If It's Not One Thing, It's Ten Others

>> Saturday, April 14, 2012

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Again. Really, I haven't.

I'll be honest, every time I sign on to the internet at night, I see my blog as the homepage and I think to myself that I really should write another entry. But there are only so many hours in the day, and I have a ton of stuff on my plate right now. The evening is my only free time at the moment, and when that rolls around, I have to choose whether I'm going to write, work on the business I would like to get off the ground one day, or do housework.

Yes, housework. Because I can't seem to get ahead much during the day, when I have a baby that toddles along after me, undoing 98 percent of what I try to clean. There's also bills, the lawn, a garden I'm trying desperately to get planted and failing miserably at because there's always something else that has to be done instead, like running errands or trying to get the roofer guy contacted about fixing our roof, or the carpet guy about replacing the carpet downstairs already, because it's been months that we've been without carpet down there, and I'm tired of feeling like an animal penned up in a small cage by being forced to stay upstairs all day with the kids. (And let's face it, there's a lot more for the little guy to mess up and get into with the number of rooms upstairs, versus one big room to play in downstairs.)

Even when I decide to write in the evening, I have to decide what in the world to work on, because there are starting to be a lot of demands on that front, between the book that I want to get edited already and start sending out to publishers, and the stuff that other people ask me to write, whether it's for a journal or the shared world project, Areceia, that I am working on with other writers.

What's really going on right now, when you get right down to it, is that I am overtired and overworked. Blogging just isn't a priority these days, even though I know it probably should be. But something has to give, right? More than one something, usually. And a lot of times, it's something that I don't want to have to give up or put off, but there it is. What else is to be done?

I used to think that if I were better organized, my life would be so much easier. Sadly, that's just not true. There's only so much that organization will help you, sometimes. Particularly when one has small children around the house that one must look after all day.

Perhaps, though, just perhaps, it will get a little better in the future. My husband and I have been kicking around the idea of him quitting his second job, so that he isn't working seven days a week anymore; if he were home on the weekends, he could help out more and take over some of the crap that's been settled on my shoulders with everything else.

The only problem is that we need the money from his second job right now, and I'm not altogether comfortable with him just quitting it. I don't have my other business anywhere near ready to launch, considering that I almost never get to work on it, with all of the other demands in my life right now. So there will be no cushion from that.

One of his coworkers suggested a solution that might work better for us, for the time being: working only one weekend day each week, and then alternating between it being a Saturday or a Sunday, week to week. Eric will have to speak to his boss about it next weekend. So we will see...

In some actual good news, however, I turned in the first installment of a story for the Areceia project, called Heart of a Warrior. Now I'm going to work on Anemone's Song for a few days while I have a chance. My son has surgery on Tuesday, and I don't know that I will have much of a chance to write for a few days following that.

I just hope it goes well.

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Have New Headphones, Will Write!

>> Tuesday, March 13, 2012


Now that the kids are finally getting better, I have been able to start enjoying the new headphones that my husband bought for me. Right now I'm listening to the sounds of the Amazon rainforest while I type this entry. So technically, I'm also researching while I write this. I started writing a short story for the shared world that I am participating in with a group of other writers, and it takes place in the rainforest, which is why I need to familiarize myself with its natural sounds. Of course, trying to describe some of them might be a different matter altogether...

Eh, I'll muddle my way through that when I edit. For now, it's all about the crappy rough draft with lots of bracketing.

What's that, you say? Bracketing?

Bracketing is something I started doing in college, when I was writing a lot of theology papers. I didn't always have the precise words for the thoughts I wanted to formulate while I was working on the rough draft, so I would write some approximation of it in a little set of brackets, so I knew to go back and fix it later, and that way I could keep going before I lost my train of thought.

Bracketing served me especially well when transitioning into the madness that is NaNoWriMo. It satisfied my inner editor enough to keep going instead of getting bogged down in searching for the precise words I wanted to use, and thus making it much easier to make word count. I get to be compulsive, but not so anally compulsive that my brain shuts down and doesn't get much accomplished.

(Dang, this is a long Youtube clip!)

Speaking of getting things accomplished, it's time to work on that short story and then see if I can write any more of that article I alluded to in my last post. Especially since my husband keeps looking back at me and the laptop from the PS3 game he is playing. I have quickly learned that this means he is thinking about stealing the computer from me to look up a gaming hint. *sigh* Need to fix the other computer!


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Now There's Some Irony For Ya!

