Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Shiny!

Despite a hectic week on the home front and at work, I've managed to attract the attention of a very persuasive plot bunny.

I succumbed without much fight, and am now happily feeding and nurturing the persistent little thing into a bright, glittery, new story.

Touch is not on the back-burner per say (I have picked away a bit here and there when there's time), but ideas for this new story just keep popping into my brain randomly, and I can't resist jotting down notes.

Next week will be just as busy I'm afraid, with no real time to sit and write, but I think I'll give this bunny free roam in the caverns of my mind in the meantime.

Hopeful outcome - another short/novella that explores the intricate repercussions of actions and thought -it's Karma, baby!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Wonderful Word Count!

Yesterday, I had an awesome day writing. I sat in my living room with music on the satellite and wrote in my little notebook. It was just me, a pen and the paper. And my imagination.

Oh, and the cats, who thought it was very, very odd I was sitting in THEIR chair. But eventually seating arrangements all got sorted out and we were all happy.

I wrote for about 2 hours sitting there, which went by a lot faster than I thought it would.

Then, later, I tried to transcribe what I'd written onto my computer. (cue music) Duh-duh-duh...

If you may recall, I have a small attention span problem and am easily distracted.

I got about 3/4 of it done, and then I was off in virtual la-la land - chat (which, ironically enough, was supposed to encourage me to type more), ebay, facebook, forums... the list goes on.

Still, my wordcount got bumped by 1,000 words, and I can't complain about that!

Here's a little info about my WIP:


It's an erotic short called Touch (so far), and it's about a woman who craves physical connections with people. She finds sex particularly satisfying to her need to be touched, but has a hard time finding men who aren't all about groping. Tired of not getting what she needs, she accepts an invitation to explore her carnal side for one night only - in the dark, and with a stranger.

The man she's paired with is just coming back from a heartbreak and is pushed into accepting the invitation by his buddy. Still, he's ready to get over it, and have a night of fun with no strings attached.

They, of course, have lots of naughty, dirty sex.


So far, it's been a lot of fun to write, and I am not allowing myself to go back and edit before I get the whole thing drafted. This is tough for me. I'm very much into instant gratification (it's all about results) so the temptation to go back and polish this baby up in certain parts is very, very hard to resist.

So, I think this is why writing in my notebook and then transcribing is working so well this time around. I write draft crap, and then as I type it out, I get to embellish, cut or do some switching without getting into an in-depth edit. It's keeping me happy :)

I'm just over halfway from my target word count. Now that I've reached the top of the hill and am on the downward slope, I hope that things roll along a little faster, because I'm anxious to get it to the awesome gal who's agreed to read it!

Tonight, after I get some other stuff done, I'll pick up my pen again and see where it takes me. I can't wait!

Monday, May 3, 2010

Getting snowed under...

Seriously, I have NO CLUE how all these annoyingly organized people stay so put together. Their productivity instills such a sense of envy in me. How do they manage to stay on track?

I'm pretty sure I don't have AADD or anything of that sort, but I am so easily distracted it's unreal.

I sit down to write, then decide to take a quick look at Facebook, and suddenly it's 500 minutes later and I've played 75 games of Bejeweled Blitz, grabbed about 10 cups of coffee, laughed my butt off at CakeWrecks and then... oh, look! Shiney.

Before I understand what's happening, it's mid-afternoon and I'm bolting for work without having gotten more than 50 words done for the day.

Maybe that's why long-handing in my notebook works so well. Absolutely nothing but my pen, the paper and frantic scribbling to get all of those skittering thoughts caught into something tangible that will eventually, hopefully, become a story.

I also have a big issue of not finishing what I've started because of said state-of-constant-distraction. Yet, that's not to say I don't have productive hours and days and weeks.

Still, sometimes I'm clipping right along, all accomplishing and proud, so I decide to take on just one more thing. Just that one small shift, and my precarious pile of projects teeters.

It's like that tiny glob of snow that gets knocked loose at the top of the mountain. Something starts rolling away, totally out of control, and then other crap gets stuck to it: things I can't finish until something else is done, a promise I forgot about, anxiety and embarrassment that I'm being so flaky...


It's an avalanche of tasks that collects and fuses around me until I'm utterly suffocated and immobilized, and my head is spinning from the wild tumble. Everything's such a mess I can't decide what to work on, so I do absolutely nothing. Sometimes that nothing turns into days at a time.

And because I'm feeling so guilty about all the other things I need to do, I can't write anything on my stories.


So then I make a list.

Lists are my friends.

I love using lists to get the rock-tumbler in my head organized. When I find myself writing the same item on my To-Do over and over, I know it's time to kick up my heel, connect with mine a$$ and just DO IT.

And really, all I need is just ONE thing to get done. It inevitably leads to a clean sweep of the list.

Afterward, the sense of relief is like taking a deep breath right after you've brushed your teeth. Clean and tingly and invigorating. It's as though a magical crevice has opened up, and all the clingy snow has melted away, leaving me free to start something new. Or many, many somethings new.

And, the best thing of all happens - the voices of my characters break through and words just start flowing again.

Sadly, this past week has felt more like the avalanche than the melt. Maybe there's hope for tomorrow?

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Once Upon A Time...

... there was a pushing-thirty yr old chick who loved romance novels so she thought she'd sit down to write one.

Cue me.

*waves*

Helloooo, cliché.

Well, without further adieu, welcome to my new blog and my new beginning!


I find myself most comfortable with contemporary romance, but some (lotta) times I take meanders into erotica. I like it hot. And dirty. With a bit of humor. And a lot of steam.

There are currently 3 projects on the go, 2 novels and a short, and I'm hoping to finish up and polish the short to submit it for consideration within the next 2 months (gotta put a deadline on my goals or they tend drag out into oblivion).


Thanks to some wonderful Diva support (holla!), the process will be considerably less painful than if I'd greened it on my own.

I can only imagine the magnitude of the inevitable trip up: a slightly chubby chick with crazy eyes and fly-away auburn hair pinwheeling backwards through the "Reject" door, where she promptly curls up in the fetal position to die of utter embarrassment.


*cringe*

Pretty, ain't it.


Which brings me to my point. I think. Anyway. I know getting the big "R" is a right of passage, blah blah blah, and I know it's going to happen (and lots), but before I set myself up for failure, I'm going to absorb every little iota of advice from anyone who will give it to me.

Enter frequent visits to Divadom.

I don't deal with failure very well.


*shifty crazy eyes*

*blink*blink*

Oh, right. Point.

This blog will be dedicated, like so many others before, to the journey into finding the magical Emerald City where a story is given the stamp of approval and a writer gets to squee publicly about her pretty cover. Although, let's be upfront - I'm not promising that there won't be plenty of straw-brained and fraidy-cat days or that I won't seize up and stall out occasionally.

So, let's take the trip.

PS: I'll tell you right now that Ima bit of a flake, and will prolly forget to post blog updates more than once or twice a week, but I'm giving it a shot so I hope you bear with!