Why am I here?

I've finished my planned novel revisions . . . for this round anyway. I'm looking over my submission materials to be sure they don't need any revisions, and I'm preparing to begin submitting.

It's kind of frightening.

As I've reached this plateau, I've been thinking about the journey and how I got here. I decided to share.

I've been writing for my own enjoyment (and sometimes by  assignment) since I was in sixth grade. In fact, sixth grade is where it all began.

Here's what happened (as Monk would say):

My sixth grade teacher, Mr. V. gave us an assignment to write a book. I don't remember the details of the assignment, but I vaguely remember the book had to be a certain length and needed to be illustrated.

I don't remember how much time he gave for the assignment, but I do remember I missed the deadline. Mr. V. kept asking me when I was going to turn it in and I kept saying I was working on it . . . which, I was. The book ended up being thirty five, half pages (not thirty five AND a half). I'd say about half of those pages were illustrations so we're looking at about seventeen to eighteen, half pages of text handwritten on those old brown papers with the green lines we used for writing.

The book was titled, "Summer of the Friends" and was a tale of friendship, loss, and more friendship. I can't remember why this particular story was written or what in my life caused it, but I suspect it may have been a friend moving away (I remember a friend moved, but can't remember what grade I was in at the time). The illustrations are even lamer than the text, but to be fair, they are both pretty good for a sixth grader.

Even my teacher thought so. I remember him telling me it was well done and I had some talent when it came to crafting a story. I also remember my grade would have been higher if I had turned it in on time (my first experience with a missed deadline). Now, he may have been being nice, but the spark of the writing flame came to life that day.

I continued to write (but mostly because of assignments) in seventh and eighth grades, including the lame children's story, "Corange the Green Orange," I wrote for the children's book assignment in eighth grade. The story was a "retelling" of the ugly duckling . . . but with oranges, duh. Yeah, did I mention it was lame?

Eighth grade was a pivotal moment in my life. Another assignment was to write and perform a play. My group did a knock off of "A Christmas Carol" but it was about a forgotten homework assignment and what would happen if the main character continued to not do homework. I played the elderly teacher, complete with powdered hair and lines drawn on my face, who had a heart attack when the main character turned in an assignment. My real teacher praised my performance and insisted I enroll in Drama class in high school. I did.

My freshman year of high school prompted me to write my first "novel". It was a pathetic romance and I'm embarrassed to admit I let people read it. The people were my friends and my older sister's friends, and they were terribly kind to me. I never did complete the novel (I still have it around here somewhere) but it was bad, bad, bad. However, writing took a back seat to my new love, acting.

I participated in the high school plays and won many medals and certificates at Speech and Debate tournaments. But don't fear, I didn't give up writing completely, I wrote quite a bit of poetry and entered a poetry and short story contest my junior year of  high school. I placed third for my poem, "Pantomime", and second for my short story, "Shanda". The winning entries along with a few others were printed in a "literary magazine" done by the Graphic Arts department. I'm not sure it counts as being a "published" author, but it felt good to see my work and name in print (though I could have done without the accompanying photograph).

I continued my writing through high school, mostly in poetry--some is good, some is not. My friends went on to college, and I remember attending a writing class with a friend during a visit. The class was instructed to listen to a passage of music and write something inspired from it. The instructor invited me to participate and I wrote a poem entitled, "Rain Dance". After the allotted writing time had passed and everyone was finished writing, the instructor invited us to share our work aloud with the class. My contribution was met with dead silence, as I remember it . . . either that or I blacked out. But the teacher did ask me if I planned to attend the college and suggested I take the class.

I thought I must have been pretty bad and he was offering to help me out, but my friend insists the poem was good and the instructor thought I had talent. I will share the poem with you here and you can judge for yourselves:

Rain Dance Alone on the stage the dancer stands. Her dreams are gone, like sand through her hands, Yet one last dance she will perform, One last dance before the storm. The music begins, the first sad strains. Her dance begins, and now it rains. Her final dance she knows 'twill be. A final dance no one shall see. She dances on, though no one cares. Her smile of hope she bravely wears. Her smile fades as on she goes, And, now, her devastation shows. At last she realizes all is lost Her wounded soul now knows the cost. The music plays on. She leaves the stage, Struggling to hide her rage. Just one last look, and then she's gone But the music still plays on.

