Pen and Paper or Computer...

Yesterday the internet went out at work. Since all of our programs are internet based (and will freeze or shut down if the internet dies) I spent the next twenty or so minutes sitting in my cubicle, playing candy crush, reading facebook and waiting for the internet to come back on.

During that time a friend and I had a discussion about writing. She felt that since I had down time I should write. I explained that my stories are saved on google docs, and that I couldn't access them when the internet is down. She told me to get out a pen and paper and write.

One problem; unless I'm taking notes in a meeting, or jotting down an idea, paper and I do not mix. We used to get along famously - in fact I have notebooks upon notebooks of stories and ideas from High School - but not so much anymore. As I've gotten older my handwriting has deteriorated to the point that it's illegible. Also when I'm writing an exciting scene, I have a habit of forgetting words, and the letters begin to blend together (usually because the paper has become so tilted that they all slant together). It's bad. It's really really bad. So bad that I've often had to throw away what I assume are perfectly good scenes and bits because I simply can't read them anymore.

As a result I prefer to use a computer when I write (which is probably why my handwriting is so horrible nowadays... ). It saves my sanity, plus if you write on paper, you're going to have to transcribe things into a computer eventually, so doing it on a computer to begin with also saves time. At least, it does, in my opinion.

But everyone is different. My friend prefers paper because that way she can jot things down in between jobs at work and not get confused. Another friend does it because she shares her computer with her husband and kid. A third doesn't have access to a computer unless she's at home.

What do you prefer?

ROW 80 Update:

I finished up chapter eight of TUO. I also went through and did some edits on the newest rewrite of the Dancer (also known as the Velvet). A friend read what I had and commented that she wanted to kill the male lead because he seemed like a jerk and an abuser. After going through it, I had to agree with her, so changes have been made to make him more personable. In addition to all of that that I updated one of my fanfics yesterday. I'm not really thrilled with the update. It feels like this section of the story is just dragging on and on and on right now, but there's so much to wrap up, and there are things that I need to set up for the next arc, and neither can be done very quickly without appearing forced.

WIPpet Wednesday:

Today is August 28th, so I am going to share 23 words from chapter 8. (2+0+1+3 is 5. 28-5 is 23) This takes place shortly after the scene from last week. Liam has fallen asleep and has a dream about his sister and what happened to her.

“There’s a fire coming, Liam.” Letty warned him as she began to fade from sight. “You better run before it consumes you too.”

WIPpet Wednesday is hosted by K.L. Schwengel. To join in, all you have to do is share a piece of what you are working on that somehow relates to the date like what I did here, and then share it at the blog hop located here.

To read more ROW 80 updates, check out the ROW 80 site here.

Music Monday...

City of Bones was released in Theaters on Friday. Unfortunately it hasn't been getting great reviews from critics, but it did okay it's opening week. I haven't had a chance to see it yet, so I can't comment on if it's good or not, but I have been able to listen to the music on Spotify... and... well... let's just say that Atli Orvarsson is quickly becoming another one of my favorite composers, and if TUO ever gets published and made into a movie, well, I would love for him to take a crack at the soundtrack.

Here's Clary's Theme from City of Bones.

Victory!

Since my last update I have taken another shot at chapter eight of TUO. This time it's flowing like milk and honey and I'm almost finished with the chapter. 

I probably shouldn't gloat too much for fear of jinxing myself.

Anywho, in addition to finally being able to write chapter eight, I'm learning a few things about Liam and his family that I did not expect. For example, Liam is dyslexic (though, as this is a fantasy novel, they don't really have a word for it or understand it like we do) so Letty handled the books for the family store. His mother's name is Noya (in previous versions she didn't have a name) but his father doesn't have a name yet. And that's about it so far. It's not as dramatic as when a character revealed that she was bisexual, but it's still fun none the less. 

Have you ever had a character do that to you when you're writing? Where they just suddenly reveal something about themselves that you did not plan in any way shape or form?

