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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