Dreck sucks

So I spent about two hours on edits for chapter 29, trying to set that new scene....and then got stuck.

I'm happy to say this doesn't happen too horribly. Usually it's because I wrote in something that doesn't fit the characters in the scene. This means I need to go back over the darned thing and pull some of that two hours worth of work and start over.

Ugh.

I'll do that later though. Right now it's time to take a short break and do something else. Anything else. Maybe once it's had a chance to stew in the back of my head i'll know how to fix it. That's how it usually goes. I get frustrated and stalk off to do something I'd been putting off so I could finish edits...and then end up rushing back to the computer when the solution hits in the middle of doing dishes, or reading that book I got from the library. Thankfully our keyboard doesn't mind getting splattered with soapy water.

And on that note, I think I'll take a nap. As soon as I find my notebook and spare pen. After all, ideas tend to strike when you least expect it. :)


~Sun and Moon 

Yeah, about that

This is a bit of a rant. You've been warned....>_>



(Enter rant)------------------

Dear Blogger,

I would really appreciate it if you'd get a few things in gear. The first thing that comes to mind is the reply system for comments. Would it kill you to set things up so one knows when a reply is made to a comment thread you're involved in? Preferably WITHOUT having to sign away your email account in payment? Not to mention that it would be nice if my scheduled blog posts actually posted when scheduled instead of five hours later.

Yeah, get on that if you please.

Also, it wouldn't hurt if you could quit trying to get me to try your dandy new "Blogger Interface". The old one suits me fine. Especially since the new one is about as clear as mud. After spending my day dealing with modern day retail woes and hammering out both art and edits for my book...simple is best. Because spending five minutes just trying to find the darned button for one thing or another is not my idea of a good way to wind down for the day. No joke. 

Of course, I understand that these features may already be available and I'm just missing the boat. In which case, a little direction would not go amiss.

Think about it.

---------------------(end rant)



It's been a long week. My husband lost his job last tuesday and I've been doing what I can to pick up hours to make up for the loss of income while he looks for a job. The toll on us both is making itself known and I have never been less inspired or motivated to write. I'm trying, I really am, but you guys are going to have to be patient with me. 

Between one thing and another, I'm still picking away at edits as I try to adjust to crazy hours and handle the stress of hearing yet another company tell my husband "don't call us...we'll call you if we're interested" when he tries to call and check up on his application.

To be honest, it's not as bleak as it seems, but we've never been in this situation before and it's hitting us a little hard. 

Well, on that note I have to get going. I sold my self into slave labor for an easel this past wednesday. It's time to go pay up for the day.


~Sun and Moon   

Pesky edits are pesky

I've been bad.

Now, I could blame my lack of progress with chapter twenty-nine on the craziness of the past couple weeks, the pesky snag I've been fighting with, or even on the new scene waiting to be written. It wouldn't be entirely true though. You see, the root of it all is me and my tendencey to procrastinate.

Like I said...I've been bad.

Instead of working on edits I've been working on art, or cleaning my apartment, or trying to catch up on books I've been itching to read. I haven't neglected edits completely, though. I've been doing them a bit at a time on my breaks at work, but those little snippets of time aren't enough. Which means tonight I'll be staying up late to get some real work done. I'm about halfway through the chapter(not including the new scene), so with a little elbow grease and a lot of tea, I should be able to get pretty far before I hit the sack tonight.

I really want to get this round of edits done. Then it's some minor tweaks and I can move on to book two. The outlines for the first ten chapters are burning a hole in the drawer where I keep my notes. On top of that, I've got yet another story idea bouncing around my head.

One day, I'll catch up with all the stories I want to write. For now, I better get to work. Wish me luck, guys. I might need it.


~Sun and Moon  





.

Instert crafty title here

Things are looking up. I'm back to work on chapter twenty-eight and making some progress as I untangle the mess. The going is incredibly slow, but I've run through the important bits of my problem scene with a few people who know a thing or two about wounds and trauma. I've taken what they've told me and started applying it to the sticky bit. It's helping to clear out the bits that were seriously bothering me(no wonder, they didn't belong anyway), and now I just need to finish deciding how to rework another bit before I can call this thing done.

So, upside and downside, but more on the upside. I mean, progress trumps sticky bits, right?

In the meantime, I better head off to get some of those sticky bits cleaned up. I intend to make a serious dent in my art project list today, and I can't do that sitting at the computer. If I can get my digital art program figured out and create a watermark for my work, I'll share some artsy stuff with you guys.

But first I'm going to go raid the fridge. My latest batch of goat yogurt won't be ready for pick-up till tomorrow, but there's some leftover steak and plenty of salad fixings. I don't know about you guys, but I work better on a full stomach.


