't leave any comments! WTF? So I scrolled down a bit...and that's when I found the post saying she couldn't do the blog anymore. She was putting a lotta work into it, helping those of us who want to be legitimately published, but doing it with her brand of snark (which I really liked).
So, farewell, Miss Snark's blog. It won't be the same without your snarkiness.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
Short Story and Other Things
I'm more than halfway done with the first pass on my short story; it's taken a slight detour, but it actually makes sense (takes care of one plot point as to why Bella, my MC, hesitated to get her family to safety earlier...). Besides, I'm of the opinion to write straight through the first time around and revise later. (There'll be plenty of that, you can be sure.)
What else? Hmm. Just finished the second book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series, Living Dead in Dallas. Icky in parts, but fun. The MC, Sookie Stackhouse, cracks me up. (It's in first person, BTW.) And I love the little in-jokes Ms. Harris throws into the mix. For instance, Sookie's vampire, Bill, is shipped in his coffin by Anubis Air (as vampires are now part of the mainstream in U.S. society) to Dallas. Anubis was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. I know, eyeball rolling time; but I thought it was a good choice by Ms. Harris. And the only reason I got it is because I'm taking an audio course from The Teaching Company on Ancient Egypt. Really fascinating stuff. Try to pick it up whenever it's on sale.
One last thing: The demise of Miss Snark's blog. Boo hoo! No, really, boo hoo! I hadn't looked over there for a little while due to personal stuff, but I start reading it again (without posting) and, all of a sudden, she has post where I can't leave any comments! WTF? So I scrolled down a bit...and that's when I found the post saying she couldn't do the blog anymore. She was putting a lotta work into it, helping those of us who want to be legitimately published, but doing it with her brand of snark (which I really liked).
So, farewell, Miss Snark's blog. It won't be the same without your snarkiness.
~Nancy Beck
(Want to earn a little extra money reading ads? Click the referral stuff below:
Myster-E-Mail
Mermaid Emails
No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
What else? Hmm. Just finished the second book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series, Living Dead in Dallas. Icky in parts, but fun. The MC, Sookie Stackhouse, cracks me up. (It's in first person, BTW.) And I love the little in-jokes Ms. Harris throws into the mix. For instance, Sookie's vampire, Bill, is shipped in his coffin by Anubis Air (as vampires are now part of the mainstream in U.S. society) to Dallas. Anubis was the jackal-headed Egyptian god of the dead. I know, eyeball rolling time; but I thought it was a good choice by Ms. Harris. And the only reason I got it is because I'm taking an audio course from The Teaching Company on Ancient Egypt. Really fascinating stuff. Try to pick it up whenever it's on sale.
One last thing: The demise of Miss Snark's blog. Boo hoo! No, really, boo hoo! I hadn't looked over there for a little while due to personal stuff, but I start reading it again (without posting) and, all of a sudden, she has post where I can't leave any comments! WTF? So I scrolled down a bit...and that's when I found the post saying she couldn't do the blog anymore. She was putting a lotta work into it, helping those of us who want to be legitimately published, but doing it with her brand of snark (which I really liked).
So, farewell, Miss Snark's blog. It won't be the same without your snarkiness.
~Nancy Beck
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No, you won't get rich. But a couple extra nickels in your pocket ain't so bad.)
18 May 2007
Back to the Land of the Living...Writers
It's been a month to the day since I last wrote anything in this blog, and it's been a bit of a depressing time in those four weeks.
But after downloading a free, short e-book on short story writing, I decided tonight I'd plunge back in.
It was so nice to sit down and not worry about court cases, lawyers, or insurance. I actually have the guts to a short story written now. Well, about halfway written, more or less. I was so happy, I actually cried a bit. For once in the past couple of months, they were tears of joy. I felt so good about it, I just had to blog, just had to let go. Even as I write, I feel the tears welling up. I can't stop thinking about how good, how right it felt to get a story down with pen and paper.
No title as yet, but it's about a woman hesitating about making decisions (something I've had to struggle with lately): Getting her and her family out of harm's way (roaming bands of thugs have taken over the countryside where she lives) and changing her daughter back into a human. (Of course, there has to be a fantasy twist to my stories; that's where my brain always seems to go. ;-)) The thing is, she's got two things tugging at her that's making her hesitate, and her son doesn't waste anytime pointing out to her that 1) the thugs aren't that far away, and 2) she promised to take them to the witch who lives by this one stream to get his sister back.
Or something like that. For me, the hardest thing is to talk to people on the phone; those I talk with all the time are no problem. But talking to doctors or insurance people or whomever...that's another matter. I can't tell you how many times I've put off and put off and put off talking on the phone. But these had to be dealt with sooner rather than later, so I usually dove in.
I've survived, somehow. And in this story, this woman will survive, too. But she and her kids are going to learn a few things along the way, just as I have.
It feels good to be back. I hope I stay writing for a long time to come.
Take care, one and all.
But after downloading a free, short e-book on short story writing, I decided tonight I'd plunge back in.
