I never said I was normal.
I don’t know why, but all the stuff I used to do as a kid seems to make an appearance lately.
Like writing letters.
Like keeping a diary. (ish. I don’t journal every day.)
Like cutting stuff out of newspapers. (Scrapbooking? Is that what it’s called?)
And now… I seem to enjoy lobbing the head off a flower to squish it flat between a stack of books.
Granted, this does add a nice touch to a handwritten letter, if you stick one of those poor, mutilated flowerheads on the letter with a bit of glue.
A bit of British Spring, heading to wherever the letter is going.

Why am I even talking about this?
Because it’s a dimension. It’s one of those little things that makes me different from you, just like you enjoy hobbies I might not even think about, which in turn makes you different from me.
Your characters need those dimensions. The odd little quirk that can be supremely irritating, or endearing. (Trust me, collecting your toe nail clippings in a jar is not endearing. It’s just weird. )

Look around you. Notice the things you like about a person, and also the habits that irritate the hell out of you. Use them.

Imagine a heroine who likes to keep her toothpaste in the cup on the sink. Now have the hero move in, who doesn’t realize and who keeps putting the toothpaste (leaving it open, no less) beside the cup, every day. Eventually your heroine will flip. She may not even know what irritates her about the hero, and the blowup may have nothing to do with the toothpaste, but it’s a contributing factor.
Now, eventually, in such a fight, have her throw the toothpaste at his head and demand he put it in the cup in future. 
Picture our hero, who is completely flummoxed that the entire fight was apparently about toothpaste…

It’s all about dimensions.
 

Tags: Characters, WIP

The synopsis is done.

I’ve whittled it down to two pages, and the girls all said it’s good.
Query stage is imminent…!

I can’t say it has been a pleasant experience, but I finally am at the stage where it can go out.
And not a moment too soon.
Do other writers feel the way I do? Do they get sick of the story they love, because of the synopsis?

Tags: Query, WIP

I had a story knocking around on my drive for oh… a long while.
Every now and then, I’d pull it up, read, make notes, scribble a bit — and put it back.

And then, all of a sudden… BLAM. I had an epiphany! I don’t think I’ve stopped typing since Thursday lol.

Rawr!

Now if you’ll excuse me — I must run (and type!)

Tags: WIP

I did it.

It’s finished.

I’m still in shock, I think.

97,595 words. WAY too long probably, but damn…

Tags: WIP

"I can’t stop, no I ain’t a quitter. I’m on fire, ah baby I’m a home run hitter."
    — Jackyl

So.
I knew I know. I sat down. I looked at the page.

And I wrote. And wrote. And wrote…

I’m taking a break after 2 days typing.

17.5 hrs on Saturday.

11.5 hrs today (so far)

Result?

15,045 words.

I’m still in shock. I’m nearly done, the end is truly nigh. I’m about 5 or 10k away from typing "The End", and I know where it’s going, and how it’s getting there.
Holy crap.

I think I’m buying myself a bottle of champagne tomorrow.

Tags: WIP

I’m full of it again.

Sort of. I know how Vezien ends now. I just have to get there first.
The past few months have been tough on the writing front, it flowed and flowed — and then it all came to a crashing halt.
I dried up.
I hated the story.
I put it aside and wrote other stuff, feeling guilty for abandoning a nearly finished manuscript.
The guilt rides me every day. I walk to work, plotting while I plod. I walk home. Plotting while I plod.
It’s all there, in my head, but it isn’t "hot" enough to write yet. I know how it will come to the final earth shattering conclusion, but the words aren’t quite ready yet. I know what will happen, I know how it ends.

It’s driving me mad.

The book is at 71k words now and the final 20k are in my head.

Soon they shall be on paper, which means the second in this series will be finished.

Then comes the editing. I already dread it, because I know I will have to cut a lot of stuff out.

Still, I’m going to do it, come hell or high water. I suspect it’ll be hell.

Tags: WIP

I am in shock.

I’m sitting here and I can’t believe it.

Cursed Legacy: Naiche — is finished.

Book 1 in a series of God only knows how many are in my head, and it’s finally, finally finished. Others are in the works, in various stages of progress, but this one is the start of it all. And it’s FINISHED.
Well.
Until the edits, that is. Those will take forever, no doubt, and there are going to be things I will have to fix, lots of them. So chances are I’m going to rewrite the lot of it during edits, but the first draft is finished.