>> Monday, February 27, 2012

You know what's ironic? Now that I have my blog set as my homepage, in order to remind myself to post on it more often, I haven't the time to write the posts that I want. Shoot, I'm surprised I could get online tonight, much less type out a short blog entry. As luck would have it--or rather, the lack thereof--the kids and I have become sick. My son has it the worst, followed by me. My daughter has a fairly mild case, at least so far. *knocks on wood* And my poor husband is hoping and praying that he doesn't get sick, because he can't afford it. He's at a new job, and they're just starting to send him out on tech calls by himself, so sick days aren't an option at this point in time.

I'll be taking the kids to the doctor tomorrow morning. My son in particular needs to be checked out. He's been running high fevers the last few days, and I'm starting to suspect an ear infection; I've noticed him tugging at his ear today. I hope they can get everyone on the road to feeling better soon.

So that's what's going on in my life right now. Needless to say, not a whole lot of writing is getting done. Though I did start an article that might amuse people. Once the kids feel better, maybe I can finish it.

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Busy, Busy Bee

>> Friday, February 24, 2012

Okay, I admit it. I'm crap at keeping up with this blog. Of course, one look at the sporadic entries in this blog could tell a person that, right? Blah. No, really: BLAH. My problem is that I'm scatterbrained. Out of sight, out of mind. Which is probably why whenever I want to make sure I remember something, I write myself a note on a post-it and stick it somewhere I can't miss it, like the front door, or on my laptop.

It has occurred to me, therefore, to set my blog as my homepage. I figure, if it's staring me in the face every time I log onto the internet, I won't be so forgetful. (Hopefully this theory will prove to be true...)

So what's the life of this writer been like since September? Hmm...chaotic, mostly. There have been a lot of schedule changes and added responsibilities, what with my husband graduating from school and me settling into a semi-workable routine for keeping up with the chores around the house. As for writing, I have been working a great deal on Anemone's Song, but I have also taken on some other work with this shared project that I am doing with some of my other writer friends. So while I edit my book, I am also worldbuilding with other writers and working on some short stories.

Can I just say, though, that Anemone's Song is one--excuse the phrase--long ass book?! Yeah. This is taking forever. Or, as Pinkie Pie would say, FOR-REV-VER!!!

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Occam's Razor for Writers

>> Tuesday, September 6, 2011

So I've been fiddling for a while with a bio to include with my story for The Forge. All the while, I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, it's kind of hard to write an author bio." But I left it alone for a couple of weeks, and when I opened the file tonight, I realized that, with the exception of one sentence, it really is a good bio. I deleted the sentence I didn't want, and voila! Now I have a nice little bio. I think, as usual, that I was making things too complicated. I was too busy fretting over the fact that I didn't have many significant writing credentials yet to see that my bio was pretty good. So, the moral of this post is to keep your writing a simple as possible--even when writing a bio.

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Goodbye, Borders

>> Monday, July 18, 2011

It's the end of an era. I used to work for Waldenbooks years ago, which was owned by Borders Group. As such, I've always been very loyal to the company. I'm so upset right now.

And I really just don't want to shop for books at B&N.

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We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Process of Editing

>> Sunday, July 17, 2011

Well, I've returned to annotating Anemone's Song for editing. I'm working on it during little bits of time throughout my day. I wish I could get a solid hour or two of editing for my book, but life is simply too hectic right now. So, I do what I can and try to take comfort in the knowledge that it will add up over time.

After all, something is better than nothing.

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Stop the Madness!

>> Wednesday, June 15, 2011

So I made the mistake of signing onto Twitter this morning. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. This morning, however, I was greeted by a couple of tweets by one of my friends, regarding Camp NaNoWriMo.

Gaaah!

Now I'm tempted to join in the madness all over again. But I need to be editing my book, Anemone's Song. And even more important than that, I need to finish the short story I promised my friend I'd provide for the publication she is editing at, The Forge. I really just do not need this distraction again. I have plenty of my own, thank you.

Willpower! Must...have...willpower. Must...have...

... ... ...

Maybe I could sort of join in by editing along instead of writing? That breaks the rules, but--

*slaps self*

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5 Short Story Tips

>> Saturday, May 28, 2011

Short Story Writing Tips - tips for writing short stories

Today I found a site with excellent tips on writing short stories. I often have trouble writing short stories because I find it difficult to condense a story into such a short length. Looking at the tips on this page, I think this is due to a couple of factors--characters and theme. Too many characters invariably complicates the plot and turns it into a novel-length story. Then, without thinking of the theme I want my short story to embrace, I find that my plot loses focus and falls apart.

