Two Days to Go

I have sorted out my calendar for November and have shaded most spare moments for NaNo. Sadly enough my social calendar for the entire month wasn’t that great anyway so there really wasn’t much to pull back on. So, in saying this, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to meet my daily word count and churn this story out in all its basic glory.

I’ll be doing daily word count postings on my blog as well, which will give me an incentive to work hard—so as not to look like a complete time waster, which I have to tendency to do—and not slack off by aimlessly surfing the internet, slinking off to bury my nose in a book, catching “a few minutes” of TV or going next door for “one” glass of wine.

My excitement is currently overtaking the enormity of the project—I expect that late next week I shall look up from the keyboard, semi-comatose and quite overwhelmed and mumble WTF! Ahh, but it's all part of the fun.

Good luck to everyone doing NaNo.

This will be interesting...

I have two finished manuscripts in various stages of being edited. When I started out writing them I’d carefully plotted one and began the other with just with a rough plot. And that was fine, because I got to know the characters along the way and other plot developments came to me as I wrote.

One thing I knew with both stories though was how they were going to end. I like starting out with the ending swimming around in my head and I enjoy the journey to reach that final scene.

I have no ending in mind for my NaNo story. None whatsoever. Nada. I know how the story begins, have an opening scene in my head and then a basic outline. I’ve been getting to know my characters and making notes about them, but I have no idea how it’s going to end.

This will be interesting indeed.

A Stubborn Muse

Sunday morning my muse left town in a hell of a hurry and she hasn’t returned. I struggled Sunday and yesterday to edit but there wasn’t a lot forthcoming. I got some reading done, watched a few movies, looked for inspiration, but there was none. I listened to Poison by Alice Cooper (the song that inspired the scene I was working on) about a million times on my MP3—better to listen to the same song over and over again on MP3 and not stereo, so as to avoid sudden attacks from pissed off neighbours—but even that did not lure my muse back to work. So, as NaNo begins in a few days I think I’ll turn my attention to that and return to Kiss Butterfly with a fresh eye, and hopefully my muse, in December.

A Long Weekend

Woo Hoo! The internet is working properly and at full speed. Ahh, blogs, how I have missed thee.

I have another annual leave day on Monday to write and it’ll be one of the last chances I have before the end of the month to get stuck into editing Kiss Butterfly. I plan to do the same on Sunday as well so I should make a good dent in the pile of papers that is my manuscript. I’ve also pretty much outlined Nano, well enough to get me going anyway, and I’ll be ready, fingers poised over the keyboard when November 1 rolls around.

And now I feel like heading off for a nap. Why does the damn TV station have to put Family Guy on so late?

Desolation and the Joy of Technology

Desolation is up to read over at Flashes in the Dark, so head on over and tell me what you think.

Have been experiencing major computer problems today and internet connection has been very sporadic so I’ve been seriously deprived of pretty much anything to do with the internet—no blogging, Facebook, Myspace, what the hell....

Anyway, hopefully all will be well in the land of technology tomorrow.

Stairs, and Why I Hate Them

Well, not always....only when I fall down them....well, half a flight, anyway. I’m not injured, only bruised, and hell, maybe I’ll slow down or actually look where I’m going in future. This happened two nights ago. The stairs I fell down were mine and the reason for the fall was my haste to get to the phone. It was funny later on, much later on, but not at the time. Incidentally, I missed the call.

Yesterday my Book Depository order arrived so that cheered me up somewhat. I’ve started a new pile on the floor as the bedside table can no longer accommodate the piles of “to be read” books and I obviously can’t read fast enough. Or is it that I’m just struggling to get through The Time Traveler’s Wife at the moment. Anyone else who has read it, what do you think of it?

Anyway, despite the injury and the delivery of new books, I managed to get another chapter of Kiss Butterfly edited, but no work done on short stories. The two I started working on—even though I’d vowed not to work on any—are flailing and therefore I’ve put them aside. They’ll keep. Meanwhile, NaNo is now just over two weeks away and I’m behind schedule. I’m not going to PANIC though, not at all. I’m going to have a great weekend and hopefully get some more editing done.

Reading wise, head over to Yellow Mama to read BT’s story, Dark Rose. An excellent, very dark read and well worth the trip over.

