Delurk. C'mon, you can do it.

Today I'm going to take a page from my favorite cynical dad blogger, Chag.

It's DELURKING DAY!

If you've never commented before, please leave a comment. If this is your first time here, please leave a comment. If you're a regular commenter or one of my BFF who read my rambles devotedly, please leave a comment. That goes for you feed readers too.

Say hi! Wave! Tell me where you're from. Tell me what you do, or what you're writing. Or just say hi and stick your tongue out at me.

Also, feel free to ask any questions you'd like me to answer on future blog posts. Because I am such the fount of knowledge.

If we get over 50 distinct commenters, I'll do a random pick and offer a prize.

(prize, prize. Thinking. I'm a little low on the cashola for a real prize. I am an editor, though, and I have a good eye. Would anybody want a 5-page crit? Hey, you can answer that too! In your COMMENTS!)

colors

Yes, I got tired of brown. Wonders never cease. {s}

Back back back

The last couple of days have been a change, writing-wise.

Sunday night I had a sudden wave-of-brain, and realized I'd stepped the wrong way in the story. Well, it's first draft, so not wrong exactly, but not best. If I took it another way the later plot would go in a much better direction, include the characters and settings I'd rather be exploring, etc.

So. Halted headlong progress. The 1500 or so words I wrote on vacation will likely stay buried in the GhostGirl2 file--I'm now working on GhostGirl3. I rewound several chapters, found the misstep, and cut about 1800 words yesterday. More will be hacked today. I also wrote 900 new words, though, and will write some more cool new stuff...so it evens out. Better now than a much more tangled later. Much better for plot.

In going back over the old stuff, though, I discovered a few things (AGAIN) about Things I Do on First Draft.

Annoying things:
--My characters breathe a lot. A lot a lot. Take a slow breath, a shaky breath, exhale a long breath. Struggle to breathe. Mind, that last is a fairly important issue for my MC during some parts, but the rest? Geez. We know you're breathing, Nat, you're still talking to us. Stop. It.

--Dialogue tag repeats. I cannot believe how often I do this. "Blah blah blah," X said. He did some random action. Every time I read through a section I have to do a delete on all those "X said He" bits. {sigh} Thank goodness for later drafts.

Positive things:
--I made myself laugh, reading bits, and I'd totally forgotten I'd written some of them and was pleased. This is a good sign, for later. After cleanup.

So what do you do in first draft, and always have to fix later? Do your characters nod too much? Walk? Grin? Do you have to yank out useless adverbs?

The Liar's Diary

This post is part of Patry Francis Day. 300+ bloggers strong are taking time on their blogs today to write about Patry Francis and her book, The Liar's Diary.

Complete details are here: http://www.litpark.com/

Patry Francis is a writer like many I know--she had a full-time job, 4 (4!) kids, and still managed to scrape time together to get the writing done. She finished a book. She found an agent. She sold the book.

And then, unfortunately, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, just as her book was due to be released.

That timing sucks. Okay, cancer sucks. My grandfather, aunt, and mother-in-law all died of cancer. My mom has cancer that must be treated regularly, with experimental treatments. I have a particularly close fear--and hatred--of that nasty bastard.

So Patry, heck yeah I'm joining in to help promote your book on its release day, so you can concentrate on getting better and beating this cancer. I'm going to go check out your book myself, once I'm done writing this.

THE LIAR'S DIARY is out TODAY in paperback! Go check it out, people! And if you want to make a blog post too, for Patry, for all the writers and non-writers you know who have had to battle cancer, yes. Please.

Checking back in

I'm back!

It's 19 degrees, snowing like a bejeesus, and blustery. Everyone is of course either blaming me for this weather, or charging gleefully into my office to ask how I like being back.

Pbbbbbt.

Though it was very hard to find vacay pictures without any of us recognizable in them*, here are a few. Yes, it was fun. Yes, I am so back at work now, back at school, and back on GG. {s}

That's us, going down the big drop on the log ride...

*One of my longstanding self-imposed rules for this blog.

Made it!

Brief update, because I'm pounding out a few more words in another window.

We made it to LegoLand. Child declared, skipping back to the hotel, that this was one of the best days of her life.

Yes.

(It is deluging again, but held off until 4 thank the weather gods. Now it can do whatever it pleases, and I don't care...)

Devil/Angel

Last night, while Child was tucked into the hotel bed and hubby was at a play, I had to make a choice. I had an hour and a half.

To my right, Spymaster's Lady was sitting seductively on the little table, taunting me. "Come read," called Annique. "You have only a few chapters left. I am in grave danger, me, and you must know what befalls me." Grey just threw me a look. "Come," he said. Just one word, but so powerful.

To my left, the laptop. The manuscript of Ghost Girl. Natalie. "Hello? I've been sitting here waiting for you for like, ever. In a mess, as usual. Will you come and help me out, please?" And then there's Tony, who's in this scene. Did I mention that Tony looks a little like James McAvoy?

Tough, right?

