Tag: work in progress

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New Post Whimsy Writing again

Writer Working Report 2/4/21

One. I have been invited to be the featured reader at the Oak Park Public Library’s No Shush Salon this month. Feb 25, 6:30-9:00 CST. It’s a FREE event held safely via Zoom. I ill present exciting snippets from The Sharp Edge of Yesterday and other writings, and there is an open mic too. Online registration is required but free. Link? Of course link! https://oppl.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?EventId=51023

Two. Sharp Edge is on target for March 23 release. It’s getting a final copy/proofing pass, and then pre-orders will go live. This will be my first pre-publication release with Ingramspark, so I’m not sure how pre-orders will work outside the Piranha Platform, but hey, LEARNING EXPERIENCE! I polished and trimmed and tightened up this tale, but it’s still a big, juicy novel about life, death, superpowers, perseverance, and the power of friendship. (I would say the power of love, but it is NOT a kissing book and people get the wrong idea.) But I digress.

Three. I can make Advance Proof ebook copies of Sharp Edge available to interested bloggers, reviewers, book buyers….really, to anyone interested in a sneak peek & maybe posting a release day review somewhere. There’s a way to contact me right here on the site: Contact Form

Four. I will have new character art to show off VERY SOON NOW. Also BOOKPLATES. I am super excited about this. It means you can order Sharp Edge paperbacks from your favorite retailer and still get them personalized by me even though we’re in pandemic times because I CAN MAIL BOOKPLATES ON REQUEST. The design will have a phoenix on it because the phoenix is my personal emblem and also the series logo for the Rough Passages series. I can’t wait to show it off.

Five. I haven’t stopped writing just because I finished one book. I’m making solid progress on Ghost Town, which is the working title of a book I’m working on with a partner author. Brand-new police chief of a small Illinois river town solving mysteries with the help of her great-great-great grandpa, who was mayor there in the 1800’s. I love the main character of this story, and my biggest lesson with this book is that I need to write moreprotagonists who have pets because writing animals is SUPER-FUN.

Six/Last. May I ask a favor of those who’ve read this far who also make purchases from Piranha aka Amazon? Could you take a peek at the existing positive reviews for Flight Plan and cast a “this is helpful” vote on any one that DOESN’T begin with the words, “I was very disappointed…?” I ask this because the current Top Review for Flight Plan begins with those words, so it’s sending a really bad message to prospective readers despite it being a 4-star happy take. Easy clicks on other positive reviews would be a huge help.

Huh. Look at all those cheerful things. No rant today, I guess. Maybe a rant next time. (There’s always a next time.)

Anyway, that’s all for now until later, kthxbai.

Cat with a book. BECAUSE WHY NOT?
Image by Алексей Боярских from Pixabay

Categories
New Post Whimsy Writing again

Living the Quiet Online Life (sorta)

Followup 2 to my “Imma stop feeling guilty about dodging the gotta-be-visible-gotta-react-gotta-be-involved 24/7 noisefest that is modern life” post. Followup 1 is here.

The why of it all is simple: the choice had to be made.

I can interact, manage life’s material necessities, or ideate and create. Not all three. And the world is not forgiving of missing work shifts or failure to pay bills, so it’s the interaction I must trim back.

Each of those activities uses distinct, competing parts of my brain.  Think of them as differing fighting styles or building skills. Each one requires a different set of weapons/tools and protective equipment.

I can clank through my day using two full tool sets at once, but all three? Not happening. (With construction in my basement right now, the analogy could be that plumbers and carpenters can work at once, or HVAC and plumbers, or HVAC and the carpenters, but all three? No one would have room to move!)

Also, switching from one mentality to another is a process not unlike taking off one set of weapons and armor and donning a new set. It takes time and energy to put away all the discarded equipment  properly and get all the new buckles done up right. It’s more efficient to pick which set (s) to use and stick with them for longer timeframes.

Interactive Communications is the skillset that takes the most time and energy to use and maintain.

My non-writing professions all demand extensive, regular communication. I got into them because I’m drawn to learning difficult things over easy ones. Plus it’s much easier to handle interaction in a structured system when I have a clearly defined role. Counselor. Teacher. Retailer. Trainer. Public Service Staffer.

So I’m good at communicating and interacting with people in a variety of environments. Humility not being one of my virtues, I would even say I am VERY good it.

I take pride in being able to readily talk with acquaintances and strangers, to share, inform and persuade–but I do NOT enjoy it.

No, seriously.  The number of people in the WORLD with whom I can interact comfortably–no filter, no forethought before every word, no constant conscious processing of pitfalls and consequences–is a small number.

Writing is work too. HARD work. But it’s work that lets me create, so it’s worth the effort. Hanging out with friends is worth the effort because friends ( yes, that IS a reason.)  But those things are both hard and also two different KINDS of effort.

I can’t do the creative writing if I ALSO have to be ready and able to write or to talk my way through interactions AND have to be able to remember things like eating, dressing, paying bills, and getting to important appointments.

So. Less Interacting. MOAR WRITING. That’s the plan.

Everybody wins.

Image by gadost0 from Pixabay

Categories
New Post Writing again

Unpleasant Possibilities.

Zero forward progress has me feeling down.

