A Clean Slate

My grown children who still reside with me are either at work or with friends, and hubby wasn't feeling well and went to bed a couple of hours ago. So in my solitude on this last evening of 2010 I've been proofing WIP #1, reading blogs, and critiquing some writing.

If anyone had told me that 2010 would have been the year of discovery that it has been for me, I would have laughed. In January I decided that I wanted to try and write a book. I've never been able to produce anything longer than a shortstory, and it'd been decades since I'd even tried that.

As I sat at my computer a year ago and faced the blank screen, I felt suddenly shy. I'd never considered being shy about writing, especially when sitting by myself, but I was. I got over it fortunately. The most frightening move for me this year was emailing the manuscript to my first beta reader for input. I've never been so scared.

My family has been very encouraging about me trying this writing thing, but I wouldn't let anyone read what I'd put on paper for a very long time. Still, they knew the plotline and helped me work through issues and let me bounce ideas off them. My boys helped me work through some descriptions of altercations and a fight scene--fortunately our training in Karate and a son who has done some cage fighting came in handy. I guess the real question is if my description of what we worked out translated onto paper.

This year included research that ranged from Montana to Kaua'i where I checking out restaurants, stores, car rental places (or found out there weren't any), and art galleries along with chatting up caramaran captains, a municipal clerk, and a local librarian (with a family in ranching).

I'm thinking I can really get into this research thing. I attended a seminar that discussed all the things a writer can do while on vacation that could be tax deductable. Assuming, of course, that writing is a job and not a hobby. (If it's a job, hang onto your receipts and get a good CPA.)

That's perhaps the big decision for me to make in 2011. What is this writing thing I'm doing? How far will I go with it? Did I realize when I started out on this adventure that my ultimate achievement (should I attain publication) would make me a traveling salesman? It will be interesting to sit here in 365 days and see how I decide to proceed.

Something I like about New Years is the chance to begin with a new slate. I recall as a child when my career Navy father received orders for the Philippines. It was an accompanied tour, so we got to travel there together. When he'd been stationed in South Korea, we had to wait 8 months before being able to join him. I was 11 when we made the move to the P.I., and this was the first time I considered the possibiities that came with moving someplace where no one knew me. No one would have any preconceived notions about me or judge me to be a certain kind of person.

It was a heady thought. I could become someone else, be anyone I wanted to be. Of course nature and habits soon tell, but the concept of a fresh start, a clean slate has always appealed to me.

As I embark on the new year of 2011, I will have a clean slate, that white screen I began with a year ago. I know some things that I'll want to put on it.

1. Learn how to write a query.  Even if I never submit my manuscript, I want to learn how to do this. Since I made major progress this week by finally finding the title for WIP #1, I feel like I can do anything now. Delusional, I know.

2. Welcome a new grandbaby. My daughter is due in early February, so I'll have to make another trip to Kaua'i. Fortunately part of WIP #3 is set on Kaua'i, so I can do some more research there. =D

I know. The terrible sacrifices we make for our craft. It's just dreadful.

3. Decide if/how to submit. I can't sit here forever just playing with the writing and learning part of this. Or can I? Well, I could, but my children won't let me. They're already threatening to take the manuscript and submit for me.

Once the rejection letters start coming in, perhaps they'll listen to me.

4. Finish writing WIPs #2 & #3. It's amazing what you can do once you actually have the story down in very rough form, so it's important for me to complete these.

I'll have to see how it goes from here. And of course research a little Shave Ice while I'm at it (and forget the vanilla ice cream referred to in the linked article--Macadamia Nut ice cream any day!) .

Printed

I experienced the strangest sensation yesterday. I printed out WIP#1 for a proofread. I've been working on this manuscript for nearly a year now, but I've only done it electronically. As I picked up the stack of papers from the copier and saw my words, my tale on those sheets, I was stunned.

Never did I anticipate those feelings. I've written assignments for school and work and printed them out both for proofing and turning in. I've got pages and pages of city council minutes that I composed that are permanent records to be reviewed (or not) by future generations.

But this was something of my own creation that I was holding in my hands. It's probably a piece of crap that no one will want to read much less publish, but it's mine. The child, in a sense, of my mind.

A Title At Last?

Well, what do you know. I think I may have actually found my title!!

Okay.

Now I'm really scared. This might mean I actually have to DO something with it.