 

I can't remember the piece of music played, but that was my result. I'm not much of a poet, but it was an outlet for my teen angst ridden soul.

I took creative writing courses when I finally decided to attend college, but they weren't much help . . . all I got was help with my punctuation (which still needs help) and stroking of my ego (which frustrated me). I wanted someone to tell me what was wrong with my writing; what I could improve (besides the punctuation). I knew how to craft a story and put it on the page, knew how to create a character and scene (thanks to my acting in high school, college, and community theatre).

I decided to write a children's novel when I was pregnant with my fourth (and final) child. This was way back in 2002-2003 . . .

. . . and here I am about six years later, still working on it. I have written things since . . . a few short stories and a completed rough draft of the sequel to this novel  . . .  but mainly I have concentrated on learning about and working on the craft of writing.

I made a few rash submissions before I was anywhere close to being ready. About seven agents and one editor saw my shameful and embarrassing attempts at the art of querying. *sigh* But I've learned so much since then and have been improving (I'd like to think) over the last several years.

And this brings us to today. I've completed several overhauls and some major revisions on this novel and believe it is finally ready to send out. Whether this particular novel ever gets published, remains to be seen, but it will always have a dear place in my heart because at about 50,000 words, I consider it my first completed novel. And it has been a tremendous learning experience.

Now, I look forward to National Novel Writing Month and a new journey with a new novel and new characters (the past three NaNo experiences have all been sequels) and a possible new and exciting series.

I'm curious, and hope my fellow writers will answer me this:

Why are you here; what events, people, etc. inspired you to become a writer?

Please post your answer (if it's short) in the comments section or on your blog (for longer answers) and link here so I'll be sure to read about it.

Write on.

Research, reading, and revisions

The kids had half a day of school and parent teacher conferences yesterday. We found out our young (barely turned five before school started) kindergarten boy is doing better than we (and the teacher) expected. Our first grade girl is doing great and moving up in her reading level. Our third grade daughter is slacking off and we are going to see what we can do to get her more motivated. She still got good grades, but not as good as she could have.

I spent my few hours before picking kids up doing some reading and more research for my NaNo novel. There is another half day today so I will probably do more of the same. I'm hoping to get my revisions completed today. The kids will be on Fall break, so if I don't get it done today, I may not get it done. *wink* And now I must take them to school.

Write on.

Submission and revision

I've completed my submission materials! [insert cheering here]

I now have a query letter, synopsis, cover letter, chapter by chapter synopsis, my map, and paragraph synopses of the other three books in the series. My next step is to complete revisions on the last half of the book and make sure the first half is ready to go with special concentration on the first three chapters.

And I'm completing the last bit of research I need in preparation for my NaNo novel. I've been off work all this week because my arm ached and I wanted to get these submission materials ready to go. I'm off all next week because the kiddies will be on fall break.

I also have a Halloween costume to make, a stick horse to finish for my nephew's costume, and a party to plan for the annual Halloween bash I have with my mother and sisters. I'm hoping I can accomplish all this before I go back to work on the twentieth.

Now back to revisions.

 

Write on.

Writing off Tuesday

I am writing off work in order to write my submission materials. I still need the chapter by chapter outline, synopsis, and cover letter.

I have a synopsis written, but I need to revise it. I also have the chapter by chapter outline hand written, but I need to type it out. I haven't begun a cover letter. If I knuckle down it shouldn't take me long, but I'm attempting to accomplish the writing between batches of laundry.

