The Days Ahead...

As is common in life, the past few weeks have brought about certain events that have made it difficult to get much of anything done.
My current excuses being illness and the death of a grandfather. With my mind in a haze, I haven't had much success in putting pen to paper. I'm blocked on the paranormal short story I was working on before my grandfather's death, and the other projects I have open, currently lack appeal. It's amazing what grief can do to you.
However, I did manage to get three books read last week:

I finally finished up "Scar Night" by Alan Campbell. The imagery was good, but reading about angels, spawned from false gods just isn't my cup of tea.

"Thin Air" by Rachel Caine, had it's good points with imagery and action sequences, but since I mistakenly came in on the 6th book of the series, I felt like the main character wasn't the only one who had amnesia. Perhaps I would like it better, if I started with book one?

"Iron Kissed" by Patricia Briggs was the best of my week's reads. (In my opinion.) Even though it wasn't the first book in the series, the author did a good job of letting the reader in on the protagonist's history. You didn't feel like you were trying to find your way around in the dark. And when you throw werewolves, fairies, and other creatures of folklore into the mix, how can you go wrong?

I plan to start reading "The Highwayman" by R.A. Salvatore next.
And while I'm doing that, I'm going to see if I can crank any creative juice out of myself this week. Letting a project grow cold is rarely a good idea, and I need something to focus on, before I go nuts.

And I wondered why people took up drinking!

Today is my first actual day back to work, and as any self-respecting Monday would do, it's causing me to feel the pressure. Last week, the weather continued to be horrible, and on top of that, I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't get any actual work done on my writing projects. Not content to sit around and do nothing, I did manage to attack and bring down considerably the pile of unanswered pen-pal letters I'd been meaning to answer.

This week, my goals are:

Finish reading "Scar Night" by Alan Campbell, and begin reading another novel. I haven't decided which one yet.
Polish up and send off another short story to a magazine.
Revise and send in the first three chapters of my teenage Faery novel for my Children's Lit course; and get the best publishing house for it nailed down.
Start working on the first three chapters of my paranormal novel for my Adult Lit course; and revise the last article I turned in for an assignment.
Write and submit two different articles on Bible study; and then do another article on the paranormal.

Can I do it all? Only time will reveal that. But I'm definitely going to give it my best shot! I'll let you know how far I actually get. Pray for me! ;P

Basically, this is a gripe session!

So this week hasn't exactly been ideal for getting any writing done. The weather's been terrible. And have you ever noticed that when it's not pleasant outside, everybody inside ends up acting like one of two people: Atilla the Hun or Scarlett O'Hara? They start screaming as if they were preparing for war, or they keep flitting around the house, whining and pouting to anyone who will listen.

What is the weather doing that is causing this, you may ask? Well, the winds have succeeded in blowing the roads shut for two days in a row. (That's not counting all the other times it has done so this winter.) Yesterday, we had another blizzard. There are now four and five foot snow drifts in places. And today it's back to the winds again. At the moment, the roads are still open, but that could soon change.
What's all this got to do with a writer's blog? Everything and nothing. I finally got used to the gusts of wind hitting the house like a linebacker, and the other members of my household coming in every five minutes to complain about the wind hitting the house like a linebacker. Being snowed in for a few days doesn't even bother me that much. But when my computer keeps freezing up, mid-sentence, because the connection is bad, that's when I start to get peeved. ;P I'm only half serious in this, but it does make things rather frustrating, when you're on a roll with one of your writing projects, and the next thing you know, you're staring at a freeze frame of what you've just typed. Basically, I've gotten more correspondence done this week, than anything else. Right now, I'm fighting a headache, as I wait for the web-site I may have found some work on, to load. The phone is ringing off the hook, for everyone in the household but me. And since everyone else has flown the coop for awhile, I'm taking messages. I think I missed my calling, and should have become a secretary, instead? At least I'd be getting paid!

Aha! The page has finally loaded. I am off to get some work done. (Provided the computer doesn't freeze up again!) Wish me luck.

I'm giving it a try

Woke up to a raging blizzard this morning, and I was fool enough to go out into it, because something had to be mailed at the post office. Of course, the snow had lessened, and the clouds were starting to break by the time I got back to the house. There's now a two-foot snow drift between the porch and sidewalk though. I am SO staying inside for the rest of the day!

I'm starting further revisions on the first three chapters of my novel, so there (hopefully!) won't be much left to do, once I hear back from my professor on the outline I sent off. And I'm getting my notes in order for the next short story I want to submit. The last one was for younger children, but most of my writing tends to be geared towards young adult and adult audiences. This next short story is about a 16 year old girl. It's a fantasy piece, so I'm checking to see which mags are currently taking submissions.

I may have found a lead on a getting some freelance work. If it amounts to anything, I'll post about it. Thanks Renee, for your suggestions! They were helpful. :)

What to do next.

This is my attempt at starting a writer's blog. I'm sure it will be most-stimulating to others. So much so, that it will put them to sleep! But it's here, if anyone ever needs a cure for their insomnia...



Earlier this week, I finished up the book proposal for my professor. Now I at least have some idea how long I want my first book to be, and how I'd like it to end. I've plotted out 20 chapters, and I've written 10 so far, but I've still got a lot of revising to do.

This week I also sent in an article to my other professor. It took me a long time to finish. I have never been a fan of writing non-fiction. And it has to be an extremely interesting topic, before I will even read it. The exception to this for me is in things dealing with nature. I've always been fascinated in the behavior of animals, and find that I can often be inspired by the things I observe in them. You can expect the unexpected in nature. The birds and deer don't know how to read cue cards or text books; they do their own thing, and skip convention. I generally prefer fiction, because the writer has more freedom in what happens and in what direction the piece will go. My article basically ended up being a three-page tangent on medical doctors. It was dreck, in my opinion, and I'll find out soon enough if my professor agrees.


I finally got myself in gear, and sent off another short story to a children's magazine. Now I'm polishing up a different short story that I'd like to get sent off by the end of next week.

Today, I had to go into town to run errands, so I took a break from the usual grind. Some new ideas came to me though, and I jotted them down. I've been blocked for some time on another book idea I'm trying to develop, but I think a new thread is forming in my scattered brain. Why do ideas always seem to come to me when I am in the shower?! Guess I'll have to get a water-proof tape recorder to remedy that problem.

Tonight, I need to catch up on correspondence again, and then tomorrow it's back to searching the free-lancing web-sites for the slim chance there's something out there I'm actually qualified to write about. True, I don't like writing non-fiction, but a girl's get paid to eat!