I found this picture of me and a friend of mine in a play "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" back in college. I always played bit parts, you know, one of those background people without a name. I had dreams of grandeur, but they kind of fizzled. Oh well. I wouldn't have liked Hollywood anyway.
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This has been the LONGEST week in the history of weeks! I don't know why. Is it just because I have to work two extra hours a day? Is it because the kids are on school break? I don't know, but I swear it was Friday two days ago. But I guess I can look at it this way, I've got more writing time. Sort of. I've been sticking to my writing in the morning and editing in the afternoon schedule. I've got a lot of work to do on my Nano project, adding another daughter in for my heroine.
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Of course when I want time to drag, like in the morning before I have to go to work, it flies by. Now I get to go to work and tell one of my coworkers I screwed up one of her Excel files.
I was digging through a closet looking for a box of photographs but instead found about a dozen old notebooks filled with bits and pieces of stories, some going back as far as college.
God, they're bad. LOL
I was hoping that maybe there'd be something that I could use now, but I don't think there's anything I can do with a story about a girl who was born in a primitive village cut off from the world... in Hawaii. I'm embarrassed. But at least I never gave up. At least I evolved.
So, now I have another huge stack of notebooks to deal with. No, I don't throw them away. Who knows, maybe a hundred years down the road someone will find them and they'll be worth a lot of money, because I'll be a famous writer before I die.
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I've been working steadily on my short story. I'm past the halfway mark (and thinking this could be longer than 12K) but I think I'm going to go back to my old schedule of writing new stuff in the morning and editing in the afternoon. I have my NaNo project that needs A LOT of work (I added characters in halfway through, changed my timeline and dropped plot ideas along the way). It would be sweet to have another manuscript ready to go. It's been way too long since I've had lots of stories out there. I don't want to wait another two years between published books.
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Has anyone noticed that music videos are disappearing off of YouTube? It's rather annoying. So, I'll post my own video for Sweet Forever
Now, if only Samhain would publish the Sweet Forever sequel life would be good!
Yes, that's right, Forever Home is now in the arms of the editors at Samhain Publishing. I managed, after the forceful removing of fistfuls of hair, to write my blurb and got all my t's dotted and i's crossed (yes, my eyes were definitely crossed by the time I was done) but I did it. Normally it's a 12-16 week wait but since I'm a Samhain author I go to the head of the line (well, behind all the other Samhain authors with submissions). I'm psyched!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In other news, Conant High School Class of 1984 is rumbling. There's talk about a 25th year reunion this summer. Yes 25. As in a QUARTER of a century!!! Excuse me... I feel faint. Now my class, God love 'em, was always the most deadbeat class in school. We had zero motivation. My brother's class trip went to Montreal Canada. We went to Hampton Beach. I'm wondering what kind of reunion we can pull off. Nah, I think we've got a little better over the years. Not sure I'm going to go. I probably will. My BBF is going. We're kind of the Romy and Michelle types (minus the quirky fashions but with a little more brains). So, I know my DH won't go. He doesn't like to socialize, so I guess I'll have to go solo. If I go. Oh, I have to get some writing done. Except for my 200 word blurb, I haven't got anything new done. Just glad I don't have to worry about Forever Home... for now.
The good news... I finished editing Forever Home and I'm extremely pleased! With help I found some spots that needed improving. So, I'm ahead of schedule Got the synopsis done. Now I have to face The Dreaded Blurb, you know the tiny description that goes on the back cover of the book. So, that's going to keep me occupied for at least 3 days. This stuff should be easy! Right? I mean I just finished a 91K manuscript! Why am I having such problems with a 20o word blurb? Makes no sense. But back I go to it. I'd love to be able to send this off today. Oh, by the way, I haven't written any new words today. Must prioritize!
Edit the whole thing and send it out when it's finished. Thanks to everyone for setting me straight. Sometimes I get too impatient for things to happen. But I'll give myself a maximum of one more week. I don't think that should be a problem. I'm highly motivated. Right now, besides the editing, I just need to write a blurb. Ugh.