I will not be folding or putting the laundry away. It will remain in baskets. When the kiddies get home from school, they will do homework and chores and then they will fold their laundry and put it away. My and hubby's laundry will remain in the basket until I finish the submission items mentioned above. So if I don't want to wear wrinkled clothes, I better get the writing done.

I'm washing the kids' laundry first so I may be finished with the writing before I get to washing my and hubby's laundry. *wink*

On a completely different note, I got a couple of emails I found highly amusing (but it was late at night). I thought I'd post them here.

Here's the first:

Due to the state of the economy these days, the Treasury Department has redesigned the dollar bill :

Here's the second:

Too much to drink is bad . . . even for a pumpkin.

Write on.

Sleepless in Arizona

I thought when my kids were older I'd be able to sleep through the night and foolishly looked forward to those wonderful evenings of relaxation.

And then my mind gave birth to characters. They're worse than babies! At least babies sometimes let you get a couple hours sleep between feedings. Characters keep you up for hours at a time and when you do close your eyes, it's only to have them play out their scenes beneath your eyelids.

I'm not looking forward to work today and hope I can make it through without falling asleep at my desk. On the upside, I've got some new scenes and revision ideas to work with.

Wait, that's the upside? More revision work? Yeah, I must be tired. *grin*

Hopefully I'll enjoy a blissful, dreamless sleep tonight.

I didn't complete any writing this weekend, but I do have a pretty good excuse. Friday, after parking in the driveway at home, my youngest daughter informed me she had "important papers" from school. Now, understand "important papers" are the notes sent home from school and can range from flyers about upcoming events, sport sign-up announcements, or a real note from the teacher. I stepped out of the van (but not away from it), turned to get the papers from her, and the wind slammed the driver's door shut onto my left elbow.

Yeah, it hurt . . . you know just enough to bring me to my knees and make tears pool in my eyes (while trying not to scream and bawl so I wouldn't frighten my kids). I called hubby (he's an EMT) but he wasn't answering his phone. I thought my elbow might be broken as I was unable to move it and it was swelling nicely. Twelve years later, hubby came home.

Okay, it was more like fifteen minutes, but it felt like twelve years. His phone was experiencing technical difficulties. We went to the Urgent Care facility (it's less expensive than the ER) to have my elbow checked. They took x-rays and determined it was NOT broken. While this knowledge was a comfort, it didn't make it hurt any less. They told me it was badly bruised inside and out and would take a couple of weeks to heal.

A couple of weeks? I ignored the panic of not having the use of my left arm for two weeks and nodded. I think hubby must have seen that "writer's look" in my eyes for he piped up, "She does a lot of typing, will she be able to?"

Of course the doctor said I should refrain from typing at least for the weekend. I glared at hubby, smiled sweetly at the doctor and pretended I'd be an obedient patient. Upon arriving home, I took some Motrin and got out my computer. It only took a couple of keystrokes for me to realize I would NOT be able to type with my left hand. Did this stop me?

Well, yes, it sort of did. I still visited blogs, answered emails, visited Verla Kay's, and replied to comments . . . you know small postings where I could use one hand to fly across the keyboard. Well, perhaps fly isn't accurate . . . but it was faster than hunting and pecking by a bit. I'm pretty good with one hand. Anyway, I felt a bit better Saturday, but not enough for long posts. Sunday was more of the same.

Today I feel quite a bit better, though as I'm typing this, I'm feeling twinges of pain now and then. We'll see how it goes at work today . . . if I make it to work today.

Write on.

NaNo song

As most of you know, NaNo time is almost upon us. For those of you who don't know, check out National Novel Writer's Month. In honor of this wonderful time, here's a little song:

Sing to the tune of Alvin and the Chipmunks' "Christmas Don't Be Late"

Oh, Why Do I NaNo? NaNo, NaNo time is near Time for stress and time for tears I've got problems with my plot Characters don't look so hot Want a day to celebrate NaNo deadline sealed my fate Turkey day will come and go Oh, why do I NaNo? Turkey day will come and go Oh, why do I NaNo?

Write on.