It was so nice to sit down and not worry about court cases, lawyers, or insurance. I actually have the guts to a short story written now. Well, about halfway written, more or less. I was so happy, I actually cried a bit. For once in the past couple of months, they were tears of joy. I felt so good about it, I just had to blog, just had to let go. Even as I write, I feel the tears welling up. I can't stop thinking about how good, how right it felt to get a story down with pen and paper.
No title as yet, but it's about a woman hesitating about making decisions (something I've had to struggle with lately): Getting her and her family out of harm's way (roaming bands of thugs have taken over the countryside where she lives) and changing her daughter back into a human. (Of course, there has to be a fantasy twist to my stories; that's where my brain always seems to go. ;-)) The thing is, she's got two things tugging at her that's making her hesitate, and her son doesn't waste anytime pointing out to her that 1) the thugs aren't that far away, and 2) she promised to take them to the witch who lives by this one stream to get his sister back.
Or something like that. For me, the hardest thing is to talk to people on the phone; those I talk with all the time are no problem. But talking to doctors or insurance people or whomever...that's another matter. I can't tell you how many times I've put off and put off and put off talking on the phone. But these had to be dealt with sooner rather than later, so I usually dove in.
I've survived, somehow. And in this story, this woman will survive, too. But she and her kids are going to learn a few things along the way, just as I have.
It feels good to be back. I hope I stay writing for a long time to come.
Take care, one and all.
Back to the Land of the Living...Writers
It's been a month to the day since I last wrote anything in this blog, and it's been a bit of a depressing time in those four weeks.
But after downloading a free, short e-book on short story writing, I decided tonight I'd plunge back in.
It was so nice to sit down and not worry about court cases, lawyers, or insurance. I actually have the guts to a short story written now. Well, about halfway written, more or less. I was so happy, I actually cried a bit. For once in the past couple of months, they were tears of joy. I felt so good about it, I just had to blog, just had to let go. Even as I write, I feel the tears welling up. I can't stop thinking about how good, how right it felt to get a story down with pen and paper.
No title as yet, but it's about a woman hesitating about making decisions (something I've had to struggle with lately): Getting her and her family out of harm's way (roaming bands of thugs have taken over the countryside where she lives) and changing her daughter back into a human. (Of course, there has to be a fantasy twist to my stories; that's where my brain always seems to go. ;-)) The thing is, she's got two things tugging at her that's making her hesitate, and her son doesn't waste anytime pointing out to her that 1) the thugs aren't that far away, and 2) she promised to take them to the witch who lives by this one stream to get his sister back.
Or something like that. For me, the hardest thing is to talk to people on the phone; those I talk with all the time are no problem. But talking to doctors or insurance people or whomever...that's another matter. I can't tell you how many times I've put off and put off and put off talking on the phone. But these had to be dealt with sooner rather than later, so I usually dove in.
I've survived, somehow. And in this story, this woman will survive, too. But she and her kids are going to learn a few things along the way, just as I have.
It feels good to be back. I hope I stay writing for a long time to come.
Take care, one and all.
But after downloading a free, short e-book on short story writing, I decided tonight I'd plunge back in.
It was so nice to sit down and not worry about court cases, lawyers, or insurance. I actually have the guts to a short story written now. Well, about halfway written, more or less. I was so happy, I actually cried a bit. For once in the past couple of months, they were tears of joy. I felt so good about it, I just had to blog, just had to let go. Even as I write, I feel the tears welling up. I can't stop thinking about how good, how right it felt to get a story down with pen and paper.
No title as yet, but it's about a woman hesitating about making decisions (something I've had to struggle with lately): Getting her and her family out of harm's way (roaming bands of thugs have taken over the countryside where she lives) and changing her daughter back into a human. (Of course, there has to be a fantasy twist to my stories; that's where my brain always seems to go. ;-)) The thing is, she's got two things tugging at her that's making her hesitate, and her son doesn't waste anytime pointing out to her that 1) the thugs aren't that far away, and 2) she promised to take them to the witch who lives by this one stream to get his sister back.
Or something like that. For me, the hardest thing is to talk to people on the phone; those I talk with all the time are no problem. But talking to doctors or insurance people or whomever...that's another matter. I can't tell you how many times I've put off and put off and put off talking on the phone. But these had to be dealt with sooner rather than later, so I usually dove in.
I've survived, somehow. And in this story, this woman will survive, too. But she and her kids are going to learn a few things along the way, just as I have.
It feels good to be back. I hope I stay writing for a long time to come.
Take care, one and all.
15 January 2007
Lest Anyone Think I'm Just Picking My Nose...
I haven't. :-)
I'm indeed going ahead with the short involving shapeshifters (although I've decided to call them werewolves). That might change at whatever point I send this out.
I've written this in 3rd POV, from both a female lead and a male lead, with the female winning out. The opening scene was the problem; I tend to stuff a lot of, um, stuff into a little space. Not good, as it results in a lot of head scratching. (That's when I'm in panic mode. When I'm in "yay, rough draft" mode, I write the bare minimum.) Anyway, here's what's helping me move ahead with this short, and will make the transition to the novel.
