Blarg.

28. August 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Novels · Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I’ve got a bad case of writer’s avoidance.  It’s annoying.

I wrote 1,500 words in Bringing Stella Home today, and about 800 words of outlining.  That might seem like a lot, but when you consider how much free time I had today, it’s really not that much.  Blarg.

I’m all moved in to my new place, with my class and work schedule all worked out, my insurance paid for, groceries in the fridge, books on the shelf (or boxed in the closet–not much book space, considering that Ben’s already taken most of it!), etc etc.  I even went on a date last night–a really awesome one!  So it’s not like I can say “I had chores” and use that as an excuse.

Part of the problem, though, was that I didn’t have this particular section very well planned.  Without having a good macroscopic view of the novel, it’s hard to revise things right.  Fortunately, I took a step back today and planned out the next three chapters or so.  That should keep me going strong for a while.

Whenever I stop procrastinating and just write, I usually dive right into it.  It’s thinking too much about it before I start that really holds me  back.

So, no more thinking–just doing.

Tomorrow is the last Friday before school starts, and the last 100% open day I have before the craziness begins.  Here’s what I plan to do:

  • Cook chili (all from scratch–I’m soaking the beans tonight).
  • Pick up tupperware and a cutting board from DI.
  • Read and critique the stories for writing group.
  • Read required readings for Poli Sci 309R (or,  if not, at least on Saturday).
  • Go to the temple–gotta go to the temple before school starts.
  • Catch up a bit on the blogging backlog (and boy is it LONG).

Hopefully, in between all of that, I can knock off a chapter or two.  My goal: 4k words.  Gotta buckle down!

In related news, I got an amazing compliment from my friend Drek!  We were chatting online, and this is what he said:

Ben: Just remember you have to find a girl BEFORE you become an incredibly famous novelist, or you’ll never know if your wife married you for your money or your looks.

me: ha

ha

ha

no, I”m probably going to be poor and destitute all my life

working a day job

Ben: No way, I predict you’ll be a professional author within five years.

me: thanks

but will it be enough to make a living?

lots of bestselling authors still have day jobs

Ben: Eh, you’ll have more of a day “hobby” just so you can earn some play money.

me: perhaps

Ben: Anyway, see you on Saturday!

Thanks Ben!  I haven’t really thought of it that way (I don’t dare get my hopes up), but that would be awesome if things worked out that way.  That’s the  goal, in any case.  I just hope I can keep my head out of the water after I graduate!

Finally, I’ll leave you with some awesome Celtic music–part of the reason I haven’t been writing!

I’m back!

21. August 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Wow, I’m back from vacation.  Not “back” as in back in Utah, but “back” as in no longer at the cape.  We drove home to Western Massachusetts this evening and arrived just a couple hours ago.

Family vacation this year was lots of fun!  It was me, mom and pop, and Sarah and Mykle at a local cottage for about a week.  We went to Nauset Light Beach, Coast Guard Beach, Race Point Beach, Provincetown, Hyannis, Moby Dick’s restaurant, the Cape Cod Natural History Museum, and, of course, good old Sheep Pond in Brewster (Brew-stah).  When we weren’t out and about, we were either watching movies or playing Hearts and Shanghai, the Vasicek family card game of choice.

It was a lot of fun to hang out with the family at Cape Cod, but after a week I’m ready to head back into life as usual.  My back is fried, I’ve had enough Shanghai to make me sick (especially considering how CRAZY our family games can get!), and I’m looking forward to no longer smelling like salt water or sun tan lotion.

I’m also looking forward to writing again.  I kept up the writing at the cape–about 1k to 2k each day, mostly in the evening–but man, stuff like moving and vacations and travel and having fun tends to throw out your daily routine.  I haven’t had one for the last week and a half, and I want to get back to something a little more stable (not to mention productive).

Alas, the summer is just about over.  I’ll be flying back to Utah on Tuesday, moving all my stuff into my new apartment on Wednesday (Ben Crowder is going to be my roommate–I think it’s going to be a fun and interesting semester!), helping a friend move her stuff out of storage on Saturday, and doing other get-ready-for-school things on the other days, including filling out the FAFSA, getting parking stickers, books, figuring out what’s going on with my double-major capstone, and blah blah blah other boring annoying stuff.

Gah!  Why can’t I just write all day, every day?  Looks like those days are over…<sob>.

Someday, inshallah, I’ll make that dream a reality.  Someday soon, inshallah!

To write on vacation or not to write?

13. August 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Novels · Tags: , , , , , , , ,

That is the question.

These last couple of weeks have been very unproductive.  I hate it.  Yeah, there have been reasons–moving apartments, sister’s graduation, coming home, etc.  Worthless excuses–I should have been writing more, and I didn’t.

At the same time, taking a break every now and again is very important.  Sometimes you just have to sit back and recharge your creative batteries–otherwise, you’ll overwork them and they’ll die.  What better way to kill your productivity than that?

I noticed, back at the beginning of the month, that I  needed a break.  I produced about 85k words each month in June and July, and I’ve been sloshing through the middle of Bringing Stella Home 2.0 for some time now.  Consequently, my creative brain seemed to  shut down about two weeks ago (or at least switched to power-saving mode) and I haven’t been writing at a consistent rate since.  Blargh.

So I know I need a vacation.  I’ve needed it for some time.  And now that I’m here in Massachusetts, heading to the cape on Saturday, I’ve got the perfect opportunity to relax and recharge my batteries.