Building a flower arrangement

I decided getting published is like building a beautiful flower arrangement.

The gardener and flowers

A gardener plants the seed, nurtures it, cares for it, and grows it into a beautiful flower. There are many varieties of flowers. Some gardeners concentrate on growing one specific type of flower while others are able to branch out into several types.

Authors are the gardeners of the writing world. The author takes the seed of an idea, develops it, and grows it into a completed manuscript. And then the real work begins. Tending the manuscript.

The author must pull weedy words, cut back overgrown dialogue, and prune nonproductive scenes.

Like flowers, there are many types of manuscripts and not every manuscript is right for every arrangement.

The greenery

Some flower arrangements do better with greenery and some are able to go without. While several varieties of greenery exist, some go better with certain flowers than others. Agents are the greenery of the writing world.

An agent must search through the flowers gardeners send them to find ones they think match them best. Each flower must be smelled to see if it's appealing. To keep their offices from overflowing, many agents ask authors to send a petal as apposed to the entire flower. If the agent likes the scent of the petal, he/she will ask to see a larger sample of the flower, or sometimes the entire flower.

Should the agent decline the petal, or later the entire flower, move on, there are plenty of greeneries out there. Eventually you'll find an agent who thinks your manuscript matches. If not, perhaps you should take another look at your manuscript, it might need more tending. Or perhaps the petal you sent, wasn't the best one off the flower, try another one. If the agent likes what they see an offer is extended to help further prepare your flower to fit into the arrangement.

An agent offers suggestions for further care of your manuscript. Picking off the dead leaves and wilted petals. Maybe even cutting the stem to better fit a certain vase.

Finding the Vase

The flower is ready for the arrangement and the search for the vase is on. Not every vase looks good with every flower. Some vases are too large, others too small, some don't fit well with the shape of the arrangement. Editors and publishing houses are vases. If you have an agent they will know which editors have the best chance of fitting your manuscript. If you're on your own, you may have to do some extra research (much like you did to find an agent). Either way, it's still trial and error.

Once again, samples of the flower must be sent so the editors can choose flowers they think will do well in the flower market.

In the end a beautiful flower either paired with greenery or on it's own winds up in the perfect vase to make an amazing arrangement. Hopefully the arrangement will result in a flower selling well in the market. Bringing in a different kind of greenery.

Write on.

Win a critique and other great prizes

and all for a great cause. Check out the link and help out if you can.

The prizes are great but the cause is greater.

The Mischief Fights Cancer Raffle: Welcome to the Anti-Lymphoma Editorial Raffle

Mapping Knowan

I did find time to work on my map yesterday. Hooray! I think it is nearly completed. I need to go back over everything and make sure I didn't leave some important feature out (but I'm pretty sure I didn't).

I'm too lazy to scan it into the computer and I am in a hurry because I have to be to work in 20 minutes, so I took a picture with my digital camera.

This was the old map (a scanned image):

This is the new map:

Hopefully when I scan it into the computer, you'll be able to see it better.

I'm off to work now.

Write on.

Some pictures of my new WIP

You thought this would be pictures of the map I mentioned in my earlier blog, didn't you? But you are mistaken. *insert evil maniacal laughter*

I have found something new to take up the free time I didn't have in the first place.

This is my new WIP:

Warning: objects in pictures are larger than they appear.

 

What's in that dark, fake tree cave?

Come a bit closer . . .

What is this? Some freakish monster?

It is a gecko!

I'm not sure which type it is, but the pet store sold it as an albino. Here are some more pictures of it (not named yet).

Stalking a cricket (yeah, crickets gross me out . . . good thing I don't have to catch them).

Peeking out from the rock cave (made by me with real rocks . . . okay, so I stacked them and it wasn't that difficult *grin*).

Cute, hu?

But that is not all! Look what we have here.