I received a Barnes & Noble giftcard from one of my bosses, and I settled on a book (duh) - a writing book. Now, I've got quite a few, but the ones that I feel are valuable I can count on one hand. But, the book I ordered was Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain (his student, Jack Bickham, came out with a book pointing out the same stuff; I found it more stiffly written). The Scenes and Sequels idea pioneered (if that's the term) by Swain intrigued me; I picked up the Bickham book first...and didn't like it. There are tons and tons of exercises before you even get to the Scenes and Sequels stuff. Whether you like writing exercises or not, I felt a lot of it was tedious.
Anyway, after deciding on this short story was around the same time I received Techniques. Swain doesn't futz around with exercises (yay for me); he explains things in a succinct, almost business-like way (which is fine by me). I read through his take on Scenes and Sequels and liked what I saw. But I wanted to distill down into a template or a couple of templates so I wouldn't have to keep referring back to the book.
Enter Jim Butcher.
Last week, I was on the Absolute Write Water Cooler when I happened to click on a thread in the (I think) Novel Writing board. Lo and behold, there was a link to Jim Butcher's blog. More specifically, he uses the Scenes and Sequels method! :-) As I'd read and liked his Storm Front, I was happy to find that he used this technique for that and all of his subsequent novels.
Even better, he'd done the work for me! (Yay! I like being lazy on certain things. ;-) Over the weekend, I created two templates, one for Scenes and one for Sequels, using the format he talks about in his blog. (Scenes entry is here. Sequels entry is here.)
I have to say...although I'll have to tighten it some more...the opening two scenes work much, much better. It took me a while to get to it (Freecell, anyone? ;-)), I eventually hunkered down and whipped up some good workable scene goals, questions, and answers.
This might be too much of a "set in stone" mentality for some, and that's fine; everybody's brains are wired differently. But it helped me hone in on what I wanted the MC to accomplish, and to me, it wasn't too rigid. After all, I get to write all the words, including dialogue.
The only work I had published (besides being in Evil Editor's Novel Deviations, heh heh) was a short story in the print edition of Aiofe's Kiss, and that was (gasp!) four years ago.
Needless to say, I'm not mentioning that piece in any query letter.
Oh, and I do intend to join another crit group, a free one this time. :-) I'm going to wait, however, as I want to go through at least a couple of revisions before putting my puppies out there.
Don't give up - keep writing!
I'm indeed going ahead with the short involving shapeshifters (although I've decided to call them werewolves). That might change at whatever point I send this out.
I've written this in 3rd POV, from both a female lead and a male lead, with the female winning out. The opening scene was the problem; I tend to stuff a lot of, um, stuff into a little space. Not good, as it results in a lot of head scratching. (That's when I'm in panic mode. When I'm in "yay, rough draft" mode, I write the bare minimum.) Anyway, here's what's helping me move ahead with this short, and will make the transition to the novel.
I received a Barnes & Noble giftcard from one of my bosses, and I settled on a book (duh) - a writing book. Now, I've got quite a few, but the ones that I feel are valuable I can count on one hand. But, the book I ordered was Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain (his student, Jack Bickham, came out with a book pointing out the same stuff; I found it more stiffly written). The Scenes and Sequels idea pioneered (if that's the term) by Swain intrigued me; I picked up the Bickham book first...and didn't like it. There are tons and tons of exercises before you even get to the Scenes and Sequels stuff. Whether you like writing exercises or not, I felt a lot of it was tedious.
Anyway, after deciding on this short story was around the same time I received Techniques. Swain doesn't futz around with exercises (yay for me); he explains things in a succinct, almost business-like way (which is fine by me). I read through his take on Scenes and Sequels and liked what I saw. But I wanted to distill down into a template or a couple of templates so I wouldn't have to keep referring back to the book.
Enter Jim Butcher.
Last week, I was on the Absolute Write Water Cooler when I happened to click on a thread in the (I think) Novel Writing board. Lo and behold, there was a link to Jim Butcher's blog. More specifically, he uses the Scenes and Sequels method! :-) As I'd read and liked his Storm Front, I was happy to find that he used this technique for that and all of his subsequent novels.
Even better, he'd done the work for me! (Yay! I like being lazy on certain things. ;-) Over the weekend, I created two templates, one for Scenes and one for Sequels, using the format he talks about in his blog. (Scenes entry is here. Sequels entry is here.)
I have to say...although I'll have to tighten it some more...the opening two scenes work much, much better. It took me a while to get to it (Freecell, anyone? ;-)), I eventually hunkered down and whipped up some good workable scene goals, questions, and answers.
This might be too much of a "set in stone" mentality for some, and that's fine; everybody's brains are wired differently. But it helped me hone in on what I wanted the MC to accomplish, and to me, it wasn't too rigid. After all, I get to write all the words, including dialogue.
The only work I had published (besides being in Evil Editor's Novel Deviations, heh heh) was a short story in the print edition of Aiofe's Kiss, and that was (gasp!) four years ago.
