What Time is it Again?

Romance Writers Australia Conference

2011-08-11T06:34:00.003+10:00

I'm off today to the RWAus conference in Melbourne. It's going to be amazing, lots and lots of great workshops and awe inspiring authors. And I get to hobnob among them (yay!).
Last night I received some really exciting news, which I can't share just yet, but it's great. Happy about it all.
I've been busy plotting out another novel in this month since I've written last, it's a hectic thing trying to work full time, write, raise a family. I said to my husband the other day that I need a wife, someone who'll come into my home see what needs to be done, do it without asking for copious amounts of praise or rewards and clean to "my" standards and then fade into the background while everyone praises me for being so super. That's what wives do on a regular basis, I want one. Hubby suggests that when I make more money than I presently do I could hire someone to help out in the household. But that day is a long way away I think.

New Ideas

2011-07-08T21:28:00.002+10:00

While waiting to hear back about the ms I've started fleshing out the Anti-hero book. And so far I'm in the honeymoon stage. I like the characters and the conflict they're involved in. I'm sure there'll be a saggy middle, but if I plot it right then that'll never happen.

Someone's Wrung My Brain Out!

2011-05-29T13:44:00.002+10:00

Oh wait, it was me! I've just finished the final edits on Book 1, and have now plotted out Books 2 + 3. 5pages each, chapter by chapter break down. And it hurt soo much trying to fit things in, throwing out subplots that I thought would do really well but when put together didn't work well at all. And I was almost through when my dutiful hubby pointed out that I didn't have a gate keeper in book 3. I needed one, my writing books said so. No.1 I was amazed that hubby had taken an interest in reading the books on writing I've got stashed beside my bed, and No.2 he was right! I hate it when he's right!
So scrap the first draft outline, back again to the drawing board. This time though, I think it works. Will have to find out once I've sent the whole kit and kaboodle off.
What have I learned from this process? The pain endured now makes sure that once I'm writing the pathway is easy. By making sure that plot lines work, that subplots that I like but don't have much to do with the overall goals of the characters just take up room and are not necessary. So I'm not writing stuff I don't need. I think I like plotting, for all the grumbling I've done this week, it's worth it.
Now off to go kick a ball around the backyard with the kids.

My first ever 10km!

2011-02-21T16:14:00.002+10:00

Last night I ran my first ever 10km non-stop. It took me 72minutes to complete the run, but boy did I get it done. Great accomplishment, I feel like my goal of running a half marathon in September is going to be achievable now.
Speaking of achievable goals, I sent the manuscript back to the agent. I've crossed every finger/toe/nasal hair I could, I hope, hope, hope she likes it. And now I'm plotting out the next book. I like this stage of the game, when I can fiddle around with characters and put them in increasingly nasty situations to see how they'll handle themselves.
Back at work full time, I'd forgotten how teens from differing backgrounds talk. It's interesting watching the interactions around the school and seeing the stereotypes playing out day by day. Am taking copious amount of notes to make sure that my dialogues are spot on for the next WIP.
Off to go soak my calves in some Dencorub, I like running but my calves don't like me.

Time to Run

2011-02-13T08:51:00.003+10:00

The WIP is finally ready to send back to the agent. I'm giving myself a day to let it rest before I do so. Feel so much better about the whole process now. And yes it was worth all the frustration, anger, fear, worry, despair, in the end. Will see how she likes it and go from there.
I have just completed my first ever 8km run this morning. My legs are like jelly (jello for my American friends), my heart rate has finally come down to an acceptable level, and I'm feeling like I've done something good in the world today. My goal in September is to complete a half marathon, thus the training. I'm using Dean Karnazes "Marathon Training" program, he's the guru so I'll take his advice and follow it. Next week I'm scheduled to complete a 10km run, but in the meantime this week I've got three 5km runs and one 6km run. I know some people might think I'm crazy and at times I wonder that myself, but it's the program so I'll give it a go.
Running is a lot like writing (well not really if you compare sweat levels). You start off with great intentions, then somewhere towards the middle you feel like it's never going to end. You keep plodding along trying to pace yourself so the story's not lost. Then you see the end in sight and think I can keep going, just get to that finish line. And then when you're there someone says "oh you're a bit short, you need to run another 500 metres to truly finish this" so you sigh, mumble a few swearwords under your breath and churn out the last 500. The euphoria doesn't hit there and then, no, it waits until you're sprawled out underneath the fan trying to wipe the sweat pouring into your eyes. It's then that you realise you did it. You completed something that not too many people have done. Something you thought impossible before!

Put the WIP down!

2011-01-22T13:24:00.003+10:00

Just walk away lady, walk away from your WIP right now. You're going to poke your own eye out if you keep it up.
There are times when you've edited, and edited, and then done a bit more editing just for a good time. But when does editing become dangerous? When you've over edited.
What do you mean over-editing? Is that even a real term? Who would ever do that?
Me, that's who.
I get on a roll and start ripping and tearing into the current story and then find that I've gone and torn its heart to shreds. There are times when I wish I had someone on the side lines with a bull horn telling me that I'm about to cross the line between professional and obsessed.
So right now I'm putting the WIP down. Letting it have a rest for a couple of days. I need the space to clear the noggin and get a better perspective of what I've been doing lately.
I took 40,000 words of the original story. Took out an entire subplot, filled in the world building, fixed up the dialogue. Gained 30,000 words in the process, then cut a bit more, backfilled in. And now I'm going through tearing out words like "kept", "just", "face", "looked", "gaze" etc. Finding better/more appropriate words to use for each one. My brain's threatening to shut down. I have to stop and take a big breath.
It's good to walk away, if only for a few days.
In the meantime my books have arrived that I ordered including Jenna Black's second one - the sequel to her really fantastic "Glimmerglass". I think I'll immerse myself in her gifted writing and get a few ideas from there.
Then I'll get back to the book and shred a few more words.

Birthday Time

2011-01-20T17:29:00.002+10:00

I turned 40 today. It's a milestone and a half. I don't feel 40, however you're supposed to feel. It doesn't feel any different from 30. But half way through my lifespan I'm wondering what the next 40 years are going to bring.
I've almost finished the final edit on the WIP. Then I can deliver it before the deadline and see what happens. I had 143 "just"s; 87 "kept"s; "192 "looked"s... I know, I used to use words like "really", "like" etc. I suppose every writer has different crutch words that they use, but with the wonderful 'find' application in word I've eliminated them with extreme prejudice.
Now I'm revisiting Margie Lawson's "Deep Editing" classes and ensuring that my writing is "fresh".
I also started back at work full time today, it wasn't the best day out, there's been major changes in the curriculum that take a while to get your head around. Tomorrow promises to be a better day, hopefully.
I had planned that today I would jump out of an aeroplane in a tandum jump, but floods and work interfered. I'll have to do it another time. Instead I'll keep editing and maybe have an extra slice of cake.

Flooding Rains

2011-01-15T19:14:00.005+10:00

We've just lived through huge floods here in my home town, though we were lucky they didn't reach record peak levels they still have done massive damage to homes, roads, and infrastructure. I spent the day helping an aunt clean out under her house, they received nearly a metre of flood waters/sewage through their yard/under house. The smell was horrific as the slime/silt/muck squelched under my gumboots. But when people need help you go and do it. There's still a lot to do, some homes are still under water in parts of town.
Added to these problems we've also got a venomous snake problem (the snakes don't like water so they're hiding out in homes/sheds anywhere that's dry. And we have salt water crocodiles who've decided that the river is much too dangerous for them right now so they're lurking in areas that you'd probably prefer them not to. It's all part of living in this wonderful state.
But no matter how hard we've had it (both roads north, south and west were cut off leaving food having to be airlifted in by helicopter as the local aeroport is under water) it's nothing compared to those living in the Lockyer Valley down south. A 5-7metre wall of water 21km wide came rushing down upon them sweeping homes, cars, families away. The horror stories that are now coming to light have had me in tears all week. A pregnant woman had her little girl ripped from her arms by flood waters, they still haven't found her. Every time they show her face on television I choke up imagining it was my little baby taken. And then there's the story of Jordan Rice a 13 yr old boy who couldn't swim who told rescuers to save his younger brother first and then was swept away by the torrent of water. It's just beyond words.
The family that were trapped on the top of their car trying desperately to survive. I couldn't sleep. The mother and son were found but no word yet whether the father has survived.
How people can cope with losing their homes and everything they've worked all their lives for is astounding. How these people can cope with losing their loved ones and still try and help others. I'm a blubbering mess every time I watch the news. My heart goes out for them.
(photo courtesy of: news.com.au)

The Queensland Premier's Flood Appeal is trying to raise money to help the victims. Most are not insured for this type of disaster (actually I think there are very few people in this state who have enough comprehensive insurance to cover it).
And then today, all across the state, people started cleaning up, complete strangers turned up at my Aunts house with a backhoe, truck, industrial gurney, all pitched in and helped us clean her home.
I'm grateful for what I have, for the safety of my family and friends, for the generosity of strangers who turned up and gave selflessly. I'm grateful that today the rains have stopped and my town can get on with the job of cleaning up. 75% of the state has been declared a disaster zone, to compare this to other countries that's like 5 X the UK in size. It's huge, the water gets in and destroys everything in its path, but not the generosity and good heartedness and resilience of the people. Today restored my faith in man's ability to give.

Merry Christmas Everyone

2010-12-24T08:56:00.003+10:00

Here's to a spectacularly successful 2011. Hope that this holiday season brings you relaxation and joy. 2011 is shaping up to bring big things, crossing toes that it's a good one.
And finally a big thank you to those who frequent this blog. Hope the writing fairies work hard for you next year.

Science Fiction Romance Giveaway!

2010-12-21T09:13:00.003+10:00

Starting now Galaxy Express are hosting the second annual SFR Holiday Blitz. This event features a huge giveaway of over 50 science fiction romance books. 33 authors and 15 bloggers have joined forces to give the gift of intergalactic romance and adventure to readers around the globe.
Best of all... it features an exclusive giveaway to Australian and New Zealanders: Sara Creasy's "Song of Scarabeaus". Two winners will be picked to receive a signed copy of this space opera cyberpunk adventure.
Other prizes include books by Nalini Singh, Linnea Sinclair, Marcella Burnard, Kim Knox, Jess Granger, Nathalie Gray, and KS Augustin.
Entering is easy, just head over to any of the blogs that are participating in the giveaway and leave a comment, yep that simple. The deadline to enter is midnight Sunday 26th December.
Have fun.

Where Are My Writing Elves?

2010-12-19T08:05:00.002+10:00

Santa promised to send me writing elves that would do the hard work for me and let me sit back and relax in the summer sun thinking witty thoughts. So far they haven't shown. Instead I'm wading through the current WIP tearing things apart, trying to use Blake Snyder's BeatSheet to set the entire three book plot lines in order so as to ratchet up the tension/conflict. And every now and again I start sniggering as I think of evil ways to torture my heroine and stop her from achieving her goals. But it's still a long hard slog.
And Christmas is only 5 days away. This means hubby will be home to look after the kids while I can lock myself into my room and write and write and write. That's the plan.
To get my mind off my writing troubles hubby has generously been taking me out running hill sprints. This is the part where he gets to lightly traipse up massive hills while I thump along like an arthritic elephant huffing and puffing until I get to the top. He stands there all cheery eyed and says "come on, you can do another one, push yourself!"... while my reply cannot be repeated on this blog for censorship reasons.
It's a bit like writing really, you're trudging along, thumping things left, right and centre, thinking you'll never get there. Others are traipsing along merrily enjoying life and throwing tidbits of encouragement at you as they breeze past your position and make it to the top of the hill only lightly sweating. While you, on the other hand, are dripping with sweat, your hair is plastered to your face, your fingers are swelling and your legs are writing you hate mail.
When you reach the top do you get that euphoric feeling of "man I did that, I conquered that thing"? Nah coz you look up and there's another great big hill with a 30% incline staring at you in the face.
Oh well, that's life. Until the Christmas Writing Elves turn up I think I'm just going to have to grit it out and keep trudging along and blame Santa for the postal delay.