Monday

Because I spent most of yesterday editing, I allowed myself to make more notes on the new short story inspired by the coffin couch photo which I’ve titled Absinthe for the Soul. It rained pretty much all day so I had a pyjama day and edited from the comfort of my bed while the crows met up for some kind of social function outside my window.

I’m amazed at how quickly this story has come to me, including the ending, because most of the time I sit on a story for ages, waiting for the ending to come . And even more surprisingly—for me anyway—I’ve already got a bit of an idea brewing for 52 Stitches, opening on 31 October, so I think I’ll work on that today. I haven’t got a title for it yet, but it will come.

Inspiration

Last night I was going through photos on my computer looking for something that I know I’d saved somewhere for Kiss Butterfly. I didn’t find it, but I did find this picture. It’s a coffin couch and I found the photo about a year or so ago - can't remember where - and in the few seconds I looked at it, it inspired a short story. I’ve only made a few notes so far because there will be no short story writing until December, but it’s something to think about, and make notes. I love it when a story comes to me from a photo.

For reading, head over to AlienSkin to read two great short stories – Melons by Aaron Polson and The Sea Hath No King by Jameson T Caine.

And now I'm off for the weekend. Have a good one.

An Acceptance!

It’s been a while, but when I got to work this morning there was an acceptance email waiting in my inbox. Flashes in the Dark are publishing my flash fiction story, Desolation, and it will be going live on 20 October 2009. It’s actually the first flash fiction piece I’ve written, as I have a tendency to ramble and have never before managed to write anything less than 3,000 words.

Editing wise, I got quite a bit done last night. Am happier with how it’s moving along and have decided not to stress about running behind on my personal deadline and just pace myself. I’ll get there in the end.

And reading wise, Aaron Polson has a rather disturbing flash fiction story Policy Woes up at Hypersonic Tales which is definitely worth the trip over.

Time is of the Essence

The fact that I did absolutely sod all writing wise on the weekend has sent me into a minor panic. I’m way behind on my personal deadline for editing Kiss Butterfly and am now frighteningly close to NaNo, which means at the end of the month I’ll have to put aside Kiss Butterfly, finished or not.

On the other hand, I have finished Harry Potter. I finished it in the early hours of Saturday morning and then I couldn’t sleep. When I did finally fall asleep I dreamt about them all. Seriously, there might actually be something wrong with me. I refuse to let myself dwell on it though, and I’ve dived into The Price by Alexandra Sokoloff. I’m also trying to get myself organised (yet again) to get back into editing, of which I intend to start tonight.

Maybe my procrastination has something to do with Harry, but I also think it has something to do with the manuscript itself. It’s been pointed out to me recently that there are quite a few leaps of logic in the story with the main character’s discovery of certain events. I put it aside for a few days and went back to have a look at it and I agree wholeheartedly, which leaves a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach. But, I’m pointedly ignoring it until the next draft, otherwise I’ll never get anywhere. It can be fixed, I know that, it’s just frustrating is all, and I can’t believe I didn’t see it, but maybe I’m just too close to the story. Meanwhile, NaNo is getting closer and closer. I’m not panicking. Not really. Okay, I am.

And in relation to NaNo, I’ve updated my page and anyone participating please friend me here. Only if you want to of course :)

October

Oh, September, where the hell did you go?

I’m not so much as lagging behind my personal deadline as watching it race off into the distance. I did send three short stories (The Baited Psychopath, Desolation and The Witching Hour) back out into submission land (have so far got a rejection back on The Baited Psychopath) but did not write any new short stories. I get a lot of editing done on Kiss Butterfly but nowhere near as much as I’d planned.

And why?

Because Harry Potter has taken over my life. I’m half way through book 7 and struggling between wanting to rip through to the end at a maniacal pace and trying to savour the last few remaining pages I have before I get to the end and realise I’ll never again read Harry Potter for the first time. Bit melodramatic?

Anyway, October looks promising. There will be no Harry Potter (sob) as I’ll no doubt have finished it in the next day or two and will be free to edit, edit, edit, and also to prepare for NaNo.

So that’s October – editing Kiss Butterfly and preparing to write The November Sin.

Reading wise, here are some great dark and creepy stories to check out:

Planting Season at House of Horror by Jameson T Caine

Taking Root at House of Horrors by Aaron Polson

Strange Tooth at Everyday Fiction by Cate Gardner