Castle in the Clouds

We're on our way to a Memorial Day cookout at a friend's house. We're bringing the salads...potato, macaroni, & cole slaw. I forgot the cole slaw yesterday when I went shopping so I'm hoping there's at least one store open today between here and there. If not, I guess we'll have to settle for potato and macaroni. Of course, this means the hubby won't be eating any salads--cole slaw is one of the few things he can eat while on Atkins. It's pouring outside. Some cookout, eh? Oh, well, we'll just have to use the stovetop for the hotdogs and hamburgers and resign ourselves to eating indoors. Hope your Memorial Day is filled with friendship and food!

I took today off work to spend with the Kintergardener. His school advertised an "all day" picnic. The day didn't go exactly as I had imagined it but it was a nice chance to see how his typical day plays out. The child is never clingy at home but you'd never know it when I actually get a chance to visit his school. I think he gets very territorial. Whenever I tried helping another kid with their assignment, he would pull me away almost immediately. It's amazing how much work these little people do! They practiced ending sounds, finished a craft project, did their calendars, and a then started working in their farm books (they learned about roosters today) all before 11:00. Then we grabbed our blanket, our lunches, and headed to the playground. After that I asked the teacher if it would be okay for me to take KC down to the book fair. I shoud have left him in the classroom and went myself! The child acted like a spoiled brat. Temper tantrum city. ...

I'm almost there! I misjudged a bit and realize I have one more chapter to include in the revision process. Two down, one to go. I think the next one can be "tweaked" to fit with the current flow, which is better than the complete rewrite I had to do for the chapter I recently finished working on. Since hubby will be gone for a few hours after work, I should be able to write tonight.

I can't believe how long these revisions are taking me! I'm stuck about halfway through, struggling to make sure all the arguments are sound and the pertinent character motivations at least introduced. I've managed to touch up two chapters today (minor changes so don't get too excited) and get some new words for a chapter which had to be completely dumped and redone. Fun stuff. I'd like to think I'll complete this revision by Friday. Wish me luck!

Just for the record...I hate both. Dieting is akin to cruel and unusual punishment. I love ice cream. I love chocolate. I even love those little candies made of pure sugar (sprees, sweetarts, bottlecaps). Pasta dishes number among my favorites. Everything I love is bad for me. That totally sucks. I mean really, really sucks. I've tried dieting. Atkins, calorie, fruits & veges only. Nothing seems to make a bit of difference. Deprivation doesn't seem to be the key to weight loss for me. I've tried exercising. I joined Curves last April. There were a few weeks I failed to actually make it there three times a week but they weren't the norm, they were the exception. I kept at it for a year. I lost 15 inches but not a single damn pound. Very frustrating. Recently the dh & I purchased a home gym. We started out strong but soccer, t-ball, and softball have been rather unforgiving. I'm hoping we get back into a steady routine soon. Th...

Remember the flash of brilliance I experienced the other night? Well, I'm implementing it. Slowly. I made it through the first chapter where the change in plot needed to occur. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. In fact, I was feeling pretty damn good about how easily I accomplished the switch. And I really like what I got, too! Then I got to the next chapter and realized a character who has supported my heroine from page one is going to freak out. This adds a great deal of conflict--which is a bonus--but I hadn't realized how hard it would be to pit these two against each other. It makes sense though. The ensuing argument is going to be a great tool for giving the reader some important backstory information. So it's all good...but a lot of work, too. So, I guess I should quit whining and get to work.

I was on my home from work tonight, singing at the top of my lungs, and thinking. Always thinking. Sometimes about the boys, the husband, the laundry, the dishes, the errands I need to run, the job, or any number of other things. Invariably, my thoughts always lead me to my stories, though. One minute I'm thinking about Soccer and t-ball and the next I'm brainstorming plot and characterization. Tonight's revelation is going to cost me. I'm nearly 100 pages into the WIP now and making significant changes to the plot is not something I really want to do. Yet, I know--deep in my gut know--that while the changes aren't necessary they will improve the overall storyline. As per my habit, I fell prey once more to cliche. Of course, this overdone plot element doesn't appear nearly as often in fantasy as it does in romance. Fantasy readers might not find it cliche at all--unless they also happen to read historical romances as appetizers. Changing this pl...

Hey, it may not seem like all that much to crow about but this templete was giving me fits! Finally figured out how to move my sidebar information to the top of the page instead of the bottom. Yay for me!

This is hiliarious. So not me! But yet...perhaps it is...no, definitely not. LOL Which poem are you? The Mad Girl's Love Song by Sylvia Plath To you, love is desperate and hateful. You're wildly passionate and wildly inventive. You're also likely to start stalking people. Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

How evil are you ?

Sometimes I wonder about my writing habits. I really do. I know the genius of writing is in the rewrite and yet this skill eludes me. Or does it? Rewriting brings to mind some preconceived ideas. When I hear the term uttered I imagine finishing the rough draft--you know "The End"--and then taking a little break from the piece. In a few weeks a reading starts the rewriting process. Grammar, dropped threads, clarification, and general "fixes" are done. Then another reading--line edits only this time, thank you. Doesn't sound so bad, does it? Are you kidding?!? I think I might be developing hives at this very moment just thinking about it. But...yet, I can't help but to wonder if I don't practice "rewriting". I never start my writing day by sitting down and just picking up where I left off yesterday (or the day before or the day before the day before). I have to reread what I last wrote. But I can't just read it. ...

Well, according to this online test I am a: You're a Dialogue/Character Writer! What kind of writer are you? brought to you by Quizilla

Blooger has revamped their site and services. I'm tyring to enable comments. Might be more trouble than it's worth. Crossing fingers....

Ok. So I have to change the appearance of my blog every now and then. I can't help it. I'm a girl. It's like changing purses. You're not sure why you do it but that doesn't stop you from looking for a new handbag everytime you make the mistake of wandering too near that unfornunate aisle. You'd call it unfortunate, too, if it was your pocketbook! So...anyhow, I hope you like the new look. I certainly do! Maybe this one will last for more than a few months. Yeah. Right.

I've been doing great! I just finished Chapter Six, bringing the total word count up to 16,877. Not bad. It wasn't a terribly long chapter but it served it's purpose, which is all I ask. I had to do some major revision but I think this edition is much better. When I wrote the last scene I was in "organic writer mode"--you know, when you have no clue where you're going and you let the characters lead the way. The content was great but the prose sucked. That's not the only revision I did. Oh no. Much too painless. I had to attempt self-amputation. I now have a working title and renamed all but two characters to further the Egyptian feel of the book. So here's the end result: Old Title: A New Start New Title: Endangering Destiny Characters: Davne is now Sakkara; Ivan is now Itennu; Logain is now Rahotep; Eethan is now Rameses; Alya is now Jamila; Gareth is now Kedamen . It's going to be fun adapting to the n...