Crash Test Dummy!

2010-12-09T17:00:00.004+10:00

My oldest daughter passed her learners drivers license this morning and I was so proud of her I could have cried. She even took a fantastic photo, something to be proud of! On the way home I let her drive.
So what do you think happened?
She was amazing, very relaxed, well adjusted, fantastic driving. Right up until she crashed the family car into a parked car 20 metres from home!
Yes that's right. She had her first car accident after 5 minutes of driving.
Poor thing, she's a bit shaken up.
The car's going to take a few weeks to fix. The other car barely had any damage to it, which I was thankful for. Our insurance covers us and we keep our Rating1, hooray!
What have we learned today?
That it's okay, no one was hurt, just bruised egos and a dented car. I think I might invest in a crash helmet though for further lessons!

Scroogish Christmas?

2010-12-04T11:55:00.002+10:00

I don't want to put up the Christmas tree, because that means that 2010 is almost over. How come some days drag on but the year flies by?
The family will be putting up the Christmas tree and then the little kids will be decorating it, and in the end it'll look like a dogs breakfast but that's the point. I have an extended family member who has to have everything looking absolutely perfect, perfect symmetry to the tree, crystal ornaments hung exactly in the right place to give the look of a 'nice' christmas tree.
As for me, well the kids go riot, the tree tends to lean to one side because the kids like putting the ornaments that they've made themselves all over that side. But it's a tree that's loved, adored even. The tree is stared at, lay under, hugged, slobbered on, tugged and shoved until Santa finally realises that this tree, this marvelously mangled creation is the Hatch family tree.
It's that time of the year, and I should be so excited to do this, to let the kids run riot, but part of me doesn't want 2010 to be over. I didn't mind this year, it's had many many ups which have been great, a few downs as well, but on the whole it's been a good year.
Can't stop time progressing, just wondering what 2011 has in store for us. I'm predicting good times for all, or at least fewer bad times for most.

House of Pain

2010-11-20T07:34:00.002+10:00

This week I've had nothing but troubles. Wow that sounds like the opening of a blues song, and yes now there's a blues riff playing in the back of my mind as I write this.
Started with having to get a filling re-done and finding two massive abscesses in my jaw, which meant the removal of two molars which led to dry socket --which I feel is equivalent to the babies head pushing through the pelvis during labour in pain stakes--which led to a week of painkillers and drinking through straws, which did indeed lead to a 2kg weight reduction, so it's not all bad.
What does this have to do with writing? Sometimes we think one thing's going to happen, we're hopeful and then something else does which is strange and confusing--sometimes painful--and takes a while to get over it, but then we see that it was for the best in the long run (and that is a long sentence).
I've not written this week, which has left me annoyed, cranky, despondent, but I have had a chance to read a few books such as William Aker's "Your Screenplay Sucks" and I've had a few lightbulb moments which I will talk about at a later date.
I also received my feedback from the STALI contest which helped me do my one sided smile (it hurts to use both sides of my face still). I've heard in some major overseas contests they don't give written feedback to the entrants, which I think is strange because really you enter contests for the feedback not so much the win. Though winning is nice. I enter to see if the story works on a total stranger, because having friends and family read your story does not give you much constructive criticism. Anyway it was great to get the feedback that I did, and it's given me a few things to think about regarding how much reveal I do in the first chapters. I'm thinking I might be a bit too sparse in my approach.
And now for the best bit of the post. The Doctor Who Christmas Trailer is out. Can't wait to see this episode.

I Cracked It!

2010-11-12T19:43:00.002+10:00

Okay for those who've read through my blog posts from a few years ago you'll note that I came dead last in a competition with my first ever manuscript. Admittedly it was horrid, just pure tripe that needed a fire to gut through it, but it was my first manuscript and I loved it. I placed dead last in the STALI competition (Single Title And Loving It) from the Romance Writers of Australia. I pity the judges who had to read it, but it taught me a few things. I especially loved the tip that one judge gave me that my voice was more suited to Young Adult than romance. She/he was right, oh soo right.
Anyway sorry to be blabbing on. I received notice this week that I am a finalist in this years STALI! No, I'm not kidding you. The competition that I stuffed up. I think I'm getting better at writing.

Deconstruction Zone

2010-10-26T21:35:00.002+10:00

This week I'm participating in GoIntoTheStory's horror movie list. Seven days, seven movie scripts to read and learn from . Tonight it was Alien, Dan O'Bannon's masterpiece of gut gripping cinematic terror. Yes I watched it with the lights off. And yes I did scare myself stupid tonight. I'd already read the script during the day and then thought, let's do this right. My teenage daughter piked out 30 minutes into the film, just at the end of Act1. Weak Sauce! I carried on regardless and now need to watch some mindless drivel to reduce the levels of endorphins kicking through my system.
One thing I did note in the movie, even though it was made more than 30 years ago, it's got great effects. But it doesn't rely on the effects (ie:the monster) it relies on what you don't see. You don't see the monster coming towards them until the last minute. You don't see a lot of gore. You don't see every detail, and that's the beauty of it. I've got more imagination tucked away in my little nogging than any special effects/CGI masterblasters have in their entire repertoire. I can make myself scared silly by what I don't see.
I wonder how many writers let their readers fill in the blanks?
Tomorrow night I have to watch The Exorcist... hmm, maybe I'll keep the lights on next time.

Break on through to the other side

2010-10-22T14:05:00.003+10:00

I've been plotting, not the overthrow of a government or Cadburys factory, but my latest WIP. Although overthrowing the Cadburys factory could be a good thing right now. I was stuck, sort of. My characters while thought out were still not acting how I wanted them to and as a result nothing much was happening on the page.
That was until I listened to a few podcasts, especially the one by Michael Hauge. He made me think about story structure and where my story was headed. He deals mainly with screenwriting, but his advice is great for novelists as well. Plotting out the major incidents of my story and writing the ending before I've really pushed ahead with the story has opened up a whole new tumble of words.
I know where we're headed now, so the road there needs to be fleshed out fully.
Today I've written over 6,000 words and am feeling more confident in this storyline. I love Michaels breakdown of Thelma and Louise (not that my story has anything to do with their plot). He goes through what happens, when and why in order to show the three act structure associated with it. I like his way of thinking. Have now grabbed myself a copy of Syd Field's book "Screenwriting" and am plowing my way through it. It's very similar to Michael's workshop but opens it up a little more. I will never look at a movie the same way again.

Not Writing Related

2010-10-14T10:44:00.003+10:00

Okay so this is nothing to do with writing, but I have to share. I did a Mans Pushup! Yay! After all this time of going to the gym I can finally do a proper push up, and the rotator cuff injury didn't muck up. Yay! It's a little victory in my RMB (regain my bod) quest. I really should have a bearded old guy standing near me going "you will succeed in this quest or the fate of the world will crumble" type thing if we were going through a proper story arc. Oh and somewhere little people with hairy feet would be dancing on tabletops for no reason. But unfortunately this quest is just my own. Slowly, slowly, I will probably have to blow something up or fall in love soon or my reader will get bored. I am in love though, with the massage chair at my gym. I've named him Sven. He's amazing. After Deadlifting 40kgs I go in there and come out a new woman.
Right now back to it.

Oh look over there, something shiny.

2010-10-10T07:10:00.006+10:00

This week I've read a few movie scripts to help develop better pacing abilities. Scott Myers has one of the best websites I've come across so far. GoIntoTheStory has a challenge of reading 14 movie scripts in 14 days to get a feel for how other screenwriters have written/succeeded in the movie industry. I must say that after reading 5 scripts yesterday I have a new appreciation for sparsity of dialogue. I've seen in a few books I've read lately that when a character waxes lyrical the author rabbits on and on and on. But in screenwriting you only have so much space/time you can use and so the words you use must count. Many of the screenwriters mention that they go back through their 2nd draft and change the verbs they've used to something stronger. There's always a stronger verb you can pick, one that doesn't need to be supported by adverbs or adjectives. If it can't support itself then the verb's not the one you should use.
I'd also like to give a shout out to Kirsty Eagar for winning the Victorian Premier's Literacy Award for Young Adult fiction with her debut novel Raw Blue. Very well deserved win, great book.
The school holidays are over and the household is getting back into normalcy (well for a degree of normalcy that is our house).
My favourite movie script I've read this week, just for sheer technical detail has to be Aliens by James Cameron. Say what you might about the guy, he's a genius at getting the details down on paper.
Oh and I watched the movie The Outsiders. I so loved that movie when I was a teen and had forgotten the shower scene featuring Sodapop. How on earth could I forget Sodapop in a towel? It should have etched its way into my neural cortex, but didn't. The main thing I loved about the movie and the book was the relationship between Johnny and Ponyboy, they expressed honesty that really touched the heartstrings. Must go get the book and read it all over again, and I'm searching for a copy of Rumblefish.

Do Overs and Faith

2010-10-02T07:38:00.003+10:00

So today is the AFL second Grand Final. They have to replay the match because it was a draw and this has led to a week of tension for my fanatical Collingwood supporting husband. The two teams get to have a "do over" match to see who the winner is.
Sometimes I wonder if as writers we could get to have a "do over", it would help tremendously. Say you sent a query to the agent of your dreams and then 'gack' you realise that there was something wrong with your query letter, or maybe you've fixed up something in the chapter samples and now it reads so much better. A "do over" would be a heck of a way to impress, don't you think? But sadly there are no "do overs" in writing as such, you get a chance to make an impression, and you have to make the best that you can. If it doesn't work then you move on.
I have one story I've written, and re-written, and re-written, that I just love. The latest version is so much more complex and engaging than the first that I queried with, but unfortunately "do overs" won't help. Do you have a story like that in your life? I love the characters, love their situation, like the way they solve it, but I queried too early (silently kicking myself in the backside).
When's the best time to query? How do you know you're ready, when in a years time you could have something soo much better on your table?
I guess that's where the issue of faith comes in. You have faith that this is the best you've written and you have to send it out in the blind hope that someone will see the good. That's after it's past the rigorous testing of critique partners, beta readers, and Deep Edits.
Faith in yourself as a writer is hard to develop. It's hard to trust that you've got something worthwhile here on your little laptop/computer screen. It's harder to let go of your story and send it out. It's even harder to wait for replies from those you've sent it to. It's almost heart wrenching to have to move onto the next story when your heart was set upon the one you've finished.
Personal growth as writers comes from having faith that your abilities are improving, having faith that someone in the big world of publishing will read your story and love it the way you do. Faith that there are more stories in your imagination that you can fall in love with as well. Faith that even when the slumps hit half way through your writing you'll push on to the end because you've invested your time and energy into these characters. Trusting yourself and your abilities is an ongoing process.

A Critique

2010-09-22T17:33:00.003+10:00

Anne Mini over at Author!Author! has critiqued my first page of Breeder and said some quite nice things about it. I won her Great First Page contest a few months ago and she's put up the critique as part of the win. I must admit I'd made a few formatting mistakes when I sent it to her, and she was good to point those out. She's also published the post over at Publishers Marketplace. Stop by to have a look.

Just a quick post.

Hacking Away

2010-09-20T07:41:00.004+10:00

Plotting out several ideas that have thrown themselves at me sideways. Two look quite viable, the characters could have a lot of fun on the page, another is quite dark and would mean headaches and torturous research to get the voice right. I'm really leaning towards writing something that's lighter than the last book. I think I need a laugh first before I go all serious again.
I've read several books this week, my favourite has to be Sarah Cross's "Dull Boy", the voice was fresh, it had a similar plot line to a few books I've read lately but did it in such a way that it didn't seem old hat. (cliche alert).
I came across this youtube book video, I so want to read this, yes the Trekker in me is excited.

Yeah there's just something there that's got me happy - Star Trek vs Zombies, what's not to like?

And we're done!

