Something, Is Always Better Than Nothing

     So I must say my head has been lost in all things pirate the last several days and I have completed nearly 70 pages of my most current WIP since Christmas alone which I cant decide if that's a good thing or bad. Good, because I am putting the words on paper, telling my story(or at least my Characters story) for the rest of the heard to hear. Bad, because of all that amassed word count, I cant help but wonder if the writing itself is any good. Either way, I am going to press on, wracking up the words until I get to the finish. I suppose that is why they call it a rough draft. Who writes a story perfectly on the first try. I guess I need to let go of the worries that it isn't good and just keep on writing after as my mentor and author Judi McCoy always says, "You can fix crap, but you cant fix, nothing."

Historical

     So I have begun a new adventure that is taking me from my ususal comfort zone of writing modern paranormals into uncharted territories. I have embarked on a Historical Novel entitled Avery's Journal, a story about a woman who lived her life outside the proper British expectation to became a Pirate. The WIP is something which has been simmering in my head for about ten years now, but recently Avery (my main character) has been clamoring to have her story told.
     And so, I have embarked upon a new journey testing the waters of the world of Historical writing. I am finding much more difficult than writing in modern day settings and my respect for those wonderful pioneers of this genre has risen exponentially.
     I am having to do much more researh to be sure I am using proper therms of speech, correct fashions for the time period and also the sailing lingo (after all it is a pirate story) beacuse I have not an inkling how to sail much less how to write about sailing in the 18th century. 
     For now I am just glossing over some of the lingo and historically correct accounts and just focusing on the writing itself. I can always do more research and add the information later but as long as Avery is calling to me, I can do no less than answer.
     Perhaps I can search out some firends who write mostly historicals and see if they have any advise or trusted resources, until then I'll let Avery take the helm and just sit back and enjoy where ever she decides to take me.

Christmas Gifts

     Another Christmas has come and gone and over all it was a really lovely day. I love the excitment of the kids when they wake up in the morning dying to see what Santa has brouhgt and tear open the presents which have been under the tree torturing them for the last few weeks with the surprises hidden inside the prettily wrapped packages.
     I also love spending time with family, seeing those loved ones who you only see once or twice a year or in my case that special cousin I havn't seen in ten years.
   While some people complain that Christmas has become to comercial and to much about the process of buying gifts and who got what, I think that those are the people that forget the main Idea of the holiday. Sure we buy gifts, but I buy them to give them to the people I love and see the hapiness that it brings them. It's not about what I get in return, its about what I can give, it's about seeing those that I love light up with joy, It's about sharing warm thoughts with family and friends and thanking god for the gifts that I have been given in my life. That to me is the best part of Christmas and regarless of haw many gifts there were under the tree for me, the best gift was the gift of  love.

The Learning Curve.

      Okay, here is a random observation that I have just made in my tiny littel brain. I have written four books now and each time I have finished one, I think wow, that's the best thing I ever wrote. At the time I said it of course, it was true, looking back, I cringe.
     I have really written some craptastic stuff! I guess that is the normal progression, the learning curve as it were, that with each book you get better. I would imagine that most authors see huge difference in writing skill between their first book and say, their thirtieth. 
     Now the first book that I wrote, really was the best thing I had ever written, at that time at least. It was 200 pages, so it was by far the largest thing I have ever tackeled. Rereading it now gives me a head ache. There is jus much wrong, its not even fixable or salvagable in any way shape or form. It might, no, scratch that, it would make excellent fire starter though. 
     My second book, which was even longer still was better that the first by leaps and bounds and I still love the story, but the book itself, I realized, though fixable, was more of a detailed outline or synopsis rather than an actual novel. I mean sure, I walk the reader through the chain of events culminating in the climax, then the resolution etc... but thats it. My setting aren't clear, the time line is confusing and the characters are flat, completely lacking emotion and personality. Who the hell wants to read on and see what happens when they don't care enough about the characters their reading about, to give a damn.
     The third book I wrote I can look back at now and say it was a decent effort. The characters have evolved into people to me, where the others never really did and I think it was because I relized that to make a character convincing there had to more to them that just the story. They had to have a past, to be real, to joke and laugh and cry and use dialoge that a person would use in the real world and not just some stick up their behind proper Grammer conversation, which sounds nothing like how real people talk.
     I learned to make the worlds I was creating, into worlds that my readers could envision, that they could see, sence, hear, feel, touch, taste, breathe...
     All this learning and experience has brought me to my most recent book, and finally I feel that I have something that is publish worthey. I have crafted characters in this book that are so real to me, I feel that I know them, I can place them in the real world in real life situation or say, Yeah so and so loves that too or what's-his-name is just as hot as that guy. 
     I have created bonds, friendships and enemies that are almost tangable and everytime I read about them I get excited. I feel a great sense of accomplishment that the people have taken on a life of their own all from just the seed of imagination I had planted in my mind.
    I guess this is a normal thing for begining writers or at least I would think so, there has to be a learning curve or how does one improve?
     I wonder if when I get to my thirtieth Novel, I will look back at my Fourth, or this blog and laugh saying "Wow, and I thought that crap was good."
     I don't know, but what I do know is that at his point, I feel pretty confident in my writing and look forward to getting better every day. As to how I'll feel when I get to number 30, I dont know, I'll let you know when I get there. :)

My Muse has come out to play

Every day for the last month or so I have turned on my computer opened up my microsoft word and stared at the pages waiting for my inspiration to come and every day I have come up blank feeling stuck as i try to over analize my plot and characters to the point of insanity. I was begining to feel like my muse had packed up and left me for green pastures or at least a more creative one. And then suddenly she came back and she has opened up the flood gates blowing to peices the creative damn so that now it seems I cant quit writing. On tuesday I wrote 7 pages a pretty good total for one day I thought but I wasnt done yet. Wednessday I wrote 8 pages even better than the day before but still feeling hot to trot I kept on going. today I have written 12 pages and still going and I wish I could just keep it going instead of having to stop to do stupid things like cook dinner and sleep, but oh well. All and all 27 pages for three days is pretty damn good. Hopefully my muse will continue to play in my garden of creativity and then I may just get this book finished yet!!!!!