I will definitely be keeping these tips in mind as I write my newest short story, The Barefoot Prince. I think it may help tremendously in both writing and editing the piece.

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Taking Shape...

>> Sunday, May 22, 2011

Today I managed to type out some notes for the new short story I'm writing. I think I've fleshed out the storyline in enough detail that I can begin writing it. I have a few details for the initial setting in mind, but I'm trying to do a little research on period appropriate poverty, first. I really want to capture the essence of what life is like for my character when the story begins, so I can show what a contrast his life is by the end of the story--at least externally.

Internally is quite a different matter. Or so I've planned.

Things don't always turn out quite the way we plan, when we write. But the thing about being surprised by characters--at least, I've found this in my experience--is that my story always turns out better when they deviate from the initial plan or outline.

Kind of like life, sometimes.

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Perhaps My Brain Is Finally Waking Up...

After scrapping several ideas, I have finally settled on a plot for my short story, The Barefoot Prince. Now it's a matter of fleshing out the details and sitting down to write it. Of course, with a 3 month old and a 3 year old, that is easier said than done.

Well, suck it up, Buttercup, right? I will get this story done, somehow. Eleanor is counting on me.

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Camp Nanowrimo and Writing Chaos

>> Thursday, May 19, 2011

I can't believe I haven't written in this blog since January. Er...scratch that. Yes, I can. My little boy arrived three weeks early, back in February. He was due in March. The good news is that I finished typing up my book shortly before he decided to arrive. Needless to say, I wasn't doing a lot of writing after he came.

Now that he is 3 months old, however, things are getting a little easier. Or enough easier that I've started potty training my daughter and editing my book.

But alas, the editing must be put on hold. For Camp Nanowrimo, perhaps? No. Although it's tempting. Quite tempting. But I've made my husband promise to slap me silly if I try to take that on; I'm supposed to be concentrating on my editing, after all. I'd like to have this book ready to send out by sometime next year.

So what, then, has forced me to turn my attention away from editing?

A short story.

I'm trying to write a short story at the request of a guest editor, for a publication called The Forge.

So, it's back to writing I go. Hopefully, since I only have about a month to write it, my submission won't totally stink. I had a vague idea for a short story (and I say vague, because, really, it was only a title) recently, so now I'm trying to spin a plot that I think is compelling enough to submit.

Well, we shall see. The worst that can happen is that the editor takes back her offer, right?

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Lucky Number 13

>> Monday, January 17, 2011

I had a very good night last night. I managed to type up three and a half chapters of my book. This means that I only have five more chapters to type up in section three of my book (the longest section). I'm so excited. After section three is finished, I only have one more section of my book to type up, and it's only eight chapters long (the shortest section of my book. So, that means that I have thirteen chapters left before I finish typing up this book. Yay!

This makes me enormously happy. I really think I'll be able to finish this up before the baby comes in March. Then, when things settle down a few months after he arrives, I'll be able to work on a little editing.

Go me!

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Progress by Heartburn

>> Friday, January 14, 2011

Yesterday didn't go quite as I planned. I had intended to work on typing up more of Anemone's Song during my daughter's nap, but I went on a sudden cleaning jag instead. (I guess the nesting phase of this pregnancy has started.) I figured I might then do a little more cleaning later that night after she was in bed, and then do some writing.

Oh, the best laid plans...

The upshot of this is that I accomplished nothing in terms of my writing yesterday. I was too tired to clean or write, last night. Just picking up my daughter's toys off the living room floor is a ton of work at this point in the pregnancy. Everything is so awkward, and I spend all day standing up and down doing things for my daughter, plus all of the trips upstairs to our only bathroom, I just don't feel like messing with much at the end of the day. So I end up crawling around the floor on all fours trying to clean up her toys to put them away, and the entire process takes two or three times as long as it should. By the time I'm done, all I want to do is sink into a comfortable chair and hope that I don't have to climb the stupid stairs to use the bathroom any time soon.

On the bright side, though, I managed to type up one short chapter of my book tonight, despite how exhausted I am. That makes me happy.

Of course, it probably has something to do with the fact that my husband brought home Taco Bell for me, and I'm afraid of going to bed too soon for fear of killer heartburn. I have near constant heartburn in the last three months as it is.

Meh. Whatever. I'll take what I can get, you know? I'm one chapter closer to being finished with all the typing, which means I'm closer to the editing phase. Progress is progress, after all, no matter how you accomplish it.

