Today is that fateful day of each school year that I weep a little in the morning and then resolve to have the best four hours possible before my freedom is taken from me.
Being self-employed, I'm used to a certain amount of freedom. Granted, when work demands, I'm on task and do what's got to be done, however long it takes, but when I have the leeway, I can schedule my day to allow for morning writing time, lunch critique time and maybe get a few paragraphs in here and there between jobs. Not to mention, writing after the kids go to bed--assuming the husband is busy with his own projects, which he often is.
But now the kids will be home. *wails*
"No school! Yay! We get to stay up later!" - Yay. Less writing time for me. Though, I'm getting better at blocking out the annoying kids shows and their canned laugh tracks so I can concentrate a little.
"Why are you eating at your computer, mommy? You should have lunch with us." - Because time sitting at table, staring out the window while shoveling food in my face is wasted time. Must multitask! (Yes, I DO try to eat with them when they are home.)
"Why are you eating leftovers? We don't want leftovers. We didn't like it the first time. We want mac and cheese! Make us lunch!" - Leftovers are quick and easy. Fend for yourselves children!
"Why are you always working on a computer? Why can't you take us to the beach?" - Well, at least at the beach, I can get some reading done since laptops and sand don't mix.
"Can we have friends over?" - Oh how I miss my silent days with only the occasional whining of the dog when he sees a squirrel. Heck no, I don't need additional kids around. Take all your friends outside, or better yet, go to their house.
"We're bored." So go write something. That's what I'd rather be doing!
Yes, I love my children. Honestly, I do. They are good, smart and get along fairly well for brother and sister, but... I love my quiet time too. You know, that whole absence makes the heart grow fonder thing. So.... when are they implementing that year round school plan?
Countdown til school resumes: 87 days
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The truth behind Trust pt 3
The all-powerful Delyn had to go. She needed to knocked down, kicked a few times and maybe smacked upside the head once or twice for good measure.
However, doing so, made the story, as it was, fall in on itself. And honestly, I was rather sick of writing her in all her various incarnations. She just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I needed a fresh voice to breathe a more constructive direction into the story that I wanted to mold this chaos into. And thus, Vayen spoke unto the masses.
We took some time to get to know one another--both turning around to smack Delyn away from the front seat, because she still wanted to drive. It took several drafts to find a workable balance between them.
It wasn't her story that I wanted to tell. I'd done that. Several times. I wanted to tell his. His story clicked, angels sang, all that good stuff that happens when you know you've made the right move. In the process, Delyn lost a lot of her over the top backstory--which made her a much more sympathetic character.
For me, it was exciting to flesh out another side of events I'd only made scant mention of previously--such as how Vayen came to be working for Delyn and their earlier connection. He got jealous when she looked elsewhere, which tamed her sleazy side. He gave her a reason to tone down the cold, hard face she was so fond of. He made her work within the realm of the story I wanted to tell. (And that, Scott, is why I switched from one MC to the other.)
Not that the switch solved everything.
I realized that the story would be much stronger if it were in first person. So I rewrote it. Then I realized that hard sci-fi wasn't what the best angle for the story. It was too dry. I wanted the characters to really shine instead of the tech. So I rewrote it. Then I realized that flawed characters using sci-fi tech, killing people for whatever really important reason wasn't as engaging as it could be. The story needed other layers. So I rewrote it.
Within that flurry of rewriting, Trust was born. Hallelujah.
Thanks to Scott Free for being my post muse.
However, doing so, made the story, as it was, fall in on itself. And honestly, I was rather sick of writing her in all her various incarnations. She just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I needed a fresh voice to breathe a more constructive direction into the story that I wanted to mold this chaos into. And thus, Vayen spoke unto the masses.
We took some time to get to know one another--both turning around to smack Delyn away from the front seat, because she still wanted to drive. It took several drafts to find a workable balance between them.
It wasn't her story that I wanted to tell. I'd done that. Several times. I wanted to tell his. His story clicked, angels sang, all that good stuff that happens when you know you've made the right move. In the process, Delyn lost a lot of her over the top backstory--which made her a much more sympathetic character.