Thanks Amanda for the word sprints today, we did bloody good.

So now I get to pick another one to write and that alone feels sooooooooooo good, I can’t even describe it.

Tags: Finishing, Naiche, WIP

Oh God I am SO slack!

Title: Cursed Legacy – Sorol
Words Written: 2126
Words Total: 7962 (68018)
Chapters: 27
Hero Mood: Mellow
Hero Condition: Hurting
Heroine Mood: Worried
Heroine Condition: Weak, but not getting weaker
Story Snippet:
    "I didn’t know what to believe anymore." The narrow eyed look told him Nathan hadn’t forgiven him for that tape yet. "She doesn’t know, does she?"
    "I don’t know what?" Mason piped up.
    "That first night… I taped you." Sorol ground out. He didn’t want her to find out from Nathan. "I sent the tape to Nathan, thinking you’re Dixie."
    She looked up at him in shock. "You did what?"
    "I’m not proud of it, trust me." God no, he hated himself for it.
    Mason sucked in a sharp breath, glanced at Nathan, then back at him. There was a distinct rosy tint to her cheeks. "He saw me naked?" Mason hissed, her eyes accusing him.
    Yeah, he had. Sorol didn’t even want to think about who else might have seen that tape. "You know, on second thought, bring Cáel and Acwellan back to beat me some more."

Tags: 20K Challenge, Snippet, Sorol, WIP

Here we go again… but I might add more before the day is out.

Title: Cursed Legacy – Sorol
Words Written: 1756
Words Total: 5836 (65892)
Chapters: 27
Hero Mood: Very bloody annoyed
Hero Condition: Still battered and bruised
Heroine Mood: Puzzled
Heroine Condition: Weak, but not getting weaker
Story Snippet:
    "Since when can we command hellhounds?" Sorol spat. "They only listen to demons, and I’m not one, much as you treat me like one."
    Nathan and Raguel exchanged a confused look. "I take it you deny killing Vezien, too?"
    He’d kill that bastard, if he got his hands on him, for sure. After the pain he’d inflicted, he didn’t deserve better. Sorol lifted his eyes to Raguel, certain he’d read deadly intent in them. He couldn’t help it. "I didn’t kill him, but if you don’t keep him away from me, I’ll rip out his spleen and wear it as a necklace."
    Mason gasped at his vicious reply. "Is that who tortured you?"
    "One of them," Sorol muttered. "It was a combined effort."
    Raguel shot him a warning look. "Stay away from them."
    "Oh, it’s all right for them to rip me apart, but when I want a little revenge, I’m evil again?" God, that just figured. "God dammit, Raguel! Look at me! Where is the justice in this? I can’t even lift my arms, let alone walk away!"

Tags: 20K Challenge, Snippet, Sorol, WIP

Yeah yeah… I know… another challenge.
I took a break the first two days though.

But hey, I need another 20k or so on Sorol and it’s done and can percolate then.
Besides, this keeps me going, so I blog it.
It’s another Kiwiwriters challenge, but this time by a member. I like that idea.

Anyway… onward!

Ah yeah, I will put in brackets the total for the book, before that will be the challenge total.
Capisce?

(No, that’s how it’s spelled, dammit!)

Title: Cursed Legacy – Sorol
Words Written: 4080
Words Total: 4080 (64136)
Chapters: 26
Hero Mood: Desperate
Hero Condition: Battered and bruised
Heroine Mood: Seriously pissed
Heroine Condition: Weak
Story Snippet:
    Mason measured him with a cautious look, but finally nodded. "All right. But if you do anything to hurt him, I’ll make my sister a widow."
    Behind them Chaia started to cough and headed out of the door.
    Nathan rolled his eyes and grabbed Sorol’s head. "Hold still and relax."
    Mason watched them like a hawk, her eyes narrowed at Nathan. If he made one wrong move, she’d tear his head off. They’d hurt Sorol too much for her to ever forgive them and she wouldn’t stand by and watch more harm being done to him. Not while there was a breath in her body.
    Sorol groaned in agony, tried to get his head away from Nathan but the Nephilim wouldn’t let go. Mason was about to pull him off when Nathan shot a warning look at her.
    "The bones are knitting together. That’s what’s hurting him. Don’t interrupt now."

(As an aside: All snippet files used, this is the final stretch atm.)

Tags: 20K Challenge, Snippet, Sorol, WIP