Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Leisure Time

So there's a study out that says mom's aren't as busy as they think. Apparently, we mom's have about 30-40 hours of leisure time a week that we don't know about! So let's do the math. We'll say 30 hours and 7 days, so that's about 4.5 hours a day. Ok, I'm going to admit, I am a horrible housekeeper and I have only 1 child. Also, I choose to *gasp* write a book, I play on the internet and yes, I do watch tv. Let's talk about the definition of leisure time. If leisure time means not doing anything, even if you're driving alone in a car, or feeding 4 hungry horses while your baby cries because he's safe, but alone in the truck, then I have 30 hours of leisure. No really, I'm not complaining about being a mom. The only time I'm stressed is when hubby has been out of town a lot and 99%(thank God for grandparents) of the care is mine. I probably have 30 hours, but they aren't quite as leisurely feeling as the word indicates. What would I like? I would like for about 7 hours of those leisurely 30 to be just me alone doing what I want, cause I want to, with no obligatin or interruption. Will I get that? Probably not, but I chose to be a mom. Of course I wasn't quite aware of just how hard it would be :) Let me tell you what though, when I go back to work and have more than 1 child, I will be going after the man who came up with this study! :)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Duh!

Ever have one of those moments where you think, "why in the heck did I write it that way?" Well I had one yesterday. It was all about the settings for the whole of my current WIP. While I'm sure it made some kind of sense when I decided on the settings in the beginning, it does not make any sense now! Why, why, why did I make those decisions? I have a yucky feeling that editing this first draft might just be worse than writing it in the first place! At least after all of these mistakes I have lots of ideas of what needs to be done before I edit the 1D. At times I think to myself I should have done those things before writing this book, but then I remember how wishy washy I was and how everything was so... I don't know, just out of grasp? For example, my main chick is nothing like I thought she was going to be. If I had taken any more time thinking about her and not just writing her, then I'd still be thinking about this book instead of 2.25 chapters from The End. Every now and then I get distracted by the thought of what to do when I get to my next WIP but it's just that, a distraction. I can't let myself think about a shiny new toy :) lol, I hope you had a great weekend, I did! Have a great week too!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Hunting

Beneath my back the ground is cool, even through my many layers of clothes. Winter crop is smothered beneath my body. I can feel every ridge and valley of the rows. Above me the sky is a soft, velvety black. The moon is just past waxing crescent. Stars sprinkle across the sky like fairy dust. My eyes wander the sky and along the edge of my vision I can see the top of the tree line edging the field I lie in. Topping the trees, most of the spindly limbs that reach for the moon are bare of leaves. I turn my head and see next to me others resting along side, waiting for the call. Once more I gaze upwards, ever in awe of the beauty. In the distance the hounds bay; the call has been heard. We rise, family and friends, from the cold ground and begin trekking towards the call.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Those pesky characters

Grrrr! I went into this book having fairly minor descriptions of my characters. I had what I thought I knew about them based on the plotline, how they felt about each other, and in my main gal's case that first soap box episode she had with me. I really didn't feel I could get too detailed with the descriptions, I just didn't know the characters well enough. Boy was/is that true! As I've been writing, the whole time I would realize after a scene/chapter.... that may be something wasn't quite right. Because of my 'no editing' rule I've been making notes in my "wip diary" for the editing process. As I made the note, I'd tell myself that I would write the rest of the book with those changes in mind. You know, so as not to have to make so many changes later. Let me tell you, that can get confusing. Not to mention, each character is growing and changing increidbly! And occasionally a character, I won't name any one(main guy), has said "Umm, that's not right... no that's not right either... no try again...oh heck, I don't know!" Grrrrrr! So not only has he been wishy washy on me, I've decided my 2 prominent secondary characters have gotten confused with each other. Seriously, I have got some major editing to do. I plan on doing very detailed rewrites of each character before going on to editing draft one. But for now, I have to just keep plugging along, because I don't plan on stopping and fixing anything until The End.
Oh, and I'm desperately feeling the need lately for a total reading splurge. I've watched both Twilight and New Moon, and now I want to reread all four books. I'd like to read some new stuff too though. I can't afford to do this right now or my schedule, dedication and wip will be in jeopardy. Time to buckle down and get this book finished! I'm pretty sure right now that I'm going to need to take at least a week of ignoring this wip before I get started editing it. Ok, enough of a rant, time for bed. G'night.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Twilight