2010-09-09T17:45:00.003+10:00

So the final edit has been done, thank you Margie Lawson and your brilliant Deep Edits system, you deserve ten packets of TimTams for your fabulous lectures. The mss is with a great writer friend who I've promised bucket loads of chocolates to. I think I need to get stock in Cadbury's fairly soon.
My kids are now happier that I'm not chained to my computer. Several times this week they've resorted to sitting on my head as I type away on the couch, the worst was when Mr3 stripped off and climbed up while I was typing. I think he really wanted my attention.
I now have a mountain of washing to get through, but I'm not complaining. Hubby took me to see Tomorrow When The War Began last night to celebrate my win. I came away thinking that I like the books so much more than the movie. John Marsden is a very talented writer and a terrific teacher/principal.
And now I have to pull out the next plotted out storyline. I am a plotter who tends to veer off track once I start writing. The first draft and the last are so different, I think in Breeder I killed three subplots during the editing process, things that just didn't need to be there, I collapsed four characters into two and the dialogue improved in leaps and bounds. I'm now an advocate of less is more. The less characters you bring onto the stage the better.
Tomorrow I have a day to myself, other than catching up on the washing I think I might spend it catching up on my TBR pile. I have Siren by Tricia Rayburn and Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson to get into. I'm still waiting on Gail Carriger's "Blameless" and Terry Pratchett's "I Shall Wear Midnight" to arrive in the mail. My postie thinks I'm insane running after him when he swings around the street corner to deliver my mail. He just doesn't understand how good both these authors writing is.

Great News!

2010-09-05T05:25:00.003+10:00

I've just flown back from Brisbane in an ecstatic mood, even the bad turbulence and freaked out lady in the seat in front of me, who wailed we were going to die, etc etc, didn't faze my mood.
You see, I won.
I won the Australian Children's and Young Adult writers competition in the YA category.
I won and was asked to submit to a certain publishing house when I'm ready.
I won and was given amazing feedback.
Sigh.
Three weeks ago I thought about giving this all up as a bad joke.
I'd had rejection after rejection. And even though they were getting more personal, it was still a rejection.
I think I'll stick with it. I think maybe, just maybe things are getting better. *big cheesy grin*
The CYA conference, is a wonderful writers event for Australia. I highly recommend everyone who can attend. There's so much up close and personal interaction with authors, editors, agents, newbie writers. The workshops are given by fantastic authors/editors of the CYA world. You can have a session pitching to either an agent or editor, and the feedback they give is worth just going. I think it's the only pitch session like its type, you are asked to submit 10 pages and a bio/synopsis a month before the conference. The editor/agent then has time to go through your work and explain what they like, what you need to improve and so forth.
I helped with co-ordinating the pitching session yesterday and everyone came out happy with the feedback they were given. Some were even more happy than others, but I can't say why. Big cheesy grins all around.
Tina Clark and Ally Howard did an amazing job with the conference this year. Hats off to them. Today is the kids turn at workshops, for the first time this year children can participate in the Hatchlings Conference. Authors/Editors/Agents are presenting workshops/panels to kids aged 10-16. These budding writers have the same opportunities as the adult authors to get their work in front of industry professionals. Fantastic idea.
Hopefully next year I'll be able to stay down long enough to help out on both days.
Finally, happy Fathers day!
I miss Dad. I miss his horrid jokes that would have him almost on the floor in tears of laughter when he wasn't even half way to the punchline. I miss his wicked sense of humour. I even miss him telling everyone to be quiet while the horse racing was on the radio on a Saturday morning (I hated it at the time).
Happy Fathers Day Dad, hope that in heaven they have a big comfy chair, wide screen tv and a dozen Cyborg films to keep you happy. And yes Jean Claude Van Damm was cheated out of an Oscar win for his amazing portrayal of hope in Cyborg, you were right all along.

Conferences

2010-08-29T13:24:00.002+10:00

On Friday I fly to Brisbane to attend the Children's and Young Adult Writers Conference (CYA) run by my good friends Tina Clark and Ally Howard. I'm super excited this year because I'm a finalist in the Young Adult category.
And at the same time my Mother-in-law is coming to visit. And yes even though my MIL is a super sweet woman who doesn't judge, I'm still in panic mode because my house is not in order. Why don't men understand that a woman needs things tidy for peace of mind? I don't know, apparently it's a universal thing, my household isn't the only one going through this.
I rewatched Dracula 2000 this week, I didn't realise it was Gerard Butler who played Dracula, I remember the first time I watched it thinking he was an amazingly skilled actor (well actually I think there was drool involved). But it wasn't until this week that I put two and two together. Bit short on the uptake.
I finished the final edit of the mss that an agent requested a partial on. Will see how that pans out. I'm no longer getting freaked out at the thought of agents/editors reading my writing. Either I'm getting more confident that my writing has improved or I'm desensitized to rejection. Hopefully it's the first.
My RWA membership had lapsed so that's now renewed, it's amazing how much I missed being able to access the forum and chat nights. Those girls really do get behind you with pom poms blazing and help you believe in your own abilities. Would heartily recommend joining RWAus to any writer regardless of genre.
Had to explain why I write YA this week. My first response was because I suck at writing romance, but then I said that I love the YA genre, it's like an open slab of everything melded into great stories. Scifi/horror/thriller/mystery, YA contains it all and the stories that are being published lately are just getting better and better.

Schedules

2010-08-24T07:26:00.002+10:00

Due to the high demand of life I've not blogged regularly for a while. But I'm trying to rectify that, and will make an effort to blog once a week. Let's see how that goes.
On a brighter note, my new laptop and I seem to be getting along very well. The twins have not even attempted to rip the keys off as yet, so things are looking up.
I've two new projects I could start on right away, one is a Edwardian steampunk and the other is an emotionally intense modern. I'm plotting out both, and I know the steampunk will be quite easy to write (having done a lot of research for it). The thing is, the modern is calling to me. It's a story I think I need to write. It'll involve some heavy exploring of relationships and emotions, and might turn out messy in the end.
I'll finish the edit I'm doing at the moment and then just go for it.

Hmm, things are looking up.

2010-08-22T14:38:00.003+10:00

So I've had a few weeks of being down in the dumps from having to share the family computer with the kids, and haven't had a chance to sit down and write solidly for nearly 2 months now (still editing etc but no new stuff coming out). When I get an email saying that I won the Author!Author! first page competition with Breeder. Happy day that one. Then a week later I get a request for a partial, which is fantastic, and then yesterday I get another email saying I've finaled (think I just invented a word, go me!) in the Australian Childrens and Young Adult Writers Competition (CYA). Big smiles here.

I'll be flying down to Brissy in September to attend the CYA conference, can't wait, and I'll find out then if I've done any good.

I'm also trying to organise to attend CrossFit Brisbane and see if they can help me improve my squats etc.

I've been following the Paleo/Zone diet for 6 weeks now, my cholesterol that was really bad is perfect, my sugar/diabetes levels are better than good, my Dr was very happy with the results. And to top it all off I've lost over 5 kgs and dropped a dress size. You bloody beauty!

I recommend this way of eating to everyone I come across. I've been doing my own version of Crossfit every second day and have noticed an improvement in my fitness and ability to lift weights. This type of training is really worth putting the effort in. I've also started training my friends at home, we're getting there and one day we'll be able to do a pull up easy (by the way that's not me in the photo, wish it was, photo courtesy of crossfitoneworld).

I've been going over Margie Lawson's 'Deep Edits' course again and trying to put more emotional impact into my writing. It seems to be paying off.

A month without writing

2010-08-01T12:28:00.002+10:00

Yes it's been a month without writing and my brain is hurting. I've edited this month, but the pure inspiration of writing on a blank screen and seeing a story come to life hasn't happened this month. My laptop is dead and I have to share the family computer with 5 kids, so I guess that's an excuse. Writing by pen doesn't work for me, I end up trying to decipher the chicken scrawl and spend hours working out what I meant by that phrase, etc.
On the up side I've started doing a little bit of crossfit (and can now deadlift nearly 30kgs) and have seen my fitness improve in leaps and bounds (yes cliche alert).
I like the attitude of the women who do Crossfit - they're not sticks, they're healthy, happy and can kick your butt. Nice, very Alpha female attitude, I like it.

Terrible Three's

2010-07-04T17:44:00.002+10:00

Tonight I discovered my little kidlets had attacked my makeup case, and my very expensive, very much loved Estee Lauder makeup and my wonderous mascara had been pillaged by marauding three year olds much to their delight. That's what happens when you take your eyes off them for more than half a minute. They sat happily in the bath tub, big black circles drawn all around their eyes, ruby red lipstick everywhere and foundation covering their bodies. They looked marvelous - or so they thought.
I have none left, not a scraping left in the case. Did I fly off the handle? Nope, I realise that these things can be replaced (slowly with my budget at the moment). I guess I'm just prepared to accept that kids do these sorts of things. Of course they got in trouble, and are not allowed certain toys for the moment, but I kept my cool. I'm proud of myself for that. It'll take me a while to save for new make up. And I don't think they stock the lipstick I love anymore, which is a shame.
Why am I sharing this? Because I was focused on a rewrite at the time, and I think I've found a way to fix up a beloved manuscript, it'll take ripping a whole plot line out and inserting another, but it works better, and that's great. Perhaps if I hadn't had that lightbulb moment before the kids attacked my makeup I might have handled things differently. As it is I did.

Exploding Laptops, Netbooks Can't Swim and Rejections

2010-06-24T13:07:00.002+10:00

It's been a hectic month, writing has gone onto the back burner due to the fact that not only did one of my twins tip an entire cup of water onto the netbook causing it to die an ignominious death, but then my other twin dropped my laptop (upon which I do most, if not all, my writing) and killed it too. So two electronic deaths in one week is not a good sign. On top of that my wonderful insurance agency told us that they do not cover accidental electrical damage under my policy. We stated that when we took the policy out ten years ago and we've been paying ever since, that we were covered. Not so. Ten years, no claims, and now that we need them they've changed the policy. Great, thanks for letting us know.
So I am without a laptop/netbook, and am reduced to writing by hand with pen and paper, and then trying to wrangle the family computer out of the teens hands at night so I can type it all up. Oh happy month of June, I'm not going to ask if anything else could go wrong because that would be tempting fate.
I also received two nice rejections. Nice. I think sometimes you hope that the rejection is nasty so you can dwell on it and seethe, but unfortunately they were both nice. Darn.
A friend suggested I stick to what I know and write a book about raising the twins. I don't think people would believe me when I share my tales of woe, really I don't.
How about you? How's your writing going? Hope you've been more successful than me this month.

Goings On

2010-06-09T07:36:00.003+10:00

Angela over at Bookshelf Muse is having a critique contest, in that she's giving away critiques to celebrate her blog's 802nd follower! Angela has one of the best writing resources around - the Emotional Thesaurus, such a needed thing when I'm writing. Please stop by her blog and comment to be in the running.
I've signed up for another 50k in 30days challenge, so far not so good. Kids, family life, work, etc are combining to stop the words flowing. Oh and a little thing called plotting, still working on where this story is going. I need to do what Kevin J Anderson said and make sure I have the ending before I write the beginning, that way you know where you're headed. Still working on it Kevin, thanks.
Last night thanks to the wonderful folks at the local Army Barracks I held a gun and actually shot it, but without any bullets (for some reason they don't trust me, go figure). I didn't realise how hard it is to cock and load a weapon. I've only ever held a peashooter before, so this was a big thing for me. In Australia weapons are rare, we have tough laws about ownership and gun control and I for one am grateful for this. But when you're writing about weapons etc it's hard to get the realism of it right. So I think I need to go to the local gun range and find out more.

Motherhood and Writing

2010-05-12T11:57:00.002+10:00

Today as I stumble about my home with a throat that feels like someone has poured rusty razor blades down it I'm wondering if Angelina Jolie will adopt my kids, just for a day. I'm three quarters of the way through what I hope will be my final edit on this WIP, my children however do not understand how important this phase of writing is for me.