For me, it was exciting to flesh out another side of events I'd only made scant mention of previously--such as how Vayen came to be working for Delyn and their earlier connection. He got jealous when she looked elsewhere, which tamed her sleazy side. He gave her a reason to tone down the cold, hard face she was so fond of. He made her work within the realm of the story I wanted to tell. (And that, Scott, is why I switched from one MC to the other.)
Not that the switch solved everything.
I realized that the story would be much stronger if it were in first person. So I rewrote it. Then I realized that hard sci-fi wasn't what the best angle for the story. It was too dry. I wanted the characters to really shine instead of the tech. So I rewrote it. Then I realized that flawed characters using sci-fi tech, killing people for whatever really important reason wasn't as engaging as it could be. The story needed other layers. So I rewrote it.
Within that flurry of rewriting, Trust was born. Hallelujah.
Thanks to Scott Free for being my post muse.
The truth behind Trust pt 2
That which eventually became Trust would have died a quiet death in a cheap ream of typed, white-out-encrusted paper if, years later, a co-worker hadn't mention wanting some practice drawing comic book characters. He knew I toyed around with writing and asked if I wouldn't mind whipping up a bio for him to work from. Oh heck, why not.
And Delyn was born.
(I particularly like her legs. I want her legs. Let's just pretend they're mine. Ok?)
Though the majority of what I wrote for him no longer applies--and so I won't post it here to aggravate those of you who have read Trust--here is a taste of what he had to work with.
---
I noticed you were staring at my blade here. You should be more careful, I felt you all the way across the room. Lucky I’m in a good mood isn’t it? What’s that? Buy me drink? Well I suppose that could be interesting. You mind if we go back over to my table? I prefer my dark corner, if you know what I mean. I see by your smile that you do.
So what do you need... or is it want? What ever do I mean? Are you serious or not because I do have better things to do than sit around and talk to shady characters in the middle of the night. 100 credits for me? It’s a good start to a friendship. So who are you? A writer? You want to do something on me? Well I can’t say I’m not flattered but why me? You’ve heard of me?
Another 100? Must be then. So what do you want to know?
Where to start... at the beginning? No, that’s what everyone does. First of all, I’m not like everyone else, not like anyone else actually. I do things my way. I pick my own partners. I follow no ones rules but my own and they tend to change frequently.
---
As sweet and awkward as teen Ms. Wildstar was, Delyn was anything but. She was dark, cold, snarky, and apparently, sleazy too. She could do no wrong--invincible, all-powerful and able to find an out to every situation. I didn't want to see her knocked from her pedestal of kick-ass awesomeness. Let me tell you, when she was applied to the story, it made for a really annoying read (once I stepped back and really read it).
Which is why...
to be continued
And Delyn was born.
(I particularly like her legs. I want her legs. Let's just pretend they're mine. Ok?)
Though the majority of what I wrote for him no longer applies--and so I won't post it here to aggravate those of you who have read Trust--here is a taste of what he had to work with.
---
I noticed you were staring at my blade here. You should be more careful, I felt you all the way across the room. Lucky I’m in a good mood isn’t it? What’s that? Buy me drink? Well I suppose that could be interesting. You mind if we go back over to my table? I prefer my dark corner, if you know what I mean. I see by your smile that you do.
So what do you need... or is it want? What ever do I mean? Are you serious or not because I do have better things to do than sit around and talk to shady characters in the middle of the night. 100 credits for me? It’s a good start to a friendship. So who are you? A writer? You want to do something on me? Well I can’t say I’m not flattered but why me? You’ve heard of me?
Another 100? Must be then. So what do you want to know?
Where to start... at the beginning? No, that’s what everyone does. First of all, I’m not like everyone else, not like anyone else actually. I do things my way. I pick my own partners. I follow no ones rules but my own and they tend to change frequently.
