Come in like a lion

and not planning on going out like a lamb :) I want to be published. This is my dream, this is my goal; I don't care how many books it takes before it finally happens. It will happen!
Currently I'm on book 2. I've finished draft three and I've sent out the first 5 chapters to my beta readers. I've decided to take a step back and let the story ride for at least a week, no matter what feedback I get back from my readers. Or at least that's the plan. I'm debating whether or not I should take a complete break from writing or start playing with my next story. The problem is, I"m not sure what the next story is! I'd like to start on the sequel to the book I'm editing right now, but I know I should move on in case this book never gets published. I have a couple of other ideas that I want to write, but one has stalled out(I"m thinking it's due to my inability to get the plot "right") and the other one, I"m just not sure I"m there in my skills to do the story justice. It's deep and painful and not a YA. I guess I"m afraid of it.
Okay, now that I've bared my soul, let's be over and out!

P.S. I"ve also thought of playing a game. Finding a random picture on the web that calls to me and writing a very short bit about it. Kind of like ROD at DeadlineDames except it will only feature me and pic's I pick. We shall see...

Not over yet!

I managed to squeeze in a post in February! Go me! Okay, seriously let's make this sweet:
WRITING- I'm still on D3; I've got all my edits on paper and half of those edits into the computer. I looked back and saw my goal to be querying by June. That's still my goal but I need to get the ball rolling.
DREAMING- spent today's spare moments mentally thumbing through ideas for my next book. It felt good but made me a little spacey at work.. You win some you lose some!
TODDLER-is completely potty trained at 2 1/2! That is truely a great thing.
ANIMALS- I am no longer free feeding my cats since Jackie is over weight. Which wasn't a big deal until she can't clean "herself". Yup that's exactly what I mean! Needless to say its a pain because Scooper needs to free feed. Animals are more needy than toddler!
FAMILY- is always a fine balancing act(with regards to extended family, not hubby). I'm working on it though I am wore out.
Okay, that sums 'er up! Not exciting but at least it's a blog!

Obviously

*No time to proofread, so sorry for mistakes. Just be happy I'm posting ;) ***
Since it's now 2012 and I haven't posted since November, I've still been slacking on blogging. It is a pain to keep up with from even an Iphone. The good news is I haven't failed at writing. I am now working on D3. This is my paper version and my favorite. There's so much you miss on a computer screen. This time as compared to my first book, I can really tell that my mind is wrapping around fixing the story line. I'm finding it easier to look at each chapter and especially the ones that have other characters actively involved, and I can think, why is this character doing that? What is their motivation? Does what they're doing make sense, or do I need to rethink their actions and reactions. It's going slow, getting changes on paper and then onto the computer, but it's going. After I get all the changes on paper into the computer, I'll do a final read through/fix of D3 and start sending out the completed D3 to my beta readers. Hopefully that will move quickly too. Then on to another D4, may be D5 and finally query letters, etc. Still a lot to do, but my goal is to be querying before, before, before June 2012.
Also, while I started this goal before 1/1/12, I'll mention it now. I'm working toward running a 5K(3.2 miles) race by April-June, depending on which race I choose. Wish me luck, as I'm wishing you luck with your goals!

ER

I'm sitting in the ER with my dad and I'm terribly bored. We're waiting on test results :-(. It occurred to me I hadn't blogged about Breaking Dawn yet. I was just as I suspected, right down to the part where they ended it, leaving me furious that I have to wait another year for part two. It really was fantastic though.
Sad news... My friend's husband lost the fight against cancer last night. I'm flat out trying not to think about because it hurts too much.
I have been toying with an idea for my next WIP during my break in between drafts. The developing of the character and the middle and end of the story is agonizingly slow. Either because I'm still tuned in Tony current WIP or because I'm determined to iron these details out painstakingly in order. I'll be printing out D2 tomorrow so that I can begin D3.
Well keep on working at it! And sorry this is short and choppy but it is late and I am stressed.

Thank You Veterans!