Sometimes you just gotta let it go.

         I have been working on my latest book for a while now and though it has been making good progress it has been tough because no matter how far I get it just seemed that there was no end in sight. There is still so much story line to go but the pages are mounting along with my nerves, and then it came to me. I am not going to be able to put all this story into one book, there is just to much, its too overwhelming, but if I put it in a series of books, 2-3 where I can space everything out so that it is not so overwhelming then I can give more attention to each different plot line and everything would be better.
     And so, that decided, I have begun again with much renewed enthusiasm and excitment that I can see the end of book one in sight and am working on the story line for book two. I guess all along I just needed to let go of the idea that all these details had to fit into one neat package and just let the writing cary itself where it wants to go.
     Sometimes as a writer it is hard to remember that. After all it is art of sorts, it may not be what you intended to create when you set out but then after you finish you stand back and look at it. Eventhough it wasnt what you envisioned, it is still a beautiful thing.
     After all the stress and worrying about how I was going to get everything in there, I can now look and see my book for what it is. Beautiful...

Why Wont You Die Already?

      Okay, so most of you people know by now that I am a writer which my husband thinks make me the eqivilant of a crazy person as I am always talking about the people who live inside my head and how they like to argue with me.
     "Why argue?" He asks, "Your the writer, they're not real people just make them do what you want them to do."
     Well thats easier said than done.
     In the course of writing my current novel I have developed this character named Vanessa. She is quirky and tough, quick witted and fast with the comebacks. She is very rough around the edges and really toes the line between being an evil bitch and a take no shit suvivor. I had orrigionally just written her in as a small character, to play a role in a fight scene and be killed off,  but the more I wrote about her the more her character began to develope and grow into something that has far exceeded my expectations. Being the psychotic writer that I am I have tried to kill Vanessa off three times and yet she still lives enduring me to her snotty remarks and witty sarcasm with every scene that she is in. I keep thinking This girl has to die and yet she keeps thwarting my every effort.
     Now I have resigned myself to her presence liking her more and more every day and not only have I decided to stay her execution but I have been playing match maker in my head deciding with who out of the other voices that live inside my head might appriciate this fast talking annoyingly infectous creature I have created. (I know scarry isn't it.)
     Jeez, Im not even done writing this book and yet I feel a sequal comming on. Well what more can I say except well played Vanessa, you will live to see another day and welcome to my world of insanity....

Crazy!

Each day my husband comes home from work, sets down his tools or what ever else he happens to be carrying, hangs up his coat greets the kids and asks the age old question to each of them in turn, "How was your day?" They each answer telling him what ever teenage (or 9 year old) drama had befallen them that day or give the more common response of "Nothing." which I mean really, Nothing? they left the house for eight hours and did abousoloutly nothing, what did they lock them selves into an empty box for the day? Kids!!!! Any way, after hearing the kids rattle off their often unenthused and verrying responses he finally ambles over my way and gives me a small hello kiss. I know then that it is comming. It is inevitable as the dawn of a new day so I wait.... and BINGO, "What did you do today?" Of course my mind sifts through all the possible answers, dishes, laundry, saving the world from blood sucking vampires (after all I am a writer), wow I was busy today, as my mind tries to process all this I smile and simply shrug. "Nothing." I reply. Wow, maybe my kids arent as crazy as I thought!!!!!

Procrastination pays off!

Okay so here I am at my computer where I have been all morning trying to write this scene in my latest book and I find myself stuck. It is so weird sometimes. Its like I know what I want my characters to do and where the story should go next but sometime my people just dont want to go with the program. I call my Charactors my people because to me they are people with past's and thoughts and feelings. My husband thinks I am crazy and when I start ranting that Cassi (the heroine in my current novel) just isn't co-operating with me he looks at me as if  have completely lost it. So as I have waisted away my morning wallowing in procrastination I decided to check out Laurell K Hamiltons web site, who is (if you dont already know) a fabulous author and one of my very faveorites) and I happened to click on her blog. Suprisingly enough Luarell who is a New York Times Best selling Author several times over, had posted a blog where she was speaking of her own little case of writers block. Now I must say this must have been fortuitous because though I have been to her web site before I had never read her blog, and I found what she wrote to be most insiteful and helpful into my own current blockage. In essense she said it was okay that Cassi was arguing with me and that I should listen to her better after all this is Cassi's stroy not mine I am just the one putting it down on paper. For some reason this made alot of sense to me and I will try harder to listen to my people in the future. It also made me happy because I was reassured that I am not the only writer out there with people running around in my head trying to boss me arround. My husbands sais he guesses thats okay as long as his people and my people dont start trying to talk or stage a coup he will just have to live with the fact that I am not the only person that lives inside my mind.