It’d like to lodge a formal complaint: The weekends go too fast!

I spent Friday night alone, which wasn’t all that much fun. I’ve gotten used to having a constant companion of some sort – the Man or the Kid. But the Man was still on vacation and the Kid was at his dad’s. So I researched. For two hours. I took notes. I searched for information and I have a really great foundation for the new book. I’m about 5000 words in.

Got up early Saturday morning for the first soccer game of the season. We won! And the boys played great. Then I ran errands. To the library, to Best Buy, to the store, Bed Bath and Beyond. Lots of things to do. Since I knew Man was coming home that day, I got home and cleaned house. I discovered this great stuff – Comet Spray Gel – for my nasty shower. And WOW! That stuff really works. I ran out of energy and was tired of breathing the fumes, but one wall is glistening. I’ll have to go back and scrub the others. I bought one of those shampoo/conditioner dispensers you hang on the shower wall and put that up. It’s awesome by the way. I love it! And it was well worth the $30. I’m thinking if I can get the nasty shower clean, then I won’t have to replace the whole thing like I originally thought. Which will save me about $3000. It just means lots of elbow grease and sweat. I can do that.

Man made it hom finally about 8:30 that night and we stayed up until nearly midnight. He told me all about his trip and brought me a little stuffed black cat from Salem, Massachusetts. It is, of course, wearing a witch hat. I also got a mini replica of the St. Louis Arch. Too cool. It was nice to see him after 7 days.

Sunday – My sweetie boy’s birthday! I can’t believe he’s 8. That went so fast! Seems like yesterday he was born and small. Now he’s big and he says things like, “MOM, these people just don’t understand what I’m saying sometimes.” Which cracks me up. And he’s in 3rd grade! And a future gamer, much to my dismay. I try to steer him off of that but he’s stubborn. Wonder where he gets that?

Man and I got up early and ran errands. More errands! He needed new shows and I needed toner and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Came home, hung out. Kiddo came to the hose around 4 and we had dinner and he opened presents. It was a nice evening. And not nearly long enough for my taste.

And now…Monday. Back to the same ole/same ole. Hopefully I’ll get more work done on the new book. I really need to sit and think about a decent plot and try to get something sketched out before I get too much further. Very pleased with chapter 1, though.

Off to work!

I think all the late nights finally caught up to me yesterday. I was exhausted by 8:30.

We had soccer practice, which always puts a crimp in the evening. However, I was smart. I made dinner in the crock pot! So dinner was done and waiting for us when we got home. Plus, it’s really low maintenance on the dishes. LOVE that. We had a nice thunderstorm roll through, too. My lawn is happy.

Got home, ate dinner, the kiddo studied for his test today and then got him in the shower and into bed. I forced myself to stay up a little longer. I started a new story today. Sort of a revamp of the old MAGIC story. There was something about that one that was never quite right and I think I finally figured it out. It’s urban fantasy. Maybe. Well, okay, probably. I wrote over 3000 words on it so far.

And it’s dark. I actually scared myself when I was writing. Who knew! I mean, I had this heart-pounding moment when I finished writing the first chapter and then sat back and re-read it. It startled me. Ever have that happen? Ever write something so intense and so … dark … that when you go back and read, it just freaks you out? That was me. LOL

I’m going to plug away and see where it goes. I have a general idea. It’s basically revamping the old fantasy story into a new urban fantasy story. Should be grand fun.

Happy Weekend!

Hey, all. Instead of reading my post here today, bop on over to Pop Culture Divas and read about my favorite 80s movies. Click here! I’ll be back tomorrow with my regularly scheduled post.

Doncha just love those days when you’re super productive? Oh, man, I do!

A put in a couple more hours work on Phoenixand TADA! It’s finished! It weighs in at nearly 85,000 words now and just over 300 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt, Times New Roman). I’d been shooting for Friday but it sure was nice to get a large chunk of it done last night. That’s what made it go faster today. That and having that handy-dandy outline. (Devon, I’m convinced that is the ONLY way to go! Ms. Pantser is reformed, I think.)