Even though work has been chaos lately (some system somewhere messed up pretty badly) I've still been able to write here and there. As I mentioned above, chapter eight of TUO is almost done. I've also written a bit on one of the fanfics, and I'm making some changes to another story based on some suggestions a friend made. Of course, said story was supposed to be shorter than my other projects, but I can see that's not going to happen now. Oi. 

Now on to the WIPpet snippet!

Since today is August 21st, 2013, I'll be sharing 9 sentences from the revised chapter eight. 

An unusual shadow fell across the desk and the wall in front of him, distracting him from his thoughts. It looked like the shadow of the man, but there was something wrong with it, as if it's spine was bent and broken. 

He twisted around in his chair to stare at the window. For a second he thought he saw a man with a ghoulish face watching them from outside, but when he blinked, the man was gone.

“What is it?” Noya asked, looking from Liam’s worried face with it’s furrowed brow to the empty window.

“I thought I saw...” He shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

WIPpet Wednesday is hosted by K.L. Schwengel. To join in, all you have to do is share a piece of what you are working on that somehow relates to the date like what I did here. It can either be eight sentences from chapter 21, or 21 sentences from chapter eight, or 29 sentences (8+21=29) or some other combination of the numbers in the date (trust me, the math involved can get pretty interesting sometimes.) Then you can share it at the blog hope located here. 

To see more ROW 80 (the writing challenge that knows you have a life) check out the link here. 

Music Monday: Annabel

This song was featured last season on Hell on Wheels during a very moving scene that made a few shippers of a certain couple very very happy. Pretty, isn't it?

The PCOS Diaries #3

The quest to have a baby continues...

Skipping Ahead...

Normally I'm a very linear writer. There are occasionally times where I get hit with a scene that occurs later on in the novel or series I'm working on, and I'll jot them down when those hit, but for the most part I write things in the sequence that they happen. Chapter one is followed by chapter two and chapter three, and so on and so forth. I've toyed with the idea of skipping ahead when I reach troubling chapters, but as soon as I try it, it just does not work out.

There are many posts lamenting this on my blog. Many many posts.

Until now.

Despite all the helpful advice my fellow WIPpeteers gave me last week, chapter 8 is proving to be problematic. I can see how it's supposed to play out in my head so clearly, but it just refuses to cooperate when it's time to put all that action on paper.

However, in chapter 9, we hop back to Mattie's point of view and a lot of that is already written out. I just have to copy it over from the previous draft and tweak things here and there.

On a whim, I decided to see if I could jump ahead to chapter 9. I knew it probably wouldn't work, because, again, I'm a linear sort of person, so I went in expecting to fail. Gnashing teeth, ripping out hair, moaning about my writers block to my Husband while he nods and pretends he understands what I'm talking about, crying myself to sleep, fail.

To my complete and utter surprise, things are rolling along rather smoothly. I think it's because, even though they're taking place in the same world and at the same time, Liam's and Mattie's stories are separate story lines right now. Some of the events do coincide, but they aren't dependent on each other. Later on they become entwined, so I imagine at that point I won't be able to do this skipping ahead thing any longer.

But for right now, I'm enjoying it.

ROW 80 Goals

I haven't kept up with my 1,000 words a day this past week. A friend we knew from Haunt passed away over the weekend. He was a great guy, a really great guy, and his presence at Knott's will be sorely missed. In addition to that my boss at work is out sick, so my co-worker and I are running around trying to keep the place from burning down while she's gone.

I did get pictures taken of two new products to add to my etsy store. They require a few more measurements than the Belly Dance bodices though, so I need to create a diagram for that before I can post them.

WIPpet Wednesday!

Since today's date is 8/14/13, I'm going to share five lines from chapter 9 of TUO. 1 plus 4 for the date equals 5. I know that's ridiculously simple WIPpet math, but I couldn't share anything more without giving anything away. Though, I have a sneaking suspicion that you, my dear readers and fellow WIPpeteers, may hate me for this bit...

“Mattie, please believe us, we would never put you in any sort of danger – and not just because of the promise…” Talesin’s tone was pleading.