Instead they have decided to do the following:

Tip 1kg of self raising flour on the carpet in the dinning room and cover themselves to make Flour Fairies.
Tip 500 grams of Quinoa seeds on the floor and try to play marbles with them.
Paint their beds with a mixed media favourite from their nappies (don't ask, just don't, don't ask).
Pull every shirt out of their drawers to find their favourites that they must, must wear.
Tip over the entire contents of not one, but three (3) toy boxes and roll around on top of the toys giggling at the sensation of mega blocks and hot wheels digging into their skin.
Pull the covers off every couch and use them as dress ups for ghosts and princess play.

Now most mothers will tell you that these things happen to everyone. But today is just not the day for them to happen, coping mechanisms are just not kicking in.
To top it all off, I have their older brother home sick from school.
Now tell me, how do I finish this edit?
I don't, not today. I instead take time out for my children, who will only be little for a short period of time, and one day I'll look back upon my time here and laugh at the stresses they put me through.
Experience teaches us that parenting is a long, hard journey, but the blessings of cuddles and kisses and adoration are worth it. Don't you think?

Angels Watching Over Us

2010-04-27T23:07:00.002+10:00

Tonight I had a dose of reality smack me in the face. My husband was out on his daily ride when a car pulled in front of him at an intersection and he smashed straight into it and flipped over the top of the car landing in the middle of the busy street. He lost vision for about 20 minutes and luckily this was right outside a hospital so he was taken care of almost straight away. He had no internal injuries, no spinal problems, no broken bones, just lots and lots and lots of bruises everywhere.
I am glad that he's safe. On the way to the hospital I sent up big prayers that he would be okay.
I've never seen an angel, but if they're real I think they deserve a big pat on the back for saving my husband tonight.

Barefoot Running

2010-03-28T06:12:00.003+10:00

My husband has just read Chris McDougall's book "Born To Run" for the second time and convinced me to go barefoot running on the local University grass track. It apparently fixes up your gait, your stance while running, and is easier to do than run in Nikes etc.
I gave it a go. But one thing I did notice is that my feet are incredibly tender, so any tiny baby pine cone hidden in grass sprang up and attacked those pink soles. I must admit I did run faster than I have for a while, but man my feet felt weird writing that way.
It's similar to plotting out on paper everything that's going to happen before you write a single word on your computer. Nicola Marsh has just done this and a few other friends have tried it, I think it would be similar to running barefoot, rather than cushioned in my favourite pair of New Balance runners. At first it would feel awkward and the bounce would be out of my stride, but then perhaps I might be able to write faster, more controlled, with greater efficiency than I have before.
Well the proof is in the pudding, so I'm going to plot every storyline first on paper and then see how I go.

How do you know when your writing sucks?

2010-03-10T18:15:00.002+10:00

Pity party alert? No, not really. I was reading through several blogs today and a chord struck me with regard to how do you know when you really suck at writing? Why is it you can look back at something you wrote ages ago and realise that it's not that good? But when you wrote it you were amazed at your ability to actually get the words down.
Self reflective time here, but I did do this. I dragged my first ever mss out. And then I quickly shoved it back under the bed.
I admit at the time I was so impressed with myself. I could actually finish something. I wrote and poured my heart out over this story and I loved it. But the writing is terrible. Who let me send this out? Sheesh.
When do you know then that your writing has improved enough to be publishable? Is it when an agent finally snags on and says "like it a lot"? or you win a contest with it? What's the defining difference between publishable and not quite right?

Chia Madness, Eating Frogs Eggs, and Shoelaces

2010-03-07T16:50:00.004+10:00

My husband has found the magic of health foods, finally, after over 11years of marriage he's got the health kick started. He's lost over 26 kgs and is looking mighty fine. He also heard about Chia seeds recently (things I've been trying for a long time for him to try) as he was reading about Mexican Ultramarathon runners. So he went straight out bought a packet and is hooked.
I tried them. He told me to put a tablespoon of chia seeds in a cup of water, wait ten or twenty minutes then drink.
Warning to the faint hearted, don't do it.
After just over a minute the chia seeds swell and let off a gelatinous type mess that makes the whole thing look like a cup of frogs eggs.
A whole cup of frogs eggs.
And I was expected to drink the cup.
I held my nose and swallowed. It didn't taste bad, but the texture. Oh the texture. My tongue is staging protest just now remembering the texture.
GACK.
So I did it again the next day as well. Cursing my husband and his healthy ways. And then not twenty minutes later he rings up from work and says "oh by the way, you can just put them in your food when you're cooking instead of drinking them like that."
I think he did that just to tick me off.
Needless to say it's two weeks later, he's lost over 3kgs and I've just lost 1kg. Need to up the anty I think.
Luckily this morning my husband did a great self-sacrificing thing. He was in a running race and had picked up the pace when he came across a 6yr old boy who had stopped because his shoelaces had come undone. He asked him if he was alright and the boy told him he didn't know how to tie his shoelaces. My hubby stopped and helped him tie them up, made sure he was okay (his parents were slowly making their way toward him) and then kept going. Kenny had been pushing himself to do a PB but because he stopped he failed to do so.
I think he's a hero anyway.

The Blind Side

2010-02-25T18:25:00.002+10:00

I took myself to the movies this morning. Just me. Alone. With my ticket stubb in hand I trudged up the stairs to go see a movie that I really wasn't too enthused about, but I needed to not stare at my messy house and this was a great excuse.
Lo and behold I'm glad I had tissues in my handbag. Heartwarming. The storyline was wonderful. I knew the outcome but the journey there brought good feelings. Similar to movies like The Rookie and Field of Dreams.
It's about the goodness in people. Taking a chance to do better than society dictates you can. I give it two thumbs up.
That was a great morning. And then I put my water bottle in my handbag and walked down those same stairs I'd trudged up earlier. I felt a drip, drip, drip on my lower spine. I shook it off thinking it was nothing. Went to the ladies room and discovered that my water bottle had leaked through my handbag and had dripped onto my backside, making me look like I'd pee'd my pants.
Nothing comforting about having a wet arse I can tell you.

I want to be a snowboarder

2010-02-20T06:44:00.003+10:00

Okay so I must say I was more than thrilled yesterday when Torah Bright won gold. When she stuffed up the first run I was like "no way" and then she pulled out a technical brilliant run and I was like "yes way".
I can't believe how excited you can get watching other people having fun in the snow. Have I mentioned I've never really seen snow? Nope, haven't. Saw slush once, at the south face of the grand canyon, it was cold and wet. I mean I know snow is wet, but this was like really soggy stuff that gets-down-your-shirt-and-melts-into-your-undies wet.
How cool is it though that Torah can do tricks the boys can do? And I had a personal pet peeve moment when the announcer kept talking about how the mens round was more thrilling because they can do more technical flips etc. Oh come on mate, these girls are doing it just as hard. Of course it was a male presenter speaking. I wonder if he's ever done a backside 540? My question to you is why can't womens sport be treated with the respect that mens sport gets?

Pity I live in the tropics and the closest I get to snow is defrosting the freezer.

A House Full of Teens

2010-02-05T22:30:00.002+10:00

So a slumber party, no stress right? No stress, but lots of amazing conversations that I just sit back and think "was I ever that young?"
Teenage girls talk so fast, my husband has to ask me to interpret. Luckily I can still keep up with what they say. Apparently it's okay to memorise a boys timetable and stalk him at school, as long as he's hot. If he's not that good looking it's a definite no-no.
Such memorable dialogue, I really should tape it and write it all down.
Do you remember your slumber parties as a teen? The things my friends and I used to talk about and get up to. So much fun.

I don't think I'd be up for a slumber party myself. I think all my friends would be asleep at 8pm because we'd be kid free. No painting the town red when there's a comfy bed and no one to share it with.
Had a few rejections lately, but they've been positive and so that's good. I am learning to take it on the chin and keep my head up. I guess that's something that's important, learn from rejection and get it to help improve your writing.

Australia Day

2010-01-26T14:04:00.002+10:00

Yay for Australia Day!
Spent the day at the beach, am now very sunburnt. Looking at edits I need to do and thinking, tomorrow, they'll wait until tomorrow.
Don't you hate it when your eyelids are sunburnt? Yep big #sunscreenfail here. I did apply but the sun was mega blazing.

To Query or Not? That is the question.

2010-01-21T14:59:00.003+10:00

How do you know when your mss is ready to submit? After the second edit? After the fifteenth? After your friends have torn the tendons out of it and you've had to take a crash course in Story Surgery For Dummies - How to Save that Sinking Manuscript?
Well that's my plight for today.
I've written a query letter, edited it again. Got the submission up and ready, now it's sitting in my draft folders in Hotmail.
Just sitting there, twiddling it's thumbs. Waiting for me to grow balls big enough to hit the send button.
Yes I know it's only a query, but what if I could do better? What if the agent doesn't like it? What if they show it to their friends and have a laugh about it over happy hour drinks?
Ah the paranoia sets in.
You betcha. Paranoia central right now.
I still have my two year old twins bringing me presents from their toilet training episodes to take my mind off my stress. Then as soon as I've dealt with poo painting/architecture, I'm back at it.
Think I need to just press the send button and to hell with it.
Yeah, need to press the button.
I'm just taking my time, can't rush these things.
Oh look a squirrel.
Tomorrow, I'll do it tomorrow.
Oh alright already, I'll hit the blimmin send button, stop pressuring me.
There, happy now?
Fine.
Now to bring out the wish list and send to the next Super Agent in line.

*Note from the floor: This blog will be in therapy until further notice. Please send Mango Weiss Bars stat!

It's My Birthday

2010-01-20T06:57:00.001+10:00

Yep I'm another year older! And that's great.

Synopsis Time

2010-01-17T16:26:00.002+10:00

I just finished the rough draft of one synopsis, now have to attack the other one. I don't think it gets any easier, but I've found that by plotting out beforehand I've got more to go on when I write it all up.
I'm also having a ball researching the next novel idea. So many fun things to include, and some pretty cool co-incidences which just happen to link in with my plot. Yay for co-incidences.

The Horse Before the Cart, always the Horse Before the Cart.

2010-01-16T13:53:00.002+10:00

I research then I plot. If I try to plot before I research I waste so much valuable time. At the moment I'm going through old books (fiction and non-fiction) about my targeted timeline. I'm loving the dresses and hats, oh the hats are divine.
I'm also looking at the timeline of what happened in that year. Fun stuff.
I've tried pantsing my way through a story (wasn't good). I've tried plotting without researching (dreadful) so now I know what works best for me. I research, go through lots and lots of cool information and then I start the plot.
I already have the basic premise down but now I'm trying to find things related to that idea. What other things can I incorporate in my story that will build tension, deepen characterisation and make a big big bang in the novel?
Do you pants/plot/research?

Starting a New Project

2010-01-15T09:52:00.002+10:00

Oh the wonderment of a new project. The excited whispers of expectations dancing around my ears. The tingle of the keyboard as I tap the start of a new and exciting and possibly arduous storyline.
It's like first love all over again. You meet, perhaps by chance, and your eyes lock on to each other. The first overtures of introduction bring flutters to your heart and a smile to your lips. Blushing you look for more.
It's always this way, fresh, exciting, new.
As for the other two projects that I've just edited, they're with trusted readers who will give me honest/critical feedback. I promise to accept each and every comment without too many tantrums.
So for now I'm researching costumes and eating habits, schools in the Stow-on-the-Wold community (I might just have to make some stuff up I guess).
Onwards and upwards!

Another set of edits done

2010-01-12T21:15:00.002+10:00

So now I've finished the next set of edits, and renamed my girlspacepirate story - Breeder. Sounds more antsy I think.
What next? 1914 sounds good. Wonderful clothes, colourful language, magnificent English countryside. Yep having fun. Need to read a few more authentic books from that era to get the right sounding tone to the narration/dialogue.
Still going on the Margie Lawson lecture packets. I must say that they have really picked up my writing. I understand how to improve areas that were lacking lustre. Would highly recommend her lecture packets if you get a chance.
As for now, I'm heading to bed and a chance to sleep in? (ha school holidays will ensure that that does not happen).