So, what do you do when you run out of excuses?

Edit Completed

Oh my freakin' heck! I've finished Edit #5, formatted it, and now I'm ready to print it out and proofread it. Then it's on to an editor I have lined up.

I'm scared.

Now I may actually have to do something with it. Once my editor is finished doing her thing, I guess I could just take it to Kinkos or some other likely printing place and have a (very expensive) single copy made for me. Or, I could do what this seminar taught about self publishing. Or I can really put my self esteem on the block and actually submit it to either a publisher (there are several local ones who prefer not to work through an agent) or an agent.

Oh. I forgot. I don't have a title.

Phew. Decision put off indefinitely! I've been trying to come up with a title for nearly a year, and I've been unsuccessful.

Epic fail!

Merry Christmas

I'm taking a break from Edit #5 of WIP #1, have the ham in the oven, while hubby and youngest son go to fetch another son for a Christmas Eve dinner. I thought I'd share a clever, humorous rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah.

Makes me wonder what he'd have thought of it. Hopefully he had a sense of humor.

The Silent Monks

My Fair Godmother Book Review

At work, we did a Sub for Santa project, and I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Our library is fundraising to construct a civic auditorium and was selling new books at a discount. Being such a booklover myself I decided to purchase a couple of books for my Sub for Santa donation and help towards our Center for Story and Arts project.

One of the books I picked up was My Fairy Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison. It's a quirky twist to the traditional fairy godmother tales and caught my interest, so I purchased the ebook for myself. I really enjoyed it!

It tells the tale of poor sophomore Savannah, who after being dumped by her boyfriend--for her older sister no less--is granted three wishes by her not-quite-a-fairy-yet godmother, Chrissy Everstar. Chrissy hasn't done so well in school and is hoping this extra credit project will help her get into the Godmother University. Unfortunately, Chrissy doesn't listen very well and Savannah, wishing her life could be a fairy tale so she could go to prom with a hunky prince-like guy, ends up instead living in the Middle Ages first as Cinderella and then Snow White.

The book is full of humor (Savannah's limited Disney only knowledge of fairytales makes a mess of guessing the names of the Seven Dwarfs), adventure (highway robbers, dragons, cyclops, Dark Knights), romance (with a name like Tristan, how can there not be romance?), and self discovery ... plus a mystery to solve.

Rallison has written several other books I'm going to have to check out.

Time for a Change

It's time to change projects, I guess. As I'm approaching my one year mark at this writing thingy, I finding this is my M.O. I work on a project and then at some point I need to step back and give myself a little distance. When I come back to the project I can take a fresh look at it and frequently see immediately what I want/need to do next.

I've run into a block with my MG fantasy, and since there's no way I'm going to be able to get it completed in time to take to my granddaughter (who is both main characters) next month, now is probably a good time.

So it's back to WIP #1, which is the closest to being completed. I need to do one more major read through/edit/add at least one scene, and then I'm going to print it out and do an edit on paper (since I've never met a paragraph I don't want to rewrite). I've got an editor friend, who has agreed to read it through for me.

Can I just say that submitting it to her is probably even scarier than when I actually let someone read my very early rough draft--and that was terrifying? Ugh.

Then it's time to look at the querying process ... and I'm completely lost here.

Oh. And I need a title. I guess that would help.

Top 100 Books

Following the example of Leah Petersen's Blog (and she followed the example of Justin Parente over on In My Write Mind) I'm listing here the BBC’s list of 100 best loved books. Evidently it's estimated that the average person has only read six books on the list. I've highlighed the ones I've read.

How many have you read?

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (loved the movie, so it's on my list)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (loved the movie, so it's on my list)
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (it's on my list)
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (it's on my list)
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (it's on my list)
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen (started but haven't finished)
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (Just got the ebook to read this month)
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher (LOVE this book!)
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens (it's on my list)
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

So I've read 32 out of 100. Hmmm .... I need to get busy!

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss

The second book that I finished was Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. This is the delightful tale of American high school student Anna being forced by her author father to attend an American school in Paris for her senior year. She doesn't want to go and leave her cute little brother Sean, her best friend Bridgette, and her budding romance with Toph.

Perkins does a great job painting the picture of a resistent Anna slowly opening up to the beauties of Paris and to the group of people who offer her friendship. The book has its share of mean girls (and boys), but it's also rich with the kindness that does exist among teens as well. For example, there's Meredith (Mer) who's there for her third year, who hears Anna crying once her parents leave her and pulls Anna into her social group--and, of course, Anna's eventual love interest, Etienne.

