Scott Free seems to be my blog muse lately. That alone is odd. Or was it crazy? No, he wasn't crazy, that was one of his lies. I'll get it straight, I swear.
Yes, I've been tagged with the bald-faced liar award... again.
Since I've already shared my lies and bequeathed the award upon others, I'm going to pass the honor to one of my favorite characters, Vayen. For a man from a novel called, Trust, how can you not... well... trust him?
This will probably be more fun for those of you who know Vayen, but everyone is welcome to play.
1. I am an awesome pilot. I can fly anything. This one time... well, I don't want to brag.
2. I'm a neat freak. Messy rooms drive me insane. I don't know how anyone can live like that.
3. Bring on the front lines, I'm a hands on kind of leader who loves to be in the middle of everything in person.
4. I have a thing for Caltessian and Verian women. If I could find an agressive Caltessian woman in a short-statured, devout Verian with telepathy, I'd be at Geva's gates.
5. Some might say I have substance abuse issues. I would say I like to have a drink now and then. Okay, fine, maybe a few, but my experience with drugs was not entirely my fault.
6. I harbor no grudges with my Caltessian co-worker. After all, neither of us was physically involved in the war that took my family from me. I'm sure he lost someone he knew too.
7. Profanity is intolerable.
Learn the truth about Vayen on Monday. He's quite happy to be let out of the book for a little while. I don't usually let my working characters out to chat. It tends to inflate their egos. Let's just hope he stays in line and doesn't catch sight of any discarded characters that he might hold a grudge with. That could get messy.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
I'm back
I'm still alive, though, no more sane than I was when I left with my car full of Girl Scouts. After all, I did volunteer for this gig, so obviously there is a general lack of sanity to begin with. Much whining, pitching of fits and swallowed pool water was involved. And fun. Though, mostly had by the girls and not us sleep deprived zombie drivers with one eye locked on the road and on on the GPS.
Things learned on this trip:
Boy scouts are prepared. Girl Scouts will forget essential things like a swimsuit, lunch money, a can opener and that one car who doesn't have directions that we're supposed to be making sure is following right behind us. Where did they go? Ooops! Thank goodness for cell phones.
I can not sleep with blinking lights right above me. I don't know what the heck these ceiling sensor lights were for but at 2:30 AM, white blinky lights in an otherwise pitch black room and snoring girls did not aid my efforts to rest.
No matter how many children are on the trip, my own will always be the one that truly drives me nuts. At least I can pull that one aside and give her an uncensored chewing out without threat of any other parental backlash.
I am cursed to be the one that must always follow the gorilla men into the hot tub. Sorry folks, I have a very low tolerance for extreme amounts of back/shoulder hair.
There are a lot more tattooed people out there than you realize when you see everyone fully clothed. (Yes, I'm one of them)
Customers will still need everything right now even if I'm not in the office. Messages and emails will pile up. No one will do my work for me while I'm gone.
Twenty-four hours away from computer access is hard.
Water slides are still fun.
Witnessing my timid daughter figure out that water slides are "awesome" is, well.... awesome.
Things learned on this trip:
Boy scouts are prepared. Girl Scouts will forget essential things like a swimsuit, lunch money, a can opener and that one car who doesn't have directions that we're supposed to be making sure is following right behind us. Where did they go? Ooops! Thank goodness for cell phones.
I can not sleep with blinking lights right above me. I don't know what the heck these ceiling sensor lights were for but at 2:30 AM, white blinky lights in an otherwise pitch black room and snoring girls did not aid my efforts to rest.
No matter how many children are on the trip, my own will always be the one that truly drives me nuts. At least I can pull that one aside and give her an uncensored chewing out without threat of any other parental backlash.
I am cursed to be the one that must always follow the gorilla men into the hot tub. Sorry folks, I have a very low tolerance for extreme amounts of back/shoulder hair.
There are a lot more tattooed people out there than you realize when you see everyone fully clothed. (Yes, I'm one of them)
Customers will still need everything right now even if I'm not in the office. Messages and emails will pile up. No one will do my work for me while I'm gone.
Twenty-four hours away from computer access is hard.
Water slides are still fun.
Witnessing my timid daughter figure out that water slides are "awesome" is, well.... awesome.
Monday, June 14, 2010
And so summer begins
Sorry folks, no witty monday morning post this week. I'm spending a couple days with my Girl Scouts at a water park. This would probably be a fun mini vacation if it weren't for attempting to keep a bunch of seven to ten year old girls under somewhat control. Oh, and the three hour car ride. Time to load up the car's DVD player and stock up on patience.
We'll see how sane I am by wednesday's post.
We'll see how sane I am by wednesday's post.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Goodbye Freedom
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
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
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.
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