“Who did you make this promise to anyways?” She cut him off.

The brothers shared a look.

“It doesn’t matter,” said one.

“It’s in the past,” said the other.

To check out more ROW 80 updates, click here, to see more WIPpet Wednesday treats, click here!

Music Monday

Reading 'adult' books as a kid...

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a couple of articles on XOJane that I've been wanting to share for awhile. However, as soon as Wednesday rolls around I forget them, only to recall a few days later 'hey, there were those articles and I didn't share them. I really need to do that next time!'. Rinse and repeat.

Well, I finally remembered today, so here they are!

READING TRASHY BOOKS WHEN I WAS YOUNG MADE ME A BETTER WRITER

WHEN IS ANN RICE AGE-APPROPRIATE? REMEMBERING THE BOOKS WE READ AS KIDS THAT WENT WAY OVER OUR HEADS

Both struck a chord with me because when I was a kid I was a pretty voracious reader. Also I recognized a lot of the books mentioned in the articles and the comments. I remember reading a lot of books in late elementary school and Jr High that were meant for adults. A lot. Sometimes I understood them. Sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I finished them. Sometimes I got bored and moved on.

For awhile, my Mom didn't really police what I was reading - she was just thrilled that I liked to read and would happily buy me whatever I wanted. I remember reading Jurassic Park as a kid, followed closely by Little House on Rocky Ridge, and I also adored the Dirk Pitt series. I've forgotten some of the names because there were just so many!

This freedom to read whatever I wanted stopped in Jr High though. I had just discovered the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey and was eating them up. I left Dragonquest out one day, and Mom, who was curious about what I was reading, picked it up, and found a scene where two of the characters sleep with each other. Mom threw a fit that I was reading a book with a sex scene in it - the scene was not graphic at all in the slightest - and promptly confiscated the book from me. From then on out everything I read had to be approved by Mom. 

Dad however, didn't care what I read, and willingly bought me anything I asked for. Any book mom banned soon found a new home over at his place where I could read it whenever I wanted to. Even after he remarried and rededicated his life to Christ, I still remember him allowing me to read books that my Mom would have burned. 

Then there are the books that I would read whenever I volunteered at the library. Ones that I would hide in the stacks so I could read them while I waited for my Grandma to pick them up because I was oh so sure that Mom would not approve of them one bit (most of them were romances, and were far more descriptive than anything Anne McCaffrey wrote) Books like VC Andrew's Flowers in the Attic, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, etc etc etc. 

What books did you read as a kid that you were probably too 'old' for you? 

Now for WIPpet Wednesday. WIPpet Wednesday is run by K. L. Schwengel from My Random Muse. Basically, every Wednesday you share a snippet of what you're working on, but how much you share has to be related to the date. So since today is 8/7/13 you could share eight words/sentences/paragraphs from chapter seven, or seven words/sentences/paragraphs from chapter eight. Or you can add the numbers of the date together to come up with how much you would share, or subtract some numbers and add others. It's up to you!

I'm going to share 6 paragraphs from chapter eight of TUO today (2+0+1+3=6). We're back with Liam again this chapter, and he's anxious to get back out to the castle to investigate some more. I'm not really happy with the second paragraph - it doesn't feel as if it's flowing - so if you have any constructive criticism to offer, please feel free to do so. 

“What’s this?” Liam’s mother asked.

“What’s what?” He returned the question, but did not look up from the work he was doing. Ever since he had returned from his last trip to the old bridge, she had been assigning him chore after chore. When he commented on it, she had claimed that he needed to do twice the work now that Letty was gone and his father was off searching for her. Once he had finished the various jobs she assigned him, Mother would insist on inspecting them and if she found any faults with it, she would make him redo it. However, she always managed to find something to nitpick at, and even if it wasn’t an issue, she would whine until he gave in. By the time he was finally done and his mother was happy with it, it was usually too late for him to go to the castle.

Liam was on to her schemes though, and he refused to let her delay him from going back out there any longer. He was going to finish this most recent task, and he was going to do it so perfectly that she would have no reason to complain. Then he was going to get on his horse and ride out to the old bridge and figure out a way to get across.