Well, okay, I take that back a little. I did deviate even from the outline. LOL But I still KNEW where I was going and how to get there and just mixed it up a little. And really, you never know what these characters are going to say or do! I got a surprise from Senator Gracchus toward the end. He has a real disgust for slaves. I didn’t even know that until I wrote that scene, sat back, re-read his dialogue and went, “Huh. He’s a real pr*ck.”  Go figure.

The end has a great power punch of emotion now. And I *love* it. I love the way it ends so much better now. It makes so much more sense for the characters and their situation. I even toned down the sex scenes and made the story more about the gritty world Elena lives in and the life-and-death situation they faced instead about the romance. Because, when I thought about it, this story is NOT about the romance. It’s about learning to survive in a world full of deadly obstacles. Oh, sure, it helps Cassius is a real hottie and wants to whisk her off to safety.

Anyway, I really learned a lot about world building and writing better, cleaner, more emotional. I hope the next one will be easier (fat chance).

Speaking of the next one, I want to start working on that futuristic but something has been nagging me. I’ve been thinking about restructuring the MAGIC book into something totally different. Same characters, same basic plot line but totally different setting. I’m thinking urban fantasy. Maybe dark. I need to do some major research on this so I’m putting this away in my To Be Determined pile.

In the meantime, I’ve started writing up a quick synopsis for the futuristic, which is as yet untitled. See? The synopsis thing keeps creeping in.

In other productive news, I went with my co-worker to the Mattel Outlet Store and can I just say CHA-CHING! I love this place. They have all sorts of Hot Wheel, Matchbox stuff for boys and of course Barbie stuff for girls. I got four things for the kiddo for his birthday but the real beauty is, I think I’m going to put a couple away for Christmas. I’m sneaky like that. One of the things I got was a Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots. I think the kiddo is going to dig those. and I can still hear the stupid commercial in my head from the 70s.

Tonight I’m making my Cuban chicken in the crock pot. Which means it will all be done when I get home. MMM. YUM!

Off to work!

I got a lot done yesterday. Since the kiddo was at his dad’s and Man was lost in Syracuse, NY, I had a date with my computer for the evening.

Well, most of the evening. I purged more paperbacks off my bookshelves that I don’t want or need. I’ve decided since I don’t get a lot of cash from them at Half Price to donate them to the local library. That way, everybody wins. I get rid of my books and the library gets books. Works for me. I have a stack of about 20 or so. I think they’ll be excited to get them.

I also talked to my good friend on the phone about a partial request she got from an agent. I am SO excited for her! Crossing all my fingers and toes for her!

Anyway, despite my bleary eyes this morning, I’m up and somewhat conscious. My coffee just finished (YES) so I’ll be sipping on that while I try to string coherent sentences together. That’s what I get for staying up late.

I worked on the revisions until 11:30 last night. But I got chapters 18 and 19 in excellent shape. That’s about 24 pages of revision. Today I’ll print them, read through them, and fix any minor errors I see. I added a new scene or two, cut a bunch of stuff that didn’t make sense, and tightened up the rest. If I can work on it hard and heavy tonight, I should be done by the end of the week. WOO!

Then I climbed into bed and since my brain refused to shut off, I decided to re-read Darkfever, the first book in the Fever series. I want to see how much foreshadowing the author does to the fourth book. So far, the prologue showed me lots of that. And I can’t help but wonder how she managed to keep it all together. I heard she has a giant spreadsheet (I loves spreadsheets). I also heard she has two related series planned after this one is finished. Can’t wait to read those!

I should be good and tired today since I stayed up so late. Don’t know if I’ll be doing that again tonight but I do know I’ll be working on the book one way or another.

Time to shower! Happy Tuesday, ya’ll.

So it’s the first day of the new school year here (the beginning of 3rd grade for my one and only…hard to believe). And soccer practice is already underway. With all these familiar things happening, it makes me think of cooler weather, the leaves turning, and even the holidays around the corner. I am SO ready for cooler weather! I’m SO ready for Fall and yes, even the holidays.

Still, though, I look at the calendar and I’m amazed that it’s the last full week of August. Where does the time go? It seems like if you blink, you miss it.

Busy weekend, as usual. Man is off on his week-long vacation with his daughter. He left early Saturday morning. The house is…quiet. Too quiet. I got used to the bustle of activity and now it’s totally different. The kiddo and I had a nice last weekend of summer, though. Went grocery shopping and went 8 cents over budget. Then had to buy the kiddo new cleats for soccer because he’d outgrown them from the Spring season. Went to the local library.