I especially love the way the friendship between Anna and Etienne grows over the course of the year. This age especially is so fraught with hormones that young people who are really only in lust think they're in love. Then later they find once the physical attraction diminishes that they have nothing else in common. Anna and Etienne become really good friends while they're falling in love, and it was that process that I especially enjoyed reading about. I have a limited amount to time to read each day, and I gave up some sleep because I couldn't stop reading.

I recommend this charming book, noting there are a few "f" bombs dropped and typical adolescent crudity. I also didn't know high school students could go bar hopping in Paris. I know they're more casual about drinking than Americans, but I didn't realize they were that casual.

Split Personality?

Nah.

I just thought since my reading/writing comments are becoming more frequent, there might be some benefits in splitting the writing blog from the family blog.

But speaking of writing. I seriously suck. With holiday parties and activities I've done nothing on my mss in two weeks! I seriously doubt I will have it ready to give to my granddaughter when I see them next month.

Oh, well. Maybe by her birthday in July.

Book Reviewers, Etc.

  From this post

I thought this was a very entertaining commentary on the way different people respond to books. Amazon reviewers think this masterpiece sucks. I love Ms. Demain's sense of humor as she searches to find at least one book that is immune to terrible reviews. Actually, it reminded me of Lot in the Old Testament trying to find enough good people to keep the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah from being destroyed.

In a last-ditch effort, I decided to see what folks had to say about the Bible. Sure enough, there were a few brave souls who dared to give the word of God only one star!

Man, this book is boring. All this weird stuff happens and it's harder to get into than Lord of the Rings. And what's up with the red writing and the LORD says stuff. All caps = rude, peter paul and mark, whoever the heck you are. And this is just badly written. James Patterson could do better. These apostles need to get a clue and hire a ghost writer. Even Miley Cyrus's manager was smart enough to do that. Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, indeed.

You might want to try this experiment for yourself! But I warn you, you will come away profoundly disheartened and pessimistic about the continued existence of humankind.

Etc.

I think my friend and inspiration Donna Hosie's got it right.

A writer is who I am. I will continue to write until the day I die. First and foremost, I love doing it. It is my creative outlet and passion.

All my life I've had these tales going on in my head, a magical world of my own creation in which to lose myself. I think this other world is one of the things that kept me going when I was a teen and my mother died, or my first husband died leaving me with two small children to raise. Or as I've struggled through the scary health issues of my second husband and the mental health challenges of several of my children.

Epiphany! This must be why I like fiction so much. I have enough nonfiction in my life, thank you very much.

For the first time in my life I'm actually taking this jumbled mass of illusions and turning them into something complete, something concrete. So, if I'm a writer (and I still thrill at the very thought of labeling myself as that), I will write. For myself. It's satisfying when someone reads my work and enjoys it, but I guess first and foremost I must enjoy it.

And I do.

Thanks, Donna H.

Reflections on NaNoWriMo

From this post
With four days left, I'm at nearly 26,000 words. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I was also trying to do something new (such as outline the story before I began writing). And of course I HAD to read (listen to) the new Wheel of Time monster book that came out on November 2nd. So you can see I have plenty of excuses for not hitting the 50,000 mark by midnight on the 30th.

More importantly, I've realized a few things.

1. NaNo's not for me. Not officially anyway. I find my children who have oppositionally defiant attitudes must have come by them honestly--through me. I have hated the "I must write" aspect of NaNo. I write because I love it; it's fun. I thrill in learning new things and being part of the creative process. I found that much of the joy I usually feel when I write has been sucked out this month. That is definitely not what I'd hoped to get out the NaNo experience.

2. I may not be cut out to be a published author if I don't like being pinned down to deadlines. How's that for self destructive? As I've been reading published authors' blogs and they talk about editing deadlines for their publishers, I begin to have serious reservations. However, it's not like I'm doing this to make a bunch of money. That's absolutely not what I'm in it for. But if writing deadlines bring out the juvenile part of me, that's not encouraging.

It's also not exactly in character, since I don't have problems with deadlines at work. Heck, I'm my city's election official! I have a five-page-long checklist I have to follow to make sure I don't break the law while conducting the election. So it's not that I have inherent problems with deadlines. Perhaps I'm having trouble forcing creativity into a narrow time frame. Yet think how many published authors there are who work with deadlines all the time.