Yes, it's a second gecko. They are like potato chips, you can't have just one. *wink*

More of the second one:

The "albino" is larger than the other one (I don't know which variety it is either), but I believe they are both female. It's hard to tell until they are 5 months old (unless you're familiar with geckos . . . and I'm not). The pet store thought they were close to five months, but weren't sure.  If they are both female, I'm eventually going to get a male because I think it would be fun to raise some geckos.

Yes, I know I'm crazy. I'm raising children, Toy Fox Terriers, fish, and now geckos. And I wonder why I don't have time to write! *sigh*

Really, geckos are WAY easy to care for and I got them for my kids . . . mostly *wink* They enjoy watching them eat crickets and slink around the aquarium. It wasn't too expensive to purchase them since we already had a 20 gallon long tank from the red-eared slider turtles we used to own.

Now I've got to get back to my map!

Write on.

Mapmaker, Mapmaker make me a map . . .

I did not get any writing done yesterday. Oh, come on! Like you're surprised? *roll eyes*

I did work on an aspect of Books of Bestowal (just noticed it's BoB . . . *laughing*), though. I decided my sketch of Knowl (soon to be called Knowan) was terribly outdated and could stand some revising. I began a new map yesterday evening. I got quite a bit completed and hope to continue working on it later this evening. Maybe I'll be brave enough to post the finished product . . . but I'm no cartographer. *wink*

See, I am working on my novel! *grin*

In other news, I had a pretty good day at work. I spoke to my boss about the feeling of impending doom (NaNo) and arranged to take the entire month of November off of work. She said it is up to me whether I want to come back after November or not. I've been feeling a strong desire to quit for a long time now and when she said we were looking at another four months of work, my heart sank. I don't think I can do it. *whine* She suggested maybe not coming back every day after November but cutting down to a few days a week. This may work, we'll see.

I have a feeling being home the entire month of November will spoil me and I won't want to go back . . . but then again, the extra money is always a help so a few days a week may be the best option. I won't know how I feel until the end of November.

Anyway, I can have my November to devote to NaNo without any worries about work. I'm setting a goal for myself to write 5,000 words a day in November. It's a steep goal, and we'll see how it works, but if I can pull it off, I'll finish my 50,000 word goal in ten days. Yep, that's the big one, zero folks. And I'd have the rest of the month to revise and compose submission materials. Then I'll have two novels ready to throw into the submission process! Hooray!

Yeah, maybe I'm crazy, but I do actually believe I can reach this goal. But this is today . . . we'll see how I feel come November. *grin*

Write on.

Weekend blues

The weekend is almost over and no writing from my keyboard . . . other than the blogs of course.

I spent Friday in court with my son . . . no fun and a big waste of time as the judge didn't want to hear from any witnesses. *roll eyes* I am not pleased with having my son subpoenaed, having to pull him out of school, and sitting there for the proceedings for no reason. On the upside, the court experience only lasted about 20 minutes. *sigh*

After court, we picked up the younger kids from school and came home to a hectic evening. Saturday was spent cleaning the house . . . not surface cleaning, my friends, but deep, dark depths of cupboards, corners, closets . . . that kind of cleaning. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the entire house. It took all day to complete the kitchen cupboards and the shelves in my bedroom.

Yeah, it was dark, scary and frightening, but it felt good to get it done. Next weekend will likely bring more deep, dark cleaning . . . or I may blow off the cleaning and do some writing.

I suppose I could have done some writing today, but feeling lazy after the cleaning episode, my hubby and I chose to lay in bed and watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 7). Yeah, I suppose I should have spent my time more wisely, but it felt good to do nothing and zone out in front of the TV.

Now, it's only a quarter to four in the afternoon and there is still time to get some writing done . . . I may yet. I still haven't gotten my chapter by chapter outline typed up for Books of Bestowal: Destroyer's Hope (the novel formerly known as The Four Powers: The Amulet of Hope) so I could get to it today . . . if I feel like it . . . which I might. *grin*

Write on.