Am I the only person on the planet that didn’t know you could borrow movies and music from the local library? I was in heaven! I brought home a stack of CDs and two movies. The kiddo picked out Ghostbusters (it still makes me giggle) and I got The Mummy. I had rented it a few weeks ago and never watched it. Had I known I could get it from the library FOR FREE I would have done that. And they have a great selection. I so can’t wait to go back! Very excited about that.

Anyway… I grilled hamburgers on Saturday, per the kiddo’s request. I made cheesey ranch burgers and MAN were they ever good. And simple! You just dump a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix and a cup of shredded cheddar into one pound of ground beef. Form into patties and VOILA! The only problem was they sort of fell apart. AND they stuck to the grill. But they were still tasty as all get out.

Made a pot roast Sunday. It was yummy. I knew since we had soccer practice it would be hard to get dinner cooked and done, so I made something that would cook all day. Went to church, came home and finished laundry. And while the kiddo played on the Wii, I read Dreamfever. I couldn’t put it down. It’s awesome.

So now that school has started, the schedule goes back to what it was. I’m back to being child-less on Mondays and Tuesdays. Since Man is off on vacation, I’m going to work on the revisions hard and heavy. I really want to get them done this week.

I’ve been toying with another idea. I need to get it fleshed out and a brief synopsis written (I’m starting to really depend on that!). I hope this week some normalacy will return to my life. Well, here’s hoping anyway.

Happy Monday! Happy Start of the School Year!

I’m really behind on emails and reading blogs and all my “social” internet-ing. I’m missing my online world and my online friends. Isn’t that strange? After being virtually unplugged for two days, I feel totally out of touch! I came home yesterday and today to about 100 emails. Most I could ignore completely. Some I had to answer. Others can wait. And still others can go to the trash bin.

My work computer decided to explode last Friday with a major Trojan. Man thought he’d fixed everything. But it’s still sick. Major problems abound. Today, it undergoes major surgery. A total wipe out and system reload.

R.I.P. Trojan.

One thing that little scare had me do, though, was immediately come home and scan the home computer, the Mini, the thumb drive. All are clean, thank goodness. And then I backed everything up. EVERYTHING. The hard drive, the thumb drive. I can’t afford to lose any data. Especially when I’ve been working so diligently on the revisions. I think I’d weep if anything happened.

I did have a wonderful surprise in the mailbox when I got home, though. Karen Marie Moning’s Dreamfever has arrived! And yes, I’m salivating to read it. After I cooked dinner, did the dishes and got the kid settled into bed, I settled down to read. I’ve been waiting for this book for a LOOOOOONG time.

This weekend is about running errands, cleaning house, church, soccer practice, and getting the kiddo ready for the first day of school. Plus I need to work on the OTFS contest and those revisions. I’m this close to being finished and I don’t want to come to a complete halt.

And that’s about it for me. I can’t believe it’s Friday already! This week totally flew.

Happy weekend, ya’ll!

Hi! Yeah, um. I got nothing today. Because I spent two hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic and nine hours in a meeting yesterday. Can you say brain dead?

Didn’t get home until 7 pm, had Chick-Fil-A for dinner, played with the kid and then it was bedtime. Short evening.

I’m off to Big D again today for another long day. And tonight is Meet The Teacher which means I have to leave the office no later than 4 to get to the school on time.

I foresee another short evening and brain-dead day ahead…

So I wake up yesterday morning and as I’m combing my hair out after my shower, I feel something really painful on my neck.

Turns out it’s a frigging zit the size of Wyoming on the back of my neck just at the hairline. What the frack? I mean, seriously? Aren’t I too old for that?

I’m going to attribute it to the heat (which I’m official SICK of). That and the fact that being nearly 40 really kind of sucks.

So, anyway, I was relating this information to my BFF via email and I told her it was totally like Invation of the Pod People or something. I felt like I had been abducted by aliens sometime between Man blowing his nose at 3 am and me waking up at 6 am. That could really be the only explanation right? She asked me if I thought the Wyoming Zit was the point of entry. I told her I thought it was.