~Sun and Moon 

Pass the popcorn, please

I'm sure most of you know the movie "Pirates of the Carribean; on stranger tides", am I right? Well I just got around to watching it this week and I was pleasently surprised. I'll be honest, I was never a fan of the franchise. The first movie was funny, but after that the storyine seemed to lose track of itself. In fact, I probably would've passed this one by as well if it weren't for the mermaids.

To be honest, I'm really glad I didn't miss out because I think I can safely say this movie is my favorite out of all the others. It was goofy and fun, and the mermaid mythology was right on the money. So many times I see mermaids portrayed as lovely, helpful creatures who are basically harmless and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I mean, are you kidding me? Anyone who has ever googled mermaids and sirens knows they aren't all happiness and sunshine. In fact, most of the time they're quite deadly.

In the movie they use men to beget more mermaids and then drown their partners. They also eat them. In turn, men hunt them for their tears and fear them like nothing else. The mermaids also have the ability to shed their tail and grow legs, but walking is difficult. Last but not least, they are all stunning beauties until they lunge for your throat.

This keeping to the older, darker side of the merfolk one of the reasons I've watched the movie several times now and still love it. Not only is it a refreshing change of pace, but since I have a siren appearing in the second book of my trilogy, it's research as well. Of course, her character and the world building for her species is going a lot smoother then my current predicament. Chapter twenty-eight is still fussing.

Yeah, I know. Big surprise, right?

I am making progress though, and I have today and tomorrow to finish beating it into submission. One way or another, I'll be getting the darned thing done by April. Right now my hope is to have edits for this book wrapped up by May so I can start Book Two right after my birthday. If nothing else, it would be a nice birthday present. Plus, you know, I'd be first-drafting again and that's always good.

Well, I better quit yapping and get back to work. I still need to clean and it would be nice if I could get something artsy done for once. And by done, I mean finished. I have so many partially done projects floating around my art studio, it's not funny. The fact that two of them are late Christmas gifts only makes it worse.

And on that note, I think I'll get to work. The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can watch that movie again. After all, it is research.


~Sun and Moon

One step at a time

I find myself a little reluctant to post today.

You see, I haven't made any real progress on chapter twenty-eight. All I've manged to do is figure out why my attempts to smooth out the latest snag haven't worked. Which is good, but the overall lack of progress still stings. It's so frustrating to stare at the same paragraph for hours and wonder why you can't seem to see past your own nose. Normally new books to read help me push through these moments to find the gold I accidentally washed down the drain, but not when the books in question are more fluff then feast.

This snag has me stopped in my tracks and while I've narrowed the possible fixes to two different paragraphs, they themselves need fixing as well. It's kind of a problem. Today I'm going to try once again to find a solution. Seeing as my track record lately is less then stellar, I don't expect much. Chances are I'll find myself wandering off to get lost in an art project that needs finishing, or one of the books that does have a bit of substance to it. Even so, I'm not about to throw in the towel either. Fingers crossed, I'll catch a break today and find the glitter among the slime.

In the meantime, I better get some hot water going on the stove. If I'm going to get anything done I'll need something to keep me warm while I work. Blankets are all fine and good, but nothing beats a hot cup of tea when there is snow on the ground. Except for homemade hot chocolate.

Hmm...Anyone have a can of cocoa? I seem to have misplaced mine :D



~Sun and Moon

At least there's cake

Ugh, I need a serious break.

Normally this is the slow month at my job, but apparently our customers didn't get that memo. Work has been crazy, and while my brain has gone from fried mush to slightly squishy, it still isn't quite up to par. With my vacation not until some time in summer, what's a girl to do?

Why go to the library of course.

I have two new movies and a stack of new and old books, but they'll have to wait a little while. You see, I'm still bogged down in chapter twenty-eight and my husband's birthday is today. So I'll be spending my day fiddling with the bits that have me stalled out, baking a cake, making my margarita pasta, and relaxing with my husband. Maybe I'll take pictures of the food and post the recipes next week. It's always an option, anyway.

On that note, I'm off to cut a mat for some new artwork of mine and tweak my new desk lamps. They didn't turn out quite like I hoped, but that's alright. It's just another reason to go take a look at the daylight lamps on my favorite art supply website. Not that I needed another reason, but its always good to have one handy.

Later, guys.


~Sun and Moon   

Glitches

Have you ever heard of the awesome computer game called Sims 3?

Ok, if you just said no then I have straight jacket in my closet you may want to try on for size.

Seriously though, you should check it out. The game is kinda self explanatory. You spend your time controlling the people you create and making them do various things depending on what expansions you have for the game. It's a lot of fun, oddly enough, and it can eat up hours of your time depending on your level of addiction.

I am most definetly addicted.

