Revision Wars

I apologize for my blog silence lately and promise to make the rounds and see what all of my writing friends are up to this afternoon.  My excuse -- my Muse and my highly-organized list of needed edits have been at war, neither one giving quarter.  It is like a constant argument streaming through me head.  My muse weeping "you can't cut that scene," while her nemesis of an editorial list laughs back "I'll do more than cut the scene, I'll kill the entire character."

So whose winning?  Hmm . . . not sure yet; we are at a virtual standstill.

The Edge of the Writing Cliff

Late Tuesday afternoon, the long-awaited revisions on my YA contemporary popped into my inbox.  I opened it up, read it, and let out a not so eloquent HUH?  Confused and more then a bit terrified, I did the only logical thing.  I restarted me email and pushed the send and receive button, convinced I had misread the suggested revision . . . that the real one was just lost out there in cyber-space. Unfortunately not! 

I then proceeded to walk to the edge of that cliff us writers are so familiar with, the one that screams “you can’t do this” at us from a million miles below. I promptly hurled myself over the edge and got stuck halfway down.  That someone that broke my fall – my amazingly patient and brilliant agent. 

With nothing more then a calming “I have faith in you,” she led me back up the side of the mountain and away from the edge.  She tossed some ideas out at me, gave me a beginning and an ending point, then told me if I got stuck anywhere along the road just to shout out.  She’d come back to my elusive cliff and help me plot out that perplexing scene or figure out my characters next move. So although that cliff still looms in the distance, my agent has single handily erected a concrete wall around the edge of it and plastered a no-trespassing sign.

We have all hit that point in our writing career at on time or another . . . that place in our subconscious that has us wanting to simply give up. Who do you turn to then?  Who walks you back from that ledge?

Nervous, Excited, and a Little Bit Apprehensive

As writers, I think we are prone to feeling the extremes of emotions, whether in our own lives or in that of our characters.  I'm not the exception, however I am not used to feeling them all at the same time.  See, I am getting a second round of edits back from my agent on my YA contemporary, "Inside Out."  Although I am anxious and excited to dive back in, I am a little bit . . . well . . . terrified.  What did she like?  What did she hate.  Is she going to ask me to cut my favorite scene, the one I spent three days and hell of a lot of coffee perfecting?  Round and round these questions go, the answers just a few days out of reach.

So for my followers, I apologize in advance for my lack of tantalizing posts these next few days as I pour every ounce of my creative energy into making this book Stellar. And for my trusted bet readers, here's your notice.  Come Tuesday, I'm going to need you help sorting through this next batch of revisions.  Without you, I couldn't have made it through the first round.

Hidden Truths

I've been notoriously tight-lipped about my co-authored MS FATUM, but it's no secret that this particular project has occupied most of my thoughts since the day my writing partner and I began writing it. 

Today, Lindsay and I are launching our new joint site entitled Hidden Truths and there is a blurb about FATUM as well as a tour of our MC Jake's bedroom.  The site is dedicated solely to our co-authored projects, and it undoubtedly has a much darker, edgier feel to it than my everyday blog.   Just consider it the site where I get to let my dark side come out and play!

The URL is http://www.veritasoccultus.blogspot.com/ - please head over there when you have the chance and take a peek around.  If you really want to see me do a happy dance, leave a comment or follow.  Thanks guys and have a great weekend!

Hurry Up and Wait

Alexandre Dumas Pere once said: "All human wisdom is summed up in two words - wait and hope."



Well writing friends, it appears as though I have the hoping part down to a science.  It's the waiting that is driving me slowly insane!

The Emotional Writer

I have been accused of being an emotional writer -- one who lets my everyday emotions seep into my characters lives.  I totally, 100% agree.  If something happens in my life to toss me off balance, then my MC gets thrown a curve ball.  When I am happy, my characters succeed; when I am pissed, they get brutalized.

I am not sure this is a bad thing.  It allows me to infuse my manuscript with heart-felt and intense emotion. Some of my best scenes, some of my most memorable lines have come out of a writing tear I was utilizing to vent.  Conversely, so hasn’t some of my worst stuff.

So what about you?  Does your writing . . . do your character’s paths mirror your emotions?  

Overdue Thanks

So I have been a little remiss in accepting my blog awards and thanking those amazing authors who generously bestowed them on me.  I wish I had an over-the–top, earth-shattering excuse for my lateness, but alas, I don’t . . . just preoccupied with my writing.  Anyhow, a giant thanks to A. Grey and Shari for presenting me with the stylish blogger award.

So now for the fun part.  Seven things about me that you probably never wanted to know:

1.      I am heavily addicted to caffeine, and I do mean heavily.  I have got a seven cup a day plus a hand full of chocolate-covered espresso beans a day habit.