Writing time

I managed to get a bit of writing done today. Shocking, I know. *wink*

Before you get too excited, I didn't get to work on Scarlet's story, but did get a synopsis written for Books of Bestowal: Destroyer's Hope (title subject to change). I also hand wrote a chapter by chapter outline for aforementioned book. My submission packet is nearly completed and soon I will be ready to walk the road paved with rejections.

I know the road is not easily walked--paper cuts on the feet and all that--but walk it I shall for I know at the end of the road is a contract. And I REALLY want the contract. *grin*

In other news, I get to take my 15 year old son to court tomorrow. Don't panic, he's not in trouble. He received a subpoena to appear as a witness. It's nothing exciting, a protest to a restraining order (writ of protection or whatever they call it) one girl is filing against another girl. These girls used to be friends and we gave them rides to school, but alas, a wall has been built between them and they are bitter enemies.

Not that I don't care about their troubles, but . . . well, I don't! I'm annoyed I have to pull my son out of school tomorrow to appear in court at 2:00 . . . and who knows how long we'll have to be there. *sigh* Why can't we all just get along?

Hopefully my son won't be scarred for life after this experience.  I told him he has to find new friends . . . no more psycho girls. *wink*

I'm pretty much shot for writing time tomorrow, though if I get a chance I will go for it. Hopefully I can get the chapter by chapter outline typed up later tonight.

Write on.

All work and no writing

. . . makes me a cranky girl.

After work yesterday, I picked up the younger kids from school and brought them home. I expected to see my hubby waiting for me as he usually watches the younger three children while I pick up our oldest from high school, but he wasn't home. I got a phone call from him (cause he must have read my mind *wink*) telling me he was running late (duh) because he hurt his back (YIKES) and had to make a visit to the chiropractor.

So because he had to get his back cracked, he wasn't able to finish his route--he delivers Oroweat/Entenmann's/Thomas/Boboli to the stores/restaurants in our area.  He would still come home and watch the kids if I would go put the product on the shelves at Safeway for him after picking up our oldest.

I agreed to this crazy scheme (if you've ever been trapped in the car with three whining children while waiting in line, you'll understand) and the deal was done. Unfortunately for me, it took me an hour to get the product up. After that, I brought oldest boy home so he could get his homework done. Then I turned around and went back to town because I forgot to get stuff to make dinner. GRRR

After dinner (chef salad and salmon cakes), it is homework time for the younger kids. This time includes twenty minutes of being read to and five minutes of math flashcards for our oldest daughter; about five minutes (depending on how long it takes her to get through the book) of being read to by our youngest daughter; and last night, our youngest boy had Do-Good Dog homework.

All this equals no writing time for me. I was pretty cranky because I really hoped to get writing done each night after work. But I got over my crankiness and tried to get a good night sleep . . . that didn't happen either. *sigh* I should have stayed up and written! LOL

So, it's time to take my oldest to his early morning class, get the younger three dressed and ready for school, come home to get ready for work, go to work, and hopefully find time to write. I'm still hoping I will be finished working by the end of October so I can devote all my time to writing. But as things go, hubby is still in a lot of pain and wants me to help him again today. I may take pity on him later, but right now, I'm tired and cranky and don't feel at all inclined to help him today. *evil grin*

Write on.

Almost there . . .

I have now completed my chapter by chapter synopsis. I hoped to get into writing yesterday, but after I finished the synopsis I went on to do some research I need to have for the plot.

I have most of the research done and am almost ready to dive into the writing of the manuscript. I'm so excited to get started, but it has worked out nicely to do the research and everything first. At least it seems to be working so far. I won't know for sure until I get to the writing and see if all the prep work has helped things move along faster. I think it will because I won't have to stop in the middle of writing to do the research or figure out my next plot twist.

May get to writing later today. Off to finish my research now.

 

Write on.

Choosing between two loves

I had hoped to get some writing done today but it was destined to be a no writing day. My youngest stayed home from school with a fever. I took him to the doctor and he has a virus (of course). He'll be okay, but when he's sick, he tends to CLING. I can't leave the room without him following. When I sat down to write, he leaned on my arm. Ever so slowly, he worked his head down until it lay on the keyboard of the laptop. With his head in this position, he sweetly informed me I needed to close my computer because he couldn't see the TV.