So much to learn ... even about myself.

3. I still like the idea of NaNo. I made my first attempt at writing a novel last January after hearing about it. I did it on my own just to see if I could actually complete a manuscript. I've been editing it off and on ever since, and I'm very close to completing it. I was able to write 80,000 words in 30 days.

So I'm looking forward to December 1st, the day of my liberation. =D

Reverse Progress

From this post

I've gone through 27 note cards from my outline (each representing a scene change) and written 23,866 (very rough) words.

'Nuff said.

ETA: as I go to bed for the night, I reached my goal of 25,000 words--plus 594 more for good measure.

Status

Excerpt From this post

Hit 15,267 words this morning. Only 11,000 words behind schedule. I'll only have half an hour to work on it at lunch today and none tonight. I don't know how tired I'll be in the morning (woke at 4:30 a.m. today and couldn't go back to sleep--ah the joys of aging) and tomorrow night we're seeing Deathly Hallows 1.

Goal Met

From this post

I met my goal for the long (for me) weekend. I began with just under 1500 words, and my goal was to have 10,000 by the end of today.

As I emailed myself the file, it had a word count of 10,030!

That's 1/5th of what I'm supposed to do during the month of November, and if I can keep this up I may yet reach it by November 30th!

Methinks I'm liking the outline thing.

Procrastination

From this post

I've never been a procrastinator, but as I'm delving into this writing thing, I'm seeing another side to my character. I will anticipate all day the time I can finally get home from work and write, but then as I actually sit down at my computer I almost feel as though I've been bespelled. Think about the protections at Hogwarts where muggles who wander into the area by the wizarding school find themselves suddenly distracted.

Hmmm. Is Peeves on vacation and visiting the U.S.?

I don't get it.

I don't like it. Is there something my subconscious is trying to tell me?

But I will persevere. I overcame my greatest distraction by finishing The Towers of Midnight last night (328,000 words). We're two weeks into NaNoWriMo, and I've got fewer than a 1,500 words ... and an outline.

Haha. Perhaps I should have done what I've read others do in November and do a personal NaNoReaMo and set a goal to read a certain number of books during the month. Maybe then I'd actually be able to WRITE, since I set a goal to read.

There's something wrong with this picture.

*beats head on desk*

Outline Is Done!

From this post

Woot! The outline is finally completed!!

*dances a jig*

I wasn't able to work on it Thursday or Friday, so I thought I'd really focus today. Unfortunately, The Towers of Midnight kept calling me, which made it really hard to focus. But I finally took control this afternoon, persevering to completion.

*wipes sweat from brow*

Now I have to turn the notes into a manuscript.

My Outline

From this post
Up to this point, with a 96,000 word manuscript (completed but for editing) and 1/3-1/2 done manuscript of 50,000 I've always been a winger as a writer. This is actually unusual for me, since I'm normally a list maker and very organized. How else can I run an election for a population of 92,000 people or do public speaking? But for some strange reason I've had a hard time doing an outline for writing.

I decided for my NaNoWriMo project that I would try and discipline myself and do an outline. Each of the cards above represent what I hope will be a chapter. Not too shabby! We'll see how it works when I can actually start typing from my notes.

When I finish this project, I will then evaluate the experience and find out if winging it or outlining works best for me.

In My Mailbox

From this post
I cannot keep from buying books anymore. I don't know what it is. I used to use my library all the time, but I can't seem to not order books. My collection continues to grow.

My latest Amazon delivery actually included three different media. The first was a newly released first book from one of my favorite authors (I have MANY), Patricia Briggs. I'm a really big fan of her Mercy Thompson and the Alpha & Omega series.










On an editorial comment, I don't like the covers for the Mercy books. My daughter Erin told me about them and said they were very good. They dress Mercy like a skanky ho, which she absolutely is not. She's a mechanic and dresses in jeans and t-shirts. Personally I question the wisdom of putting misleading covers on books. People who are looking for nickle nasties may be drawn to such a cover but will be disappointed when the character doesn't act like the cover implies. If you're like me and avoid the nickle nasties, you will avoid books with covers like that. I think it's stupid.

