Still going, 45k into a new title

It seems I’ve abandoned short fiction for the time being.  I haven’t done a story less than 20k words in months.  I still have a short piece that needs to be edited, but right now I’m working on what’s probably going to be a full novel length piece about werewolves, kidnapping, and betrayal.  I just hope it’s good – it’s much more action oriented than previous things I’ve done.

“When I was born, I got my umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, both arms, and one of my ankles. Mom said that the doctor, at one point, stopped delivering me and just started laughing. I mean, if I ever let being bad at something stop me, I wouldn’t even be here. That thing some men call failure, I call… living. Breakfast. And I’m not leaving until I’ve cleaned out the buffet.” (Pierce Hawthorne, Community)

 

This little quote is a good reminder to myself that if I don’t fail, I’m doing something wrong.  Failure is absolutely a part of growth and everyone learns more from their failures than their successes.  For a long time I was afraid of failing, but for the most part I’ve learned to shut that part of myself up and just go for it.  My last story (the BBW Billionaire one) was a failure in some ways, but I learned a lot from it, and I’m going to apply it to my next one.  I’m definitely writing another BBW story in the near future!

The Fountain is Flowing Again!

I’m working on a werewolf story that I’m really excited about because I’m haven’t written one of those in so long.  And the love interest is dark!  And sullen!  And brooding!  I have so much trouble writing those kinds of people because I’m just not like that, but I think this is working.  He’s only smiled once so far and I’m 21,000 words in!

I’ve also learned my lesson to never ever publish half a story without explicitly saying to be continued.  My BBW Billionaire story is still getting roundly kicked in the ass with reviews despite selling fairly well.  I can only hope the dissatisfied readers pick up the second half for a true resolution, but no guarantees, alas.

Also, good news for the Angel Among Wolves fans – I’ve finally gotten inspiration for a third in the series!  You should expect it to come out within the next few months, though now that I’ve said that I’m sure I’m going to experience some awful writer’s block.  Of course.

It seems like after a bit of a dry period (only a thousand words a day, boo) things are really picking up again.  I’m excited about writing, I’ve got a printer so I can print things out and do really thorough spelling and grammar checks, and I’ve even for a very helpful writer’s group in the area.  Everything is turning up Milhouse!

ETA: Hilariously enough, it occurred to me that I totally should add any and all alcohol expenses to my work related expenses for my tax info.  Not that I did!  But alcohol helps me write sometimes.

Update update something something

All right, it’s been a bit busy for me in the past couple of weeks.  I ended up going to a fantasy / sci-fi convention, and while I was there I got a few nibbles from publishers on getting my comic published. (Yes, I’m an artist as well.  Yes, I have written a comic.  So sue me.)  They were interested!  This is cool.  It feels dumb, but it’s nice to be validated as both a writer and an artist, and getting a comic actually factually published does both of those things nicely.

In other news, I’m working on the sequel to my BBW Billionaire story which is really the second half of the first story and not a sequel.  I’ve discovered a fatal flaw in publishing a story in halves without revealing that there’s a second half, is that people are blasting it to pieces because the heroine seems weak and the love interest is a jerk.  Shit, it didn’t even occur to me that this would be the reaction, as neither of those characters have completed their growth arcs yet.  All I can do is wave my little hands in a frantic manner and scream at everyone to read the sequel.  That isn’t out yet.  Whoops.

Anyways, I got a printer.  A cheapo laser printer, but it allows me to more thoroughly edit my works.  I’m hoping the typos and weird sentences will diminish if not completely disappear in my new works.  We shall see!

I Have ADD (also known as ADHD – inattentive type)

I’m wandering through this thread on reddit describing ADHD, and I just don’t connect with a lot of the other people on there about what they are saying on the disorder.  But I definitely have it; I was diagnosed with it when I was in the 3rd grade, I believe.  I still remember the short time that I was put on Ritalin.  Suddenly I could focus on what the teacher was saying and not draw dragons all over my homework assignments.  I was getting work done.  I was well behaved.  This was also the time we went to Disney World as a family and my mother still says I was the most well-behaved child out of all of us by far.

But I was a zombie.  I wasn’t just well-behaved, I was too well-behaved.  I no longer drew.  I wasn’t creative.  And my mom hated seeing that side of me be lost, so she took me off the medication.

Perhaps this is why I don’t connect with the other people in that Reddit thread.  While they used the medication to cope, I learned my own coping mechanisms.  I learned that I pretty have to multitask and work on more than one project at a time (for instance, at this very moment I’m writing this post, working on another short story, editing a novella, and researching covers.)  And sometimes it’s an uphill battle.  Sometimes starting my writing for the day feels like pushing a 4 ton square boulder up a vertical cliff.  But then I get started and the boulder turns into a beach ball and the cliff turns into a gently sloping hill.  Or sometimes it doesn’t.

Even in a routine for me, things never stay the same.

Not Quite a Writer’s Block

I’m writing here right now because apparently I can’t stand the thought of working on my latest story (The Billionaire’s BBW Lover.)  I mean, I know exactly where the darn story is going, and I’m about to write a rather exciting scene for it, but I just don’t have the mojo to actually get it out!  Hmm, maybe it’s the fact that it’s 55 degrees in my home at the moment.

Tea might help.

Did you like a story of mine that you read?

Then please give it a positive review!  I’m drowning in negative reviews right now and it makes me very sad.  I don’t think readers realize that with indie authors reviews are much more personal.  The recent one that really stings me is ‘it’s well written but not my thing – 2 STARS.’  Really?  I mean… really?

The Long Slow March

Despite my little mid-month adventure in car crashing and car buying, I’ve managed to stay mostly on track with writing.  I have all but one story written (aside from the Football one; I’ve decided to abandon it, and perhaps reuse the sex scene elsewhere, because it is sexy) and the only thing I have left to write is a short story, and finish up Mirrored.

I have however fallen woefully behind on editing.

There is something about editing that I simply dislike.  It’s difficult at best to go over my own stories with a fine toothed comb, and even picking out simple grammar and spelling errors when I’m five thousand words into a ten thousand word editing session becomes a chore.  Add to that the hunt for plot holes and inconsistent character development and repetitive word use, and it just becomes a nightmare.

But I will persevere!

Also, it’s very strange to me that my best selling series is also my most poorly reviewed one.  I suppose it goes to show you that if the synopsis is good enough, people will buy it!  And a good synopsis is very important.  If you’re bad as distilling your plots down into a compelling one, two, or three short paragraphs, you really should consider getting help with that.  I think even I need help.  I tend to use rhetorical questions as a crutch, and I’m trying to get away from it.  We’ll see how well I do.