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.)
Showing posts with label The Teaching Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Teaching Company. Show all posts
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.)
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!