I’ll have to trunk Sharp Edge if I can’t get these rewrites moving. I don’t want to do it. I REALLY don’t. I’ve promised it to people. I have Rhiannon’s beautiful cover art. I have paid good money for fantastic, insightful edits, and I have plotted out the changes I need to make this already @#%$! amazing book absolutely %!&@$ AMAZEBALLS.

But none of that matters, because I know how the story ends, and writing new scenes into a story whose ending I already know is like trying to tow a loaded ore boat up a canal by hand, all by myself.

Once I’ve dug into a job I’m a strong and steady plodder, but right now I’m slogging through mud where I can’t get any traction, hauling away ay a massive DONE thing that’s sunk in place.

Stubborn determination keeps me sitting at this computer day after day–but every day I find myself working on ANYTHING ELSE during my creative time (like, oh, writing this blog post…) and I finish single paragraphs in Sharp Edge, if that.

If at this point you’re feeling the urge to share pious, sugar-mouthed chirpy cliches like “Just write for yourself/you have to want it bad enough/motivation comes from within,” please keep them to yourself, thank you very much.

I don’t write for myself. I never have. I’ve completed a half-dozen novels not writing for myself just fine, ditto for a dozen shorts.

I only put the swearing and sweat required to squeeze my non-linear thoughts into writing so I can tell stories to OTHER PEOPLE. Therein lies my problem.

At this stage with past books, I hadn’t worn out the few friends who liked seeing the raw pieces as I wrote them. I could convince myself they were urgently waiting and wanting the story. Believing I would disappoint them if I didn’t have something new FOR THEM was like having a whole team of helpers tugging away at me from the other side, countering the weighty DONENESS of the story I was revising.

I don’t have that any more.

Everyone is patient. And understanding. And busy with their own lives and problems, and honestly if anyone said they DID want to read my raw progress,  I would have to be convinced. Several years of experience with Support & Encouragement as Vague General Concepts have taken their toll. I now suspect it all as coming from a place of kindness rather than objective excitement about the story itself, and that’s quite the anti-motivator.

(Hi, my name is Karen, and  my writing kicks ass, but the way some friends get all tense around the eyes and swiftly change the subject whenever I talk about my books makes me sad…)

ANYway.

Anyone out there craving the next scene from this book I am utterly unable to work up any momentum on? Anyone willing to convince– as in NAG– me and insist on being given material to read weekly? Daily?

Anyone love Elena’s whiny teen angstiness and Valerie’s nervous conflict-avoidance that much?

I’m not expecting a positive answer. But I’m working up to facing the reality that if I can’t find someone to help me haul this load, pretty soon I’m gonna have to drop this rope and go find a different towpath.

Even if it breaks my heart to do it.

 

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New Post

Today’s Passing Thought

A little poem about writing for a gray, cold December evening

I am resolved. I WILL make WIP progress today.
Despite the cat’s best efforts to drive me up a wall by howling at high volume any time I begin to concentrate.
Despite body aches & toothache & headache.
Even tho’ it’s night now & I spent the whole day playing with other things.
Gonna write.
Gonna.
Write.
…
After dinner.
I promise.

Hold me to it, people. Ask for evidence. Demand snippets. Whatever.

Accountability is a real motivator.

Okay. Well. Y’know, carry on.

Categories
Writing again

Inside my head

  • It’s crock pot season! And slow-oven casserole season. And cookie-baking season. Happy, happy kitchen nesting time. There are more apples to process, too. I will need all the crunchy, dried bits of summer heaven and dollops of saucy heaven  I can get to brighten up meals in the dark, cold months ahead.
  • I HAVE EDITS BACK for Sharp Edge of Yesterday! This means I now have a doubled writing workload and two deadlines to chase, but somehow this makes me happier than happy. I know authors are supposed to agonize about edits, but I…don’t. In this case I agree without reservation about the things that need polishing. The how of some fixes will be tricky & take a lot of work. And I may leave flaws in. BUT. The end result will be a stronger story. So much stronger. I have much pondering to do first.
  • The latest in searches:
    • dead bolt types
    • adenovirus rhinovirus flu virus symptoms severity
    • corn a fruit, grain or vegetable (spoiler alert: yes to all)
  • I don’t like super-spicy foods, and I believe garbanzo beans are one of nature’s nastiest edibles. It’s a  So…of course chili flavored dry-roasted chickpeas are my favorite new discovery in snack foods. I would probably love the sea salt flavored ones too, but I haven’t found those in local stores yet.
  •  Media update!
    • The Commuter: Liam Neeson was in it, so I had to watch. I don’t regret watching, but, um. The plot was bent into a pretzel to work in the digital mobile world. Also it telegraphed everything. No, I didn’t “figure out the twists.” It’s just that the tropes were all binary choices that would be equally satisfying and familiar. Things could hinge on “old-friend betrayal” or “corrupt boss.” Other secondary characters might sacrifice themselves or be allies. Plus the central moral dilemma was never compelling. Brain candy
    •  American Gods. Yum. I had my doubts, given the dreamy source material, and it’s very much an adaptation, but I am adoring it. It feels true to the Gaiman book,  which is more than I expected. I love that book for (among other reasons) recognizing The House On The Rock as a portal to other realities.
  • Random cat pic: 

And that’s all the all there is for this time.