He sighed. It’d be easier if he still had the old grappling hook, but whoever had cut his rope had decided to keep the ancient thing.

“This... thing.” She shoved a straw cross inside a braided circle under his nose.

“Oh. That. Old Marley gave it to me.”

Be sure to wander over to ROW 80 to check out more writing updates, and head on over here to see more WIPpet Wednesday posts. 

Music Monday

I decided to go with something a little more mellow this Monday afternoon:

Lost Inspiration, ROW 80, and WIPpet Wednesday...

Lately, when inspiration hits me, it always seems to hit me when I'm driving. And always on that portion of the road where I know a lot of cops or CHP officers seem to hang out, so I can't reach for my phone, turn on voice to text or whatever it's called, and let my iphone jot it down. Even though that would be perfectly acceptable to do since it's not texting and driving, I still worry that an officer will ping me for it. Generally I'm able to hold on to the idea, or the snippet until I can get to work and jot it down, but yesterday my brain failed me and the idea was lost as soon as I pulled in the parking lot.

Which is sad, because it was a gorgeous bit of imagery. It wasn't going to take place until much later in the Descendant's series, but still... I'm currently listening to Ben Howard's album Every Kingdom in the hopes I can get that scene to come back.

Where do you find that inspiration always visits you?

Anywho, on to the ROW80 progress report!

I was unable to write this weekend and on Monday due to illness. The cough from my cold made an unwelcome reappearance Friday night, and between that and helping my friend get ready for her reception, by the time Sunday evening rolled around I was completely sore and exhausted. I spent most of Monday curled up on the couch - which was nice because the boys came and curled up with me and I was able to catch up on my reading (I hadn't touched my Nook since early June).

I was able to get some writing done yesterday though. I plugged away on chapter seven of TUO some more, and whenever I hit a roadblock on that, I jumped over to one of the fanfics or the Descendants and worked on those. 

I also finally got my etsy store opened! You can check them out by either clicking on the links on the sidebar or at the top of the blog. Currently I only have two items available, but I plan to have more up by the end of the week. 

And now for WIPpet Wednesday (I really need to come up with a graphic for this...) Since today is the 31st, I'm going to share 35 paragraphs from Chapter 1 of the Descendants (1+3=4, 4+31=35). It seems like a lot, but most of it is dialogue. This scene takes place 13 to 14 years after the prologue that I shared here and here. Vivian is 23 and getting ready to go on a trip to Europe with her best friend. However, the day before she leaves she is stuck at her father's garage trying to teach her father's best friend's son, Matthew, how to keep the books while she's gone.

There were many things Vivian wanted to do before leaving for Europe. She had wanted to go and dip her toes in Lake Tahoe one last time and watch the sun set over it. She wanted to go down to Virginia city and eat a pulled pork sandwich from the barbecue there. Play a slot in one of the casinos on the Nevada side of the city. She also had some last minute packing to do, friends to say goodbye to, among other things.

Instead, she found herself sitting in front of a computer at her Dad’s garage and trying to explain, for the third time, how to use their book keeping program. To be fair, her student didn’t seem all that thrilled to be here either; Matthew chewed on the end of a pen while he leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Earlier he had been more focused on looking at her ass or chest, or the work happening outside the office door in the garage proper, where her dad was working on an old chevy, than paying any attention to what she was trying to show him.

Vivian sighed. Perhaps he was more of a hands on learner. She kicked the bottom of his chair as she stood. “C’mon - it’s your turn.”

His hand snapped out and grabbed her wrist before his blue eyes even opened.

“Where are you going?” He asked as he yawned.

“To get myself a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, are we done?”

“Nope,” Vivian jerked her head at the desk and the paperwork sitting there. “You have to enter all that. Receipts first.”

Matthew released her and rubbed his hands over his face. “Right.” He scooted forward to peer at the computer screen - maybe he had been paying attention after all - and Vivian watched as the little scar in his right eyebrow deepened as he frowned. “We should’ve started on this earlier.”