Trouble is, if I stop writing altogether, will I lose momentum?  Will it take me another week just to get back into the story?  I’ve already lost so much productivity, it makes me feel disgusted.  I need to be so much further along in this story than I am if I’m going to meet my (self-imposed) deadline.

So, I’m wondering–should I write while I’m on this vacation?

Of course, I’m not going to spend eight hours a day writing full time, the way I have been for most of this summer.  I’m going to relax.  But should I set a modest goal of 1k words a day while I’m there?  I kind of think I should.

Don’t worry, though.  I’m going to take time off for fun as well.  I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a very long time!

As if writing weren’t fun enough already. :)

Some quick updates

07. August 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

It’s been a while since I’ve written for this blog…and it’s probably going to be a while before I write again.  I’m going home to Massachusetts in less than a week, and I just learned today that I need to find a place to live for the fall.

So…I’m packing, scrambling, trying to find a place to move, get everything figured out.  Right now, I think I have a place (rooming with a friend, no less), but I haven’t contacted the  manager yet, so I’m not sure.  What kind of an office closes at 2:30 in the afternoon?  Gosh.

Fortunately, I never really unpacked, so moving shouldn’t be too difficult.  It’s just stressful. It doesn’t help that I’ve fallen behind a bit  from where I need to be with Bringing Stella Home. Bah.

As far as books go, I need to review The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, and I’m almost finished with Pride and Prejudice.  Two very interesting books.  I’ve enjoyed Pride and Prejudice a lot more than I thought I would, though it does get a little slow in the middle.

I’ve got to go now, but that’s what’s going on right now.  Next post will probably be from Massachusetts.

Slush puppy feedback

04. August 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , , ,

A few weeks ago, I read a submission for The Leading Edge (I volunteer read slush for the magazine) from a lady from Germany.  The story was about a dwindling race of indigenous natives being driven from their lands by a corporate, high-technology society.  This one girl gets lost in the wilderness and everyone thinks she’s dead, but she’s really taken by this magical demigod woman who the natives worship.  One of the natives basically sells his soul to integrate with the invaders, while the main character fights them up to the end.

It was an interesting story with some poignant moments, but way too much for 15,000 words.  I wrote in my comments that this lady was really writing a novel and that she should try her hand at it, because if she pulled it off with some skill the story was good enough that I’d be willing to buy it.

Well, today we got a postcard in the mail from the same lady, thanking us for our kind comments!  Here’s what she said:

Dear Director,

I want to apologize for sending you “Kith and Kin” which contained some inappropriate content*…it was kind of you to permit reviewers “RJ” and “JV” to comment nonetheless, and I found their comments detailed, thoughtful, and helpful!  The piece has now placed elsewhere.  Thank you for your time.

Very truly yours,

Suzanne Sykorn in Germany

That was kind of her to send a note!  Good to know, also, that people find my comments helpful.  The editors gave me the postcard, so it will be a nice writerly keepsake to add to my collection of rejection letters (and acceptance letter!!).

For my own career, I think I’ll do like this lady and send out postcards whenever I get a personalized rejection.  It’s definitely a kind, thoughtful gesture.

*The inappropriate content mostly had to with sex and drug use.  It didn’t bother me, as callous and profane as I am, but I think some of the other slush readers had issues.  Since Leading Edge is a BYU publication, we have to follow BYU standards in what we publish.

Oh crap

01. August 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Bringing Stella Home, Genesis Earth, Novels · Tags: , , , , , ,

Dang.  I just looked at a calendar for the next two months, and it looks like I’m going to be busy.

I want to get Genesis Earth and Bringing Stella Home polished and ready before World Fantasy 2009, but it’s going to take a lot of work.  Genesis Earth is almost there, but Bringing Stella Home is going to require a HEAVY rewrite.  I’m in the middle of that now.

I’m currently about 25k words into the rewrite, with between 100k and 110k words to go (I think…could be more).  I want to finish this by the last week of September / first week of October.  That leaves me three working weeks in August (I’m taking off a week for vacation at Cape Cod, though I will probably write a little there as well) and five weeks in September.

But really, once school starts again, I’m not going to have much time available to write.  I’ve got two capstone papers I’ll be writing, a ccouple of poli sci classes to take, and to top it all off, I’ll be taking a 400 level English class where I’ll probably be writing a DIFFERENT novel–holy cow!  September is going to be a CRAZY month!

How the crap am I going to juggle all this?

Well, I figure if I write 4k minimum a day in August, I can get between 60k and 75k of Bringing Stella Home knocked out before school starts.  It’s going to be tough, but it won’t be significantly more than what I’m already writing. Definitely doable.

That way, I’ll only have 35k for September, which comes to a meager 1k  per day.  Considering that this is revision work, which tends to go a bit quicker, I  think I’ll be able to handle it.

But 65k in August…can I do that?

Well, in June, I wrote a grand total of 81k, and in July I wrote 85k.  Most of the stuff in July, too, was revision work that I counted differently, excluding passages that I’d recycled from the previous draft.

Considering this, I think I can do 65k in August, even with a week’s vacation.  I’ll probably even write a bit on the break, maybe 1k/day, just to keep some momentum.  We’ll see.

But, just as an aside…81k?  85k??  That’s more than the novel I worked on my entire freshman year of high school!  And I did that…in just a month?  That’s encouraging!

Maybe I’m finally getting toward the tail end of my million crappy words.  If that’s the case, maybe I’ll finally write my first good word before too long.

:)