You know how when the kids are quiet, that is when they're getting into the most trouble? Or (for those of you that are kidless, or have kids that never get into trouble) you know how in movies they say, "It's quiet." "Yeah, too quiet." and that's when the attack begins?
What they all mean is that there is danger in silence. Lately, my internal critic has been silent. Too silent.
Of course, I haven't done any real writing in weeks, either. I tell myself I'm doing research for my next WiP, or that the minor editing I'm doing before sharing the next chunk of work with my crit group is writing. But today I realized that my internal critic has just found a new way to distract me from writing. And since writing is my Patented Pending All Time Magical Cure for Depression and Other Troubles, not writing for weeks is Very Bad.
So, I printed out my 400+ page book, and I've scheduled this weekend (a three day weekend for me) for editing. I'm setting up a schedule and goals, which is very different from the kind of floating with no time table that I've been doing.
05-05-22
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday Conversations with Family
You remember my son Michael, right? Extremely intelligent 16 year old, that has a summer intern job working with electron microscopes? Yes, that's the one.
So, my husband wanted to wash the car. We went to one of those drive through places and he took his radio antenna off and put it in the back seat. Michael picks up the antenna and "knights" me with it. Plays around a little more, and then we hear:
Michael: Ow! Ow! The antenna is stuck in my hair!
Us: You put the antenna in your hair?
Michael: Yes! Ow, ow!
Us: (laughing)
Michael gets the antenna out of his hair (at the cost of a few strands) and all is quiet. For about 30 seconds. Then I hear:
Michael (thoughtfully): I wonder what would happen if I stuck this end in here...
And that my friends, is the difference between intelligence and wisdom :)
So, my husband wanted to wash the car. We went to one of those drive through places and he took his radio antenna off and put it in the back seat. Michael picks up the antenna and "knights" me with it. Plays around a little more, and then we hear:
Michael: Ow! Ow! The antenna is stuck in my hair!
Us: You put the antenna in your hair?
Michael: Yes! Ow, ow!
Us: (laughing)
Michael gets the antenna out of his hair (at the cost of a few strands) and all is quiet. For about 30 seconds. Then I hear:
Michael (thoughtfully): I wonder what would happen if I stuck this end in here...
And that my friends, is the difference between intelligence and wisdom :)
Friday, July 16, 2010
Faeish idioms
For my Troll Wife story, I dug through old and lesser known Grimm's tales for some hints of expressions that faeish might use. In my world building, I've already established that many fairy tales are faeish in origin, and usually have references to the war between humans and faeish. This made it a natural to go back to those old tales for Oubliette's expressions. I have some requirements:
1. It must be understandable, even if you don't know where the expression comes from. I don't want to have to explain them to someone, so that the reader will know what they mean. That kind of exposition bugs the heck out of me.
2. I may create a lot of them, but I can't use too many in the book, or it will come off badly.
3. Oubliette is a very angry monster. She probably won't be using funny and lighthearted expressions, only the depressing ones.
So, here's the list I've gotten so far (will be expanded):
1. "When the dry twig sprouts green", as in "You can have that when the dry twig sprouts green" It means "never" or "highly unlikely".
2. "The mercy of a mill stone", as in "Oubliette has the mercy of a mill stone". It means "none". Mill stones were a human invention, and are seen as a metaphor for the way humans grind everything beneath them.
3. "The rabbit that cries for the moon", as in "No, you can't have that. Don't be the rabbit that cries for the moon." "Rabbit" is a term that faeish use for their children, and the expression means someone wanting something they can't have, either a child, or someone that is acting like a child.
4. "A hedgehog bride", as in "That couple is well matched, she is a hedgehog bride". It means not to love/marry someone that is much prettier or uglier, dumber/smarter, etc., than you are. "Box your weight" is a human expression for the same kind of thing. (This one may be too obscure. I may not use it.)
5. "His name is carved in stone", as in "I will not rest until his name is carved in stone". It means dead, of course, and refers to the custom of carving names in a gravestone. It sounds like something I might read in a Western, so I think this one needs work.
Now I need to think of more situations that call for these. Like I said, even if I don't use them in the book, they're awfully fun to create :)
05-04-15
1. It must be understandable, even if you don't know where the expression comes from. I don't want to have to explain them to someone, so that the reader will know what they mean. That kind of exposition bugs the heck out of me.
2. I may create a lot of them, but I can't use too many in the book, or it will come off badly.
3. Oubliette is a very angry monster. She probably won't be using funny and lighthearted expressions, only the depressing ones.
So, here's the list I've gotten so far (will be expanded):
1. "When the dry twig sprouts green", as in "You can have that when the dry twig sprouts green" It means "never" or "highly unlikely".