There is so much for me to say today :) First and foremost, in the USA it's Veterans Day. I know people who have served and are serving in our military and I am eternally gratefull for their sacrifice. Even when they come back physically whole, looking fine, there is still a sacrifice made. Service and war changes people, yet many go back again and again for you and me. I pray God's blessings fall upon them.
Next... I'm on day 2 of taking a break and my head is a boiling pot! Part of this is due to some emotional overload I'm experiencing in my own life. Extreme emotions always need an outlet and writing or thinking about my stories is my outlet. I'm off work and at home today with my toddler, so I have a big decision, work on a story(a new one), take a nap, or keep reading My Soul To Save?
As for my personal life, well I'll go there just a little bit. There are several people in my life struggling with personal problems. When they suffer, I suffer. It's hard for me to balance my compassion with leaving things in God's hands. I have a friend whose husband is battling cancer in a very scary way right now and it breaks my heart for her. I'm praying for them and I'd love it if you all could too. That's not all there is going on, but that's all I'll say. I'll leave it at saying once again, emotional turmoil.
I hope if you're struggling in life right now or know others who are that you're turning to God or being a light for Him to them. Keep on keeping on!

Say Hello to The End

So I finished the second draft!! This is only the second time reaching this goal(seeing as how this is the second book I've ever finished) and I'm not quite sure how I feel. Relief, excitement, eagerness to plunge ahead, dread at starting another draft... I intend on taking a break even if my brain is currently churning for the next issue to solve. I need time to refresh myself. I'm looking forward to reading something I haven't wrote. I've tried really hard and succeeded in not reading anything else for at least a month and just working on my book. Now I'm going to read the 2nd soul screamers book by Rachel Vincent and try to read the 3rd book in a different series that I loved the first 2 but couldn't get into the third. I'm hoping that was because my brain was too caught up in my own book. And I'm not sure what else other than seeing Breaking Dawn(though I'll probably be working on ready to start working on my book again by then). You guys keep On and remember to keep yourself rejuvenated creatively!

Valley

Life and writing books has it's highs and it's lows. Right now both are stressing me out. It doesn't help that I'm a high strung person(think thoroughbred). In life my toddler is sick, I'm working two six day in a row weeks(and even with some early days it's still hard), and I feel like I can't get ahead. As for my book, I'm in a "this sucks and I'm not good enough" frame of mind. It's an ugly truth but you all know we can't live on a constant high. I just want to be honest, ya know? Ok so there's a little honest pity partying( that's a jab only at myself) hopefully next time will be more upbeat. Write through the good and the bad, no matter what!

I am aware it's late October

So, ummm, yeah... Let's move on *clears throat* I am still working on D2. I've been making sure everything is in past tense. For some reason I have a problem staying in the same, correct tense when writing in first person. Beyond that I've also been thinking about the next book(s). I know that's dangerous because I have no guarantee that I'll sell the first, but still.... So I came up with yet another tweak to the story line that doesn't majorly change this book but leaves another thread or two open for the next book. Right now I'm dealing with the worry that I haven't explained enough about the "rules and history". It's hard for me to step back far enough to see if I have. I'm really hoping looking at the book on paper will help me out.
Anyways, on a much lighter note I've somewhat recently read the first book in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series. It was great. I haven't let myself read much of the second; I'm saving it for after D2. Also this weekend I watched Real Steel. Great movie! I'm always impressed when an action movie has a storyline and can cause emotional reactions. It exemplifies what I want my stories to do to readers.
Okay, enough is enough, I guess. Keep on writing!

Why, hello!

It's meeeeee....as opposed to not hearing from me for weeks versus hearing from someone else on my blog. I've finished the "new" part of chapter 1 and I'm ready to merge it with what I'm keeping from the first chapter 1 of D2. Hope that made sense :-). It's been nice to be writing instead of editing but I don't know if it's cause I like writing more and/or I'm much much happier with this new 1st chapter(even if I know it will still need work.) After I'm done with c1 I don't know if I'll do a much needed second reading of what I've already edited for D2 or get back to where i left off in the middle. I guess I'll figure that out Monday. Keep on writing!