I'm happy to say that Tony and Natalie won. 800+ words. Finished the whole scene. Yay! And with time to spare. As a reward, guess what I got to read...

On a vacation note, it's bloody raining again. We had a great day yesterday, but it poured last night and is due to pour more today. LegoLand is looking more and more unlikely...
But Child is happy. The past couple of days she's had great fun, and right now we're going to go color the new Fairytopia coloring book with the new crayons, and that's pretty good for her. :)

vacation report

Yesterday was another rockin' vacation day. Monday was good too, but it rained, so our trip to the zoo was a bit drippy. We soldiered on, and had fun. But yesterday was perfect weather, warm but not hot. We spent pretty much the whole day at the Wild Animal Park, visiting with monkeys and okapi and lions. We rode up above the park in a hot air balloon, and had cranes and eagles swoop just over our heads in the bird show. Child enjoyed the playground best, though. :)

Today is possibility of rain. We're going to head to Balboa Park, most especially the Science Museum (excellent kid's place) and the adjoining playground. And maybe some shopping.

Side note: we are all valiantly pretending that I do not have a cold, though I've gone from scratchy throat to scratchy chest to sore throat. But nothing's wrong, no, nothing. I'm fine. {g} Actually I am, pumped up with Airborne and Super C and coffee...

Oh, and I saw Atonement. Really enjoyed it. Highly recommended for writers!

Vacation day perfection

Wow, what a perfect day.

This morning we headed out to the Stephen Birch aquarium, one of the best small aquariums ever, anywhere. Okay, I may be biased. We've been there probably a hundred times, before Child and at every stage of Child's life. I love to sit at the bottom of the huge kelp tank and stare with her at the sun shining down through the swaying kelp forest, as leopard sharks swing in front of our noses.

Then we had Mexican food for lunch (of course) and headed to see our Big Event of the trip, the Corteo show of Cirque de Soleil, which is here on tour. I loved it. It was amazing. {happy sigh}

Then Starbucks coffee, and a swim in the heated hotel pool, followed by dinner at CPK.

Hubby is out to a movie, Child is asleep, I squeaked out 200 words in half an hour...and now, Northanger Abbey is just starting on Masterpiece Theatre.

Ahhhh. Perfection. {g}

Made it.

There. Got to the 50% mark on Ghost Girl.

Now there will be a brief pause while:

(a) we go on vacation, to sunny-land
and
(b) I figure out what happens next. Some brainstorming on various plot threads and possibilities is necessary.

In the meantime, if you'd like to see some skating cowboys (and who wouldn't, really?), go here.

Mental...er, mentors

Weather: Today it's snowing steadily, big, fat flakes. Much nicer than yesterday.

Several fellow writers picked up my meme for their blogs, which makes me oddly cheerful. Proof that I have some impact, however small, on the world, I suppose. {g}

Speaking of impact, and affecting other people--I was somewhat distressed when at least two of my fellow writers declared in their meme answers that they had no mentors. Seriously. NO mentors? How? How can you survive in this crazy-making profession without having somebody to lean on? Somebody you can call when you're despairing, when you need your hand held, or when you have absolutely fabulous news and you cannot wait another single second to share it with somebody who understands?

J.A. Konrath had this to say on his blog this morning:

I'm lucky that I have half a dozen professional writers on speed dial, and if I get stuck, they're happy to help me out. Naturally, I return the favor. It's a combination of tough love, enabling, and a mutual admiration society, and it is one of the true joys of this business.

Yes. Exactly. For support, I'm amazingly lucky in that I have a small group of writer friends that I can talk to, literally, about anything. We kick each other when we need kicking, sympathize when we need that, and are always (always) ready to celebrate successes large and small.

I understand that is not exactly a mentor, necessarily. That's why for my list I chose two people who have been, and continue to be, mentors for me in specific ways.

Diana Gabaldon has shared her expertise, advice, and assistance with I don't know how many writers over the years, at the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum. I'm fortunate that I also get to see Diana in person every year at Surrey. She's been unfailingly encouraging and helpful to me. She's also fun to drink Scotch with. {g}

Vicki Pettersson is just fun to drink with.

Okay, I'll be serious. Vicki is my shining example of how this writing stuff can work if you put your heart into it. She also shows me every day how to handle successes, how to keep your head down and focus on writing, and how to never, ever forget that it's about doing your best work, in the end.

(Unfortunately, this also gives her the right to say 'I told you so' ad nauseum. If that's the tradeoff, I'm good with that.)

One of my writer friends shocked me the other day by declaring that I was her mentor. I don't see how--since I'm at the beginning of this process myself--but I sure the heck was flattered. When I get a little further along, that is definitely one of my goals. Pay it forward. Encourage others. Be the one they want to call, be the helping hand.

You gotta have mentors in this process, IMO. I know I wouldn't make it without 'em.