“Yes, we should have, but somebody was never here.” He was very rarely here, now that she thought about it. Sometimes he’d stick around for a couple of weeks, but then there were other times when they only saw him maybe once or twice a month. If he had been anyone else, her dad would have fired him long ago, but since Matthew was his partner’s son, he tended to be more lenient.

Matthew grunted, bringing her back to the present. “I was needed elsewhere.”

“Doing what?” She asked, even though she knew it was pointless. Michael never told anyone anything about where he had been or where he had gone, though sometimes he did bring back souvenirs for his young cousin, Andrew.

“Things.”

“Right.” Vivian snorted.

“So, what are you planning on seeing over there?”

“Hm?” Vivian stared at his broad back in surprise for a moment. Was Matthew actually asking her a question? Specifically a question that did not involve the garage? Usually he just ignored her presence unless he needed to know where her dad was or when a part might be coming in.

“Sights. What sights are you going to be visiting?”

“Oh, um. The usual I guess. Stonehenge, Harrods, Westminster Abbey... We don’t really have an itinerary or anything set up. We’re just going to fly by the seat of our pants, y’know?”

“No wonder Adam’s so nervous.”

“What?” She had known that her dad was unhappy that his oldest child was leaving the nest - what parent wouldn’t be unhappy about that? - but to learn that he was nervous was a shock. She was 23 years old... didn’t he have any faith in her?

“You and that girl, running around Europe without any plans. My old man is betting that you’ll be calling home in a week because you’re either lost or out of money.”

“Because we’ve run out of money?” Vivian squawked. “He should talk - I’m the one that handles the books-”

“Not because of you,” He interrupted her tirade. “Because of that girl.”

“Her name is Audra, and she’s fully capable of taking care of herself as well-”

“Really? She...” He opened his mouth to say something else, but then closed it and shook his head instead. “Nevermind.”

“What?” Vivian asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Nothing.”

“No, no, you were going to say something else.”

He sighed. “I was just going to say, that she doesn’t have the greatest track record in my book. Every time you’ve gotten into trouble, it’s been because of her.” His expression suddenly softened, and he smiled a little. “In fact, the first time I met you, I thought you would be the troublemaker - not her.”

“Oh.” It was surprising how that smile changed his looks from grumpy ex-soldier to boy next door. It was also surprising how incredibly attractive he became when he smiled. She blushed, and then immediately frowned to herself. She did not want to think of him like that at all. Especially after what had happened at that Christmas party a few years ago.

“So” He cleared his throat. “Why are you guys going over there anyways? Why not Cancun or the Bahamas?”

“Because of things.” Vivian replied dryly, smiling to herself when he shot a glare in her direction. Now he knew what it felt like. “Sorry - I couldn’t resist.”

This trip was actually a graduation celebration that Audra, her best friend, had been planning for years. She had initially wanted her boyfriend to go, but then they had broken up and Audra had asked if Vivian might be interested in going. If she couldn’t go with the love of her life, she said, she might as well go with her best friend.

Vivian had turned down the offer at first, but then her boyfriend, Josh, had started bringing up the future whenever they were together. He thought he was being sly about it; if they went out, he would stop in front of jewelry stores and point out the different rings, trying to gauge her interest in them. During dinner or if they were watching TV he would casually ask what sort of house she might want to live in someday, how many kids she could imagine them having together, and so on and so forth. Vivian had never really thought about the future much, but it had suddenly occurred to her that she wasn’t ready to get married and have a house and a family without seeing what the world had to offer. So, when Audra had asked again, Vivian had lept at the chance.

Matthew glanced over his shoulder at her. “Look, just be careful over there, all right? It’s not like when you guys drove down to San Francisco for the weekend, and you got lost and had your wallets stolen. There’s going to be a continent and a whole ocean in between you guys and us, so we can’t come running to your rescue if something goes wrong.”

Be sure to check out here for more WIPpet Wednesday posts, and go here to find out more about ROW 80 and see more progress updates.