Month: April 2020

Maybe I Can

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Writing:

I still haven’t finished the first draft of RTD.

After writing the climax last week (two weeks ago? Like everyone, I’ve lost track of time) I knew I’d have three more “finishing up” chapters I’d need to write for everything to come together at the end. All the loose story lines need to be wrapped up because not only is this the end of the book; it’s the end of the series, so, like Lord of the Rings, this has to have 3-4 subsequent endings. Just so we all know what happened with every character at the very, very end.

I’m almost finished writing the first of the last three chapters. But. It. Is. DRAGGING. I’ve spent the last few days on it, but I think that’s okay because I’m typing and then stopping to think a lot. It’s not the best way to get words on the paper/screen, but it’s important work. Every time I’m stopping to think, I’m visualizing what happens next. I’m not a planner, so I don’t have a detailed outline of what goes where and happens when; I only have the few paragraphs I keep at the end of my word doc, along with any previous ideas still bopping around in my head. So, stopping to think is my way of “following the characters.” I’ve been writing a little, thinking, and writing a little more. It definitely makes getting through this a bit slower, but at least the picture is coming together.

After this chapter, I’ll have two more. TWO MORE and then the first draft will be done! Finito! Completely written! Of course, it will be on to the dreaded second draft after that…but still. Getting closer, guys. I’ll drink some wedding wine to that! 😊

Reading:

I just finished Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout. It was good, but I texted my reading-buddy early on that it felt *extremely* similar to the background of my story, Rozmarie & Josiah, which I’ve had online since 2015. The entire plot is different, so no, she didn’t steal it in any way…but I was super convinced for a while that there was some tie to mine (again, there isn’t) but it kind of boosted me a little. It made me feel like, okay…yeah… this author that I dig is writing very close-ish to what I write, and she’s got a solid fan-base and like, an actual career. We are leaps and bounds away from each other in certain ways, but it’s  still kind of cool. It kind of makes me feel like yeah…maybe I can do this some day.

And that gives me more incentive to keep going with RTD. It’s a win-win-win.

How are you doing during this pandemic? Getting stuff done? Reading any? Following any of your hopes and dreams?

P.S. The book was actually pretty good! I would recommend it if for any paranormal romance fans who like a lot of action.

Hence All the Drinking

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I’ve been drinking through the wedding wine.

This is what isolation does. Forces you to realize that making one of your *favorite* wines one of the *official* wedding wines, and then being *super* proactive and stocking up on said wine was *maybe* not the best decision. But how was I to know we were all going to be thrown into some weird parallel version of reality this year? I plan for normal years, not ones that feel like someone started a Jumanji game.

Still. I need to cut back on this wine drinking. This is for my GUESTS who I will be INVITING should the world CONTINUE to turn in the normal, un-Twilight-Zone fashion that we’ve suddenly found ourselves in. But who knows what’s going to happen by the end of this year? This country could have a completely different social and economic face by November, and I, a super planner (except when it comes to writing. Crazy, right?!)  have no way of planning for that. Hence all the drinking.

Batman has already scolded me many times. It’s nice to know I can throw heart disease and antioxidants at him as actual defenses. I need the wine to keep my heart healthy and keep my youth—two things he’ll need if his laundry service continues. And I mean, he’s not *really* scolding me. He’s more like, “Babe—we bought that for the wedding. What’re you doing?” (I think the word is catch. He’s catching me drinking, which just means I need to be more stealthy about it. Note to self – learn to be stealthy)

But then I give him the spiel about my genetics and youth and it’s okay again and until he sees me dive into the next mini bottle. Except now, he really can’t give me any grief because of this:

It looked way worse but Batman was trying to cover his tracks

Not sure if you can see it, but I’ve got a busted lip. No—he didn’t hit me. OBVIOUSLY. Batman has only hurt me one time, and that was when his dumb butt broke up with me back in college (worse mistake of his life). No, we were watching movie clips on my phone and doing it the smartest way possible: laying on our backs and holding the phone up above our heads. You know, testing gravity. And then he laughed at something Matt Damon said and he lost his grip on my Android and it CRASHED LANDED ON MY LIP.

Blood instantly.

Lots, and lots of blood.

Oh, yeah. I’ve got another one in my back pocket now. Like that that time I tickled him and on reflex, he kneed me in the head. Or the time he dropped his printer on my foot and checked the printer first to see if it broke. Oh yeah. Phone-bleeding-lip will now be a story I can use to get me out of things. Like…oh…I don’t know…busting open another bottle of wedding wine whilst in isolation? I need the swelling to go down, guys. I’m getting married in seven months.