Faced with a choice between two loves, I chose the most important one. I held my son and we watched TV until it was time to get the other kids from school. Hey, they're only young once.

Hopefully I'll get LOTS of writing done tomorrow. I did find time to think about the plot for Scarlet's story and work out a few of the finer plot points in my head. When I had a bit of down time (waiting in the pick up line at the school), I wrote it down. I now have a chapter by chapter synopsis up until chapter 16.

This is new territory for me. My past writing experience has begun with an idea of the main story--where I want to go in the beginning, middle, and end. The subplots, plot twists, etc. come to me as I write them.

I like having a chapter by chapter synopsis and hope to continue this method, but can't guarantee it. *grin*

Now, I'm going to put away the computer and zone out in front of the TV . . . I bought "Made of Honor" on DVD and want to watch it. We'll see how far I get in my writing tomorrow.

 

Write on.

All play and no work

Dear, oh, dear. I didn't get any writing done today. My hubby and I had to take one of the puppies to her new owner and then I helped hubby stock shelves. After that, we went to lunch and it was time to pick up the kids from school. After school, I went with DH to the doctor (he's been feeling under the weather) and now I'm cooking dinner and while the chicken and rice are cooking, I'm trying to do a quick update.

After dinner, I may find some time to get writing done, but I doubt it . . . I'm tired. Hopefully I can get some writing time in tomorrow . . . but I'm helping hubby work so I'm not sure if writing will happen.

I'm about 5,000 words into Scarlet's story. I don't think I'm going to reach my unrealistic goal of completing the rough draft by the end of this week. Ah well, I'm not giving up. I'll get as much done as I possibly can and that's all I can do.

Rice is boiling and chicken needs turned . . .

 

Write on.

Boiling

And here's today's update:

As you can tell from yesterday's post, I intended to allow the new idea to simmer until it reached the boiling point. I figured it would take a couple of days. But as of yesterday afternoon, I am 1,700 words into writing Scarlet's story. Yes, the idea boiled and my fingers couldn't fly across the keyboard fast enough. The only reason there are not more than 1,700 words is because my hands started hurting and I had to stop writing. *frown* But considering I began writing at around noon and stopped just after 2 o'clock p.m. to pick up my kids from school, I'd say it wasn't a bad word count for a couple of hours. *grin*

I spent some more time yesterday choosing names for the rest of the characters and researching other aspects of the story. I am so excited about this idea and it has the possibility of developing into more than one book. The only thing bothering me is the way it stands now, the story doesn't have a "happily ever after" ending. I'm not sure how it will go over with readers. I know stories don't always have a happy ending and it makes me sad that Scarlet won't, but she won't be the person she needs to be if she ends up happy.

After dropping my kids off at school, a friend and I are dog walking. After the walk, I will rush back home to my computer and pick up Scarlet's story again. Hopefully I'll be able to get more than a couple thousand words out today. I don't want to go back to work next week and have the story distracting me so I'm hoping to have the rough draft finished by the end of this week. That's a mighty quick deadline! We'll see if I can do it. *wink*

Now I must get dressed and get my kids moving. Today is picture day for the two youngest and since one of them is a girl, I've got to get hair curled and styled.

Write on (I'm going to).

An idea is born

I really must do better in updating this blog when I update my LJ. *sigh*

So you know what's going on, here's yesterday's LJ post:

The birth of an idea
Sep. 15th, 2008 at 9:06 AM

The morning began like any other morning. I got the kids up and helped them get ready for school. I drove my son to his early morning class, came home, fed the rest of the kids, and took them off to school. After dropping the younger children at school, I went to pick up my son and his friends from their early morning class and take them to high school. It was on the way to the high school that the idea for a new novel was born. One of the girls in the car mentioned something in passing that sparked my imagination and it went from there. I could hardly wait to get home to write it down!

