Category Archives: SeptNoWriMo
SeptNoWriMo Update
I am so close to finishing this writing challenge I can almost taste it! I’ve made it through a first draft of the new book and just have one more scene to add (a dream sequence, love those!) and I was sorta hoping I’d be done by now. But RL has really kicked my butt this week so far so that one scene is only about a third completed. I’m not sure if I’ll get it done tonight either as I’ve got a killer headache but I might push through a rough draft of it anyway since I’m so close! This one will be quite a bit shorter than the other two books, closer to 75k so hopefully more palatable to agents and publishers for an unpublished author.
I just finished my first fanfic One Is The Loneliest Number this week and it’s a bittersweet ending for me. Sweet because it was my first attempt at fanfic, I’m really proud of how it came out and thrilled with the responses I got from my readers. Saddened because it’s over. But at 33 chapters and almost 100k words it’s practically a book in and of itself!
I’ve also been working on Wake Me When The Sun Goes Down and just threw my readers a BIG curve ball. In preparation for the reviews I took a deep breath and put my armor on expecting a lot of outcry, but instead I got the nicest, most supportive responses! I have to say my reviewers are the coolest readers out there! I’m definitely feeling the love and it makes me want to update faster.
On a side note my eleven year old daughter just told me she’s gonna start writing a fanfic today, I’m so proud! Only I had to promise not to read it. 
I guess I can understand that. I just hope she keeps it up!
Off now to try and push my way through this final scene so I can be done with my first draft!
Crazy Weekend!
Holy crap what a crazy weekend! Yesterday I woke up on a mission and started the day with my 3k quota on the book by 10am. Good start, right? Then it was 2k for a Vampire Diaries episode recap (found posted below), then it was 3k of the next chapter for one of my Vampire Diaries fan fics “Wake Me When The Sun Goes Down.” I even managed to squeeze in some side writing with a friend.
So then I go back to add a little more work on the novel, and it hits me… I’m definitely not in love with the direction things are going. It’s going alright, but I haven’t had as much faith in the romantic lead as in my last two books. Fewer of those moments when I’m done writing a scene and just go “Wow, that came out cool!”
After talking things over with my hubby, I decided to change the entire 2nd half of the book, including who the romantic lead is, because the original just wasn’t working for me. Long story short, I ended up losing a few thousand words. Yikes! It’s like finding a mistake in knitting a sweater and having to rip out a ton of what you’ve just worked on! But, through some hard work I’ve managed to regain what I lost, including my 3k quota for today as well as about a thousand to spare. phew!
So now I’ve got a little time to catch my breath and maybe work on a little fan fic before the season finale of True Blood comes on tonight! I will be taking notes, because I plan on attempting at least one True Blood fanfic in October.
28K And Still Going Strong!
The new book is going well! After a brief rough patch over the weekend I am back on track and have now just crested the 28,000 mark for the new book! It’s interesting the curve balls that the characters throw at me and how the plot evolves into something new and hopefully better.
Someone asked me if I can post any excerpts from the books and truth be told, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. With the goal of being published and hopefully (parts crossed!) to be under contract soon, I’m not sure what the ins and outs are for posting parts of it online. So for now I’ll hold off on posting any bits, but if anyone is interested in my writing style, I would direct you to check out my fanfics. (there’s a link to the right, over there…)
It’s turning into an interesting struggle to balance the writing for the book, the fanfic, some side writing with friends, work and family! I’ll probably be a ball of stress by month’s end, but hopefully with another completed book under my belt!
Rewrites Already?
Ok so remember how I said I wasn’t exactly in love with what I had so far for the next book? Well I decided that it just wasn’t clicking exactly, and scrapped the entire beginning; changing the POV to 1st person instead of 3rd. I’ve never really been a fan of 1st person POV, but I think it’s well suited for this particular story. I was able to save some of what I had written already, but a lot of it had to go which was hard to accept. But in the end I’m much happier with how it’s coming along now. I’ve just crested the 14,000 word mark now and it’s not even dinner time yet, so I’m chugging along ahead of schedule, even with that setback. I even managed to post another update for some fanfic today, AND even got out for a bit to go feed the ducks with my hubby and youngest and enjoy the sunshine, so all is right with the world. 
In other news, I got a phone call yesterday from a literary agent who is reviewing Pretty Witches All in a Row and she seemed pretty interested in both that book and my writing in general. *does happy Snoopy dance* She’s going to finish reading the book over the weekend and get back to me, and I’m crossing all available bits (except for fingers, gotta keep typing after all…) that she likes it well enough to want to represent me.
Off now to make some dinner (linguine with spicy Italian chicken sausage and marinara sauce, mmm) and then it’s back to writing!
SeptNoWriMo Begins!
Starting with more of a whimper than a bang unfortunately. Work was crazy busy today, so instead of getting at least a few hundred words in there and being able to review the stuff I wrote before work, I didn’t touch it till around 7pm tonight after dinner. Still I managed to eke out 4011 words, still above my 3k word quota for the day so I can’t complain too much.
So far I’m not in love with how it’s going, but then again the beginnings are always the most difficult for me. Usually things start to flow a bit better once I start to get a feel for my characters and the plot. Hopefully tomorrow will go better and even if I can’t get to any of it from work I’ll be less stressed when I do get home. And then there’s always the three day weekend coming up, should be a good chance to get a big chunk of writing done.
Off now to re-read the next chapter of fanfic before I post it tomorrow, and check for any errors.
SeptNoWriMo is Coming!
Just over a week left to plot and plan before the next writing frenzy begins in the month of September. Some might think it a bit insane, but I prefer the pressure cooker of trying to complete an entire novel in the span of one month (while simultaneously trying to hold down a fulltime job, keep up with writing fanfics,RP and oh yeah… my family). I find that I need that deadline to push me to write every day and so far it worked pretty well for my first two books.
The new book will be called Angel of Mercy and the premise is as follows:
Mercy Renault wakes up miraculously healed after a brutal attack that should have by all rights left her dead. She keeps spotting the same man who haunts her dreams, oddly intent and focused on her every move. When Mercy follows him, he turns out to be less than human, or is it more? Nathanael is a fallen angel, bound to the Earth and living out his life among humans but apart from them. Unwilling to let the Good Samaritan die, he bestows some of his Grace to Mercy, healing her wounds and imbuing her with some of his angelic powers. Now Mercy’s eyes are opened to a whole new world beyond the human realm… and their eyes are opened to her.
I’ll try to post updates with how the writing process is coming along as I go, wish me luck!