Brrrr

It was -9 degrees (F) this morning. My fingers and cheeks were numb for an hour. It's up to a balmy 13 now, and I have my sweater off and the window open. This is the joy of working on the 3rd floor of a building built in 1896. The heat is either on (roasting) or off (freezing). Right now, with the window cranked, it's almost right.

With the blast of arctic air, though, I'm rather glad that we're leaving for vacation soon. We always try to do a week in San Diego sometime in January or February--knowing that the winter blahs will hit right about now--and I'm sooo looking forward to it. Not least because we got tickets to the Cirque de Soleil. Huzzah!

After today's work, I just have to get 1000 more words on GG to get to my 50% goal before we leave. That I can, and will, do.

{happy}

10 Writerly Questions

A meme! Instead of 10 Things I Hate about You, it's 10 Things about You as a Writer.

I answered, and am tagging everyone who reads this, is a writer, and has a blog. I'm looking forward to your answers!

1. Your genre(s)?

Young adult, baby. All the way—I love to read it and write it. (Though I do have an adult historical under the bed, and I never rule out anything for the future.)

2. How many books have you completed?

Two. Almost halfway through the first draft of #3. By the end of 2008 that number should be 4.

3. How many books are you working on now?

One, seriously. But my mind keeps dabbling with the next one.

4. Are you a linear or chunk writer?

Linear, but I do drafts. First shitty draft, second fix-plot draft, third clean-up, and fourth language (spit and polish).

5. The POV you're most partial to?

First! Definitely. It's what comes naturally. But I've played with close third, and might try that sometime.

6. The theme that keeps cropping up in your books?

The MC finds out something special about themselves they didn't know, or has to deal with being different. No, no ties to my actual real life, of course. {cough}

7. How many days a week do you write?

Five regularly (M-F) plus whatever weekend time I can grab.

8. What time of day do you get your best writing done?

Lunch! I close the door, and the time is all mine.

9. Who are your mentors?

Diana Gabaldon, Vicki Pettersson. Both have helped me immeasurably, in different ways.

10. Who are your favorite authors to read? (different from mentors)

Right now: Joanna Bourne, Scott Westerfeld, Melissa Marr. Piles of others, but those are on top at the moment.

Now, yours!

Woot!!!

For anybody who hasn't seen the news yet...

A new anthology has been announced, with Vicki, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Kim Harrison, and Jocelynn Drake. Jocelynn's the only one I haven't read (and loved) yet, but I know I will, from the insider comments I've heard.

Wow.

I don't often go all fan-girly, but I am today. {Massive Grin}

Win The Spymaster's Lady signed copy!

Forgot to add this:

Go to Jennifer Hendren's blog to enter to win a signed copy of The Spymaster's Lady! Trust me, if you don't already have one, you want one. :)

The shape of the future

AHA!

Over the weekend I started to see the shape of Ghost Girl. I remember this happening about the halfway mark with Jenna too--suddenly what was rather vague wandering around and doing stuff begins to crystallize into plots, threads, themes, and issues. I start to see what I will need to change, strengthen, and cut. Where I will deepen characters and relationships. I feel a surge of excitement, that I can really make this a good book. It's like I've been sculpting with no idea what the final product will be, and then I just SEE.

I also see the mounds of work ahead to get there. Yes, there will be massive rewrites necessary. But this sense of shape is validation that it will work when I'm done.

For now, though, forward progress continues. I just stuck Nat in a very lovely (not) situation I'm quite pleased with. Reminder: never volunteer to be one of my heroines.

Last night--sleepless again--I also got a bit more info on the NEXT book. I had to sit on her to get her to stop telling me about it, because I just can't listen to her right now. Her name, BTW, is Melody.

Depressing news...

This was in my PW Daily today:

Harcourt San Diego Office to Close

Employees in Harcourt’s San Diego trade division were told Thursday that the office will close June 30. The announcement is the latest step in the integration of the Harcourt and Houghton Mifflin trade operations into the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers division. The San Diego office has about 65 employees.

More here from PW.

For those who don't know, I worked as an editor in the San Diego office of Academic Press, then a division of Harcourt, for 8 years. The Harcourt trade people were my colleagues, and many of them my friends. Our division was taken over by Reed Elsevier 5 years ago, and now Harcourt. {SIGH}

Winner!

And the winner is...LINDA!!

Congratulations, Linda. 4 new books coming your way. :) Enjoy!

And I hope everybody enjoys The Spymaster's Lady. I have no doubt about that. (Congratulations again, Jo!)

Last entry!

Thanks for the laughs yesterday, guys! Worked like a charm, with the addition of coffee and GOING HOME. :)

I also started a wonderful book last night, called The Spymaster's Lady. Heard of it?

Here's the last contest entry, unless somebody gets to me in the next 20 minutes. I'll do a random draw at 9 AM and announce the winner here.

From Linda:



Linda chose to take the photo with her favorite accompaniment. I highly recommend that one myself.

need a laugh!

Also...

I'm in rather a cranky and crotchety mood right now. I need diversion. What's your best cheering-up site or laugh?