2. "The mercy of a mill stone", as in "Oubliette has the mercy of a mill stone". It means "none". Mill stones were a human invention, and are seen as a metaphor for the way humans grind everything beneath them.
3. "The rabbit that cries for the moon", as in "No, you can't have that. Don't be the rabbit that cries for the moon." "Rabbit" is a term that faeish use for their children, and the expression means someone wanting something they can't have, either a child, or someone that is acting like a child.
4. "A hedgehog bride", as in "That couple is well matched, she is a hedgehog bride". It means not to love/marry someone that is much prettier or uglier, dumber/smarter, etc., than you are. "Box your weight" is a human expression for the same kind of thing. (This one may be too obscure. I may not use it.)
5. "His name is carved in stone", as in "I will not rest until his name is carved in stone". It means dead, of course, and refers to the custom of carving names in a gravestone. It sounds like something I might read in a Western, so I think this one needs work.
Now I need to think of more situations that call for these. Like I said, even if I don't use them in the book, they're awfully fun to create :)
05-04-15
Thursday, July 15, 2010
32 Rules of Writing
I found this link to 32 Rules of Writing. You may not agree with everything on this list, but I think there's something for everyone :)
05-04-24
05-04-24
Cat Waxing
Here are a few exercises I ganked from Paperback Writer a while back.
1. Write a classified ad selling your novel.
Urban fantasy with a twist:
Heroic trolls, elvish bad guys, scent driven insights.
Theme of wanting to belong, mixed with horror and humor.
100,000 words or best offer.
2. Make up a motto based on your novel theme.
Keep your scent.
3. Describe your novel in 15 words or less.
A troll with a nose for magic finds trouble when she becomes...a tooth fairy. (Wow! 15 exactly!)
4. Write a personal ad for your hero or heroine.
SCTW(Single Cafe Troll Wife) Seeks companionship leading to something more.
Likes: libraries, ancient mysteries and knot language.
Dislikes: stalker monsters, elves, marshmallow scented faeish.
Compatible scent a must. Name not required.
Kind of fun, but they need more work.
05-2-24
1. Write a classified ad selling your novel.
Urban fantasy with a twist:
Heroic trolls, elvish bad guys, scent driven insights.
Theme of wanting to belong, mixed with horror and humor.
100,000 words or best offer.
2. Make up a motto based on your novel theme.
Keep your scent.
3. Describe your novel in 15 words or less.
A troll with a nose for magic finds trouble when she becomes...a tooth fairy. (Wow! 15 exactly!)
4. Write a personal ad for your hero or heroine.
SCTW(Single Cafe Troll Wife) Seeks companionship leading to something more.
Likes: libraries, ancient mysteries and knot language.
Dislikes: stalker monsters, elves, marshmallow scented faeish.
Compatible scent a must. Name not required.
Kind of fun, but they need more work.
05-2-24
Author or Book trading cards
I had a (possibly) brilliant marketing idea. Instead of the traditional bookmarks or postcards that authors create to market their books, how about author trading cards? Or book trading cards? Or character trading cards?
The character trading cards could reveal little things about a character that were part of world building, but never show up in the book. (Downside, argh! The character art!)
Book trading cards could use the cover art from the book.
Author trading cards could list the biography of the author, as well as publication history. This would (hopefully) change over time, so your first publication would be your "rookie" card. They could either use a picture of the author, or (for the camera shy) cover art from the latest book.
The character trading cards could reveal little things about a character that were part of world building, but never show up in the book. (Downside, argh! The character art!)
Book trading cards could use the cover art from the book.
Author trading cards could list the biography of the author, as well as publication history. This would (hopefully) change over time, so your first publication would be your "rookie" card. They could either use a picture of the author, or (for the camera shy) cover art from the latest book.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
10 Things you may not know about me
10. I have prosopagnosia (face blindness).
9. I'm 6'3". On occasion I have accidentally scared people with my height.
8. I'm incredibly shy. "Painfully shy" isn't just an expression. I have no trouble speaking in front of large groups.
7. I cry at Flintstone's vitamin commercials.
6. My purse is purple. My phone is purple. Most of my shirts are purple. My favorite color is-green.
5. I can only start reading a new book when I don't have work the next day.
4. I read "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in one day (see number 5).
3. I've been a professional tarot card reader.
2. I started writing about Troll Wife because of the perfume "Byzance by Rochas".
1. I was almost (and accidentally) a bigamist.
9. I'm 6'3". On occasion I have accidentally scared people with my height.
8. I'm incredibly shy. "Painfully shy" isn't just an expression. I have no trouble speaking in front of large groups.
7. I cry at Flintstone's vitamin commercials.
6. My purse is purple. My phone is purple. Most of my shirts are purple. My favorite color is-green.
5. I can only start reading a new book when I don't have work the next day.
4. I read "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in one day (see number 5).
3. I've been a professional tarot card reader.
2. I started writing about Troll Wife because of the perfume "Byzance by Rochas".
1. I was almost (and accidentally) a bigamist.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Today was a good day
I got an award from Piedmont Writer for having less than 50 followers. (Just kidding!) Thank you! It's a beautiful award. It's actually for being new. (But if it were for having less than 50 followers, I think I'll qualify for a long time.)