In the meantime I've turned my attentions to working on a shortish story (I'm aiming for about 10-12K). It's a bit quirky for me. I'm typically a drama queen when it comes to my writing style, except when I write in first person. This one will be in first person about a middle aged woman who wakes up one morning in her twenty-three year old body and gets a chance to do it all again. It's called Do Overs. I just need to decide if she'll end up with the same man she married the first go-round or if there's someone else out there for her. Should be fun.
I'm am enjoying my first Saturday off. Okay, so I didn't sleep in. I woke early and thought about the writing that needed to get done. Oh well.
Todays music video is Lauren & I by Celtic Thunder
Do I send in my submission to Samhain with the synopsis and three chapters today or do I wait another several days (all depends on how much time I can get to work) and get the entire manuscript finished and send in a full, which is, while not necessarily, certainly preferred?
Okay, well that doesn't sound as good as I thought it would, but it pretty much desribes what will be going on here over the next few days. I am nearly done with my NaNo project. I think I'm up to my last scene. So then I can start editing. Just throw it on top of my other editing projects. That would make three editing projects with high priority.
I hate editing nearly as much as I hate writing synopses. Oh, I have to edit my synopsis. I finished that yesterday.
Not that I'm complaining about finishing projects. There is a great deal of satisfaction finishing a first draft. Almost as much as finishing the final draft.
Now I'm in the middle of a writing challenge. I need to write at least 500 new words a day. So I guess I should find something to fill my time around my editing.
That's it... I'm quitting my job. I just don't have enough time in my day to do that and write.
I should be careful what I say.... it could come to pass.
There was mention of Monty Python over at Marianne's blog. I must post one of my favorite scenes.
And so it begins. You would think an extra 2 hours of work wouldn't be a big deal, but I felt it yesterday. I eyed the clock when I used to leave and just wanted to escape. But I made it through a long day. Then I had to do laundry, so I didn't get to settle down until after 6pm. Today should be easier. I mean, I only have to pay some bills and pick up some groceries. Maybe I have to pick up a child from an activity, not sure. I'd make a lousy soccer mom. Anyway, I've started writing my Forever Home synopsis. I'm grateful there's no page limit on it. As long as it's over 2 pages. No problemo. I'm up to 5 pages. Then I'm going to submit it to Samhain. I think that's an appropriate place since it's a sequel to Sweet Forever. Right or wrong, I'm including this in my dialy word count. I've put aside my other wip for now (even though that one is almost done) in favor of getting FH ready to go. Another storm pulling in tomorrow night. Gee... I was missing snow and sleet. It's been nearly 2 weeks since I've seen either.
I'm going to gripe. It's been one of those mornings here so I'm just going to vent here a little. I had good plans for today. My mom was going to take the kids and my DH and I were going to do a big Sam's Club run and do lunch. We really do need the SC run and we have the finances for it. It's a good hour drive to any of the "closest" SC so we need several hours for this. But we're trying to get rid of an enormous TV and a guy is supposed to take it. DH arranged for him to take it today. Yah, great. He was supposed to call us around 8am. It's now 930am and no phone call. I'm sorry, but I really dislike that. If someone says they're going to call then they really need to call. At least within 30 minutes of the scheduled time. Now we have to sit here and wait. I've cleared out our hallway so we can move the behemoth. If this dude ends up not showing up then I have to move everything back, yet again. So, please, people, if someone is waiting for your call... then call them. Don't make them wait. If we wait too much longer then we can forget about the SC trip. Upside is that I'm getting a chance to do some editing while I sit here. But I'd rather be keeping the plans we had already set. Venting is now over. Thank you.
I decided since I did so well on my "new" word count yesterday that I'd concentrate on editing this morning. I'm at that very tedious stage of removing "junk" words like "that" and "just" and "really". Such a long project, finding one little word in a 91K document and removing the ones that don't belong. I'm only on my second word. Boy I use a lot of "that"s.