Bad Haircut

2010-01-03T08:22:00.002+10:00

I hope this doesn't spoil 2010 for me. I've started it off with a BAAAAD haircut. I had wanted a certain style but my boofy hair just won't do it. The hairdresser cut it and now I have to live with it. Next time I get this urge to cut all my hair off to a classic 1980s Lady Di style please please please slap me with a wet fish and tell me to remember 2010! The year of the sucky hairdo! I shall invest in hats! There's a way around everything.
It can always grow out! But until it does I'm stuck with this.... sigh

2010 here we go again

2010-01-02T07:40:00.001+10:00

Goals: complete a half marathon! Write tonnes more, edit and fix up the tonnes, grow my hair back.

Putting It Aside

2009-12-17T13:32:00.002+10:00

I've gone through the next round of edits on the steampunkian wonder, and now putting it aside until a friend or two has read my latest attempts at being authorial.
So what do I do now? Hmmmm, I've started plotting out another book, monsters and mayhem and madness, with a bit of post-Edwardian fashion to boot. Loving it.
I'm also back on board editing my Girl Space Pirate mss. In the first 3 chapters I've take out over 2,000 superfluous words. I know, is that a record or what? Strange stuff but it reads better. This is my first edit through, so I've got the big chopping knives out, ready to cut into it. I don't know whether I should administer ether or not. Can I stand the pain?
Christmas is almost upon us and I'm not ready. It's not really a great christmas this year, our eldest two are away visiting their mother and the rest of my family are visiting rellies around Oz. So I'm here with hubby and the three littlies (who keep pulling over the christmas tree). I think it will be a quiet one. See how we go.
Hope you and yours are safe and well. Stay away from the plum pudding or you'll become one. (Plum pudding with custard, I'm salivating right now.... oh fruit mince pies, yummmmo)
anyway Merry Christmas. Please drop by the WeLoveYA website as I'm giving away "The Enemy" by Charlie Higson. Oz and NZ commentators only.

Christmas is getting closer

2009-12-08T06:03:00.002+10:00

The tree is up, the decorations have been strewn haphazardly across the floor. Little voices are singing their versions of christmas carols, others are humming along because they don't know the new words yet. Are we looking forward to the 25th? Yes and no. It's nice to hear singing, I won't be able to use Santa as an excuse to get them to clean their rooms, but also I won't have to brave christmas shopping. Every year I promise myself I won't leave things til the last minute, and yet every year I do.

My Laptop Died

2009-11-24T14:28:00.000+10:00

Oh my hell, my laptop just died. There's nothing happening. The battery is gone and the only place I can get a replacement is in the UK... and even then they don't have any in stock. The battery recharger cord won't work.... frakkin hell!
Yes I did back up my work, but this is my laptop! Serves me right for not getting a Macbook! I need a Macbook. *throws self on floor and kicks feet vigorously*

Hiatus

2009-11-19T06:49:00.000+10:00

I'm performing major surgery on my WIPs visceral cavity right now. That is the cavity that I have concerning visceral responses and character depth. The good news is the WIP is reading better, I like using all my highlighters (thanks to Margie Lawson) and I'm coming up with neat ways to say things.
I therefore won't be blogging on this little blog for a week. Give me a week and I will be back. But there are entrails spilling out of my story and threatening to go septic, it's time to bring in the big guns Pink Highlighter Central!
Be back soon

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

2009-11-10T06:46:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I celebrated my son's 5th birthday. Even though the rain meant we didn't get to go to the waterpark, we still had a good time. He's at that age where fart jokes rock! So here's one just for him... Love ya baby.
Time is flying by, the older I get, the faster it goes. I wonder if Einstein ever encountered that? The older you are the faster you go? Hmm, that could have some seriously cool implications for geriatric superpowers.
The edit is going well, I think. Have been pushing visceral reactions into my characters scenes left, right and centre. I also bought Margie Lawson's "Edit" package, which my wonderful friend and ring in CP Diane assures me will help big time. Righto, anything that helps will be welcomed with open arms right now.
About to go and print out my entire mss and then go line by line through it. I do most of my editing on the computer, but I've been promised that having a hard copy is better to catch the little things.
What about you, how do you edit? Do you only use your computer? Or are you a paper and pen type writer?

Pricey Edwardian Fashion

2009-10-23T06:06:00.002+10:00

I found out yesterday that some hats the ladies wore back in the day would cost the equivalent of over $4000 today. Holy spegolli's Batman, all that for a hat? You betcha. Most cost at least two weeks wages worth and many women had to pay off their hats before they received them. So to lose one's hat was a veritable disaster in those days. Needless to say they were held onto their heads with rather large hat pins.
The chambermaids would also collect a lady's hair from her brushes and wad it up into a sort of nest then use this to plump up her hairdo. Goodness me, did men know what was going on in those huge coifs?
The joys of researching, I have come across more wonders of the Edwardian age, I'll save them for another post though.
Just a short one, must dash back to the editing.

Early Riser

2009-10-13T05:37:00.002+10:00

It's 5.30am and I'm hiding out the front office while my family sleeps. I'm still waiting to hear back from my beta readers on two WIPs, so I'm thinking I should start fleshing out the next one. I have a few storylines/plots I've been toying with, but nothing takes my fancy right now.
I wonder how other writers come up with idea after idea. I had one for a paranormal involving a ghostly heroine, but isn't paranormal almost dead at the moment? (no pun intended) I asked a few other writers if this were the case and they mentioned that if you write a stunning novel agents aren't going to knock it back because it's a paranormal. So it's not the genre that really matters it's the depth of plot/characters you write that's important.
Oh well, why didn't someone tell me that already? LOL.
I'm blogging over at RWA Australia about query letters and I've interviewed Richard Harland over at WeLoveYA.

Steampunk Serenade

2009-10-10T11:07:00.002+10:00

Tor.com is having a steampunk month and is offering a range of short stories, comics and articles on my favourite subject. There's a whole plethora of links to other blogs/websites dedicated to Steampunk.
"Steampunk is what happens when Goths discover brown." Jess Nevins

There have also been Steampunk weddings and wedding cakes featured around the blogs.

Just a quick one, I'm in the middle of cleaning up the house.

2 Years

2009-10-06T14:20:00.002+10:00

It's been 2 whole years since Mum passed away. The time has dragged yet flown. It's amazing how it seems like just this morning and yet it's not.
Miss her every day. So to celebrate my kidlets and I had a picnic on the lounge room floor. We ate Violet Crumbles (crunchies), Marshmellows, Snakes Alive, and drank Creaming Soda... all of Mum's favourite junk foods. The kids loved the balloons the most. Mum always had extra balloons at her house to keep the grandkids busy. She was soo right, it's the best invention ever.
I cherish her memory and her love of good stories. Hopefully she's up there right now getting dancing lessons from Patrick Swayze and has a big goofy grin on her face.
Editing is good, I have gone through and deleted nearly every "nod", "grin", "were" and "really" in the mss. I had over 664 "were" s in my manuscript... 663 too many.

These Hips Don't Lie

2009-10-04T19:29:00.003+10:00

I gave a hooping demonstration today and all up hooped for 4 hours.
Note to self: hooping for that long can cause muscles you have forgotten to remind you they're there in ways you'd rather they didn't. Had to have a nap afterwards (age is creeping up on me).
In other news, I've searched and destroyed most of the were's/was/somehow/sometime/someway/really's in the latest edit. I shall remain close lipped about how many really's there really were (sheesh).
My WeLoveYA blog has shot to No.30 on Johnathon Crossfield's Top 50 Aussie Writer blogs. Woohoo, happy dance *owch I just threw hip out*...

Another One Done

2009-10-02T06:50:00.002+10:00

Hey everyone, yesterday I put those two little but significant words at the end of the Steampunk YA... the end. I allowed myself a self satisfied grin and then cleaned up the house (there was a fair amount of neglect there).
Today is the last day of spring holidays here and I'm looking forward to kids going back to school and the routine coming back into our lives.
Over at Tor.com it's Steampunk Month.... how cool is that? Loving it. I rewatched "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" this week and have been searching through pages and pages of Edwardian fashion/food/and speech. Favourite words? Rollicking, preponderated and sussurations. In no particular order.

Last Chapter

2009-09-30T07:07:00.002+10:00

I have one chapter to go before I can send this mss off to my beta readers. Feeling the love right now, although I have just killed four characters off. Feeling the action packed adventure ending right now. Need a bit of romance in there at the end though, just to tie it off nice and sweet.
And then I get to plot out the next WIP.... hmmm, I have a hundred and one things to do for that.
I've also just made 60 more hula hoops, and we now have a production line at home. They make them, I tape them. After a few very dodgy taping jobs from the family I have been given the task of taping the hoops. Suits me.
I've already sold more than 45, but the cost of tapes is soo expensive I haven't made profit yet (should up the price I think).
Don't forget that today is the last day to enter the WeLoveYA Vampire Academy contest! Go on over and leave a comment to go in the running.

Sherlock Holmes

2009-09-28T07:41:00.003+10:00

They've made a movie.

Staring Robert Downey Jnr (those crafty devils in Hollywood knew that would suck me straight in).

And it looks FANTABULISTIC!

Sherlock Holmes.

And there is another movie, I want to see.

Dorian Gray starring Ben Barnes of Prince Caspian fame. Yep my teen saw this and started hyperventilating.. apparently Ben Barnes is sooo hot right now.

oh and did I mention it also stars Colin Firth? Yes, just thought I'd include that tidbit as well.

Edits going great guns, love the phrase: "a positive blot upon nature"...
Over at WeLoveYA I've interviewed a 15yr old writer who's just scored herself an agent that I would dearly love to work with. This girl has already written three novels (makes me feel like I need to write soo much more).

On a Roll

2009-09-25T18:33:00.002+10:00

I just have to pop in here and say that today I edited 20 chapters. From 9am this morning until 7pm this evening I managed to go through and edit 20 chapters (first round edits - will have to go through and do a bit of deepening later). I feel good and I like my characters.
Which reminds me, Bob Mayer has a really great blog post up at Warrior Writers today on how he starts with the antagonist and then creates the hero/heroine to suit. If you have a really good antagonist then everything else can be written to have a gripping story.
Back to it, finishing off this edit tonight, so I can put it aside and plot out the next story. And I'm starting with a dastardly antagonist! Mwahhaahahahaaa

Dust Storms

2009-09-24T08:22:00.002+10:00

Last night a rather huge dust storm encapsulated my home town, it was part of a storm that had swept through the outback and up through the tropics. Thousands of tonnes of topsoil blown away from drought stricken lands. The sky turned sienna and the setting sun had the sky red as blood.
Nature sometimes has a way to remind us that even though we think we are masters of this world, she will always have the last word.
(picture courtesy of brisbanetimes.com.au)
Enjoying editing at the moment, I don't know if that is a blessing or a curse. It's school holiday time and the kids are enjoying having friends stay over. My house is full of running, chatting, laughing, cranky kids but that's great because I am now the master of focusing through the noise (or at least I tell myself I am).
Over at the WeLoveYA blog we're giving away the entire series of Rachelle Mead's 'Vampire Academy', just leave a comment and you go in the draw.