---
As sweet and awkward as teen Ms. Wildstar was, Delyn was anything but. She was dark, cold, snarky, and apparently, sleazy too. She could do no wrong--invincible, all-powerful and able to find an out to every situation. I didn't want to see her knocked from her pedestal of kick-ass awesomeness. Let me tell you, when she was applied to the story, it made for a really annoying read (once I stepped back and really read it).
Which is why...
to be continued
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The truth behind Trust pt 1
Blame Scott Free for this one (and those to follow, this is going to take a few posts).
When did Trust go from being Delyn's story to Vayen's story? Well, that's kind of in the last third of the evolution process.
Yes, Trust evolved. Every other novel I've written comes out of an idea and flows onto the page--through various degrees of agonizing birth, but never the same way (thankfully) that Trust did.
It's a story that's grown with me, through the teen years, dating, marriage, divorce, dating, marriage, and two children. It's always been with me, and it wasn't until I forced myself to put it down and write other things that I was finally able to detach myself from the immense world of characters who were as real to me as anyone else I talked to on a regular basis and finally write the story it was meant to be. I could finally see it for a novel and not a hobby that I slunk off to when I wanted to be alone.
It grew up. I was ready to cut the apron strings and kick it out of the house.
Might as well bare it all, while I'm at it, I suppose.
The story that began around 1983 as "The adventures of Dan & Dana", was about two kids who crashed their space ship after things went wrong at the children's rocket festival. They end up on another planet ruled by the evil Prince Barstone. It was, well, awkward. Really, really awkward. The most memorable lines were:
"Remember that Dana?"
"Yeah, I remember, I remember all those days in the cramped ship, and the frightened faces as we left the atmosphere, and I remember when we lost contacct on the cb, and I remember when we ran out of fuel and crashed here just last night!"
There are so many things wrong there that I'm just shaking my head and hanging my head in shame. CB's in space? Really? Oh my. The part that makes this the most memorable is that I had spelled remember wrong. Yes, every time in that long repeating sentence.
Once on the planet, they meet up with two boys named Matt and Jason. Together, they proceed to defeat the prince and his nefarious plans and escape the planet to go on a new adventure. At this point, the story consisted of 6 legal sheets of yellow paper with handwriting much neater than what mine is now. The pages were tucked away until a few years later when current events brought them to mind again.
In 1986 the Challenger space shuttle exploded. This was a traumatic event for most kids in school as we were all avidly watching the launch during class. Oh hey, I had a story somewhere about kids in space and a space ship festival! Now, in high school, Dana became Alexandria (cue Ms. Wildstar). Mostly because I'd found a new favorite name.
I figured if I was going to dive into this writer thing, I'd better have the right tools. So I saved up my money and bought a typewriter (and a lot of white out). It was really noisy and my parents banished me to the farthest room in the basement with it.
By the time I was in tenth grade, I had a hundred fifty page story and made my creative writing teacher read it. I'm pretty sure she skimmed it or she clawed her eyes out and then got replacements over the weekend.
It was full of teen angst, giggling girls oogling the mysterious cute and troubled new boy on the bus, and no way, they got stuck in space after their space shuttle replica misfired during the shuttle tribute! Guess what? They end up on a planet (cue the Barthromians) and have an adventure. I know, you didn't see that coming.
After some encouraging and not so encouraging comments from my creative writing teacher, I tucked the story away and got involved in real life teen angst, along with plunking away on my typewriter with a couple sequels in which Matt and Jason also got to hook up with space chicks (cue Delilah).
Over the next few years I went on a sci-fi reading binge and grew up a little.
To be continued...
When did Trust go from being Delyn's story to Vayen's story? Well, that's kind of in the last third of the evolution process.
Yes, Trust evolved. Every other novel I've written comes out of an idea and flows onto the page--through various degrees of agonizing birth, but never the same way (thankfully) that Trust did.
It's a story that's grown with me, through the teen years, dating, marriage, divorce, dating, marriage, and two children. It's always been with me, and it wasn't until I forced myself to put it down and write other things that I was finally able to detach myself from the immense world of characters who were as real to me as anyone else I talked to on a regular basis and finally write the story it was meant to be. I could finally see it for a novel and not a hobby that I slunk off to when I wanted to be alone.