/endrant

Back to my delivery. Briggs's first book was called Masques. From her bio, it didn't sell well and she nearly quite writing. She's rereleased this first book and a sequel to it will be coming out on Tuesday.


I'm going to need to hurry and get it read, since Tuesday is also the release of the next to the last book in the Wheel of Time series, Towers of Midnight. Can't WAIT for Tuesday!













In my mail also came the DVD of The Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian McKellan. Love this version!

I also received a new Wii Game called Just Dance. Haven't had a chance to play it yet (for exercise, I hope) because I'm furiously trying to write up my outline for my NaNoWriMo project. I should be doing that rather than updating my blog. =D

Interesting Seminar on Publishing

From this post
I attended a very interesting "class" or seminar last night at the local university as part of their continuing education program. The instructor, Bobbie Christensen, takes a very different approach to getting yourself published in one of her books "Writing, Publishing & Marketing Your 1st Book (or 7th)". She's got 13 books in publication right now and is supporting herself on her income from sales.

Something I found particularly interesting was her disdain for agents. I was surprised about this because I've read so much online about agents being how it's done now. When I attended UVU's Book Academy the end of September I was glad to hear that most of the the local publishing companies prefer not to work through an agent.

The instructor said she (not an agent) submitted her first book to a bazillion (obvious exaggeration here) publishing companies. Surprising to her, the publisher who chose her book was one that had said they would only work through agents.

Musings

Excerpt From this post

I'm so excited for NaNoWriMo and the story I'm writing. My WiP#1 is an adventure/romance and WiP#2 is SciFi. This one is going to be my attempt at middle grade fantasy. I'm going to use my oldest granddaughter as the inspiration for the main characters, and I've already collected names she likes and doesn't like, her tastes in food, clothing, and music for the MCs.

When it's completed, Paul (one of my artistic sons) is going to do some artwork for it, and I'm going to have one or two copies published. I'll give one to her and keep the other.

NaNoWriMo 2010

From this post
I did it; I signed up. If you've signed up, I invite you to add me as a buddy. I'm Donna KW.

This should be interesting ...

Tough Week

Excerpt from this post
It's been a week of extremes. On the one hand I attended the Book Academy conference on Thursday at Utah Valley University. I was very impressed, both with the way the conference itself was run and with the caliber of instructors and panelists they assembled. I love being taught by published authors. I didn't realize the university does this every year. I will definitely be looking to attend again. Lots of stuff to consider.

Book Academy and The Big Read

From this post
I'm starting to get excited about attending the Book Academy this Thursday at UVU. I printed out the presenter biographies, and they have a nice variety of people there in the form of authors, publishers, book sellers, and even agents, I think. Brandon Mull (Fablehaven series) is the keynote speaker. It's nice to know that in my relatively low populated state there is such a thriving publication industry.

Last week I attended a presentation at my local library by one of my favorite authors--Brandon Sanderson to launch the library's The Big Read program. Sanderson's a New York Times best seller in his own right, but he's also finishing the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan at the request of Jordan's widow (he died of cancer four years ago). When this was announced I decided I would like to read some of Brandon's work to see how I liked it. Love it! I'm in the process of reading his most recent work The Way of Kings and look forward to the next to last book in WoT which is coming out in November--Towers of Midnight.

Chop Chop

From this post
*dances a jig*

Woot! This weekend I forced myself to stay on task and complete a major edit of WiP#1. I decided to expand parts 1 and 3, which meant I had to really cut back part 2 to keep it under 100,000 words. I managed to cut about 8,000 words, which really gives me some good flexibility.

Now I can move on to part 3 which has been on my mind anyway. =D

Messing Around

From this post

Okay, I'm going to take Donna's suggestion to heart and start out by messing around with the title to my blog. Don't get too confused by the ever changing titles. I guess it'll be like shopping for clothing. I'll try one on to see how it fits and if(when) I don't like it, I'll change it back.

They'll be lame, I guarantee it.

Titles

From this post
I attended a blog party this weekend (I'd never heard of these before, but what a fun idea--and what I would expect from Donna Hosie anyway, clever girl she is--plus being the hostess with the mostest). Something struck me as I was checking out all these interesting literary (mostly) blogs.

Titles.