Fast forward to later that night – which was Taco Night, by the way. If you haven’t jumped on the Taco Tuesday bandwagon, well, may I suggest you do that next week? It’s grand fun. So after I get the kiddo settled into bed and collect my thoughts for 2.3 seconds, Man is sitting on the sofa watching History Channel’s The Universe. They’re talking about how in about a couple billion years, the Sun will explode and the Earth will be no more. Because, you see, it’s going to burn itself out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell us something we don’t know.

But as I sat there listening to the narrator and the scientists, I thought… What would happen if there were still people on the Earth at that time? Would they know the Sun was about to go kaboom? And if so, what would they be doing about it?

I bet you’re wondering what that has to do with the zit on my neck and so I’ll tell you. It’s a twisted way to come up with a new idea for a new futuristic story that involves the Sun exploding, the Earth dying, and aliens. But then, who said I wasn’t twisted? I’m still working on the details.

Worked on more revisions for the gladiator book, too. Stayed up way too late. Need much coffee.

I’m off to Big D today and tomorrow and I’m totally not looking forward to the drive. At least I will be armed with iPod and coffee. And I’m still learning where the END key is on this Mini. And I think I need glasses.

Yeah. It sucks to get old.

Hey! I’ve been interviewed. Check me out by clicking here.

This weekend was super hectic. Saw Mom, saw GI Joe, ate at Texas Roadhouse, did laundry and other various errands. But it’s done and in the record books and now I can look forward to the rest of the week. Right? Totally dreading driving to Big D Wednesday and Thursday, though. I hate that traffic. It’s awful. It beats me down. I guess the only saving grace is I’ll have my iPod with me.

Worked on pages last night. Rewrote most of chapter 17 using my outline (I know – it still shocks even me I’m using an outline but HEY! it works!).

And I’m having some serious brain-dead moments lately. I think I may need to slow down. I think the whole “trying to do too much” thing is catching up to me. I know. I hear the inward giant sucking noise of shock and awe from you all now.

But seriously… I really need to think about the rest of the year and next year and see what I can do to cut down on doing some things.

Anyway – today I want to finish chapter 17, get on with 18 and get the revision drafted. I want this puppy DONE by Friday. That’s the goal.

Okay I’m off to work. I owe, I owe!

…I just don’t feel like blogging today. So I’ll be back tomorrow.

Until then, happy Monday!

And PS – I’m officially hooked on Shark Tank.

I’ve decided to take the plunge. I’m querying!

I’ve sent out a total of 5 and receive 2 rejections so far. Tis okay. I fully expect to receive rejections. I figure I can just add them to the collection and keep on keeping on.

I’ve also been doing some agent research and I’m disappointed to see the ones I really want are closed to submissions. So that means I’ll just keep my eyes peeled on their submission guidelines and hope they open… or just keep looking for another agent. This is the part I’m not so fond of. The querying, the rejections, the research. But it comes with the territory.

Have I mentioned I hate waiting, too? I’m not very patient.

I’ve been in sort of a stale-mate with the revisions for the last two days. It’s like I got to this certain point and then STOPPED. It’s because I need to rework the end of the book a little and it’s taken me two days to figure it out. I finally did yesterday. It was like a breakthrough.

I took the last four chapters of the book and write a very crude outline of what happens in each scene in each chapter. That way I could see it on paper. Then I took that outline and copied and pasted it. I rearrange the scenes and tweaked and changed. As I worked on that, I finally figured out the end of the book that not only makes sense, but it keeps me from having to do a major rewrite on the last two chapters. I love that.

So in the next few days, I will begin the process of revising three of the chapters. Plus I have to add a scene or two. No sweat, right?

Right.

I’m very glad it’s Friday. Busy weekend ahead. I really need to tackle the closet this weekend. I’m wondering if the local women’s shelter will take my old clothes. I’d feel better doing that than giving them to Goodwill.

Happy weekend!

I judge a lot of contests. Seven this year to be exact with an average of five entries per contest. I can’t tell you how many times I see the telling in stories instead of the more emotional-punch of showing. And you can tell the difference between a new writer and a seasoned writer by how they describe things and really use that showing to their advantage.