Mercury Rising

2009-09-21T13:29:00.002+10:00

A writer friend blamed a series of unfortunate accidents in her life just recently on the fact that apparently Mercury was in her house until Sept 29th. Which could be why things keep going wrong at my house. I now have someone to blame, good old Mercury!
This morning I went downstairs to put another load of washing on and found the deep freeze had accidentally been turned off. So $200 worth of meat sat thawing in the appliance.
I had written a ToDo list the day before about doing up a big Once a Month Cookup so that I would have ready meals handy for nights when I just didn't feel like cooking.
Mercury intervened so that this morning I have spent hours cooking meal after meal and freezing them up in containers. I think I have enough meals for three weeks stored now.
My edits are going well, I had planned to have 3 chapters done by lunch time, but I will have to try and catch up.
Researching Victorian phrases was a hoot on the weekend, I have all sorts of words to throw around now. My favourite so far is "Dollymop" - it means prostitute, perhaps not the nicest of words, but the phonetics roll off my tongue. I am looking forward to using it

Cleaning Rooms

2009-09-18T13:47:00.003+10:00

We are doing a Humungous Spring Cleanout at our house. The amount of things that we have accumulated is mind boggling.
There are things stuck in cupboards that we have not used for over six years, just shoved willy nilly at the back of the pile attracting dust.
The family don't know it yet but we will be having a garage sale to beat all garage sales with this treasure trove.
Why? Well I'm sick of being the one who has to keep everything neat and tidy. I figure if we don't have it in the house we won't miss the clutter.
Though convincing the teens of this is a very hard job. Except that I saw a mouse run through the downstairs room this morning. The teens agree that keeping their rooms clean is important. Hmmmm
I think it's time for rat sac and more natural alternatives to surface spray. I have found that chilli oil mixed with eucalyptus oil is supposed to get rid of spiders etc. We'll see, I could end up with a bunch of chilli loving spiders instead.

CYA Conference

2009-09-15T13:06:00.002+10:00

Just a few quick snippets I gathered at the CYA conference. Jackie French spoke of Writers Block as fictional. We never hear of Dentists Block, you don't go into a dentists office and find the dentist half way through a tooth extraction raising his calipers and saying "I can't finish this I have Dentists Block'. Similarly you don't get Surgeons Block (luckily). Writers block just means you have not thought your story through well enough and you need to work on characterisation and plot.
I sat in on Peter Cavanas' Illustrators workshop (I can't draw to save my life). He had taken one of Dr Virginia Lowe's online courses and by the end had a book which not only got published but has won awards.
I also sat in on Paul Collins - World Building Workshop, which was great. By the end of the three sessions participants had a map of their new world, a plot and characters they could use to flesh out a novel.

CYA Writers Conference

2009-09-10T10:01:00.002+10:00

Off to Brisbane today for the Children's and Young Adult Writers Conference. Can't believe a whole year has gone by since my last foray. This year I've upped the anty by volunteering to help Tina Clark and her team on the day.
I must say that this is a great way to budget. I had blown my money on the RWA conference last month and soo wanted to go to this one. I urged everyone to volunteer to help at these sorts of events because you get in free. Well you do work during the day but the girls are so helpful in allowing me a little time off to catch the workshop I wanted to attend. And I will be chatting with many authors/editors/agents, so that's a great thing too.
The Steampunk edits are going well, although today is a complete write off because of having to clean and pack for our trip.
Steampunk Scholar has a good article I thought you might like to read on steampunk and the differences within the genre.

Sending My Mss Back in Time

2009-09-08T13:48:00.003+10:00

I had written this latest WIP I'm editing about forty years into the future, but due to a brainstorm I am now taking it back to 1912... and well, there's quite a bit of research involved.
What was life like back then?
What did women wear?
What were the normalities of dating?
Yep so I'm spending a lot of time on line and going through historical records. Interesting that's for sure.

I so love this picture, how wonderful these dresses were, but probably not quite cool enough for these tropical climes.
The automobile had been invented, but I wonder what it would look like without the internal combustion engine and powered by steam driven turbines instead....

Hooping It Up.

2009-09-07T13:00:00.006+10:00

The picture to my left was taken about 6 weeks ago, so I've dropped more weight since it was taken of me hooping with my Hoopnotica Travel Hoop.
Marina asked me to do a post all about hooping, so let's get started.
I came across hooping last year and tried to make my own hula hoops with garden tubing, unfortunately it was way to soft and the hoops I made were floppy. Then I found Hooping.org where a kind Jason walked me through the steps of how to make a hula hoop.
Many australian hardware stores carry Polyethylene piping (it's black with blue stripes) that is equivalent of the american piping Jason mentions. I had a hard time trying to find connectors of the type that Jason mentions in his post. Eventually a little birdie (aka Kathryn Power, writer and hooper extraordinaire) let me in on a secret, 22mm dowel does the same job only better to connect them to.
Oh hooray. I bought some more Vinidex PE piping , some dowel, black gaffer tape to go over top of the joint and Viola! Hula Hoops.
My family and I have been putting them together and then we get to tape them up in colours we choose. So far I have only been able to find basic gaffer tape colours. But this week I had another breakthrough and found that you can get Neon coloured gaffers tape from Matrix Productions in Western Australia which includes pink, orange, and green/lime. So I have ordered some. Gaffers tape is used in the movie/television industry to tape up sound systems etc etc, and it's perfect for hoops.
Importing tapes from overseas is expensive and there are very few places in Oz that have adhesive tapes that will work on PE piping. But Air-conditioning foil tape is just like mirror tape that others have used on their hoops. So I bought some from ebay of all places. It will be arriving sometime tomorrow which I'm looking forward to.
I bought a pipe cutter which cost around $12 from Bunnings. And I cut up the 50m roll of PE pipe to size. I use around 3.5m per hoop, some a little bit more, some a little bit less depending on the size of the person buying.
I bought 22mm dowel from Home Hardware which I cut into 7cm lengths. I then use a bit of coarse sand paper and blunt the edges of each of the dowel bits so that they are easy to slip into the piping.
I heat the ends of the cut pipe up with boiling water (just dip them into a large pot of boiling water for around 2 minutes) then push one end of the dowel connector into the pipe. Heat up the other end and there you have it, a hula hoop.
Once the joint cools down I tape it up with black gaffer tape. I have used brass wood screws before to make sure the joint is sealed and the pipe won't pull off the dowel, but I have found that I don't need to use that extra measure.
Then I tape the hula hoop in colours that I like. I do have a couple of pictures of hoops I made over the weekend, and will add them later on. I like to find hoop designs others have done and make mine using their techniques. There are some wonderful hoops out there.

My family and I go out every afternoon to the backyard and spend 1/2hour to 1 hour hooping it up. Mister4 loves hooping, and races his dad to see who can hoop the longest. He's turning into a hoopmonster.

Hoopmamas.com have some great ones

There are great videos available on Youtube on how to make a hoop, and also how to tape one up. There are also great hoop teachers who graciously put their videos online so that beginners like me can get into hooping.

Some of the amazing things you can do with a hoop (once you stop hitting yourself in the head with it of course ;-) )

Fathers Day!

2009-09-06T12:40:00.002+10:00

Wishing that I could celebrate Fathers Day with my Dad. Miss him immensely.

The End! Woohooo!!

2009-09-04T18:13:00.004+10:00

I finished the first draft of my Girl Space Pirate mss. Hooray! It felt soo good to finally type those two little words - The End. A weight came off my shoulders and landed squarely on the backs of my wonderful wonderful friends who have agreed to give it the once over.
I'm very excited to get into editing my steampunk adventure now that this WIP is being put into the drawer for a few weeks.
On another note I have been having soooo much fun making and selling my own hula hoops. I love taping up a new hoop and have found a distributor in Australia that sells Pink gaffer tape. Looking forward to when the mailman drops that bargain in my letterbox.
Here are a few designs I found on the net that really look great.
Wish we had all these great colours here. I'll find a way to do it.
I have also lost a total of 8kgs (17.6lbs) in 7 weeks just by hula hooping every afternoon for half an hour with my kids in the backyard. How cool is that? I went into the shops today to get a new pair of shorts (my old ones being a bit too baggy). I am now a size 14 (US size 10). I haven't been that for over 6 years, before I started IVF. Ohhhh joy oh joy.
I am soo looking forward to reaching my goal of a size 12. I have 6 more kgs to go...

Getting off my bottom and finishing this thing already

2009-09-01T11:31:00.004+10:00

It's so easy to procrastinate and take on new projects etc rather than finishing what you have to. I wonder if others do this as much as I do.
I can find the most amazing things to do rather than finish my current WIP. I wondered why I was so reluctant to do it. To just get the thing finished. Had I gone on the wrong track? No. Had I become too attached to the characters that I didn't want to end it? No again. I think I just let the world distract me.
So what do I do?
I read instead. This week I have read Richard Harlands "WorldShaker" and Laura Whitcomb's "A Certain Slant of Light". Both totally different books, but the storylines were engaging. I like the way Richard brings steampunk into the open, and Laura's story of life after death and the choices we make was very interesting.
I know that my first draft is just that, but I think I'm trying to produce a polished product on first draft. I have to stop being a perfectionist and just write the darn book.
Right off I go. Thanks for lending an ear.

The Wisdom Time Gives

2009-08-29T06:54:00.000+10:00

I went through old score sheets from over a year ago on a few manuscripts I had submitted to contests. When I first read the scores I was hurt, angry, stressed and finally despondent. These people obviously didn't know what they were talking about did they?
Or did they?
A year later and their words seem much more truthful than I thought back then. I have improved as a writer and the points they made are actually valid. Yes my grammar was appalling, my character was two dimensional, and the conflict wasn't there. I can see that now, but at the time I thought they were just being incredibly mean and nasty.
Not now. Now I understand.
What about you? Are there old score sheets you've kept for your mss that you can look at again years later and see that the judges were right?
It doesn't hurt anymore. In fact I cringe as I read their comments because they are right, my manuscript was not ready for submission at all. But could you have told me that over a year ago? Nope, because as a new writer I thought I was on track. Oh how wonderful time and lots of workshops are.

One Chapter to Go!

2009-08-23T19:18:00.002+10:00

I have one chapter to write on my GirlSpacePirate mss and do you think the world will let me finish it?
This afternoon I was setting it up, I had already written a chapter and was pushing through to the big end. And then from the kitchen I hear screeching and yelling. The teens were at it again. Hubby stepped in to help out and sort things out and then I hear pots banging and cupboards shutting. The teens disagreement spilled over.
I tried sticking my fingers in my ears so I could finish the book but you can't type at the same time. I gave in and went out to see what was wrong. The teens were disagreeing on how you wash dishes. Yes folks, inane is the word of the week.
I explained to them my dilemma and asked if they could just stop for a little while longer, but it was clear the battle lines were drawn and the peacemaker was needed.
After that the toddlers got involved and I haven't got back to it. The mss needs a bit of work, it's still just a rough first draft but at least it's there.
I was looking at different writers spaces for a blog post I have done up for RWA Australia's blog. Some of the offices/studies brought tears to my eyes and longing to my heart. I could just imagine myself locking the door and descending into the luxurious comfort of a good writing chair. Tapping out thousands of words without sticky fingers pulling keys off my laptop or teenage tantrums spilling over into my writing time. *sigh*
So I thought here I would share some of the wonders I've found. My ideal writing space would be light and airy, with a nice little chaise lounge, a good desk, great chair and pot plants that don't die. How about you?
Kyle Cassidy is working on a project to capture great SciFi/Fantasy authors writing spaces. Here are a few:

2 scenes until the end....

2009-08-22T10:51:00.002+10:00

Yep folks, I've got two major scenes to go before the end! Oh about time I hear you say? Yep, I know, but let's be real here, I am writing in my spare time so sometimes it takes a long time to get to the end of a first draft. And yes I have procrastinated quite a lot but once I worked out what was wrong with the direction my story was taking then things started working once more.
Once this is done I will send the first draft to two friends who've offered to check it out and let me know where the plotholes are, then we start editing with Donald Maass's book as a guide. Hooray. Oh by the way I still don't have an appropriate title, need to work on that I guess.

I've also learned this morning how to hula hoop on my chest and to shimmy the hoop up and down my shoulders/chest/waist. Pretty darn happy about that.

I've rediscovered a few great descriptive word lists online and have the links below:

Descriptive Words

Emotions List

List of Descriptive Words by function

I also picked up Richard Harland's "WorldShaker" at the library yesterday and am itching to start reading through. Richard has a great website with amazing resources for writers, it's called Writing Tips chock full of goodness.
WorldShaker is another steampunk YA story, which promises to entice the mind into action. I've put off the edit of EarthFall until I finish the first draft of GirlSpacePirate (yeah that title really does suck doesn't it?).
I will have to cut a few scenes out that don't fit, but I feel better about the whole storyline.