Yes, I am a fan :) and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love the books and the movies are great too. Long story short, I just watched my copy of the Twilight movie for the first time last night. Such inspiration! Why do I love Twilight so much? It's the love story; everything comes down to the love story. So I hope that you have something that inspires you and that you have your very own love story.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A little busy

Hello! This will have to be quick 'cause I've been a little busy. Since my last post, my husband came home for a day and a half from being out of town for work, we've moved our horses to my brother in laws to give the pasture a break(which means I have load baby up and drive to feed/check on them at least once a day), I've been to church, visited with family and I'm going to my niece's birthday party tonight. So just a little busy :)
My current word count is 58,649!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Pride...

hopefully doesn't really come before the fall. Hopefully, no fall comes! lol, just a joke. You may not be laughing, but I am. Don't worry, I'm mostly ok with the fact that I'm usually the only one laughing at my jokes.
Anyways, my pride comes from recent work ethic. I have slammed through some major writing the past few days. From Monday until today I've written 3,502 words. That is a lot for me!
I'm over half way through chapter 11, quickly closing in to the finish line. Just 2 more chapters after 11 is done! Wow! Anyways, so I'm proud I've written so much this week and that it looks like I'm going to hit my March goal. That was not something I was sure of last week. Ok, so here's the low down: word count is57,583 and there are 177 pages done. Just today I wrote 1,304 words. Ok, so onward, onward! Hope the weather where ever you're at is as nice as it is where I'm at. Can't wait for baby to wake up so we can go outside again!

Easy

So here's a picture of Nina(front) and Big Boy(back) about 5 years ago, having a grand time!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

ROD

Ok, so in last month’s contest of Reader’s on Deadline at The Deadline Dames, I won! I know I mentioned this all ready, but what I didn’t do was post my 250 word piece. Here it is and I hope you enjoy it!
Each breath rushed from my mouth as I was gasping the next one in. My sneaker clad feet slapped against the pavement in rhythm with the boy who was running next to me. In the distance the flames licked higher and higher, devouring the apartments. The harder we ran, the further the building seemed. I could feel pieces of my heart and soul unraveling and being ripped from my chest with each death. A howl ripped from my human throat. We could get there faster if we changed, but then the humans would see us.
Just when it seemed we were drawing closer, I felt the core part of me unraveling. My pack was dying, going up in flames. I cried out as another of my family died, “Mom!”
I jerked upright at the bang of my bedroom door opening. Sweat dripped from my brow, mingling with the tears trailing from my eyes. My dry lips were still parted from crying out. I automatically threw my hand up against the light that my cousin Brandon was flipping on. We could see just fine in the dark, but he knew the light helped chase away the dream.
I wondered what he saw when I dropped my hand and the light shown fully on my face. He stood there with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand, his other still on the light switch. I could see his fear from that night shining in his eyes, we had shared the dream.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Fear and Distraction

