Monday, November 29, 2010

12 days of Writing


On the first day of writing my characters said to me,
This book will rock!

On the second day of writing, my characters said to me... two giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock!

On the third day of writing my characters said to me... three undeveloped characters, two giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the forth day of writing my characters said to me... four drafts of a synopsis! Three underdeveloped characters and two giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the fifth day of writing my characters said to me... we aren't getting enough stage time!
Four drafts of a synopsis, three underdeveloped characters, two giant plotholes but don't worry this book will rock.

On the fifth day of writing my characters said to me... Should you be writing without coffee??
We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the sixth day of writing my characters said to me... Put down the bottle! Should you be writing without coffee?? We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the seventh day of writing my characters said to me... You have told and not shown... Should you be writing without coffee?? We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the eighth day of writing my characters said to me... eight delusions of grandeur. You have told and not shown... Should you be writing without coffee?? We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the ninth day of writing my characters said to me... Nothing, I will ignore you...Forget delusions of grandeur. You have told and not shown... Should you be writing without coffee?? We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the tenth day of writing my characters said to me... Wake up it's three am!! You should be writing, not ignoring us. You have told and not shown... Should you be writing without coffee?? We aren't getting enough stagetime and you've written four synopsis. Three characters undeveloped falling into giant plotholes but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the eleventh day of writing my characters said to me... Edit eleven times!! Send out to betas... you have told and not shown. Lay off the coffee. What about that stagetime? Ha! You call that a synopsis? Those characters are cardboard!! And we all fell into plot holes... but don't worry because this book will rock.

On the twelfth day of writing, I hovered over clicking send.... Edit one more time. Could you please beta? What do you mean what is she feeling? Pass me the coffee... Stupid characters aren't going to tell me what to do... Oh, no, now I have to write the query?? I developed the characters!! Oh... come on! ANOTHER plot hole? Oh, yeah!!! This book will Roooooo-oooo-oooock!!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Please help...


Please help: Tina Gerow/Cassie Ryan has been taken suddenly and seriously ill. She has an affliction called Arteriovenous malformation or AVM in her brain which has led to multiple surgeries and an extended stay in ICU. No family is ever prepared for such a thing and Tina's is no exception. In times like this, every dollar helps and her friends in the writing community are banding together to ask you to open your hearts (and wallets) to help get Tina's family through this. Tina is well known to readers and authors across the country who have embraced her books, most recently, (writing as Cassie Ryan) Seducing the Succubus (Berkley/October 2010) and coming in April 2011, The Demon and the Succubus. Please send your prayers, positive energy and love out into the universe with Tina's name on it. Cards can be mailed to: Tina Gerow, c/o SBP PO BOX 42255, Phoenix, AZ 85080. Any donations you would like to make to Tina Gerow/Cassie Ryan to help with the burden of mounting medical bills, can be given by visiting: https://sites.google.com/site/tinagerowandfamily or by sending a check toTina Gerow, c/o SBP PO BOX 42255, Phoenix, AZ 85080. Help spread the word—please post on your blogs and websites.

It's HUGE!!


I am probably not alone in this either. Sometimes... Okay, a lot... Tasks come along and I look at them and think to myself,

"I can't do this!!! This is tooooo MUCH!! Why did I think I could??? This is an ImPoSsIbLe TASK!!! AH, the foolishness and arrogance of ME!!!"

And then I force myself to grit my teeth and begin the project. At least for the first little while, I am still berating myself...

"You Foool!! Now look what you have done!! I knew nothing good could come of this!!!!"

And then I get it done. And I am left blinking. I did it!! I knew I could. Why did I blow this out of proportion to begin with? That was simple! It's not like I was trying brain surgery or rocket science. Why did I freak out?

And then I do the same thing five minutes later.

Query letters and synopsis are great triggers for this method of thinking. I have been known to put myself through more edits in an attempt to avoid the dreaded query/synopsis.

And then I write them and wonder why I freaked out.

But I still... STILL do it every single time.

Do you have anything that you blow out of proportion or panic over that you are capable of?

Off to edit.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Sleep with the fishes...


I guess it is a common thing for writers because I have noticed most of them online.

Insomnia is defined as difficulties initiating and/or maintaining sleep, or nonrestorative sleep, associated with impairments of daytime functioning or marked distress for more than 1 month.

Since I am going on about thirty three years of random spurts of insomnia... I will go with I have it.

The thing with insomnia is that it rarely affects how I feel the next day. I am wide awake and then eventually I sleep and then when I get up I am up again. I think it started when I was a kid because I was afraid I would miss something. Now, as an adult, I would love to miss something. Catch me up later. Let me roam off to the world of dreams where anything is possible. Where my stories have a shot of coming to life for a moment...

But biology or maybe physiology or some other logy keeps me from sawing loggies with irksome regularity.

I mean, it is great because it increases my productivity by a few hours... but then again, I don't trust anything I do after a certain hour. So I reread it and double check that it wasn't complete garbage before I can use it.

