Castle in the Clouds

Yesterday started the Fall 2004 semester. Wahoo. Work, as usual, was crazy. I hardly had a chance to eat lunch and when I did it was interrupted every five to ten minutes. The joys of room changes. The beginning of the semester also means taking another class. I've selected Intercultural Communication this semester. I hope it's informative and fun. There hasn't been a Communication class I've taken that I haven't liked. I'm hoping this holds true this semester, too.

Let's see. My brother got married on Saturday. It was an outside wedding and we were lucky not to get wet. It rained most of the day but stopped in time for them to tie the knot and for pictures to be taken outside. Limo ride was fun. We went to one bar and had a shot (lemon drop for me!) before heading to the hall. The reception was a blast. I admit I drank a bit more than I probably should have but I didn't pay for it the next morning so it was still within limits. Came home afterwards and played cards with my sister, her husband, my cousin from Texas, and the hubby. I remember being very, very tired and wanting to go to bed even though I didn't want to stop visiting. Knowing everyone was heading home the next day tends to make one forfeit sleep in favor of a just a few more minutes of togetherness. The next morning was busy. Had to run to my dad's house because I had left a bunch of my stuff in his truck after the wedding (clothes, shoes, purse, ...

I just finished writing this post ( click here ) on the Forward Motion website. I have no idea if it will work but I'm willing to give it a go! Edited to add: I just realized the board I directed you to in the link above requires a login and password (free!!). If you don't have one, get one! FM has been a great resource for me over the last couple years despite the occassional flare of tempers. (It's best to ignore those as much as possible...something I can't get away with now that I moderate some of the boards). Anyhow, if you'd rather not get a free login and password and join a kick-ass writer's community here's the content of that post: I have three sets of notes I'm using. Yep, three. Here's how they work: Document Number 1 Chapter by Chapter Overview Chapter One: 1. First Plot Element 2. Second Plot Element 3. Third Plot Element Document Number 2 Chapter by Chapter Questions 1. Question Plot Element Number 1 (from docum...

Well, the hubby has been gone since Sunday and it's just been me and the kids. So far so good. We even managed to get their rooms in order--no easy feat! Of course they're missing their daddy but that's to be expected; they'll be excited to see him when he gets home this weekend. So will I! Keeping the house clean has been more of a challenge than normal, though. I'm having my future sister-in-law's Bachelorette Party at my house Saturday evening and I don't want to spend the whole morning and afternoon cleaning. So I'm trying to keep things picked up and relatively clean this week. With two small boys running through the house it's almost impossible but I'm managing somehow. I've even got the laundry down to manageable piles. Amazing. I'm looking forward to going out with the girls dancing. The stripper I could do without but it's not really my call. I wonder if it would be rude to ask him to stay outside? Or restict...

Endangering Destiny I managed to write a few hundred words last night. Finished Ramses' scene, at least I thought I had. Now I realize I need to add in the other plot layer. There's a lot going on over in his neck of the woods and the reader needs to know about it. Luckily, it just occurred to me where I can add it without much trouble. Love it when that happens. Vampire Romance (in need of a title) No new words. Last Friday was a bust. Maybe this Friday will prove more accommodating.

I'm from Gryffindor! You're known for being brave, loyal and trustworthy, sometimes to a fault. But if the chips were down, wed count on someone like you to help out or save our lives. We just hope you don't get yourself killed before we can cash in on that. Hogwart's Sorting Hat Quiz made by The Genki Gang

At Lola's prompting I decided to see what today's Yahoo horoscope had in store for me. Here are the results: Quickie: Late bloomers flower at last. There are no limits. Be yourself. Others join you. Overview: Talk about emotional. Whatever you're feeling will quite literally be written all over your face. This wouldn't be the best time to play poker -- not for money, at least. This made me smile because not ten minutes before hand I was struggling to control my temper. Oh, yes, I have one. Believe it. I won't go into detail about my little mini-fit. Just suffice it to say someone at work had irritated me yesterday and a good night's sleep hadn't eased my frustration. I have no doubt she knew I was pissed--between my tone and my very easy-to-read expressions it would be hard to miss. How totally coincidential is it that this happened to be my horoscope today? Or is there no such thing as coincidence?

The ArtVan delivery men arrived early this afternoon with our new furniture. It's so pretty and adds to the homey feel of the house. We got a new sleigh bed, a chest of drawers, and a dresser with mirror. The nightstand was out of stock; we should get a call sometime in September to pick it up. It's nice to have my house back together. Last night it looked as if a tornado had gone through each and every room. Breaking down the waterbed did result in more than a huge mess, though. I'm going to get bookshelves out of the deal! I can't wait. I'll post pictures when it's done.

Well, I'm holding true to my lastest plan. I wrote on ED tonight. Added a measely 375 words. Not complaining, really. Just wish I had gotten about three times as much done. Oh, well. 375 is better than nothing. I'll try to work on this scene tomorrow night, too, leaving Friday open for my vampire story.