I’m guilty of it, too. Sometimes I just get lazy as a writer and think, “Oh, I’ll go back and redo that later.”

Anyway. I wouldn’t be rambling on about this if I wasn’t going to give you some examples of telling vs. showing. Are you ready? Here we go.

These examples are from my latest, WIP (the gladiator book I’m revising).

Original:
Cassius rounded the corner into the banquet hall and paused to take in the sights and sounds.

The words sights and sounds are vague and don’t tell us anything about the room Cassius is in.

Revised:
Cassius rounded the corner into the banquet hall. Faint strains of harp and lute music floated through the mingling group of men—politicians and Citizens and other dignitaries. He even spotted a few Legion soldiers. On one side, a feast fit for, well, a king and his queen. Not to mention the Emperor. Roasted boar, venison, a rack of lamb among the meats. Fruits, vegetables, wheels of cheese, freshly baked breads, flasks of wine and mead and ale. The palace kitchen must have been cooking for days.

See the difference? In the original version, he pauses to take in the sights and sounds. But in the revised version, we actually hear and see what the character is hearing and seeing instead of the generic sights and sounds.

Here’s another example.

Original:
Heads turned as Elena crossed the room, making Cassius jealous.

Revised:
Heads turned as Elena crossed the room, rousing the jealousy in him with her every step. Cassius wanted to single-handedly rip out each one of their eyeballs.

I love this description – the fact that Cassius wants to rip out their eyeballs for looking at his woman cracks me up.

And one more.

Original:
After all they’d been through now that she obviously needed him she shoved him away, making him angry.

Revised:
After all they’d been through now that she obviously needed him she shoved him away. His rage and frustration exploded. At her. At the Emperor. At this unnerving situation they were both in.

I’m sure there are better examples than I can give you, but at least this gives you the idea of the difference. Just remember: don’t tell the reader “he was angry.” Show the reader his lips pressed in a thin line, his fists clenched so hard every vein pops out on his forearm, the tick in his clenched jaw.

Happy writing!

So I think I’ve mentioned once or twice I’m still in revision mode, working on the gladiator book. It’s coming along nicely and currently, I only have 80 pages to go. That’s right – 80! The end of the book with the big climactic scene.

Recently, I read through my CPs comments regarding these last few pages. When I sent it to her, I warned her I thought the ending was a bit weak and asked her to give me suggestions on making it stronger. I really felt like the bare structure of the story was there but I was having trouble pulling it off the way I wanted.

Finally I get to the final five chapters, read through her comments and when I read her suggestions it was like a light bulb went on. Of course! I thought. Why didn’t I see it that way before?

I know why. I was playing it safe. I was too afraid to push my characters to the very limit of their emotional brink. Too afraid to put them in complete and utter hell. Which in turn meant I was too afraid to push myself as a writer, drop my guard, and write the book the way it should have been written all along.

Isn’t that funny? How sometimes you need an outsider to see the storyline that way? To give you that vision of making the story a thousand times stronger?

So I’ve printed off the last 80 pages and I’m getting my hot pink pen out (because red is so obscene). I’ve started the arduous task of rewriting the climax, making it stronger, making the characters take control of their situation (instead of being a victim) and giving the reader that feeling of, “YEAH!” and making them want to stand up and cheer when the hero and heroine finally defeat evil and win the day.

Yeah. That is so totally going to rock.

Man worked late last night so I sat and worked on the revision. I got 37 pages done! I have 80 pages to go! WOO! I love making progress.

Once I finish the revision, I want to start concentrating on working on the new book. I really want to get my hands into the futuristic and start plotting that story and writing up a good bare-boned synopsis. Besides, I miss working on new stuff. I miss the creative process and I really want to get back to that.

Still no word from the agent. But it hasn’t even been a month yet. LOL! Impatient? You bet.

Man has to work late again tonight. Guess where I’ll be? Yes. Chained to my computer working on the remaining 80 pages. It’s a great opportunity since the kiddo is at his dad’s this week. No distractions! (Don’t get me wrong – I love my child dearly but he’s very demanding of attention.)

And that’s about it for me. Not much going on in Michelle-World. It’s Tuesdsay – you know what that means? It’s taco night! Sweet.