So, I have only 3 more chapters left to write! Rather than elation, which is what I thought I'd feel the closer and closer I got, I'm feeling trepidation. If I keep going like I have been, then I'll fall around 7,000 words short of my goal of 75,000 words. That's not what bothers me though because that's just a round about goal for me. What bothers me is the next step. I just commented over at Deadline Dames the other day about not being afraid and not worrying about "Am I good enough?" Well, now that I'm getting closer to editing and queries, etc. etc. I'm beginning to hear that small doubtful voice! As quiet as it is now, I still hate it and fear it!
Now, as for distraction, I have warred the whole time that I've been writing this book. Sometimes because I all ready "know" how the book goes and ends, I feel like it's done and over. Never mind the fact the story's in mind head not on screen! Now with fear rising, I find the distraction tickling my brain, but I'm resisting! At least because I have so much editing and developing I can't try to write a sequel! lol, I'm not worried though because I've got 2 other WIP that I'm determinded to finish once I'm done with my current WIP. Ok, enough blathering! Just to update, I'm at 54,696 words :)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Trailer Loading Nina 3-5

Nina did really good on attempt 3. In fact, I was sitting in the opening of the trailer wanting her to just relax and she put a foot in without me asking her too! Scared the poo out of me! She ultimately put both front feet in again and so I was happy with her try. On attempt 4 she loaded! She put her front feet in and then with a little ask and a little patience, she loaded all four feet in. We did this 3 times. I worked with her a 5th time and she is still loading. My next step is to see if she’ll load with the front half of the trailer closed off; that means she’ll be loading into a smaller section.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Quick

Here's a quick numbers update. The word count is 52,589 and there are 161 pages.
I'll finish up on my trailer loading series soon, I promise. Have a great weekend everyone!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Trailer loading 2

Two days after failed attempt
I worked with both Nina and Big Boy at directing them to walk between a bulky mounting block set a few feet from the side of the round pen. Both did well, although they were a little frisky. I can’t blame them though; they’ve had the winter off. Next came going into the stall. The barn we currently have has two stalls with no doors, that you have to step up into(it’s about a foot high step) and one long run in area. I could stand on the outside of the stall and send Nina in and out. I could walk her into the stall. I have been able to both lead Nina and send her in the trailer in past hauling experiences. Big Boy would let me walk him into the stall but did not want me to send him into the stall. In all past hauling experiences with Big Boy, we have always had to lead him in. Now on to the trailer. Nina was a little nervous, but she did behave and actually put both front feet in. I was able to ask her to back out before she could do it herself, which takes some good timing on my part, let me tell you! Big Boy acted very calm around the trailer considering Sunday did not go well for him. But he was his normal self in that when he gets to the trailer he starts locking up. I walked him up to the trailer and backed him up and walked him up and backed him up, repeatedly. I wanted to practice approaching the trailer. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, I’m trying to be positive.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Nine Months

So baby is 9 months old! I just thought I’d update for anyone else who has a baby. He sleeps from about 8 pm until 6 or 7 am, but he does have a bottle at 10ish and 5ish. He is eating lot’s of baby food and has tried all kinds of “adult” foods, like, gasp soda, tea, cake… LOL, these are all in small quantities, I promise. Now, whenever someone is eating, he begs like a puppy! He acts like I never feed him when in reality I’m feeding him all the time, or at least it feels like it. He sits up on his own, he can pull himself up to standing using furniture or even a diaper box, and he likes to walk by pushing said diaper box around. I’m excited and at the same time dreading when he can really walk. I can’t wait until nice weather so we, I mean he, can go outside and play. Any questions to compare? Just ask.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

When Characters Change

What happens when characters change? Well, they’re supposed to change, so what do I mean? I’m not talking about how a character develops throughout a story as one reads it. I’m talking about how a character might change through a story as a writer writes the story, and I by change I mean change, not evolves or develops. My main character, let’s call her F, is not what I imagined her to be when I started. There was a point when I was in the beginning of this draft that F finally “spoke” to me. I was thrilled! From this one sided conversation with her, she did all the talking, I came up with how I thought she’d be. I was sure she was going to be rebellious and rambunctious, a real smart aleck who took care of herself and those she cares about. She was to be bold and confident, etc. etc. Well, she’s not. At least, she’s not all of those things. F has turned out to be more of a quiet type. There are some rebellions and she can be rambunctious too, but these things happen when she thinks no one is watching and when she’s doing her chores. Now the hard thing for me is that the further I get along in the book and the more I get to know F, the more I think about all the editing that needs done earlier in the book. There’s a plus to this though. I think because it’s the first time I’m determined to finish a WIP, I’m not sure what I’m doing. That doesn’t sound positive, does it? The positive is that I may have a lot of editing to do, but I don’t have enough experience writing to get to know a character before I write something. So what happens when characters change? Well, you let them be who they are, of course! And you make lots of notes in your head so that when you start editing you can fix it so the character says/does things true to themselves and not to who you thought they were.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Horse Post