So, I've written a rough outline of the novel this morning. It is a promising idea, and I'm excited about it. However, I don't have a burning desire to write it out. The story and characters aren't yet to the point where they cry out for me to write their story. I'll let it simmer a few days and see if it reaches boiling. Only then will I be able to flesh out the few paragraphs of outline into a novel. I'm thinking I may even hold off and try to use the idea for my Nano book this year.

Still, I'm excited about the prospect, and if the fire burns hot enough to boil the idea, I may have it written by Nano time. We'll see. In the mean time, I'm off work this week as my bosses are in California. So I'm waiting by the phone today on the off chance that I get a call from General Mills in regards to the Cheerio's Contest.

I'm sure there were many wonderful entries and while I may have slightly better odds than winning the lottery, my odds aren't the best. For one thing, it's the first picture book I've written and I know nothing about picture books. And did I mention several other talented people entered? I know several BB-ers did. Still, I'd never entered a writing contest (other than in my high school) so it was fun. If I don't get a call, I may consider trying to submit the PB somewhere. I'd have to do some research about PBs though to educate myself first. I probably did it all wrong. LOL

Anyway, I better get to work on revising my fantasy novel. I'm also working on giving it a new title. And thanks to my wonderful friend,robinellen, I have some notes from a conference to look over. I hope to get to them today, too. Thanks Robin! But I have to work on some revisions first, the notes will be my reward. *grin*

Write on.

Looking Back

robinellen (on Live Journal) got me thinking with her Friday Five post about some of the lesser known books she read in her youth. Instead of clogging up her comments section with my remembrances, I decided to blog about it today.

I was about eight or nine when I first remember walking into the school library (if I was in there before then, I can't remember it). I recall being overwhelmed by the shelves and shelves of books before me. I think I must have looked frightened for the librarian came up and asked if she could help me. I told her I wanted to check out a book (duh, I'm in the library). She smiled patiently and asked me which book to which I responded with a shrug. Poor librarian probably wanted to throw me out right then. But she didn't. She asked me what books I liked. Again with the shrug. She asked if I liked mysteries. I shook my head and told her I liked horses. Well, she led me over to an aisle and pointed out some books by Marguerite Henry. I chose Misty of Chincoteague. I don't remember how long it took me to read it, but I remember being so excited to get another one. I read Stormy, Misty's Foal next and followed with every last book by Marguerite Henry in the library's possession.

After finishing them, I started over. I even begged/bothered my parents to allow me to purchase Album of Horses from a book order. This book was amazing. It had what seemed to be hundreds of horses (but in reality was probably only a few), descriptions, and, if I remember correctly, stickers of the horses. I was in heaven! After reading through Ms. Henry's books for about the fourth time, the librarian asked me if I wouldn't like to read something else. I wondered, Could there possibly be any books in the library better than these? She asked me if I liked any other animals besides horses and I replied that dogs were okay. She introduced me to Call of the Wild by Jack London. I loved it and followed up with White Fang and Sea Wolf. I can't remember what I moved on to after that, but know I eventually read a couple of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden. I didn't care for them much so never read the entire series. I do remember reading more books about horses by Jean Slaughter Doty (technically, I think they were ponies); Summer Pony, and Can I Get There by Candlelight. The horse's name was Candlelight and when the girl rode the horse, up a driveway, she went back in time (I read that one several times as well).

I recently purchased a three pack of Marguerite Henry's books during a Scholastic Book Fair at my kids' elementary school. I haven't opened the package and though I want to, there is a part of me that is frightened.

Why? I loved these books so much as a child and I'm afraid if I re-read them as an adult (and as a writer), I may not like them as much as I did then. I think that would be hard for me to take. LOL

So, Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, and Justin Morgan Had A Horse remain in their sealed plastic, waiting for the day to come when I will be brave enough to let myself see through adult eyes, the wonderful stories I remember from childhood.

Write on.