Needless to say, I'm not mentioning that piece in any query letter.
Oh, and I do intend to join another crit group, a free one this time. :-) I'm going to wait, however, as I want to go through at least a couple of revisions before putting my puppies out there.
Don't give up - keep writing!
Lest Anyone Think I'm Just Picking My Nose...
I haven't. :-)
I'm indeed going ahead with the short involving shapeshifters (although I've decided to call them werewolves). That might change at whatever point I send this out.
I've written this in 3rd POV, from both a female lead and a male lead, with the female winning out. The opening scene was the problem; I tend to stuff a lot of, um, stuff into a little space. Not good, as it results in a lot of head scratching. (That's when I'm in panic mode. When I'm in "yay, rough draft" mode, I write the bare minimum.) Anyway, here's what's helping me move ahead with this short, and will make the transition to the novel.
I received a Barnes & Noble giftcard from one of my bosses, and I settled on a book (duh) - a writing book. Now, I've got quite a few, but the ones that I feel are valuable I can count on one hand. But, the book I ordered was Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain (his student, Jack Bickham, came out with a book pointing out the same stuff; I found it more stiffly written). The Scenes and Sequels idea pioneered (if that's the term) by Swain intrigued me; I picked up the Bickham book first...and didn't like it. There are tons and tons of exercises before you even get to the Scenes and Sequels stuff. Whether you like writing exercises or not, I felt a lot of it was tedious.
Anyway, after deciding on this short story was around the same time I received Techniques. Swain doesn't futz around with exercises (yay for me); he explains things in a succinct, almost business-like way (which is fine by me). I read through his take on Scenes and Sequels and liked what I saw. But I wanted to distill down into a template or a couple of templates so I wouldn't have to keep referring back to the book.
Enter Jim Butcher.
Last week, I was on the Absolute Write Water Cooler when I happened to click on a thread in the (I think) Novel Writing board. Lo and behold, there was a link to Jim Butcher's blog. More specifically, he uses the Scenes and Sequels method! :-) As I'd read and liked his Storm Front, I was happy to find that he used this technique for that and all of his subsequent novels.
Even better, he'd done the work for me! (Yay! I like being lazy on certain things. ;-) Over the weekend, I created two templates, one for Scenes and one for Sequels, using the format he talks about in his blog. (Scenes entry is here. Sequels entry is here.)
I have to say...although I'll have to tighten it some more...the opening two scenes work much, much better. It took me a while to get to it (Freecell, anyone? ;-)), I eventually hunkered down and whipped up some good workable scene goals, questions, and answers.
This might be too much of a "set in stone" mentality for some, and that's fine; everybody's brains are wired differently. But it helped me hone in on what I wanted the MC to accomplish, and to me, it wasn't too rigid. After all, I get to write all the words, including dialogue.
The only work I had published (besides being in Evil Editor's Novel Deviations, heh heh) was a short story in the print edition of Aiofe's Kiss, and that was (gasp!) four years ago.
Needless to say, I'm not mentioning that piece in any query letter.
Oh, and I do intend to join another crit group, a free one this time. :-) I'm going to wait, however, as I want to go through at least a couple of revisions before putting my puppies out there.
Don't give up - keep writing!
I'm indeed going ahead with the short involving shapeshifters (although I've decided to call them werewolves). That might change at whatever point I send this out.
I've written this in 3rd POV, from both a female lead and a male lead, with the female winning out. The opening scene was the problem; I tend to stuff a lot of, um, stuff into a little space. Not good, as it results in a lot of head scratching. (That's when I'm in panic mode. When I'm in "yay, rough draft" mode, I write the bare minimum.) Anyway, here's what's helping me move ahead with this short, and will make the transition to the novel.
I received a Barnes & Noble giftcard from one of my bosses, and I settled on a book (duh) - a writing book. Now, I've got quite a few, but the ones that I feel are valuable I can count on one hand. But, the book I ordered was Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain (his student, Jack Bickham, came out with a book pointing out the same stuff; I found it more stiffly written). The Scenes and Sequels idea pioneered (if that's the term) by Swain intrigued me; I picked up the Bickham book first...and didn't like it. There are tons and tons of exercises before you even get to the Scenes and Sequels stuff. Whether you like writing exercises or not, I felt a lot of it was tedious.
Anyway, after deciding on this short story was around the same time I received Techniques. Swain doesn't futz around with exercises (yay for me); he explains things in a succinct, almost business-like way (which is fine by me). I read through his take on Scenes and Sequels and liked what I saw. But I wanted to distill down into a template or a couple of templates so I wouldn't have to keep referring back to the book.
Enter Jim Butcher.
Last week, I was on the Absolute Write Water Cooler when I happened to click on a thread in the (I think) Novel Writing board. Lo and behold, there was a link to Jim Butcher's blog. More specifically, he uses the Scenes and Sequels method! :-) As I'd read and liked his Storm Front, I was happy to find that he used this technique for that and all of his subsequent novels.