What else? Well I saw "My Life In Ruins" yesterday, starring Nia Vardalos (from My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and it was great. I enjoyed it immensely because I was a) by myself (no hangers on), b) had time to spare, and c) needed a pick me up to my day. MLIR did that in style, and it didn't hurt that the hero was attractive either.

Coming down

2009-08-19T18:36:00.002+10:00

Once the unpacking and washing is done, my bags are back in the cupboard and my shoes are away I sit for a moment and wish that I could weave through time and space. I wish I could capture the enthusiasm of the conference and bottle it for days like today when I needed that extra push to get started in on the current WIP. I know I have to do quite a few things to get it into shape, and I will do it, but just quietly, I'd love a private cheer squad stuck beside me that I could turn on when the fingers get sore or the brain threatens to turn to mush.
But it's back to the grind of tapping out changes and trying to whip my characters into shape. I don't know how they are going to cope with stepping back in time to a more romantic age.
We'll see.

Australian Romance Writers Conference

2009-08-17T15:49:00.002+10:00

I've just got back from the RWA conference in Brisbane and I am so hammered, but happy. I will be presenting a few bits and pieces of lightbulb moments I had during the conference in the next few days. It was well worth the effort attending, even though I don't write pure Romance, the craft workshops and author/agent discussions were fascinating.
Okay so today I thought I'd start off with Mary Jo Putneys words of wisdom from the Friday session.

She was a very astute speaker and had wonderful insights to share, these are only a couple of things that I managed to get down. Lucky you cannot see my scribbled notes, they look like a chicken had an epileptic fit in an inkwell.

Find the motivation for your character - why are they on the course you've set them? If the motivation is strong enough you can set really high outcomes for your character and they will have the capability of achieving it.
So therefore you really have to know your character, their positive and negative traits, how they fit in their family, if they have family, what disasters have they already faced, etc etc.
The stakes have to be high for a story to succeed, so find out about your characters and what they want most in life, then make it almost impossible for them to achieve it without giving up nearly everything they already have.
Heart of a story is romance (for those writing category), you need a terrific plot both internally and externally, but the driving force is the relationship between the hero and heroine.
Conflict therefore will give your story zing. If you have say a fireman as your hero and an arsonist as your heroine you will have a lot of conflict. Find two dimensionally opposed people and throw them together, see what happens to them.
Conflict is increased by plot, your plot brings out the worst in your two main characters, later on it will bring out the best as well.
Some people start with story ideas and then find characters to go with the story. Others create really strong characters and then throw them into a situation to see how they do. Either way will work, but you have to have deep characters for the readers to really care about, shallow characters and a great plot won't work.
A good story rushes along and pulls you with it. Find better words for what you want to say (invest in a good dictionary and jot down words you find in other books that stand out to you). Use emotive words and you add depth.
Powerful words don't need a lot of back up, so therefore choose your words carefully.
All pieces in your book must have a reason for being there and must be used. The old 'if you show a gun in the first act you'd better fire it before the end' idea is a must.
If the chain of credibility within your story breaks then your story will fail. If you are going to include certain occupations or information then make sure you have it correct, don't go to wikipedia for your research!
Actions speak louder than description of characters.
You must vary your pace between slow and fast action throughout the entire story.
Keep writing, only those who persist at something eventually succeed.

RWA conference, The Flu and other bits

2009-08-11T06:56:00.002+10:00

I'm very excited at the moment as I am getting ready to attend my first RWA conference in Brisbane. So I've been planning what to take, what to wear, who to stalk (LOL). I must admit to being just a tad overwhelmed by meeting Mary Jo Putney and the other amazing authors that will be there. I promise to behave myself, even though I will be without my kids for FOUR days! Count that FOUR days... I won't know what to do with myself.
Well actually I do, I will get a decent nights sleep! I want eight hours solid sleep, and if I have to painstop myself to get it I will.
On another note, I have the flu. I've been fastidious in my cleanliness and staying away from fluey people this winter and now, the week I get to go away, I have the flu. Yuck. So I'm searching for flu remedies to kick this thing on its butt. Lots of Vitamin C, Berrocca, Panadol, water and chilli. Not all in the same glass though.
I read "Swoon" by Nina Malkin last night. It was an interesting take on golems and other supernatural stuff, but what surprised me most was the sexual content involved in the story as well. I hadn't thought I'd encounter it so much in the story, but there it was. Quite a bit of it didn't need to be in there for the story to still be a good read, so it lead me to wondering how much is too much in a young adult novel?
I know with adult romance there are differing heat levels and you know where you stand when you buy something from the Harlequin Blaze line for instance. But what about YA? Is there a no go zone? If so, who determines it?
Just something to ponder.

Editing and some more

2009-07-31T10:04:00.003+10:00

I have edited 35 chapters so far this week, and have taken out soo much rot. I have replaced this with scenes and dialogue that brings about more conflict. Conflict, conflict, conflict, it's my word of the week.
I wrote this story over a year ago and have now gone back to it with new eyes, interesting what I thought was good then, well, anyway enough said.
Winter is still here, but it's been mild, so that's great. I've taken time off in the afternoon to hula hoop with the kids and that seems to get my mind off electromagnetic pulses and plasma transducers.
A few good articles lately on query letters, how to be more professional with your writing, and so forth.
Magical Musings are going through writing real characters this week, stop by and have a look. I've picked up a few good things that I will use.
Magical Words are focusing on query letters.
Warrior Writers Blog, run by Bob Mayer, is looking at One Size doesn't fit all. Professionalism as a writer and how to improve yourself.
Oh and one more thing. Lynn Viehl has posted up her Left Behind and Loving It workshops as a free download, there is so much information here that it'll take me days to work through.

Sorry, sorry!

2009-07-23T12:02:00.002+10:00

I have been editing, and so far this week have gone through 23 chapters. Feels great. Once I've gone through the whole thing I'm whipping out Donald Maas's book and working bit by bit through it. This is a story I wrote about a year ago and gaaack! It needed a fair bit of work, but that just shows me how much I've learned the past year.
I've finally got my travel hoop, had to order it in from America, which cost a big whack in postage but hey it was worth it. So far this week I have lost 3 kg (6.6lbs for those of you not metric)... I know in 1 week. Who would have thought that a hoop spinning around your hips/waist could do that? Well I'm living proof.
Here's a video I'm greatly inspired by.

Keep Breathing - Finding Healing In The Hoop from Lissa Angeline on Vimeo.

Harry Potter6

2009-07-16T10:14:00.002+10:00

Well I went to see the movie last night with friends. I was a little disappointed with how they tried to cram everything in, perhaps it should have been made into two movies.
Overall the theme was darker than I remember the book to be, but then that could just be my memory, it's been a while since I read those books.
We had a bit of a run in with some ladies who refused to move over one seat so I could sit with everyone. But other than that the night was great. This came after another troubling day of toilet training (my dear little son is determined to do it his way, much to my chagrin).
Don't forget to have a look at Lynn Veihl's Left Behind and Loving It blog posts.
Oh and we're giving away a copy of The Sea Wreck Stranger over at WeLove YA, unfortunately due to shipping costs and my lack of finances it's for Australian commenters only.

The Pain

2009-07-15T09:52:00.002+10:00

I haven't been to the gym in two weeks and in that time my muscles have relaxed, enjoyed themselves and now are very very angry that I'm back on the treadmill trying to up the anty. They're not liking me much at all.
I've started pushing my way to the end of the novel and sometimes my brain doesn't want to get into gear after having time out.
Speaking of which, Lynn Veihl over at Paperback Writer is having her 'Left Behind and Loving It' workshops again, please jump on over and take part, there are lots of giveaways as a sweetener.

Dialogue

2009-07-13T19:39:00.002+10:00

I was listening to my teens speak and one of them was repeating a conversation she had with her friend about boys liking them. It consisted of this girl telling my daughter that the guy will have to learn to love her stinky armpits and all. She then raised her arms up, sniffed her armpits, turned around and faced the boy she had just mentioned not a moment before. His smile apparently was worth the price of admission, her face flushed red and my daughter burst out laughing. Sigh to be young again and worry about armpit odours.
I came across this site that lists up daily conversations people overhear in New York, I was wondering if other countries have something similar. I am fascinated, it's like a little bit of a peep show really.
The twins attacked my laptop again tonight, pulling the H button to pieces, and now I have to type extra carefully. I would have hoped they would go for the pause or prtscr key, not the H... I use the H sooo much. This is ticking me off.

The Words Come Tumbling Out

2009-07-10T21:54:00.002+10:00

Are there times in your writing when you have to rip every single word out of your brain and plant it painfully onto the page? And yet at other times your fingers can't keep up with your brains capacity to turn ideas out?
Today has been a flood day, the fingers have been flying over the keyboard trying to keep up. In one day I've written nearly 5,000 words and most of those have been tonight. I'm pretty happy. I've past the slumpy middle, where you're bogged down in trying to push the story along but you characters want to take time to tell you all about themselves and how they feel. We're almost to the end of the book, so the pace is picking up, so too the soreness in my fingers. I can understand why writers get RSI.
Anyway it's late, I'm going to bed with a sense of satisfaction and hopefully tomorrow will be just as productive. Crossing my fingers for it. Speaking of which I thought you might like this, just remember that no matter how bad your job is, it could always be significantly worse.

Getting it Done.

2009-07-08T13:49:00.003+10:00

I've got three chapters to go, that's it the first draft will be done. Then the edit happens, I've been reading through Warrior Writers blog, as well as a few other fantastic authors hints and tips blogs, too many to mention, and am actually feeling great about the editing process.
Remind me I said that in a few weeks.
Saw The Watchmen, it was very dark and close to the comic/graphic novel. I know why it didn't do that well at the movies, it's not a "hollywood" blockbuster. But I did enjoy it, though I looked away a couple of times. And Jeffrey Dean Morgan was very different in this role. I think I prefer him as a lovable guitar playing Irish guy.
oh on that note I'll post up a picture of him, back to finishing off this WIP.

Steampunking My Novel

2009-07-07T08:33:00.003+10:00

So I had another epiphany last night at 12.20am... I need to set my novel in a steampunkian future. Sigh so that means a few changes will be happening. I am hoping to finish the last three chapters by the end of the week and then I can get going on this.
Ive worked out that I am very much a dialogue writer first, then I put in description and exposition later on. So does that mean I'm leaning towards the auditory writing camp? hmmm, will have to think on that.
I found this outfit and so want to make something similar for the RWA conference party. Sigh will have to think on it.

argh, getting annoyed

2009-07-06T08:58:00.002+10:00

sorry folks, just got back from holidays and spending my time washing a mountain of dirty clothes, because the darn things won't wash themselves. Can't wait until they do. I told the kids next time we go somewhere we're going naked so I don't have to do this washing. They said that was sick and wrong! sigh.
Now somethings going on with my blog, some bandwidth thingy exceeded, I'm trying to fix it so give me a few minutes to work this out.
How was everyone's holidays by the way? Cold? Windy? I ended up with windburn on my face and had my hair all chopped off. Nothing like winter weather to dry out your hair, but I love this new do. My SIL is a brilliant hairdresser. Happy happy happy.

Toilet Training Twins - it's not pretty

2009-06-28T17:56:00.002+10:00

So the twins have decided that in the middle of winter they will toilet train themselves because their mother is obviously not going to. Hence my lack of blogging lately. I have been running around trying to keep nappies on my two year olds at the same time as trying to clean up the mess they've left behind, and telling a four year old to calm down it's only poo!
I think that at the end of all this I deserve time out. Someone somewhere will talk to the universe and get it to align so that 1) I get published, 2) I get to sleep a full 8 hours, and 3) my kids/hubby learn to say thank you without being prompted.
Why is it that I'm the first to say thank you when someone around the home does something to help, but when I do things day in, day out, no one remembers those two little words? I think it must be universal, because I'd hate to think it was just me as a mother/wife not being appreciated.
My writing is going well, we're on the home stretch so I'm pushing through that. I also have re-edited another mss, which has been fun now that I've read more editing books that show me how I went wrong in the first place.
One of these days I'm going to have soo much knowledge that I will write perfect first time! Yes and the universe will let out a big sigh of relief and the space/time continuum will flip sideways.
I've been reading Bob Mayer's "Warrior Writer" blog recently and have discovered a few things I need to improve upon. Have a read, he's got some great advice, and one day real soon I'll have the courage to attack my mss the way he says to. Maybe I need some face paint before I do.