Unless 2020 takes us in a new direction with zombies or vampires or techno-advanced super-genius yetis looking for retribution. Honestly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Who Cares? It Exists

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GUYS.

I did it. I finished writing the climactic scene of RTD.

(insert a million smiley faces and a bunch of iconic dance gifs)

I have no idea what I wrote, I’m sure it’s littered with grammatical and spelling errors, but who tf cares at this point? It’s down. It’s written. It’s there to be edited and made better but the fact remains that it exists. The scene I’ve had in my head since …2011… is finally typed up. I could’ve written it at any point, but I wanted to write the series first. I felt it would’ve been cheating if I got to write the last main scene before writing all the other scenes that led up to it.

And I finally did.

*heavy sigh of relief*

I have the whole next section to write—the dénouement, if you will. And that will be another…what, two to three chapters? And then that will be it. The first draft for RTD (Started in November 2018…) will be officially done! My, how the draft creeps by. Now I’ll have to go back and edit it five to six times (my average) and then *maybe* I’ll actually be able to keep that promise about releasing it at some point next year. Writing/editing-wise, yes, I think I can do it.

Marketing-wise…probably not.

I’ve had this idea to go big or go home when it comes to advertising the fifth and final book in the series, because who cares about the FIFTH book release when you’ve never read the first one? Nobody, right? That’s why I was going to do this big thing—release lots of short side stories (which I’d still have to write) and maybe have more interaction on my Patreon (more stuff to come up with and write) but all that would be a distraction from actually finishing the book. So, part of me thinks…meh. Don’t worry about the advertising. Just write it so the three people who do want to read it can.

I don’t know. It’s still early quarantine-April, so I’ve got some time. I think what we should focus on—what we should ALL focus on, and I’m looking at you, entire world—is that I wrote the climactic scene for RTD. It’s been in my head for years, so I’m more than happy that it’s on the page. First draft, but who cares? It exists.

That’s my good news for this week. Actually, I’ve got loads of others (I’m still employed, Batman’s still employed, everyone I know is healthy…) but we’ll spotlight the writing for today.

How are you guys? Getting anything cool done? And hey, laundry counts. We all do better when we smell better.

#IWSG – We’ll Get Out of This Okay

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I have no idea what day it is. I’m pretty sure it’s Monday because I’m writing this for Wednesday since last Wednesday I totally spaced because I thought it was Tuesday because I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DAY IT IS. Oh yeah, pandemics are *super* fun.

I’ve been working from home for a week now…and it’s definitely…something. I don’t have kids, so I don’t have to balance the daycare/workload, but my 5-year-old GSP makes it interesting with whining and requested games of fetch twice an hour. Half the time I ignore him, half the time I give in because there are natural breaks in the day at the office, and if I were to bring Appa with me, it’s probably what I would be doing in lieu of using the restroom or chatting with a coworker. Appa is very demanding.

Since I’ve been (we’ve all been) ordered to remain inside, I’m surprisingly getting a LOT of writing done. It’s surprising because many authors and artists have mentioned their distraction with COVID-19, along with having kids home and unusual schedules which have clogged their creativity. I’m definitely keeping up with the end of times, and yeah, it’s looking pretty doom and gloom out there, but I’m really enjoying this 2-3 hour block I have to write in the morning curtesy of my job cutting my hours. It sucks, but what can you do? You find the silver lining and make the most out of it. Am I excited to be getting this smaller paycheck (and possibly more) during the year of my wedding? Bitch, please. Am I excited that this draft that I started in NOVEMBER 2018 is finally almost over? Heck yeah! I’ve got another 2-3 chapters to write but if we keep going at this pace, I’ll finish by the end of April 😊

Things are changing every day, so it’s hard to look ahead to what the landscape of this year will look like. I’m still remaining positive. Everyone I love is healthy and accounted for, and although there is a rotten stench of depression and loneliness wafting, I think we’ll get out of this okay. More time spent with families reestablishing friendships and relationships and creating art. Sure, we’ll all be broke ass poor at the end of it, but when has that stopped us before?

IWSG April Question:

The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. In this time, when our world is in crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic, how are things in your world?

Please see above. Also, I found toilet paper! And not just the one-ply-crap Walmart was rationing. It was the good stuff: Cottonelle. See, there is a silver lining 😊

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.