Every Little Bit Counts, Right?…

I’ve been sticking to my new goal of writing _every_ single day, even if just a couple hundred words. I got 1000 words one night, 500 the next (and on a school night, no less!), and last night I managed around 250 words. That last bit is rather pathetic, but I was busy chatting up my WIP and her WIP with . So, while I didn’t get so many new words in, I was discussing characters and plotting issues with her, as well as some query letter and plot synopsis matters. It all adds up in the end!

Speaking of which, if anyone wants to add me to the instant messenger of their choice, just let me know. *grin* I use Trillian so I can be on all four of the IM’s I have at the same time. I.E. ICQ, MSN, AIM, and Yahoo. I am more than willing to chat about writing at just about any time. When I remember to log on, that is!

Husband and I are planning a walk in the absolutely _gorgeous_ early evening when we get off work in about 50ish minutes. After that, it’s home to eat dinner and watch CSI for awhile. Neither he nor I really caught any episodes originally–maybe like 2 or 3–but we’re enjoying watching it semi-regularly on Spike TV. Which is about the _only_ thing I enjoy watching on Spike TV. *lol* I’m definitely not the target audience of that station. 😉

After that, I hope to get in some new words. 1,000 would be _wonderful_, but I’ll settle for any amount. The plot is really thickening in WAFT, and I’ve just introduced some new characters that should provide intriguing subplot possibilities. It’s time to start weaving some prior threads together and get my heroine and hero following the trail of the person or persons responsible for the murders of several psychically-gifted children. I also need to give a few hints of the hero’s past, as we know quite a bit (though of course nowhere near everything) about the heroine’s past. Of course, the hero still hasn’t told me exactly _how_ he became a fallen angel, so he and I will have to sit down and “chat.”

Hmm, chatting with an incredibly sexy, witty, bad-boy angel…I think I can handle that! Just don’t tell my husband! 😉

Word Count Update…

Between the 1k last night and the 500ish words I eked out tonight after class, we have a new and improved word count. *does a pathetic drumroll with her hands and thighs* (Yes, I love seeing the progress bar move, no matter how small the jump!)

53,000 / 100,000 (53.0%)

Psychics and Angels and Valkyries, Oh My!

Spent a fun two hours in chat at Forward Motion last night. Did some 100 word sprints (on Where Angels Fear to Trod) with various people, and then the lovely logged on and I discussed some of my thoughts on her Valkyrie WIP. I told her how much I loved it (and with good reason–it rocks!) and begged her to send me the rest, edited or unedited. She was kind enough to do so, and I finished reading it by lunch time. I was quite impressed. With just a bit of tweaking here and there, I think she has a fine, publish-worthy piece.

Then again, I’m still an amateur, so what do I know? 😉

I have class tonight, but I would love to make a concerted effort to get in at least a few hundred words when I get home. We’ll see how well I do with that.

Where Oh Where Do the Weekends Go???

So…the weekend flew by, as usual. Unfortunately, I didn’t really make much (any?) progress on the WIP. There was much spending time with husband, doing laundry (blech–SO glad when we move into our house next month and NO MORE laundrymat), and then spending time with family on Easter, but very little writing. Ah well, I’ll make up for it, really I will! I’d love to get some words in tonight, after we get done with grocery shopping–which is something else we just never quite got to over the weekend. I swear, weekends should be at LEAST 3 days long instead of 2! Especially holiday weekends.

Halfway Point!…

Just felt the need to brag. Officially over the 200 page/50,000 word mark now so–halfway there! Just another 200 pages or so and the first draft of WAFT should be GOOD to go! And there was much rejoicing! (At least, from me anyway! 😉 )

50,000 / 100,000 (50.0%)

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Update: Ended up getting in 1,000 words today, and am now at the 204 page mark. Please, sir, may I have another?!?

Juggling Time…

Starting this week I move from one grad class a week to two. Should be interesting, if nothing else. This term’s classes are also both at the Webster Groves campus rather than downtown really close to work. So there will be rushing to get to class on time and less free time for the next several months. I have moved my weekly writing minimum goal down from 10k to 5k. Hopefully I’ll be able to fall somewhere in the middle of that range each week, as I definitely want to finish WAFT as soon as possible. The sooner I finish it, the sooner I can go publisher/agent hunting! =)

I realize this is yet another boring entry, but the Excedrin I took haven’t chased away this headache yet, so I’m not feeling particularly creative. Story of my life! =)

A Million Candles to Light Her Way…

As I’m sure most everyone knows, the great Andre Norton passed away early yesterday morning. By all accounts, she was just as wonderful a person as she was a superb writer. She paved the way for many female science fiction and fantasy writers in a time when those fields were predominantly male-driven fields. Andre was a fantastically prolific author who published up to the time of her death. In fact, her last work of fiction is due out in the next month or so. I am going to make it a point to pick up that book in her memory, just like I lit a candle in her honor yesterday. I have to admit I’ve only read a few of her books up to this point, but I always admired the books I read and everything I heard about her. I know that many mourn her passing, and I’m sure many candles were lit in her honor yesterday. Just as her pen served to ignite the imagination of countless writers who came after her. She will be sorely missed.