As I spent quite a bit of Saturday working through a major rewrite of my WiP#1, it was particularly on my mind. You see, for the life of me, I cannot think of a title for it. WiP#2 had a title at conception, but not #1. My situation reminds me of the parents who cannot agree on a name for a new baby and call the child "Baby" for six months. I can't figure out the appropriate name for my baby (which I've been calling My Story for nine months--I know, even my holding name is pathetic).

With that on my mind I happened to open my blog this afternoon and saw my stunningly clever blog title (or not). Perhaps my problem goes deeper than the tale. Perhaps it's what we called when I was in the Army "Operator Headspace." (We didn't use it to refer to pilot error but rather the lack of brain in the headspace.)

I really should rename this blog. I wonder if I should call it "Baby."

*sigh*

Class

From this post
I dropped it. How sad. I attended two classes and knew it wasn't what I was looking for. I'm still pursuing other ways to learn. This class just wasn't it and a huge financial investment for something that wasn't going to give me what I need anyway. I'm not a quitter by nature and this feels strange, but I'm also practical.

Well, I don't have to worry about passing up the continuing education classes I wanted to take that were on the same night as this course. I guess there's a silver lining after all. =D

Young Adult Literature

From this post
I'm a major fan of YA literature and have been for some time. And literature that's "technically" for children as well. One of the most highly anticipated books among my friends (both in real life and online) is Mockingjay, the third and final book in Hunger Games series.

The New York Times did an article (CLICK HERE) about the upcoming book and the adults who read the series (and other YA/children's books). The article talks about the draw these books have for us.

Some of the YA/Child Lit books (series) I've read over the last few years include:

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins -- Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay (coming out on August 24th)
"introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where a powerful government called the Capitol has risen up after several devastating disasters. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the ruthless and evil Capitol randomly selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, who are then pitted against each other in a game of survival and forced to kill until only one remains.

Collins says that the idea for The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on the T.V., and that the Greek myth of Theseus serves as inspiration for the book. She also says that her father fighting in the Vietnam War helped her understand how it feels to fear the loss of a loved one. The book has been released as a paperback and also an audiobook, which was read by Carolyn McCormick. The Hunger Games has an initial print of 200,000 which was bumped up twice from 50,000. The book has been translated into 26 different languages and rights have been sold to 38 countries as well."

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare -- City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass
"When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know."

Inkheart Series by Cornelia Funke -- Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath
"The books chronicle the adventures of teenager Meggie Folchart whose life changes dramatically when she realizes that she and her father, a bookbinder named Mo, have the unusual ability to bring characters from books into the real world when reading aloud. Mostly set in Northern Italy and the parallel world of the fictional Inkheart book, the central story arc concerns the magic of books, their characters and creatures, and the art of reading."

Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer -- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn
These are so well known and in movie form, I don't think I need to say more.

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordin -- The Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, Titans Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian
The protagonist is Percy Jackson, who discovers that he is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. He learns that the legendary beings of Greek mythology still exist and have always existed, including monsters, cyclopes, empousae, Titans, and the Greek Gods, including the twelve Olympians themselves who dwell in Olympus, which is now situated on the mythical 600th floor of the Empire State Building. Percy is frequently attacked by monsters because he is a child of one of the "Big Three": king of the gods and the god of the sky, Zeus, the god of the sea, Poseidon, and the god of the Underworld, Hades, who made a pact after World War II to not have any more children because they were too powerful and unpredictable. Percy meets many other young demigods, both friendly and hostile, who are also in the process of discovering their ancestry and powers.

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead -- Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, Last Sacrifice (due out in December)
It tells the story of Rosemarie (Rose) Hathaway, a seventeen year old Dhampir girl, who is training to be a body guard for her Moroi best friend, Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir. In the process of learning how to defeat Strigoi (the undead and evil vampires) in St. Vladimir's Academy, Rose finds herself caught in a forbidden romance with her handsome trainer, Dimitri Belikov, while having an unbreakable bond with Lissa.

Artemus Fowl by Eoin Colfer -- Artemis Fowl, The Arctic Incident, Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox, The Atlantis Complex
"...starring a teenage criminal mastermind named Artemis Fowl II. Artemis Fowl, the main character, is a ruthless and extremely intelligent young (human) criminal whose main goal is the acquisition of money through a variety of often illegal schemes. There are many settings in the series, including Siberia, Chicago, Taiwan, Morocco, France and various places in Ireland. One main setting that has been in all the books is the Lower Elements... The author has described the series as "Die Hard with fairies"."

Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull -- Fablehaven, Rise of the Evening Star, Grip of the Shadow Plague, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, Keys to the Demon Prison
Fablehaven is a secret nature preserve protecting the beings of myth and legend from the outside world. The current caretaker, Stan Sorenson, describes it as "a refuge for mystical creatures". Those who live in this large sanctuary, mortal and magical, must abide by a treaty of rules. The most common rules are focused upon "the law of the harvest" or "the law of retribution" meaning, you reap what you sow. If this law in the treaty is broken, you lose the magical protection it provides, allowing for retaliation, which is essentially what drives the plot through the first book. There also exist magical borders that keep most mystical creatures within the preserve, but out of certain domains. The caretaker's house and grounds are within one of these protective boundaries. However, some of these borders dissolve on certain nights, allowing frightening creatures to roam free on the grounds, one of which - Midsummer Eve - occurs in the first book.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling -- Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows
The novels revolve around Harry Potter, an orphan who discovers at the age of eleven that he is a wizard. Wizard ability is inborn, but children are sent to wizarding school to learn the magical skills necessary to succeed in the wizarding world. Harry is invited to attend the boarding school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each book chronicles one year in Harry's life, and most of the events take place at Hogwarts. As he struggles through adolescence, Harry learns to overcome many magical, social and emotional hurdles.

The main narrative of the novels is set in the years 1991-1998, with significant memories from the year 1976 (Harry's parents' Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) year) and memories from various determinable and undeterminable periods after 1945; though little reference is made to features of any period.

The series is so rich that it appeals easily to readers of all ages, and it amazes me that so many people see them only as children's books. Harry Potter is the series that really took me back, so to speak, into the younger reader's genre. I was even interviewed on TV before the release of the final book--how's that for embracing your inner geek? =D

I'm still working as a moderator at the Leaky Lounge, which is the forum for the Harry Potter news site called The Leaky Cauldron. It's been an amazing ride, and this online experience has helped me to meet people I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. I'm excited to be going to LeakyCon11 next July, where I'll finally be able to meet in person (as opposed to online) many of these people I've known for close to five years. To say nothing of being able to visit the new theme park . *dances a jig*

You know, my HP experience and connection with the people on the Lounge has motivated me, in ways I'd never imagined, to do things I've always wanted to do--such as learning to write. I recently decided the adage that youth is wasted on the young is so very true. What I could have done earlier in my life if I'd had the focus I have now with the energy I had then. I'm going to be 56 next month, and I feel so alive right now.

But back on topic!

I've read (or tried to read) other series including:

Blue Blood vampire series (dreadfully written--I'm amazed they were published)

House of Night vampire series (bleck, interesting premise but went from bad to worse until I just quit reading. Plus they were pretty graphic for a YA series)

Septimus Heap (another little wizard boy--cleverly written but no comparison to Harry)

Leven Thumps (first book was okay, but I wasn't able to get into the second one though I know of many people who love them).

Other series I've enjoyed that I wouldn't necessarily call children's or young adult (but I believe are classified as such) include the Eragon series and Lord of the Rings. These two series I would rate as "okay" for the former and "amazing" for the latter. The film made of Eragon was horrendous and the trilogy made by Peter Jackson was wonderful.

SQUEEEE!!!

From this post
I got my class and paid the tuition today. Phew!!!

It's been a few years since I took a class (after too much teenaged drama at home, I put off taking--and then dropping--anymore classes until the kids were all growed up), and I've experienced a bit of a choke factor with the cost of one dang class. It's almost double what it was ten years ago.

And this is for the class I have to take so I can take the class I want.

*sigh*

Good thing tuition is a tax write off.

Writing ... and Learning

From this post
I've been hoping to take a creative writing class this Fall, and I'm a little frustrated. I'm on the waitlist for my class (which is a prerequisite for the class I'd really like to take). As I get closer to the start of the semester, and I'm realizing I might not get in, I'm ready to pull my hair out! I'm faced with serious logistics problems if I have to wait until next semester to take the class. I've got a grandbaby coming in February which will require time away AND Ed and I are doing on a cruise with his brother and sister-in-law in April--about the time I'd be in finals. That makes it less likely I'll be able to take a class next semester.

So it could actually be summer 2011 before I can take the dang class.

Oh. It might actually be fall 2011, since I'm slated to go to LeakyCon11 in July of 2011. Ugh! So much to do and so little time!