Even better, he'd done the work for me! (Yay! I like being lazy on certain things. ;-) Over the weekend, I created two templates, one for Scenes and one for Sequels, using the format he talks about in his blog. (Scenes entry is here. Sequels entry is here.)
I have to say...although I'll have to tighten it some more...the opening two scenes work much, much better. It took me a while to get to it (Freecell, anyone? ;-)), I eventually hunkered down and whipped up some good workable scene goals, questions, and answers.
This might be too much of a "set in stone" mentality for some, and that's fine; everybody's brains are wired differently. But it helped me hone in on what I wanted the MC to accomplish, and to me, it wasn't too rigid. After all, I get to write all the words, including dialogue.
The only work I had published (besides being in Evil Editor's Novel Deviations, heh heh) was a short story in the print edition of Aiofe's Kiss, and that was (gasp!) four years ago.
Needless to say, I'm not mentioning that piece in any query letter.
Oh, and I do intend to join another crit group, a free one this time. :-) I'm going to wait, however, as I want to go through at least a couple of revisions before putting my puppies out there.
Don't give up - keep writing!
04 January 2007
Forging Ahead
First, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007.
Second, I want to thank everyone who has visited this blog. All three or four of you make this a worthwhile endeavor. ;-) (Sorry. My weird sense of humor is rearing its head.)
Third, and last, I am indeed forging ahead with a short story. I originally planned on it taking place back in 1919 (egads, you say! WTF, Miss Snark might say). Hold on. I'm taking a CD course on the Broadway musical, its origins and all. I've found it so fascinating, I wanted to have a female character after World War I who was feeling her oats, but I wanted it to be just before women got the right to vote in the U.S. (1920, that is).
It didn't go anywhere, although I did get to look at a lot of neat vintage wear so I could have an idea in my mind as to the clothing styles back then.
I had a brainstorm this morning: why not set it in the Depression of the 1930s? Broadway was forging ahead as well, and I'd have a very good reason to have a literally poor woman making her way to New York and the bright lights therein.
Then I got to thinking about my original premise, about having shapeshifters among the Broadway, or some sort of theatrical, denizens. However, I only had one shapeshifter, a theatrical agent. He hated it, didn't know how to control it. Plus, he wanted to get as far away from his father's tailor shop as possible.
Enter this woman, whom I've called Eva for now. Eva is from the hinterlands of Pennsylvania, arriving by train (of course) in 1931 New York. She's spent all but a dollar of her money to get there, to get away from the boring life she's led in the sticks.
I made her into a shapeshifter, too. She's determined to not only leave her former life behind but to live among the normals, as she calls them.
And I've got the germ of an idea for the conflict: the agent (Irving) is one part of a partnership, with the other partner an ornery scumbag who gives Irving until the end of the week to bring in more clients (read: commissions) or it's back to the tailor shop for poor Irving.
That Eva and Irving need to work together, I think, is a given. But then the other partner throws another curve into the mix. Now, I haven't quite figured that part out, but I have a germ of an idea. Anyway, I did write part of this today; about 500-600 words.
The characters are sassy and determined, and I like 'em a lot. Only time will tell if this will be good enough to send out, but I'll give it my best shot.
Don't give up - keep writing!
Second, I want to thank everyone who has visited this blog. All three or four of you make this a worthwhile endeavor. ;-) (Sorry. My weird sense of humor is rearing its head.)
Third, and last, I am indeed forging ahead with a short story. I originally planned on it taking place back in 1919 (egads, you say! WTF, Miss Snark might say). Hold on. I'm taking a CD course on the Broadway musical, its origins and all. I've found it so fascinating, I wanted to have a female character after World War I who was feeling her oats, but I wanted it to be just before women got the right to vote in the U.S. (1920, that is).
It didn't go anywhere, although I did get to look at a lot of neat vintage wear so I could have an idea in my mind as to the clothing styles back then.
I had a brainstorm this morning: why not set it in the Depression of the 1930s? Broadway was forging ahead as well, and I'd have a very good reason to have a literally poor woman making her way to New York and the bright lights therein.
Then I got to thinking about my original premise, about having shapeshifters among the Broadway, or some sort of theatrical, denizens. However, I only had one shapeshifter, a theatrical agent. He hated it, didn't know how to control it. Plus, he wanted to get as far away from his father's tailor shop as possible.
Enter this woman, whom I've called Eva for now. Eva is from the hinterlands of Pennsylvania, arriving by train (of course) in 1931 New York. She's spent all but a dollar of her money to get there, to get away from the boring life she's led in the sticks.
I made her into a shapeshifter, too. She's determined to not only leave her former life behind but to live among the normals, as she calls them.
And I've got the germ of an idea for the conflict: the agent (Irving) is one part of a partnership, with the other partner an ornery scumbag who gives Irving until the end of the week to bring in more clients (read: commissions) or it's back to the tailor shop for poor Irving.
That Eva and Irving need to work together, I think, is a given. But then the other partner throws another curve into the mix. Now, I haven't quite figured that part out, but I have a germ of an idea. Anyway, I did write part of this today; about 500-600 words.