This I do out of paranoia. So far, regardless of the hour, the writing seems pretty much the same. Ditto for edits. But there is always this chance that when tired, I will do something stupid... Make some error that my wide awake mind would have caught...

Do you ever have this problem?

Oh, and if you try to go to sleep, you end up lying in bed, eyes closed, pretending to sleep as if someone is going to come catch you faking it. Like the sleep police are going to come banging on the bedroom door and spirit you away for the travesty of sleep you were committing.

Actually, to be honest, if I do fall asleep, I am one of those people who will jump up, bleary eyed and tongue tied, and try to convince you I wasn't sleeping at all. Usually as I wipe the drool off my chin.

So probably I have some sleep issues.

Probably.

I refuse to take any of the meds so readily available now to 'treat' this condition. My feelings on this, and don't judge me because I know others feel differently hence prefacing it with MY feelings, are that if my body really needed the sleep, it would go to sleep. Since I am not falling asleep...

The body must not be that tired.

I am probably wrong.

But logic and insomnia are not compatible.

Sweet dreams and alert 3ams...
Virg

PS... Look, I drew you a picture!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Give Thanks for Free Stuff!!!




















Free read of my paranormal short story, Wolf Bait, is available in volume two!!

Enjoy my story and a whole lot more free on ARe!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

See, just one more thing to be thankful for ;)

Free books!! Find Just One Bite, Volume Two here http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-justonebitevolumetwo-484626-139.html

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Brilliant inventions


So my maternal skills may not be the very best.

For instance, when my thirteen year old daughter, who is best known for her ability lately to roll her eyes and go into lengthy diatribes on how little I know and how lame I am in general, advised me she was losing her voice...

I said, "Well, then honey, don't talk. It will come back faster if you don't use it."

Which, by the way, is totally true. Being a big choir geek, I know that the vocal cords must be rested or they will stop working. So resting them... totally valid.

The happy dance I did at her silence probably wasn't entirely helpful, but dancing is good for the health. It builds up endorphins and is exercise...

And when I sent her to school and figured if it was really bad... they would send her back...

Well, I have to go to WORK.

And she had no fever, said her throat didn't hurt and was otherwise okay...

And if her mysterious loss of voice was passed along to other kids... really? Don't we want to silence adolescent America? I mean if they spent as much time listening as they did speaking...

The teachers should have sent me a thank-you letter. And maybe chocolates.

Guiltily, I did shuffle her into the doctor's office. Guiltily because part of me wondered if I wanted to FIX it... I mean, it would run its course... why rush it?

Strep.

So I got to give a lecture on washing her hands and not putting things in her mouth...

Of which she was silent and attentive.

Because she has no voice.

Her facial expression didn't look pleased but the loss of voice rendered her speechless.

Having done my parental bit and lectured her... and having not been interrupted twenty times and diverted from my topic, I felt much better about the whole thing.

And I think from her furrowed brow I could also surmise that she really got it and was ruminating on my words.

Or she was pissed she couldn't tell me off.

Either way... I feel better about the whole thing.

Off to shove more zeeepack down her throat. And chamomile.

And then to enjoy the fun of her company.

Yeah, she sure is fun when incapable of speech.

And I am drawing up plans for the adolescent mute button.

Don't worry. I won't forget you when I am famous.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Chaos is my mistress

Today was supposed to be fairly mellow.

What I mean by that was that I wasn't triple booked.

Woke up to the Ghostbusters theme song and Justice shrieking at me that she must have missed the bus and why didn't I wake her up and what was she going to doooooo?

Clutching a pillow over my head, I mumbled out that she wasn't going right away. She had an appointment with Doc Pirate.

When she took my pillow away and I stared up at her with bloodshot eyes she shrieked that if I simply let her know what the plans were, we could avoid this kind of thing.

"Coffee."

"What did you say, mom?" Again with the shriek.

"Coffee. Or death. Pick one."

Sighing dramatically, she stomped to the kitchen to hit the button on the pot.

Burying my face again, I advised her to wake up her brother.

Next thing I knew, a hundred pounds of DJ landed on my back. "OOooOOf!"

"Good morning, Mom!"

"Mrmfffpplddd"

"What did you say, Mom? I can't hear you with that pillow on your head."

So, up I got. Clicking away on my cell, I got hit with morning hugs from Ash which nearly burst my bladder as he is bladder height. Patting him absentmindedly, I mentioned, "Clothes."

"You want me to get dressed?"

"Mmm."

"How come you can't talk in full sentences before coffee?" He chirped it and smiled up at me. I scowled darkly back at him.

Within a half an hour, I had mainlined enough coffee to make full sentences, since apparently that is required or some crap. I shuffled David out the door and the rest of us loaded into car. Kicked out Cat as he acts like he can't see the parrots... but I know he does.

Off to Michelle's. Short visit to Ashton's and my day on the computer. Off to Doc Pirate.

Discussed Justice. Dropped off Justice.

Live Lesson Ashton.

Back to Michelle's.

Grabbing coffee I remembered I hadn't gone to the store.

Meh.

Well, on the upside, I have a brand new WIP and no name for it.

Woot!

Off to hide under another pillow...