Sep
28

Renewals and Such

Posted in craft, rwa, writing | 3 Comments
It’s that time of year again. Many of the online groups and forums I belong to are sending out the request to renew. Some I will, some I won’t. Last May (2008), when I first started this whole process, I went and joined a slew of groups – mailing lists, online forums, workshops…you name it, I probably looked at becoming a part of the community. And it’s a pretty extensive list, atm. But it’s an empty list, for the most part. I don’t reasonably have time to be part of all of them. The mailing lists are fine – most of the time I just lurk on them anyway…but I’ve been woefully neglectful of most of the forums. Part of this is because I had no idea what I was doing when I signed up(and hell, I probably still don’t). I didn’t have a clue as to how the pubbing… Read more
Sep
17

When They Insist on Doing Their Own Thing…

Posted in craft, writing | 3 Comments
I’m talking characters, of course. I’ve started picking up the writing a little more now that I can focus (and sit longer!). The first chapter of ShadowWeaver is done…horribly rough, but done. And honestly, what is the deal? The chapter started out a little serious and then shot straight down road to smutsville – I pulled Abby and Ion back out of it, and by the end they were in bed with each other anyway. *eyeroll* Seriously. Well, hopefully they’ve gotten it out of their systems now and I can focus on something resembling a plot. Damn panster. I’m still feeling a tad plotless, but I’ve started Chapter 2 anyway.  Have to see where it leads me. When I wrote Shadow of the Incubus, I skipped around a lot – wrote scenes as I felt like, or used workshop exercises to stimulate the imagination and see what showed up. (Which… Read more
Sep
3

Poetry and Pop Culture

Posted in craft, poetry, pop culture, writing | 2 Comments
I’ve been warned before about using pop culture references in my book. I suppose it’s true – refer to a walkman or record albums and it’s a pretty dead giveaway that the story was written in the 80’s. It dates the story, and then I imagine that some readers are left wondering if the rest of the book is dated too. I’m guilty of this sin, of course – I refer to things like iPods and musical bands (i.e. Black Lab or James or Rilo Kiley) in my manuscript. It’s mostly flavor, something to flesh out the moment. I’ve certainly seen it in other books, particularly other Urban Fantasy/Paranormal romances. Most of the time they’re subtle – a reference to South Park, for example – but I suppose you do run the risk of alienating someone who isn’t “in the know”, or who might not be an obsessive Aliens/Terminator/Silence of… Read more
Sep
2

New Beginnings

Posted in craft, pantster, shadow weaver, writing | 2 Comments
I finally started getting down the beginnings of the new book yesterday (though I haven’t updated the word count widget yet). I only got a few pages of it written…but the first chapter has been kicking in my head for over a month now – I just need to get it down.  Hopefully I’ll be a little more successful with that today – mr myn is working all night tonight, so once I get the kids into bed, the evening is mine. I’ve tentatively  titled it “Shadow Weaver” and it’s a direct sequel to “Shadow of the Incubus”. (The 3rd book, should it come to pass, will be called “Child of Shadow” –  but that’s a *long* way off, though I already know how it begins and ends…go figure). Shadow Weaver will pick up approximately 6 months after SotI, and though I know exactly how it begins, I’m not entirely… Read more
Aug
23

Writing by Numbers

Posted in craft, writing | 2 Comments
In looking at the last batch of judged contest entries, I’ve begun to notice a pattern. For the Golden Opportunity contest, two of the judges gave me nearly perfect scores – one shredded me. Fair enough – it happens often enough that I can’t really put much weight on it. Judges either love the writing or hate it – as long as the opinions are inconsistent, I can’t worry about it at this point. Certainly if a particular aspect gets pointed out again and again, then it’s worth looking into – grammar, plot or what have you. But in my case, it seems to be coming down to more of a personal preference – someone didn’t like the cursing or thought there wasn’t enough info in the beginning (or too much) – etc. (Lots of opinions there where some aspect either is too much or not enough, but it’s not… Read more