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I had the day off from work yesterday to (finally) change the name on my Social Security card to my married name. I finished reading Guardian of Honor by Robin Owens before running errands. I also hit a used book store and picked up the two books I was missing in Patrica Kennealy-Morrison’s Keltia series, 5 books in a series by Ann Marston (which I know nothing about–I just bought them because hey–they had all 3 of one trilogy and the first 2 of the second trilogy), and my eyes just happened to fall upon an anthology that I learned about the day before and wasn’t even actively searching for. It’s “Charmed Destinies” and includes stories by three Luna authors–Mercedes Lackey, Rachel Lee, and Catherine Asaro. The story by Asaro, “Moonglow,” is set in the same world as her Luna “The Charmed Sphere,” and depicts the same basic events as the Luna, just told in a different character’s POV. At any rate, “The Charmed Sphere” is one of the 2 Lunas I haven’t read yet. The other being “Seraphim,” which I own and husband read but I haven’t been able to work up much enthusiasm for yet.

I also wrote a few pages in WAFT–though honestly I didn’t get that much done. I’m struggling with the scene I’m working on, and I’m not sure why. It’s a good scene and necessary, I’m just being overly picky with word choice. I think part of that is from taking two weeks off for working on school stuff. Hopefully I’ll get back up to speed soon. Before bed I did a little world-building on the epic fantasy I’m planning to tackle next, just to give my brain a break but still be productive.

Hopefully this weekend I can forge ahead on WAFT. I’m over the 45k mark now and raring to sprint to the 100kish finish line!

Nice Evening Off…

I took the evening off last night from everything but snuggling up with husband and watching tv. Oh, and reading the latest Luna, The Compass Rose, off and on through the night. He cooked spaghetti and crescent rolls and we watched TLC’s “What Not to Wear” followed by “CSI.” Then we went into the bedroom where he worked on the house floorplan that he’s designing on the computer using some architect type software, and I read for awhile. I fell asleep around 10:30 or so. We didn’t do anything spectacularly fun, but it was a wonderful night nonetheless.

Tonight I plan to pick up on the WIP again. I am feeling my way through this particular scene, knowing how I want to portray the church that they’re in without having specifics set down on paper. One of my heroine’s major issues is the fact that her grandmother believes anyone with psychic powers (which are more common in this alternate Earth if not commonplace) are evil and tried to beat that evil out of her granddaughter. Fast forward to the heroine’s adulthood and she wants nothing to do with organized religion, despite the fact that she serves under the angelic beings who train the world’s “good” psychics. She has major preconceptions about organized religion that were formed in her childhood exposure to a fundamentalist congregation, even though intellectually she realizes not all religions are like that. The church she and her friends are taking sanctuary in is nothing like she expected–I’m basing it sort of along the lines of a Universal-Unitarian type of format. People of all cultures and all religious backgrounds are welcome at this church, as long as they are open-minded and good-hearted. Storm (my heroine) is going to struggle with this for awhile before realizing that finally she’s found a place she can actually come to grips with her spirituality–something she’s always been too afraid to explore.

Whew. That’s probably utterly boring tripe since few people have actually read my WIP thus far. At any rate, I am finding it fascinating, if challenging to write. All righty…off to take some Excedrin.

Writing is Fundamental…

Making progress on the WIP again. My heroine survived being disembowled thanks to her “guardian angel” calling in a favor and getting her to her fellow psychic who is an Empath/Healer just in time. Now these three are seeking refuge in a church that’s not your average place of worship, something that is about to impact the heroine deeply since she had such a negative experience with “Christianity” when she was a child. (I.E., her disturbed grandmother dragged her to a very nasty, fundamentalist type of church and spent years trying to beat the “evil” out of her.) It’s been a bit hard getting back into the swing of things, but I’m pleased with what I’ve gotten so far.

And the word count on Where Angels Fear to Trod is now:

45,000 / 100,000 (45.0%)

Niagara Falls, Slowly I Turned…Step by Step…Inch by Inch…

While recuperating from my first day back at work last night (read: laying on the couch with no energy whatsoever), I broke out the laptop and re-read the first half of WAFT. If I stay as “busy” (read: absolutely nothing to do) as I am right now, I plan to re-read the other half this afternoon. I would love to make some new words tonight. I would REALLY love to make some new words tonight. Whenever I go more than a few days without writing I always get twitchy. And color me twitchy to the extreme right now.

I’m still tired today, but definitely feeling better than the previous few days. So that’s definitely a step in the right direction. And just in time to cram for my final tomorrow night and take my final on Thursday night. So…yay!

P.S. If you want to see pictures of the house we’re in the process of buying you can check out my fitness blog.