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Type On, Type On...

>> Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tonight I finished typing up part of one chapter, plus the whole of the next chapter. Not bad. The next two chapters are short, so I think I'll try to do both of those tomorrow.

Minus today's work, that just leaves ten more chapters to type up in part three (and I think seven or eight in part four). I hope they're short chapters like the next two appear to be, but I doubt it. *sigh* I have issues with keeping chapters short. I need to work on that. But what else is new, right?

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A New Year is Fresh, With No Mistakes in It...

>> Saturday, January 1, 2011

Well, I survived the madness that is Nanowrimo--but not without totally scrapping the original story I had been working on during day 3. My mind kept going to the characters from my current work in progress (completely written, but working on typing it up and editing it) so I started Nano all over and began writing the sequel to it. That worked out much better, and I didn't find myself struggling quite so much with scenes.

Oh, I still had tough moments, but nothing like I had been, and certainly nowhere near as horrible as 2009's debacle.

However, starting over put me three days behind on word count, and I had to skip a lot of naps (not easy for a pregnant lady with an active toddler to give up, mind you!) and pull some long sessions in the evening to catch up. But, after a few days, I finally managed to. Yay me! I'm still so proud of myself for catching up and managing to win Nano after all of that!

But on to my writing goals for 2011...

Yes, I am resuming my list of writing goals for the year. I never managed to do it last year, due to circumstances, but I need something clear to strive for, writing-wise, this year--something that I can focus on besides the loved ones that I've lost the last two years, and the general worries and stress of day to day life.

So, in light of that, I've not only decided to resume my writing goals for the year, but I've also decided to keep it (somewhat) simple. My writing goal for this year is to finish typing up my work in progress, Anemone's Song, and edit it. That's it. That's what I want to accomplish writing-wise this year. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

And really, considering that I will have a new baby and a toddler to care for, it will be no small feat if I manage this. But I caught up during Nanowrimo, didn't I? When I get discouraged or need motivation, I will try to remember that

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Wondering (Once Again) What I Got Myself Into...

>> Sunday, October 31, 2010

I feel so incredibly tired after taking my daughter trick-or-treating tonight. Granted, with a new baby on the way, that's not too surprising, but I'm determined to stay up a little longer and see if I can make it to the official start of Nanowrimo.

I'm a little apprehensive about doing Nano this year; I spent most of October wavering back and forth about whether I would participate or not. Last year was very tough, and I almost didn't make it through the week three slump. I blame it now on not knowing my characters well enough before I started, and for not having a good plan of where I was going in terms of scene progression.

And THAT I blame on my book, Anemone's Song, which I had just finished writing only weeks before Nano 2009 began. So I was burnt out and didn't plan much for last year.

This year...eh, I didn't plan at all. And that's not for lack of ideas. I had a few neat ideas rolling around in my head, but I never managed to settle on one of them.

So, that's why I'm totally winging it during Nanowrimo this year (heaven help me!). This has the potential to be very painful for me. But I hope I'm wrong about that.

If nothing else, maybe I can manage to do some typing on Anemone's Song during November, and begin editing it, since I'm not taking things so seriously this year. (Famous last words, right?)

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MeNaSe Publications: Put a Stake in It

>> Saturday, October 30, 2010

Out just time for Halloween: a short story by yours truly!

MeNaSe Publications: Put a Stake in It: "e-download Table of Contents Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 e-download"

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The 10 most notable heroes in speculative fiction

>> Friday, July 2, 2010

As I have mentioned in previous entries, I write for an online column. What I have not recently mentioned, due to the sheer amount of work and personal stuff that I've been dealing with, is the fact that I have switched columns. Yes, ladies and gentleman. I no longer write a column about politics. After six months of writing that, I'd had more than enough; it simply wasn't my passion, and I yearned to write in a different field. So, I became the St. Louis Speculative Fiction Examiner (you'll notice, of course that I am listed by a different name than the "ALR" of this blog; that is because if I ever publish a fantasy book I intend to use a byline similar to the one in this blog). I've been enjoying myself ever since.

And without further ado, a list of The 10 most notable heroes in speculative fiction as written by yours truly. Enjoy!

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Weekly writing prompts: The Ultimate Weapon and A Bump in the Night

>> Saturday, June 12, 2010

Posted a day late since I was on vacation, but still worth a look!

Weekly writing prompts: The Ultimate Weapon and A Bump in the Night

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