I've been writing.

2009-06-26T06:21:00.002+10:00

Sorry I'm slack at updating my blog, I have been in the midst of a 50,000 words in one month challenge and so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. On a much nicer note I have had more interest from an agent, so we'll see how that goes.
Today I have to take my 14yr old to see Transformers2. I'm not sure if I want to after reading the reviews.
The latest WIP has 15,000 words until the end. I should just push on with that. Will see what happens.
Lots of things have happened this week, some good, some trying my patience, but overall I've been able to write and edit and I'm happy.

Things on the Web

2009-06-15T10:43:00.002+10:00

I took a little time yesterday to stumble my way around the web and came across some very interesting blogs and sites. I learned the history of vibrators (not that I was looking, but from a medical view point I was highly fascinated, and I'll never look at the word hysteria in the same way again). I saw the new Spike Jones' "Where The Wild Things Are" website which is nice.
I've been cranky over not being allowed access to Hulu.com because I'm not in America, come on people that's discrimination, I soo want to see Roswell series 3 but can't get to it, darn, darn, darn.
The Write or Die website was recommended to me by a friend to help kickstart my writing sessions. Well I tried it, but unfortunately I was in Kamikaze mode which when my computer stalled started to eat my words thinking I was being slack. 150 words eaten later I got it to stop. Argh, I've learned my lesson.
So only a few things but it was interesting. Must get back to writing.

Miss14s Review - Half Way to Good by Kirsten Murphy

2009-06-12T13:33:00.002+10:00

It's been a while since the last time I wrote but I hope you can forgive me. I finally finished "Half Way to Good" written by Kirsten Murphy.
It's the first day of Term One and Luke and Anna are on the opposite sides of the student-teacher divide. School was the last thing Luke feels like - how could he possibly feel even half way good when his father is sick, hi mother is sad and his older brother is painfully present?
Anna's life still revolves around love, friendship and homework but she's a graduate teacher now. Can she copy with a bullying co-worker, a persistent ex-boyfriend, and a class of unforgiving Year 11s, and still find time to help Luke?
This story was really interesting. The sadness, the happiness, and the surprises worked well. Even the absolutely depressing parts were really well written. The characters were really well described and the way Kirsten wrote the book and placed the reader right in the middle of it all, I could really relate to how her characters were feeling.
My favourite character was Luke. Fair haired, blue-eyed, handsome, tanned and a slight case of feeling breathless and uncontrollably empty at times. He is kind, caring and helpful, but isn't ready for what is ahead of him. He pretends to be happy to keep everyone from worrying, but isn't afraid to feel those feelings when he's alone.
Anna is a graduate teacher who has a bullying co-worker, and a habit of wanting to be liked by her students. She lives with her brother and nephew and tries to help Luke as much as she can.
Oliver, Luke's brother, is as tanned as Luke, but completely different in appearance, with dark hair but still the same stunningly blue eyes. He tries to help Luke and his mother and father as much as he can while his father is ill. Mathers, Anna's bullying co-worker, tries to influence Anna not to give Luke help.
This book really taught me a valuable lesson, no matter how bad you think your life is, there is someone else that is worse off. Sometimes, that doesn't improve the situation you're in, but it helps you stop complaining about how bad you have it. I love books with a lesson. This story opened my eyes to see my life from a different perspective. I'm glad that mum asked me to read this book, otherwise I'd still be in the dark on this one. It's an excellent book, and I couldn't believe that this book gave me the outlook it did of the pains that some other people have to face. It made me appreciate that I don't have to face them, yet.
Hope you find the time to read it. Maybe you'll be like me and come away with a new perspective on things.
TTFN!!

Some revision ideas.

2009-06-10T16:38:00.002+10:00

Nathan Bransford blogged about revisions, and did up a great checklist, here's a sample. The rest you can read on his blog, I think I need to do a lot more checking on the latest WIP.
- Does the main plot arc initiate close enough to the beginning that you won't lose the reader?
- Does your protagonist alternate between up and down moments, with the most intense towards the end?
- Are you able to trace the major plot arcs throughout the book? Do they have up and down moments?
- Do you have enough conflict?
- Does the reader see both the best and worst characteristics of your main characters?
- Do your characters have backstories and histories? Do these impact the plot?
- Is the pacing correct for your genre? Is it consistent?
- Is your voice consistent? Is it overly chatty or sarcastic?
- Is the tense completely consistent? Is the perspective consistent?

Writing.Com has a great checklist as well. I liked this point they made:

Imagery uses strong, specific nouns and active verbs. Notice how much more vivid the imagery is than just description in the examples below.

They walked slowly out into the hot, wet garden. [D = description]

They wandered into the sopping garden. [I = imagery]

Sue aggressively gathered oysters into her bucket from the exposed sea bed at low tide. [D]

Sue attacked the oysters at low tide, plunking them into her bucket. [I]

John walked across the customer waiting area with purpose. [D]

John strode across the lobby. [I]

He quickly turned his slack, reddened face into the white-hot, noon-day sun. [D]

He jerked his face into the white-hot sun. [I]

Well there's a few things to get you started. Hope it helps. I've got work to do.

Some tidbits to ponder upon.

2009-06-09T14:08:00.002+10:00

The girls over at Five Scribes blogged about how to save a manuscript the other day. I particularly liked this little tidbit they shared. Oh how I wish they had blogged about this over a year ago, it would have saved some heartache. Hope you enjoy.

First, create a List of 20 for more creative character reactions, movements and traits. What do I mean by that? Well, if your character is always reacting in a dark and somber way and your rejection said the book was too depressing, put a question at the top of a piece of notebook paper that says…WHAT ARE TWENTY DIFFERENT WAYS THIS GUY CAN REACT THAT WILL MAKE HIM BEHAVE AS A STRONG AND DETERMINED PERSON RATHER THAN A DEPRESSING WEIRDO? (Have fun with your question! It has to inspire you!) Then work to figure out twenty reaction phrases. If he sighs every time he learns bad news, you might replace those sighs with more action-oriented, expressive reactions. For instance, his eyes could glint with anger or glaze over with rage. Or he could make a fist, grit his teeth, snap his toothpick in two. Once you have twenty good reaction phrases, you can begin to plug those in everywhere he sighs or has any other type of reaction that makes the book (and him) depressing! You’ll not only strengthen his character, you’ll improve the book’s tone.

Writing Tips from George Orwell

2009-06-06T17:38:00.002+10:00

GeorgeOrwell’s writing tips.*

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:

What am I trying to say?
What words will express it?
What image or idiom will make it clearer?
Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

And he will probably ask himself two more:

Could I put it more shortly?
Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

One can often be in doubt about the effect of a word or a phrase, and one needs rules that one can rely on when instinct fails. I think the following rules will cover most cases:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

* (Politics and the English Language by George Orwell)

Oh goodness me, do I have some fixing to do?

Iced Doughnuts

2009-06-05T17:19:00.003+10:00

I just got home from work and picked up the kids, took them to get dinner and bought a packet of Iced Doughnuts. These little treats are a favourite with my children. They love them, Twinling1 loves to savour the icing, taking time to eat slowly; Twinling2 loves to inhale the icing, and licks it off quickly then tries to take the icing off Twinling1's doughnut. Mister4 eats it all together.
Watching them interact this afternoon made me think of how we as writers get our words down on paper.
Some writers start off with dialogue, others use description, still others use a combination of character dialogue mixed with descriptive narrative. What type of writer are you? Do you hear the conversation and write it down? Do you see the action and get that down on paper then go back and work out what they're saying? Or are you a combination of seeing it, hearing it and being part of the action?
A theory of behavioural management states that there are three types of learners, I'd like to change that to writers. Three types of writers.
Visual; Auditory; and Kinesthetic.
Visual writers see the action happening, they describe in great detail what the scenery looks like, describes the characters appearance and so forth.
Auditory writers start with dialogue, what the characters are saying. They concentrate on sounds and then go back and put in details like scenery, hair colour etc.
Kinesthetic writers go for action, what the characters are doing, how they're running away from something or someone (if that's what the story calls for). They do include dialogue and a little bit of scenery, but they're concentrating on the action.
What type of writer are you?
I think I'm a mixture, I get dialogue down quickly, but I also look at the movement of the scene, so I guess I'm more leanging towards Kinesthetic writer. I like to be part of the action, and get it all down.

David Eddings Passed Away.

2009-06-04T14:27:00.002+10:00

Let me fill you in on a little bit of history here. When I was thirteen I came across a worn copy of a book called Pawn of Prophecy in my high school library. I picked it up and read the back copy. It sounded interesting but I wasn't too sure. I took it out anyway and have spent the last 25 years re-reading this wonderful tale. The Belgariad opened the world of high fantasy to me. David Eddings a masterful story teller let me into Garion's quest and I've never looked back.
He followed up The Belgariad with The Mallorean series, then spilled over into Sparhawks adventures in the Elenium and Tamuli series. He then pulled out Belgarath, Polgara, and The Redemption of Althalus.
I love his work. It's pure hero quest, but it works soo well. I loved the character Silk. He had the wittiest lines, pure cunning and a little bit of comeuppance.
David Eddings taught me that if I wanted to write I would have to put effort in. I read his Rivan Codex and was awed at the amount of backstory and planning he used to create the Garion's world.
When I found out last night that he had passed away I felt as if an old friend had gone. Though we'd never met, his influence in my life is strong. When I was having problems fitting in as a teen I would pick up his books and lose myself in Garion's story. Life seemed better afterwards, full of hope. I read the Belgariad in two days, all five books. I was hooked, I didn't get much sleep that weekend.
Thank you David and Leigh, for sharing your vivid imaginations with the rest of us, you will be sorely missed.

Saying No

2009-06-03T18:09:00.002+10:00

I've found in my life that the more I do, the more people ask me to do, until one day I end up collapsing underneath the pile of things I've agreed to carry out. It took a long time and many stresses for me to learn to say the word "No" without worrying if I would offend the asker.
But there are things that are priorities in your life, other people have a different set of priorities, and if what someone asks of you is not a priority then saying no is a good thing.
Don't clutter your life with things that aren't important to you. Because in the end you'll end up feeling resentful.
I'm still learning to say no. I sometimes get caught up in guilt, but I'm trying to push past it.

Procrastination Queen.

2009-06-02T11:01:00.002+10:00

Yes instead of writing I am procrastinating by playing with my blog template. If it changes several times today please ignore me, or rather remind me what I should be doing.
Will get back to it then.

50,000 words in 30 days...

2009-06-01T13:44:00.002+10:00

My friends and I at Romance Writers Australia have started a challenge today, to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Similar to the NanoWriMo thing in November.
I have committed myself to doing this again. Last year was a great success, and I found myself really pushing to get the words out. But then I hit a part where the words were tumbling out faster than I could get them down. It was great. Then at the end of the month I had to look over what I had written and cringe. LOL
But it's a good thing to do, to push beyond what you think you are capable of.
So this month please stop by and ask me how I'm going, and if you think I'm procrastinating (because I tend to be a rather BIG procrastinator) you have my permission to slap me across the head with a wet fish.

Blogging for a Year

2009-05-30T12:18:00.002+10:00

Wow, I've been blogging now for over a year. I totally missed my anniversary and I'm not even male. Sheesh! I'm going to have to think up something interesting to blog about now aren't I? hmmmm leave it with me.
Anyway I thought you might want to have a look at this, it's an interesting take on life really. Scientists have developed a way to get bacteria to learn how to count... sheesh if bacteria can learn it, surely 15yr olds can.