The characters are sassy and determined, and I like 'em a lot. Only time will tell if this will be good enough to send out, but I'll give it my best shot.
Don't give up - keep writing!
Forging Ahead
First, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007.
Second, I want to thank everyone who has visited this blog. All three or four of you make this a worthwhile endeavor. ;-) (Sorry. My weird sense of humor is rearing its head.)
Third, and last, I am indeed forging ahead with a short story. I originally planned on it taking place back in 1919 (egads, you say! WTF, Miss Snark might say). Hold on. I'm taking a CD course on the Broadway musical, its origins and all. I've found it so fascinating, I wanted to have a female character after World War I who was feeling her oats, but I wanted it to be just before women got the right to vote in the U.S. (1920, that is).
It didn't go anywhere, although I did get to look at a lot of neat vintage wear so I could have an idea in my mind as to the clothing styles back then.
I had a brainstorm this morning: why not set it in the Depression of the 1930s? Broadway was forging ahead as well, and I'd have a very good reason to have a literally poor woman making her way to New York and the bright lights therein.
Then I got to thinking about my original premise, about having shapeshifters among the Broadway, or some sort of theatrical, denizens. However, I only had one shapeshifter, a theatrical agent. He hated it, didn't know how to control it. Plus, he wanted to get as far away from his father's tailor shop as possible.
Enter this woman, whom I've called Eva for now. Eva is from the hinterlands of Pennsylvania, arriving by train (of course) in 1931 New York. She's spent all but a dollar of her money to get there, to get away from the boring life she's led in the sticks.
I made her into a shapeshifter, too. She's determined to not only leave her former life behind but to live among the normals, as she calls them.
And I've got the germ of an idea for the conflict: the agent (Irving) is one part of a partnership, with the other partner an ornery scumbag who gives Irving until the end of the week to bring in more clients (read: commissions) or it's back to the tailor shop for poor Irving.
That Eva and Irving need to work together, I think, is a given. But then the other partner throws another curve into the mix. Now, I haven't quite figured that part out, but I have a germ of an idea. Anyway, I did write part of this today; about 500-600 words.
The characters are sassy and determined, and I like 'em a lot. Only time will tell if this will be good enough to send out, but I'll give it my best shot.
Don't give up - keep writing!
Second, I want to thank everyone who has visited this blog. All three or four of you make this a worthwhile endeavor. ;-) (Sorry. My weird sense of humor is rearing its head.)
Third, and last, I am indeed forging ahead with a short story. I originally planned on it taking place back in 1919 (egads, you say! WTF, Miss Snark might say). Hold on. I'm taking a CD course on the Broadway musical, its origins and all. I've found it so fascinating, I wanted to have a female character after World War I who was feeling her oats, but I wanted it to be just before women got the right to vote in the U.S. (1920, that is).
It didn't go anywhere, although I did get to look at a lot of neat vintage wear so I could have an idea in my mind as to the clothing styles back then.
I had a brainstorm this morning: why not set it in the Depression of the 1930s? Broadway was forging ahead as well, and I'd have a very good reason to have a literally poor woman making her way to New York and the bright lights therein.
Then I got to thinking about my original premise, about having shapeshifters among the Broadway, or some sort of theatrical, denizens. However, I only had one shapeshifter, a theatrical agent. He hated it, didn't know how to control it. Plus, he wanted to get as far away from his father's tailor shop as possible.
Enter this woman, whom I've called Eva for now. Eva is from the hinterlands of Pennsylvania, arriving by train (of course) in 1931 New York. She's spent all but a dollar of her money to get there, to get away from the boring life she's led in the sticks.
I made her into a shapeshifter, too. She's determined to not only leave her former life behind but to live among the normals, as she calls them.
And I've got the germ of an idea for the conflict: the agent (Irving) is one part of a partnership, with the other partner an ornery scumbag who gives Irving until the end of the week to bring in more clients (read: commissions) or it's back to the tailor shop for poor Irving.
That Eva and Irving need to work together, I think, is a given. But then the other partner throws another curve into the mix. Now, I haven't quite figured that part out, but I have a germ of an idea. Anyway, I did write part of this today; about 500-600 words.
The characters are sassy and determined, and I like 'em a lot. Only time will tell if this will be good enough to send out, but I'll give it my best shot.
Don't give up - keep writing!
27 December 2006
So What the Heck Have I Been Up To?
The wonderful Lesia asked where I've been. It wasn't until I noticed the last time I blogged before today (was it really December 8th? Egad!) that I had to wonder myself.
Well, not really. Heh. ;-)
Anyway, I have been writing. I wrote a couple of short stories, and I'll be working on them to see if they're worthy of sending out (something I haven't done in a looooong time). I've also got an idea for another short, but the opening is giving me fits; I know the obvious thing is to write past that and go back to it, but since it's set in the past (about 1919), there are certain things I want to describe (without becoming too wordy and boring) about the character and the milieu. I'm going to let the idea germinate in my brain a little while longer, as it's apparent a few things need to be worked out.