I did sign up to take a continuing education class online from BYU--though I'm not sure what to think of the first writing assignment. I'm supposed to grade it myself. Huh? I was provided with criteria for the grading, but I'm hardly unbiased. *sigh* I'll have to see how it goes. I warned my son Paul that he may have to grade it using the criteria, too.

I've also signed up to take a session at UVU called The Book Academy, which is an all-day seminar. Should be interesting -- I hope.

I was searching for some hints on a writing issue I was struggling with, and I came across this blog post. I'd seen his blog before because a friend in Australia (hey Donna!) linked to it on her site. But this particular installment of Nathan's (and especially the comments of his readers) was very informative.

Learning how to write well (I hope that's the end result anyway) is sure a lot of work. Especially a lot of work, considering that I started down this path, so I can do a better job, when I write my personal history as part of doing my genealogy.

If I wasn't having so dang much fun, I might be tempted to give it up. I just wish I'd started all this when I was younger. I'm so worried I won't come up with a finished project before I die.

How's that for a morbid thought?

Oh, well. If it exercises the gray matter, it's gotta be a good thing. Right?

Flesh

From this post
Ever wonder at what grade level you write? As a new student of fiction writing I'm curious. Thought you might be as well.

CLICK HERE

Research

Later part of this post.
Then we took a little side trip to visit Lewistown, Montana which is the location for a large part of Part 3 of my first book. We stayed at the delightful Symmes/Wicks Bed and Breakfast. I fell in love with the B&B and this delightful little community.







The town:


Fergus County Courthouse (Lewistown is the county seat):


Historical church:


Beautiful view:

New Edit Done!

From this post
Wow! I finally finished working through a major edit/rewrite on my story (still can't figure out a title for the dang thing). I'm over 100,000 words now. I still have a couple of story glitches to work through (like more of a main character in Part 3 without making the addition anticlimatic).

*sigh* There's so much involved in this fiction writing thing, but I am having SO much fun learning how to do it.

My niece, Carole, has been helping me out by reading it and giving me feedback. Carole read it to her daughter, Kay, and they both really like it. I can't express how thrilling it is to be a storyteller and having people like your saga (hopefully they're not just trying to be nice).

Now I will take a break from my first story and get back to work on the SciFi tale. Paul's been bugging me about it again, and last night we were bouncing ideas around.

So much to do and so little time ...

My Story

From this post
The last month or so I've been doing something I've often thought of doing but could never follow through on. I'm writing a story. I used to write a bit when I was younger (before hubby and kids took all my time), but I was never able to write more than a few pages. Even though I've always got stories going through my mind, it's been years since I thought about putting any of them down on paper.

But then a friend signed up for NaNoWriMo and mentioned it to me. Here's what they say about their program:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

I guess the idea is to just get the story down and out of you. It was an intriguing idea, and so (too late for nanowrimo) I actually disciplined myself to sit down and start writing this story I'd had going in my mind, triggered by a dream I had.

My son Paul persists in calling it a book, and I have to keep reminding him that a book implies intent to attempt publication--which I do not have.

But I have been having more fun! The telling of this story has required me to do research, and I've learned tons. I find myself looking at writing much more appreciatively than I have in the past. I'm a voracious reader, so it's fun to analyze not just plot but the writing styles and descriptive abilities. (I'm terrible at description, by the way.) Suddenly the detail that an author like Robert Jordan puts into describing his character's clothing takes on a completely new dimension. It's hard for me. I've always thought I had a pretty good vocabulary, but it's been showing serious holes.

So now I've purchased three books that talk about writing--characters, viewpoint, plot, and structure. And I'm even thinking about taking a creative writing class.

What really led to all this? Some years ago I started writing my personal history, as my church encourages us to do. I realized I could seriously bore my ancestors to death if I wasn't careful, so I decided I should try to become a better writer.

Hopefully it will pay off. Since I won't be around to worry that my great grandchildren use my personal history as a cure for insomnia, that aspect isn't keeping me up nights.

But right now I'm having more fun than I've had in a long time. And I'm learning something while I'm at it. Hey, I figure anything that helps to ward off dementia is a good thing.

Oh, and I've managed to write nearly 70,000 words in a month. Not too shabby for someone who has never been able to write more than a few pages before! Maybe I'll sign up for NaNoWriMo in November.