It grew up. I was ready to cut the apron strings and kick it out of the house.
Might as well bare it all, while I'm at it, I suppose.
The story that began around 1983 as "The adventures of Dan & Dana", was about two kids who crashed their space ship after things went wrong at the children's rocket festival. They end up on another planet ruled by the evil Prince Barstone. It was, well, awkward. Really, really awkward. The most memorable lines were:
"Remember that Dana?"
"Yeah, I remember, I remember all those days in the cramped ship, and the frightened faces as we left the atmosphere, and I remember when we lost contacct on the cb, and I remember when we ran out of fuel and crashed here just last night!"
There are so many things wrong there that I'm just shaking my head and hanging my head in shame. CB's in space? Really? Oh my. The part that makes this the most memorable is that I had spelled remember wrong. Yes, every time in that long repeating sentence.
Once on the planet, they meet up with two boys named Matt and Jason. Together, they proceed to defeat the prince and his nefarious plans and escape the planet to go on a new adventure. At this point, the story consisted of 6 legal sheets of yellow paper with handwriting much neater than what mine is now. The pages were tucked away until a few years later when current events brought them to mind again.
In 1986 the Challenger space shuttle exploded. This was a traumatic event for most kids in school as we were all avidly watching the launch during class. Oh hey, I had a story somewhere about kids in space and a space ship festival! Now, in high school, Dana became Alexandria (cue Ms. Wildstar). Mostly because I'd found a new favorite name.
I figured if I was going to dive into this writer thing, I'd better have the right tools. So I saved up my money and bought a typewriter (and a lot of white out). It was really noisy and my parents banished me to the farthest room in the basement with it.
By the time I was in tenth grade, I had a hundred fifty page story and made my creative writing teacher read it. I'm pretty sure she skimmed it or she clawed her eyes out and then got replacements over the weekend.
It was full of teen angst, giggling girls oogling the mysterious cute and troubled new boy on the bus, and no way, they got stuck in space after their space shuttle replica misfired during the shuttle tribute! Guess what? They end up on a planet (cue the Barthromians) and have an adventure. I know, you didn't see that coming.
After some encouraging and not so encouraging comments from my creative writing teacher, I tucked the story away and got involved in real life teen angst, along with plunking away on my typewriter with a couple sequels in which Matt and Jason also got to hook up with space chicks (cue Delilah).
Over the next few years I went on a sci-fi reading binge and grew up a little.
To be continued...
Novel in a Blender 4
It's been awhile since I've pondered my overflowing bookshelf.
Before I jump into today's influential selection, I must share the news that I've just pre-ordered Jacqueline Carey's latest book, Naamah's Curse. Though my life has been insanely busy the past few weeks, I am anxiously awaiting its delivery and will put everything on hold while I shove my nose between the pages and refuse to come out until I reach the last word. There are a lot of books in my to-be-read pile but this one will leap to the top without a second thought. Unless, of course, George R.R. Martin's long awaited A Dance With Dragons happens to magically appear on bookshelves before then. I'm not holding my breath. Good thing, or I'd have been dead several years ago.
Deep cleansing breath. There, that's better. I'll have to wait for HBO to air the "Game of Thrones". That will appease me. Hopefully. My expectations are set pretty high.
Back to my bookshelf and back to when Trust was something else and told through a female pov. I was reading books like Emily Devenport's Shade. The tale a girl on the streets doing what she has to in order to survive. Good gritty stuff. It was about this point where I started to get the idea that Ms. Wildstar needed to go and Ms. MC needed a rough and tough outer shell that then slowly evolved into the emotionally damaged, angry and paranoid woman that is Delyn.
There are two other books, Scorpianne and Larissa, but while a fun read, they weren't as good as the first one. The word formulaic comes to mind. But if you're looking for female sci-fi main characters, they might be worth a quick read through.
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