As for my novel...I'm just about done! So it looks like I'll finish this thing by the end of the year (my original goal was about a month ago; what was that old saw about the best laid plans? ;-)). I picked up a notebook computer yesterday (yay! Thanks for the money, Mom!) at Staples, and, once I was set up, I just cooked. Ooo, the words just flowed. But then, this morning, I skipped my workout because something bothered me about the way I ended it yesterday, so I whipped out the notebook, deleted a few things, and rewrote the ending.
I then decided to add in what I think will add immeasurably to the story: Diego's voice (3rd person). So I wrote a scene where he arrives to find what he thinks are two dead bodies. Jackie fought the demon just before, with the end of her scene being that she's waiting to die (and wants to die, because she's in such pain). The fight scene is kind of crappy, but that's what rewrites are for. :-)
I also did another scene in his POV in the prior chapter, where he's racing after Jackie and the demon, dodging traffic on the main drag in my old hometown (and let me tell you, the main drag is just as clogged with traffic as it ever was). He gets stuck behind an SUV with a flat tire, and no one will allow him to go around.
Yeah, tension. And besides, I wanted Jackie to fight the demon alone. After all, this is her story, and she's the one who's supposed to be strong enough to deal with the demon or the "entity," as a couple of the characters are now calling it.
But I digress. I'll be moving on to the last chapter in the story--at least how it stands right now. I'll have to go back and put in Diego's take on things, but the index cards will allow me to slip in those scenes pretty seamlessly.
The writing part of it is another matter, of course. ;-)
So that's where I'm at, writing-wise. I'm just on the cusp of finishing this novel thingy.
Oh, and Lesia? You'll notice I've included my email address (tee hee) like you suggested in the Miss Snark You Tube video. Actually, I should have thought of that a while ago, although you will notice that it has [at] instead of @ just so none of those bandwidth-sucking spiders or bots can harvest my email address. Thank goodness yahoo has a bulk folder so I can just empty most of the viagra/Nigerian scam/gas card dreck can be easily dispensed of.
Have a nice and safe New Year's everybody! :-)
Well, not really. Heh. ;-)
Anyway, I have been writing. I wrote a couple of short stories, and I'll be working on them to see if they're worthy of sending out (something I haven't done in a looooong time). I've also got an idea for another short, but the opening is giving me fits; I know the obvious thing is to write past that and go back to it, but since it's set in the past (about 1919), there are certain things I want to describe (without becoming too wordy and boring) about the character and the milieu. I'm going to let the idea germinate in my brain a little while longer, as it's apparent a few things need to be worked out.
As for my novel...I'm just about done! So it looks like I'll finish this thing by the end of the year (my original goal was about a month ago; what was that old saw about the best laid plans? ;-)). I picked up a notebook computer yesterday (yay! Thanks for the money, Mom!) at Staples, and, once I was set up, I just cooked. Ooo, the words just flowed. But then, this morning, I skipped my workout because something bothered me about the way I ended it yesterday, so I whipped out the notebook, deleted a few things, and rewrote the ending.
I then decided to add in what I think will add immeasurably to the story: Diego's voice (3rd person). So I wrote a scene where he arrives to find what he thinks are two dead bodies. Jackie fought the demon just before, with the end of her scene being that she's waiting to die (and wants to die, because she's in such pain). The fight scene is kind of crappy, but that's what rewrites are for. :-)
I also did another scene in his POV in the prior chapter, where he's racing after Jackie and the demon, dodging traffic on the main drag in my old hometown (and let me tell you, the main drag is just as clogged with traffic as it ever was). He gets stuck behind an SUV with a flat tire, and no one will allow him to go around.
Yeah, tension. And besides, I wanted Jackie to fight the demon alone. After all, this is her story, and she's the one who's supposed to be strong enough to deal with the demon or the "entity," as a couple of the characters are now calling it.
But I digress. I'll be moving on to the last chapter in the story--at least how it stands right now. I'll have to go back and put in Diego's take on things, but the index cards will allow me to slip in those scenes pretty seamlessly.
The writing part of it is another matter, of course. ;-)
So that's where I'm at, writing-wise. I'm just on the cusp of finishing this novel thingy.
Oh, and Lesia? You'll notice I've included my email address (tee hee) like you suggested in the Miss Snark You Tube video. Actually, I should have thought of that a while ago, although you will notice that it has [at] instead of @ just so none of those bandwidth-sucking spiders or bots can harvest my email address. Thank goodness yahoo has a bulk folder so I can just empty most of the viagra/Nigerian scam/gas card dreck can be easily dispensed of.
Have a nice and safe New Year's everybody! :-)
So What the Heck Have I Been Up To?
The wonderful Lesia asked where I've been. It wasn't until I noticed the last time I blogged before today (was it really December 8th? Egad!) that I had to wonder myself.