Doesn't help that I'm having those days when the kids have different activities in the afternoon that require me to drive them. No one can coordinate their times either. Today will be much of the same. Tomorrow... much of the same... and then we'll be to the weekend, and it'll be, you got it, much of the same.
I'm NOT going to say that I need to do my writing full time. After what happened earlier in the week, I might just get my not-wish.
I'll put that down to a someday kind of wish. When I'm able to sustain myself financially by just my writing.
Did I mention that I hate Mondays? I think I mentioned that. I hate Mondays. First of all we found out that a co-worker, a wonderful woman who is always in good spirits and always makes everyone smile, fell on some bleachers at her grandson's hockey game this weekend and fractured a vertabrae in her lower back. We haven't got the details, but it's just horrible. A few years ago she had a knee replacement and was out for months and months. This is going to be a long road for her. Then some other stuff we'd been expecting/dreading happened. A coworker, who started working the same day I did (nearly 6 years ago) was laid off, her position terminated. Like so many other companies out there we're in dire straits and a number of people company wide (we have offices in Illinois and a warehouse in another part of the state) were laid off. The warehouse will be closed, an entire office in IL will be closed, we will be consolidating 2 floors into one where we are, and we will no longer be open on Saturdays. So all that complaining about only having one day off a week. Can't complain anymore. I'll have to adjust my schedule at work so I can squeeze an extra 8 1/2 hours into 5 days and still be able to get home for my kids. I still have my job too. For that I'm grateful for. And I'll have a normal 2 day weekend. Now I have to get into some editing. Never know when they'll downsize some more...
How many people hate Mondays? Show of hands. I know I do. Put it down to the fact that I only have one day off a week. Sunday flies by and way too soon for me it's Monday and that means the start of another six day work week. It's starting to wear on me even though I've been doing it for at least the past 2 years. But, the one advantage to this schedule is that I get out of work 5 days a week by 1:30pm (even though I start at 7am). I do like being home so early in the afternoon. But man I miss a 2 day weekend. Writing and editing has been going pretty well. Been meeting my JaNoWriMo goal every day and I've only got 100 pages left of first round editing on Forever Home. I have been, however, been doing more reading than editing. I really like the story. A lot. Maybe more than Sweet Forever even though my hero isn't as romantic as the SF hero. I'm still wondering where to send it. Probably Samhain even though I've been trying to make it a stand alone story. Okay, explain this. Yesterday at this time the temperature was 45 degrees. Right now it's 22 degrees. That's quite the drop. But we're going to get more warm, but wet, weather later in the week. I hope it stays warm. We actually got through a week with no school cancellations, no major storms. I want to keep it like that for the rest of the winter. I'm so ready for spring even though that will go hand in hand with black flies and mud. Ah, New England.
We may get another storm tomorrow. But then again, we may not. The local weather people aren't being too helpful. I'd be just as happy NOT having more snow but my kids are rootin for another snow day.
Now we're into February I have to begin my editing. I'm committing myself to 500 words (at least) of new stuff (still working on my NaNoWriMo project. coming along very nicely) and editing Forever Home. I think, barring any illness, tsunami, earthquakes, tornados, icestorms or volcanos, I'll be able to get it done.
Location: Southwestern, New Hampshire, United States
I'm 44 year old mom of 3. I work as a customer service rep for a publishing company, and I write. I have five published novels and working on adding to that.
THAT KIND OF MAGIC--AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 17,2010
What's a witch to do when she refuses to use magic to find love? Beautiful Wiccan Charlotte Noone has a shop for magical supplies and a goddess who's pushing her to find the man of her dreams. When Patrick Riordan, a straight-laced non-believer enters her life, Charlotte falls madly in lust with him. Despite their very different lives, neither can stop the erotic journey they’ve embarked on, but will it be enough to break through their barriers so they can accept that love itself is magical?.
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