I also won a random drawing for a five page critique from Jodi Meadows She's got a book deal! She wrote a book, found an agent and got a book deal in about nine months. That's got to be some sort of speed record, right?
I also won a random drawing for a five page critique from Jodi Meadows She's got a book deal! She wrote a book, found an agent and got a book deal in about nine months. That's got to be some sort of speed record, right?
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Saturday Conversations with Family
We'd just finished buying pet supplies and I closed the trunk, while my husband and son got in the car. The trunk popped open again, and I closed it. It happened again. And again. Finally it stopped popping open and I got in the car.
My husband said, "I'm sorry, the release button got stuck and it just kept popping the trunk."
Me: "I thought you were messing with me."
Him: "No, I value my testicles too much."
Son (finally noticing one word in the conversation): "What are you saying about testicles?"
Later, after teasing my husband about various things:
Him: "You know what? I was messing with you. Retroactively."
Me: "I hope you enjoyed your testicles while you had them."
Him: "I'm sleeping in chain mail speedos."
Son: "That would chafe."
Yes, we have conversations like this all the time. (Ok, maybe not about testicles.)
My son loves his new job, even if he is working near Uranium 238 (which he assures me is the bad kind, to which I think, "There's a good kind?"). He says his big problem is that one of the guys he's working with isn't psychic. Evidently having conversations with me has spoiled my son for having conversations in the real world :)
My husband said, "I'm sorry, the release button got stuck and it just kept popping the trunk."
Me: "I thought you were messing with me."
Him: "No, I value my testicles too much."
Son (finally noticing one word in the conversation): "What are you saying about testicles?"
Later, after teasing my husband about various things:
Him: "You know what? I was messing with you. Retroactively."
Me: "I hope you enjoyed your testicles while you had them."
Him: "I'm sleeping in chain mail speedos."
Son: "That would chafe."
Yes, we have conversations like this all the time. (Ok, maybe not about testicles.)
My son loves his new job, even if he is working near Uranium 238 (which he assures me is the bad kind, to which I think, "There's a good kind?"). He says his big problem is that one of the guys he's working with isn't psychic. Evidently having conversations with me has spoiled my son for having conversations in the real world :)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Fan Girl
I am a total fan girl of Seanan McGuire. (Click here to read her periodic introduction post.) Even in the years when I stopped blogging/LJing and wasn't doing much on the internet (I was depressed, but didn't know it), I still had her LJ as my start up page.
I own her three CD's and will pre-order the fourth as soon is she puts it up for pre-order (which should be soon). She's recently become a published author and has come out with three books this year. (Let me just stop for a minute an reflect on that. Three books. This year.) Two of them (the October Daye novels) are under her name, and the third (the first of the Feed novels) is under the name Mira Grant. (I'm assuming it's because they're different genres, and to avoid giving people zombie stories when they really wanted urban fantasy.) She's under contract for three more October Daye novels and two more Feed novels.
So, yeah, I'm as impressed as all heck by her talent and productivity, but what I really love, and fell in love with back before she'd made any cds or published any books, is her voice. She's funny and she cares about everything. Plus, anyone that loves a good plague has got to be great, right?
And I don't hold it against her, not one little bit, that she's writing a book about cryptozoologists that is going to be really amazing. Nope, don't hold it against her at all. (Kicks my unnamed cryptozoology piece into the corner and whistles quietly.)
I own her three CD's and will pre-order the fourth as soon is she puts it up for pre-order (which should be soon). She's recently become a published author and has come out with three books this year. (Let me just stop for a minute an reflect on that. Three books. This year.) Two of them (the October Daye novels) are under her name, and the third (the first of the Feed novels) is under the name Mira Grant. (I'm assuming it's because they're different genres, and to avoid giving people zombie stories when they really wanted urban fantasy.) She's under contract for three more October Daye novels and two more Feed novels.
So, yeah, I'm as impressed as all heck by her talent and productivity, but what I really love, and fell in love with back before she'd made any cds or published any books, is her voice. She's funny and she cares about everything. Plus, anyone that loves a good plague has got to be great, right?
And I don't hold it against her, not one little bit, that she's writing a book about cryptozoologists that is going to be really amazing. Nope, don't hold it against her at all. (Kicks my unnamed cryptozoology piece into the corner and whistles quietly.)
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