While waiting for the ArtVan delivery people to show up this morning, I got to see a couple of morning visitors. I'm going to try to get the pictures here but...if that fails...I'll just post the links. Look at those spots! The protective mama never took her eyes off the house.

Ever feel like screaming at the top of your lungs until your voice gives and you're left panting for air? Yeah. That's how I feel.

I've gone and done it. Remember when I said I wrote some 1300 words on a vampire romance? Well, the story has sucked me in. It's just so fun and sexy. I don't know if anyone else will like it but I'm sure enjoying myself! The fantasy doesn't bring the same level enjoyment. The writing doesn't just flow. It's work. On some days, excruciating work. I still like it and I have every intention of finishing it--I don't give up easily--but I think a break from it every now and then will be good for me. For those of you who know me, you know multiple WIPs are not my style. I'm a one-story-at-a-time kind of gal. I can't even write a new story while editing an old one (at least, that's my excuse for putting off the rewrite of Dragonborn). However, I read an article on Holly's site a couple days ago. In this article she mentioned how her secret side-project became her Friday respite from her contracted work. Reading about her experiences,...

There's this blog I read. It's about a woman's battle with infertility. Following a link from another blog I visit almost every day, I found a writer who is not a writer and a mother who is not a mother. While my WIPs are creations of imagination and grammar, her's are WIPs travelling down a fallopian tube. Somtimes I forget how fortunate I am. I take for granted my "fertile Myrtle" luck. I got pregnant twice. I have two beautiful children. I never worried about the shape of my uterus or my hormonal balance. Artificial insemination or fertility drugs never crossed my mind. My body is made to bear children--although I now have doubts it's made to deliver them. My first pregnancy was so easy. No morning sickness. No edema. I grew and my baby grew. He arrived two weeks before his due date and was the most wonderous thing I'd ever seen. Before the doc could even stitch me up, I knew I'd happily do it all over again. Labor had not soured my view o...

I turned on the computer tonight and actually started writing. I added 1300+ words to the WIP. Of course, it's not the WIP I intended to work on tonight. ED (Endangering Destiny) has not a single word added to its length. Nope. I spent all night working on a vampire romance of all things. I had about 500 words completed on the story when I opened it for grins. Now it has nearly 1900. And they were fun words. Easy words. I'm just going with the flow. I don't have an outline or any idea of where EXACTLY where I'm going with this. I'm just letting the characters lead me. I'm not abandoning ED by any means. I intend to work on it tomorrow. But how can I ignore the thrill I'm getting from writing Nate and Makenna's story?

Well, I started Chapter 10 last night. What a challenge. All the characters I've introduced so far are no where near the POV character...in fact, they're not even on the same continent. Ramses is far, far from home, which is actually very useful when describing his surroundings because, frankly, being an outsider, he does notice things the natives take for granted and would therefore never consider in their meandering thoughts. Not a ploy I'll be able to use all the time but it certainly works for this story! I opened the WIP at 7:00. By 9:45 I had a measely 322 words. I blame this on three things: children momming me to death every five minutes, entering a chatroom when I should have been focusing on the story, and the how-to books I read when I couldn't decide on how to introduce this character. By the time I finally settled down to write I had about 45 minutes to work uninterupted. Too bad each line was a struggle. Here's a brief excerpt--very rough and une...

I didn't write anything last night. Didn't even turn on the computer. After the hubby and I worked out we sat on our behinds and watched hour after hour of TV. Pathetic but true. Last night's vege-fest included: Casino (weird show...don't know that I'll watch that again), The Simple Life (pretty funny show about how good parents can set really bad examples), CSI: Miami (it's okay but no where near as good as the original), and too many commercials to count. The kidlets, on the other hand, watched Tarzan, Pok-e-mon, and Yu-gi-oh!. They love Yu-gi-oh! When that show is on, they're entranced. Of course, loving the cartoon means they yearn to collect the playing cards, which are so expensive! Anywhere from $3.50-$4.50 a deck. Two kids. You do the math.

I know this may sound hokey but I think I'm willing to try it. If you've been hanging around here much (or if you were just unfortunate enough to find yourself trapped here every now and then), you may recall how much I dread the rewriting process. It intimidates the hell out of me. In all honesty, I'm not even sure I know how to do it. But I've come to the conclusion it's a necessary evil. So...how does one approach such a daunting task? I don't think alcohol is a good idea--altered perceptions and all that. Drugs are not an option. That leaves only hard work and determination. But I've tried those before and have failed in spectacular fashion. My last rewriting attempt lasted for a whole three chapters--the ones I decided to send out in query. I've found a good source of advice on how another writer approaches this aspect of the craft. Thanks, Zette! I will definitely refer to these steps when the time is right. I've also decided to tr...

I haven't written anything on ED since last week. Perhaps I'll find the time to get a few new words onto the screen tonight. Wish me luck...