Nicer weather is on its way, slow though it may be. That means that I'll be playing with my horses more and talking about it here. The following post is the first in a progressive series on me teaching 2 of my horses to load. Let me just put the disclaimer out there, I'm not perfect and I don't always think things all the way through.

Trailer Loading Horses 1
Let me start by introducing my herd. The first horse I got is a registered appaloosa gelding (but is ½ thoroughbred.) His name is Big Boy. The second horse I got is also a registered appaloosa, but she’s a mare (also ½ thoroughbred and she acts like it!) Her name is Nina. The third horse I got is a registered paint mare that I named Rain; I got her intending to train her to ride and sell her. The fourth horse I got is an Appendix QH gelding. His name is Foster and I am his retirement home from WWU.
Foster loads wonderfully! Rain loads great but doesn’t like to back out, she likes to turn around. I can deal with that because I have a stock trailer. Nina, Miss Hot Head, gets very anxious and antsy when it comes to loading in a trailer. Often times she may put some feet in the trailer only to high tail it out of there however she can. Big Boy, well he locks up and it is impossible to load a horse who won’t move his feet.
After nine months since we last hauled the horses and it had been, oh probably 6 months to a year before that, we decided to load up the horses to haul them to my brother in laws for pasture rotation purposes. Needless to say, trailer loading didn’t go good. I am perfectly willing to admit that I don’t know everything and that I don’t always think things through. For instance, what should have happened is that knowing we were going to be moving the horses soon, I should have started working with Big Boy and Nina on trailer loading ahead of time. I didn’t and Big Boy had a yucky experience. So now I will be working with the two of them so that we can successfully haul them to a new and “greener” pasture. *Grins* I really do mean another pasture and one here on earth.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Recap and March Goals

The word count as of February 28 was 49,003 words. My goal for the month was 45,568. I exceeded my goal but there’s a problem. I had faulty mathematics in my January goal, I think I counted 6 months to write when it should have been 5. My old daily word goal was too low because of that. Why does that suck? Because I’ve been thinking I’ve been ahead of my goals and really I haven’t been that good :( There’s life for you!
Just as a reminder, my goal for the first draft of my current WIP is around 75,000 words and I’d like it to be done by the first of June. So let’s do the math to see where I be! June 1 – March 1=3 months until deadline! 75,000-49,480(I wrote some today)=25,520 words to go! Now let’s simplify this for me to find out what my goal should be now(caution my simplifying=estimating, which means numbers are not exact for my goal, but that’s ok because I hope to exceed my goal!) Ok, so 3 months is about 90 days, which means we’ll take 25,520 divided by 90 days to find that I need to write 284 words a day to reach my goal. And since I don’t want to write weekends and I’d like to finish before June 1,that means I need to be writing way more than that! Wish me self-discipline
Let’s some this up: current word count on March 1 is 49,480; end of month word count goal 58,000; daily word goal is 284 +. Again, wish me self-discipline!!!

Writing Buddy


Here's Jackie on the left and Scooper on the right. Scooper is my handy dandy writing buddy. Almost always, at some point, if I'm on the computer writing or surfing the web, she's on my lap. Who's your writing buddy.
I'm due for a first of the month goal blog, so that'll be coming up today or tomorrow. How's your goals coming along?