2.      I always, without fail, have three manuscripts/ WIP's going at once.

3.      I have a photographic memory when it comes to plots, character relationships, and settings.  My CP’s joke about it, frequently referring to it as my mental white board.

4.      None of my friends, save one, know that I write.

5.      I can gut and fillet a fish with amazing precision and speed.

6.      As the daughter of a copy editor, I have amazing grammar skills, but refuse to correct it when I beta read.  Not because I am mean or cruel, I just hate grammar and anything related to it.

7.      The phrase “little prick” appears in everyone of my manuscripts.  In fact, my long-standing beta readers see it has a little game of hide-and-seek, often emailing me the second they find it. 

Now I have the honor of passing this award on to a few great bloggers.  So here they are; be sure to check out their blogs . . . they are some of the most talented, friendly, and encouraging writers I have ever met.

Lindsay Currie -- What can I say, with out you, I would have packed it in a long time ago!

Natalie Bleach -- She has had the task, or should I say the unfortunate experience, of having to sift through all my manuscripts

Sarah Ketley  -- A new crusader friend whose blog and tweets have become my daily addiction.

Mary Waibel -- One of the best CP's this side of the Mississippi!

J.L. Jackson --  One of the most talented YA historical fiction writers I have had the pleasure or reading for.

Coming at it From a Completely Different Angle

I am I between edits right now.  That dreaded week where you are awaiting a second round of suggested revisions, but afraid to start something new for fear you won't be able to switch gears back to revision mode.   Worse yet is the fear that if I give my muse too much of a hiatus, then the little bugger will go on a permanent vacation.

I expressed this fear to my agent last week and we came up with an idea, one that will keep me creatively busy while reserving my energy for the pending revisions.  I have a manuscript sitting on the shelf, one that we both love, but have put aside until the timing is just right.  It is written in 1st person POV from my female MC's perspective. I am going to pull it down off the shelve and play around with it, re-write the entire thing from the male protagonist's POV.

Why mess with a manuscript we both already love . . .  the one that actually got me my agent?  Couple of reasons.  It is an in depth project, but not a completely new WIP.  The plot is already laid out, the threads interwoven, and the characters fleshed out. The framework is laid, thus no complicated plotting issues to sort out.  It will keep me busy and give my muse a creative arena to frolic around in.  And lastly, it will be a completely different book, and as she said.  "You never know, it could just actually be better!"

Super-Snoop Blogfest

I love blogfests.  They give me an inside peek at some very talented writers I would have otherwise never had the privilege of knowing.  Today, I am partaking in  Alison Stevens' blogfest .  To participate, all you need to do is "describe a setting that tells us something about your character's personality. Characters can be of any age, living in any time or place. But don't tell us about the character, tell us about his or her stuff. We'll get to know the character from what you write."  Hop on over to her website and take a look at some of the crazy belongings our characters collect.  Oh yes . .  and here is mine:

Okay, so Jake’s room is pretty bare, but I will do the best I can to describe it.  It is about ten by ten, the walls made of thee-inch concrete.  A steel reinforced door, that is too heavy to maneuver, blocks his room off from the hallway beyond.  A double, well-worn mattress rest on the floor, no sheets just a few stained quilts protecting him from the protruding springs.  Three empty milk crates double as his dresser and a storage closet for his ammunition. An old, wooden cable spool serves as a table where two mason jars of water and a half-empty can of rotten peaches sit.   There is a pile of holed jeans and gray t-shirts crumpled in the corner, his rain-washed socks hanging on the wall to dry.

On his sheet-less bed lays a baseball, smudged and well worn, a matching glove, and a journal. The floor is covered with pencil shavings and old newspapers.   Dead center of the room is a rusted-out half barrel, a smoldering fire just beginning to die out.  Next to that fire pit are three knives, two dull, one sharp and still resting on the stone he drew it across.  

So that about sums it up – the entire contents of my mc’s room. Any idea who this kid is or why he is there?

One Stickin' Night!!!!

For those of you who read yesterday's post, you know for the first time, in what seems like forever, I have nothing on my plate.  No WIP to play with, not critiques to finish up, no character plots to untangle.  I was in a celebratory mood, looking forward to a few days of well-deserved creative rest.

Well, I made it one stinkin' night!

I woke up this morning, sat down at my computer, and opened up a old ms I had buried away since before Christmas.  One I had shelved with no intention of ever coming back to.  Guess my muse had other plans for me.

Does this ever happen to you  . . . does your muse refuse to shut up at times, even when you are begging him too.  And for my new followers, I have posted a picture of my muse.  He sits on my desk, glaring down at me, making me write. Damn that chubby, little creep!