I phone

I now have an iPhone which will hopefully mean I'll be blogging again. Just a quick writing update: I finished draft1 and have moved on to draft 2. It's slow going for a lot of reasons. The biggest dilemma for me in editing is going between creative writing(new stuff) and fixing stuff. I really need to write a prologue and finish my ending, along with the typical mistake fixing, and I'm seriously considering cutting the importance of a couple of secondary characters. This second draft is going to be a doozy to get through!
Oh, and my job is getting stressful too. Rrrrr! That's life for you!
Keep on writing!

Electricity

At my house, most everything runs off electric, including our water because we have a well. There were some bad storms last night, not that I knew until a few hours after they started. Even then, I only found out because my hubby's phone rang at 430 a.m.(work). At that point I realized we had no electricity. When I crawled out of bed a little before 7, there still wasn't any electricity. Needless to say, we've been at my in-laws all day :) I don't mind.
Writing is going good and I've got a good idea of what's going to happen for the rest of this chapter. Something BIG for sure, but I have to coordinate one little detail...how it's going to happen. I know what and I know how to get there, but that exact moment is going to unfold as I type it. And I"m ok with that. Mostly because I know how everything else is going to happen...sort of :) I hope all is going well with you!

Long Time

I hate that I don't get to blog like I used to. :( One day, we'll get internet again and I'll be better, I promise! Ok, so here's an outline of what you'll be updated on: 1. Writing 2. Querying 3. Family 4. Animals
1. Why yes, I am still writing my second book, even if I'm not blogging about it. I'm a little over 44,000 words on my first draft. It took me a year to complete 4 drafts of my first book compared to 6 + months to have not even finished my first draft of this book. I admit, it has to do with the fact that I only write about 30 minutes each day on my lunch break at work. I also admit that I don't devote as much "daydreaming" time to this book. Quite simply, I am working full time and being a mom and being a wife and taking care of my animals and writing a book. Yes, I could eek out more time to devote to my book, but something else will suffer. Nothing truly important, just my downtime from 830 to 9 pm when baby is hopefully asleep already or my sleep time will be less. I'm not read to make that sacrifice.
2. Don't worry, I've also slacked off in other areas. I haven't queried out my first book in at least 2 months. Now granted I don't have internet at home, but I haven't been taking weekly advantage of my in-laws internet either. Again, that would mean sacrificing something. Either family time or coming over on a week night. Ugggg, this post is kind of making my self esteem go down hill!
3. Family time! Baby is now officially 2 years old! Too bad the terrible two's started when he was 18 months old! Really though, he is happy, healthy, and working on making his needs absolutely clear to me. I"m at least smart enough to know that doesn't mean him talking clearly will be a blessing. If he's anything like me, it will be more like a curse!
4. Animals, animals, animals....Well, I know I've mentioned before, but it's still weighing on me. I had to put my Foster Boss down this spring. And a few weeks ago, I finally sold Rain. I didn't reach my goal with her, which was to more than double her purchase price by having her absolutely broke, but I did make more money on her than what I bought her for. It's a little strange to be back down to my original herd of two. Like, when it comes to figuring out how much hay I need, not only am I back down to 2 horses, I have to take in to consideration what the land can do for them too. Which isn't much where I live at! The cats are fat and happy, and Jackie has been recently shaved due to massive shedding. As for the dog, I love her today but hated her yesterday. I put Chloe out to run off some energy only to find that she didn't do much running as compared to the amount of chewing! Toddler's pool and several poopy diapers(which get thrown away in a trash can that stays in the garage) were destroyed. She's lucky she's alive today after I had to clean up her mess!
Summary: Life is good but I'm slacking on the sacrifices department in regards to my writing. I hope you're doing better than me and keep on writing!