Of course, like all games, it has its glitchy moments. However, when I first got the game and installed it, it was mostly smooth sailing. Then we had the whole virus issue in april. Since we didn't know how much damage had been done, I uninstalled and reinstalled the base game with all its expansions.

Which. Took. Forever.

Once I started it up, everything seemed fine. Then I decided to go and get the Grim Reaper off of the Sim Exchange. I downloaded him, tossed him into my game and started playing. Again, everything seemed fine. That is, it did until one of my sims went to china and came back with Pangu's axe.

The problem?

The map loaded, and lo and behold, I suddenly had two identical sims. And then the game crashed.

I have since removed the Grim Reaper from my game.

It reminds me of my writing lately. First drafting was mostly smooth sailing for me, but once editting started, I began to find myself bogged down more often then not. This latest chapter has been especially sticky.

I've created several versions of the middle pages for chapter 27, and none of them fit. Now, unlike with my sims game, I don't think a total reboot is going to fix that. Nor will pulling the ornery characters in question from the chapter. Instead I need to find a smooth path that winds around the potholes without getting everyone splattered with mud.

In other words, I need to let my characters do their thing without interfering so darned much.

So far, I think I may know a way to manage it. That, however, will have to wait for tomorrow. Right now it's way past my bedtime, and this post is late enough as it is. I have my spare notebook by my bed along with a pen for late night notes, so for now I think I'll sleep on it.



~Sun and Moon

I know I came in here for a reason...

Today is sunday, right?

Yeah, that was my thought not five minutes ago as I logged onto Blogger to see what other people were up to today. Actually, that's how the past week has been. Unreal, hazy, and easily forgotten as I pick apart yet another knot in chapter 27.

Yup, that's right. I'm STILL working on it.

Slowly it's starting to come together as I figure out what is too much information for the reader, and what is just enough. That's what happens when you introduce a new character so late in the game and you know everything about her.

Ok, maybe not everything.

Still, this part in the chapter came up and suddenly I knew this person had to be there. She's mentioned several times earlier in the book, but this is the first time she actually makes an appearance. And then, just as suddenly, I knew exactly who she was, and why she might be more then she seemed.

Now I have to convey all that baggage without telling the reader outright. On top of that, I need it to be sad, and tense, and painful all at once. This is not the first time a character has dropped fully formed into my head, but she's the only non-lead character to do so thus far. It's been very interesting to say the least.

And by that, I mean she's being a pain.

Well, I better get back to it. Besides, I have a tall glass of chocolate goat's milk* in the freezer and its calling my name.


~Sun and Moon




*(Don't knock it till you've tried it. I'm lactose intolerant and I hate soy milk and all that fake stuff on the market, so I drink this instead. Goat's milk is rich and yummy, and makes killer chocolate milk. I dare you to give it a try.)  

Moving on

Sometimes you have to let things go to move forward, whether it's a piece of artwork giving you trouble, an argument you can't seem to win, or words on a page that simply won't behave as you want them to. You can only let yourself bash your head against an unmoveable wall for so long before you're burned out with a pounding headache and ready to give up.

But think about it. You wouldn't pick green fruit and expect to be able to eat it right away. You wouldn't open freshly bottled wine and expect it to be any good. No one plants the seeds for their garden and then wonder why they don't have cucumbers and squash on the vine the next day.

The point?

Sometimes you need to let things age. Those words you put down last night at one o'clock in the morning may have sounded like dreck as you read them over before finally getting some sleep, but in the morning things may change. Some scenes need time to settle before you see them as anything other then a hasty replacement.

So next time you reach the point of burnout just let it go and move on. We are all learning, and no one said you had to be perfect. I mean, yeah it would be nice to churn out a first draft where every word is struck in gold, but things just don't happen that way.

Nobody is perfect, and no one can master their craft without mistakes. Mistakes, after all, are how we learn.
 
Think about it :)



~Sun and Moon

Still under construction

The apartment is nearly clean, and edits for chapter twenty-seven have been underway for the past week. I wish I could say I've been making wonderful progress and that I'm almost done with the darned thing(the chapter, not the apartment), but alas, no. Instead of moving through to the sticky part in the middle of said chapter, I got stuck on the beginning.

No joke.

Yup, that's right folks. For the past week I've been stuck on one darned paragraph that refused to cooperate. The whole reason it had to be redone? It was too over the top. Just a little. Ok, maybe more then a little. 

Monday I spent about six hours hammering it out, but still wasn't happy. I'm still not sure, even after getting some wonderful feedback from my beta readers, that I'm happy with it now. It still sounds...off to me. Or maybe its because the original words have been in place for over a year? Either way, I'm setting it aside to come back to later. Maybe then I'll see it as a good fit instead of as a hasty bandage.

 

For now, however, its time for me to get back to work. 

~Sun and Moon