Well, not really. Heh. ;-)
Anyway, I have been writing. I wrote a couple of short stories, and I'll be working on them to see if they're worthy of sending out (something I haven't done in a looooong time). I've also got an idea for another short, but the opening is giving me fits; I know the obvious thing is to write past that and go back to it, but since it's set in the past (about 1919), there are certain things I want to describe (without becoming too wordy and boring) about the character and the milieu. I'm going to let the idea germinate in my brain a little while longer, as it's apparent a few things need to be worked out.
As for my novel...I'm just about done! So it looks like I'll finish this thing by the end of the year (my original goal was about a month ago; what was that old saw about the best laid plans? ;-)). I picked up a notebook computer yesterday (yay! Thanks for the money, Mom!) at Staples, and, once I was set up, I just cooked. Ooo, the words just flowed. But then, this morning, I skipped my workout because something bothered me about the way I ended it yesterday, so I whipped out the notebook, deleted a few things, and rewrote the ending.
I then decided to add in what I think will add immeasurably to the story: Diego's voice (3rd person). So I wrote a scene where he arrives to find what he thinks are two dead bodies. Jackie fought the demon just before, with the end of her scene being that she's waiting to die (and wants to die, because she's in such pain). The fight scene is kind of crappy, but that's what rewrites are for. :-)
I also did another scene in his POV in the prior chapter, where he's racing after Jackie and the demon, dodging traffic on the main drag in my old hometown (and let me tell you, the main drag is just as clogged with traffic as it ever was). He gets stuck behind an SUV with a flat tire, and no one will allow him to go around.
Yeah, tension. And besides, I wanted Jackie to fight the demon alone. After all, this is her story, and she's the one who's supposed to be strong enough to deal with the demon or the "entity," as a couple of the characters are now calling it.
But I digress. I'll be moving on to the last chapter in the story--at least how it stands right now. I'll have to go back and put in Diego's take on things, but the index cards will allow me to slip in those scenes pretty seamlessly.
The writing part of it is another matter, of course. ;-)
So that's where I'm at, writing-wise. I'm just on the cusp of finishing this novel thingy.
Oh, and Lesia? You'll notice I've included my email address (tee hee) like you suggested in the Miss Snark You Tube video. Actually, I should have thought of that a while ago, although you will notice that it has [at] instead of @ just so none of those bandwidth-sucking spiders or bots can harvest my email address. Thank goodness yahoo has a bulk folder so I can just empty most of the viagra/Nigerian scam/gas card dreck can be easily dispensed of.
Have a nice and safe New Year's everybody! :-)
Well, not really. Heh. ;-)
Anyway, I have been writing. I wrote a couple of short stories, and I'll be working on them to see if they're worthy of sending out (something I haven't done in a looooong time). I've also got an idea for another short, but the opening is giving me fits; I know the obvious thing is to write past that and go back to it, but since it's set in the past (about 1919), there are certain things I want to describe (without becoming too wordy and boring) about the character and the milieu. I'm going to let the idea germinate in my brain a little while longer, as it's apparent a few things need to be worked out.
As for my novel...I'm just about done! So it looks like I'll finish this thing by the end of the year (my original goal was about a month ago; what was that old saw about the best laid plans? ;-)). I picked up a notebook computer yesterday (yay! Thanks for the money, Mom!) at Staples, and, once I was set up, I just cooked. Ooo, the words just flowed. But then, this morning, I skipped my workout because something bothered me about the way I ended it yesterday, so I whipped out the notebook, deleted a few things, and rewrote the ending.
I then decided to add in what I think will add immeasurably to the story: Diego's voice (3rd person). So I wrote a scene where he arrives to find what he thinks are two dead bodies. Jackie fought the demon just before, with the end of her scene being that she's waiting to die (and wants to die, because she's in such pain). The fight scene is kind of crappy, but that's what rewrites are for. :-)
I also did another scene in his POV in the prior chapter, where he's racing after Jackie and the demon, dodging traffic on the main drag in my old hometown (and let me tell you, the main drag is just as clogged with traffic as it ever was). He gets stuck behind an SUV with a flat tire, and no one will allow him to go around.
Yeah, tension. And besides, I wanted Jackie to fight the demon alone. After all, this is her story, and she's the one who's supposed to be strong enough to deal with the demon or the "entity," as a couple of the characters are now calling it.
But I digress. I'll be moving on to the last chapter in the story--at least how it stands right now. I'll have to go back and put in Diego's take on things, but the index cards will allow me to slip in those scenes pretty seamlessly.
The writing part of it is another matter, of course. ;-)
So that's where I'm at, writing-wise. I'm just on the cusp of finishing this novel thingy.
Oh, and Lesia? You'll notice I've included my email address (tee hee) like you suggested in the Miss Snark You Tube video. Actually, I should have thought of that a while ago, although you will notice that it has [at] instead of @ just so none of those bandwidth-sucking spiders or bots can harvest my email address. Thank goodness yahoo has a bulk folder so I can just empty most of the viagra/Nigerian scam/gas card dreck can be easily dispensed of.
Have a nice and safe New Year's everybody! :-)