Journaling

While I haven't been blogging with my current WIP like I was with my first(due to the fact I have no internet at home), I have been journaling. If nothing else, each time after I finish writing I write down my new word count. Depending on how many minutes I have left until my lunch is officially over, I may also type out a few notes. What I say just depends on how easy or hard the words are coming. And, like I said, sometimes I only put down my newest word count.
Journaling, even if it isn't public humiliation, aka a blog, is still helpful to me. Often times people just aren't that interested in hearing my repeat my frustrations or excitement. I can't blame them, sometimes I get tired of saying the same thing over and over again too. At least on the computer no one else has to listen to me :) Some day when I have excess time I'd like to compare my current journal to the one I wrote during my first book. It would be interesting to see if there are any similarities. Of course, seeing as how I never have an abundance of extra time, it's not all that likely to happen, but still.
Any who, I don't remember if I ever mentioned the new member of my family. She came along before I lost Foster Boss, so she's not a replacement at all. Her name is Chloe and she is an adorable almost 2 y/o chocolate lab. Ironically enough, her birthday is 2 days before my boy's. And no, I didn't know that when I got her. She is absolutely lovely. She puts up with anything toddler does to her and she's not dumb as a box of rocks. She ain't perfect, but she's not the worst 2 y/o lab I've ever met.
And now, to end this blog; I watched Water for Elephants yesterday and fell in love. With both Robert Pattinson(again) and the story(for the first time.) I fully intend on getting the book and reading the story. It's not an option to do otherwise. Also, I will be purchasing the DVD as soon as it comes out. I'm not going into details, I"m still in the savoring stage, but trust me, you need to watch this movie.
Okay, over, out, and keep on keeping on!

--------

Sigh, there is so much going on I can't think. Let's suffice it to say I'm still working on my 2nd WIP but it's going slow(sometimes because of life, sometimes because of laziness).
I had to put down my gelding Foster Boss this week. He was old and skinny and going down hill. Literally he was walking in circles and couldn't walk in a straight line. Funny how it's easier when you know it's coming, but it still hurts. It's all about life, death and the - inbetween. Right now I'm struggling with the - but life has it's ups and downs, plateaus are boring. Ok, back to my Saturday night visiting with the fam :)

Sunday

Family, beautiful weather, a mud puddle...What more could one ask for? This has been a lovely day to begin healing a stressful past two weeks. I'm still working on my book, slowly but surely. I"m at a point now where I'm worried I won't make an acceptable word count by the end of the first draft. I'm shooting for at least 60,000 + words, but right now at about 9 chapters I've only got 29,000 words and about 7 more chapters planned. I started taking a look at my current outline so far but haven't found anywhere to add in a few more chapters aka words. I'm going to take a hard look at the outline of what I"ve got so far and what I've got to go and see what I think. At this point, I"m thinking it's going to be a shoot for the moon and reach the stars. I figure(a word which I can never pronounce correctly) that by the end, I will have a first draft of my second book which is quite an accomplishment in and of itself. Then I will do just like I did with my first book's second draft and that's a major overhaul. Of course with my first book, I reached about 70,000 words by the end of the first draft. Oh well, I know from the great advice of the Dames over at Deadline Dames and several other of the authors I stalk "cough, cough* follow that every book is different. Possibly not hitting 60,000 at the end of this book will just have to be one of those differences. Can you tell I'm trying to keep positive? Is it working? Do you have to ask? Well, lets just say that for someone who is a bit high strung, it's working as well as can be expected. Anywho, I am off to covort about on the internet. Have a good one and keep writing!

Why Hello March!

I know, it's been a while. It's hard to keep up blogging when I don't have internet at home. I miss it, especially how it keeps me publicly humiliated into consistent writing. Let's talk about that for a moment. I'm at a point in my book where I'm feeling really bogged down. In other words, the middle! I'm feeling pretty good about the end I have set up and I already have lots of ideas of what needs fixed in the first half, but the middle is killing me. I can't remember if it was the same for my first book that wrote or not. For now I plan to keep trudging forward until I come up with a better idea. Ok, on to books. I just finished the third book in The Mortal Instruments series. All three were great books, but for me there were parts that were hard to get through. Not in a bad way what so ever. It's just I'm at a point right now where I want "easy" reads. There can be conflict and turmoil and world building and all that good stuff,but maybe what I mean is I'm looking for shorter books. Lol, I don't know. I also just finished the 2nd book in the Fairiewalker series, Shadowspell, and I CAN NOT wait for the third to come out in July. What's next on my tbr list? Captitvate by Carrie Jones, which is the second book to Need. After that? I need to finish the Iron Witch. Then....I don't know? Actually, I'd like to read Paranormalacy, but I haven't yet purchased it :) Also, I currently work with a group of ladies who like to read what I do, so I have several "library" type options too. Actually that reminds me, I need :) to borrow the book after Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and another sequel that I know a coworker has :) Oh yes, the list goes on. As for real life? Well, it's good too :) And now off to read some of my favorite blogs that have too much "stuff" for my phone to load. Have a great...well I'll see you eventually ;)

1599

I only had to work 4 days and I wrote on my lunch 3 out of four of those days. I managed to get 1,599 words out. Woot, woot! I haven't "daydreamed" out this chapter(8) but the words are coming. It actually feels like it's coming slower than what that word count indicates(for me at least.) But the details of these scenes are flowing out.
Question for anyone else. Do you ever close your eyes when you write? Sometimes I stare intently at the screen and others I close my eyes and picture what I"m writing.
As for the rest of life; well it's normal. Which is better than bad :) I wish well in all your writing and life endeavors and I'll see you next week :)

Sunday

Access to the internet is Weeee!!!! I don't know yet if I'll have my laptop to write with this week, but I did manage to plot out 2/3's of the next chapter. Of course that's plot, bare bones, etc... When it comes to getting those words out, that's another story...
Now this week, what did I accomplish; that is besides, keeping an eye on my kid, working, and cleaning house? Well, I managed to read City of Ashes and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ok, I know I"m terribly boring and I used to give you an "awesome" review of every book I read(or at least wrote them out in a notebook, intending on blogging them), but not this time :( I have a diaper to change/try to get my hubby to change and hay for sale to hunt down. Have a great week!

Blah!

Life has just been, well life. You have your ups and downs and I've had lost of little downs. In the grand scheme they don't matter, but that's sometimes hard to see that when you're in the midst of it all. This is just proof I'm human and that life gets to me too.
Writing-wise, I haven't done any this week. Hubby has computer while out of town and I've just been reading. I think I needed this mental break but on the other hand I feel guilty for not writing. On top of that I've gotten 2 rejections this past week for my first book. Believe me, I know the liklihood of my first book being published is is low, but it still hurts. Not to mention because I've been struggling through my current WIP, I'm feeling a bit down in the writing department :( I'll make it through this though and hopefully next week I'll have a report of good news and writing! Good luck!

Library

Ok, so life is a little bit of chaos right now. I got an email from an agent that wasn't a no! Lol, it's not a yes either, but it gives me a little hope, which is much appreciated right now. Here's the deal. I queried said agent and forgot to paste my first five pages into the email. Rather than use that as a reason to just forget about me, agent emailed asking for those first five pages so they could determine if the story might be a good fit for her. So, at least the query peaked her interest enough to ask for 5 pages :) And, if you think otherwise, I'm begging you not to burst my bubble!
Now, as for the title, here's some of the chaos. I received the email yesterday at work on my phone. I replied that I would email the pages when I got off work. Well, I don't have internet at home(remember?) so I went to my parents' house to use their internet. Well, my computer wouldn't pick up the internet and my dad's doesn't have word. So today I got off early at work and went to the library to use their internet. First they don't have WiFi and second they charge a fee to have a library card because I live outside city limits! The worst part is I understand, possibly, why they have to have fees, but it still makes me mad!
Needless to say, I came to my in-laws to do my emailing and decided to blog while I"m at it! :)
The rest of the chaos is mostly about hubby's job changing and our close friend isn't getting better. Life goes on and I take the good with the bad.
I didn't write yesterday, I spent my time plotting out this next chapter and I didn't write today because I didn't get a lunch at work since I got off early. Excuses :( I'm hoping to get it together and write tomorrow.
I also need to clean house :( Ugh, life is busy right now, but I'm happy and I hope you are too. On to life!