Are you a limited point of view writer, or are you an omnicient point of view writer?

What’s the difference? A limited point of view lets the reader experience a scene through the eyes of one person, and one person only.

An omniscient point of view lets the reader experience a scene through several persons.

Basically the difference is that with a limited point of view you see into the mind of one person. With the omniscient point of view you see into the minds of several (usually two) people while they interact.

I used to write omniscient point of view, but like many people, I was told I’m headhopping, and I’m doing it all wrong. The trouble is, I like seeing into the minds of both my characters.

Other people do it, why can’t I? Why am I not allowed to write how I’m comfortable? Is one way better than the other? I’m told the reader gets confused. I don’t think so. There is headhopping, where you go from one character to the other, switching over and over. And there is omniscient point of view, where you slide smoothly into the view of the other person.

Is it wrong?

I find love scenes much easier to write when I can convey the feelings of both people involved. Their doubts and fears. On both sides. Is that headhopping?

Truth is, I don’t know.

I just know I find it very difficult to stick to limited point of view, and I find myself telling, instead of showing, because I feel I’m repeating myself.

What do you think?

I’ve blogged about New Years Resolutions on Passionate Critters today.
Mainly because I never stick to them, but this time I’m determined to succeed.

In more ways than one!

So if you want to read my musings… Head on over.

I’m worldbuilding.

I always do, but occasionally I sit back and review.
It got me to thinking.
I write Paranormals, which means there are all manner of creatures running around.
In groups.
That requires a collective noun.
I’ve always been very fond of the term "A murder of crows", which got me to wondering…

What do you call a group of Vampires?
Here are some I found, I hope it’s a little helpful for some.

Vampires:

Coven, Clan, Pack, Kiss, Coterie.
(The place they inhabit tends to be called a Nest.)

Werewolves / Lycans / Werecats:

Pack

Demons:

Err… yeah. Not a clue. Still looking. Maybe "A Scare"?

Ghosts:

Haunt

Dragons:

Brood, Flight, Clutch

If I find any others, I’ll post them.
And if you have suggestions… put it in a comment.

Other words that describe groups of… anything, really, are:

Fraternity, Crew, Gang, Flock, Cluster, Herd, Family, Sect, Squad, Tribe, Legion, Cloud, Host, Swarm, Horde, Litter, Drove… the list goes on and on.
I’ve put up a page with collective nouns for people who are after the same thing.

One Silent Night
(Dark Hunter Series)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
ISBN 978-0312947064

(No, I’m not kidding.)

Blurb:

It’s the Christmas season and all hell’s breaking loose. Literally. While humans shop, an angry demon lord is plotting an all-out onslaught against his enemies, which -unfortunately for us - includes the human race. But as Stryker gathers his forces, he discovers a grown son he never knew existed and an angry ex, Zephyra, who’s as determined to end his existence as he is to end ours. The ultimate predator is about to meet his match as new battle lines are drawn and the Dark-Hunters are rallied for a blood bath on Christmas Eve. The only question is this: can Stryker survive his oldest enemy to fight the ones he really wants to kill ? or will Zephyra finally have her shot at the husband who abandoned her?
 

Review

First of all… I was hoping this one would see Sherrilyn get back to pre-Acheron form.
While I liked the story in Acheron, I thought it deviated too much from the previous ones.
It was not a romance, as far as I’m concerned. At least not until the second half of the book.

So yeah, my hopes were high that she’d got it all out of her system.
Epic Fail, darling.

For starters — the blub is shoddy, really shoddy, but not Sherrilyn’s fault. That one is down to copy editors, editors, marketing people and whatnot at St. Martin’s Press.

That blurb…
The angry Ex who wants to kill him is there, yes.
Everything else in the blurb is wrong.

1. There is no angry demon lord, but a demon/ex god type creature Stryker sets loose.
2. War is not going after humans, he’s going after Ash and Nick, at Stryker’s request.
3. Stryker doesn’t discover a SON he never knew existed — but a daughter. (who the hell didn’t spot THAT one??)
4. The Dark-Hunters barely get a mention, let alone join the fight.
5. It has nothing to do with Christmas, other than the culmination on Christmas Eve.

The entire book feels backstory and setup for future books, basically.
She’s written herself into a corner with Ash out of the picture now, the big enemy Artemis is relegated to the sidelines — she needed new big guys, bigger than she had before. (That’s where Savitar and Jared came in a few books ago, it started back then, so I knew this was coming.) Suddenly Nick turns into some ultimate being. There is all manner of setup of the new world as it is forming (with the new powers and stuff, and an explanation thereof) and in the middle of all that you have a lackluster love story which isn’t really a love story at all.
This is not a romance. It’s nothing like previous books, except that you get tons of past — and not enough present. She keeps touting Stryker as the ultimate lover — well. SHOW would have been better than TELL. Wow. I would have seriously handed this book back and told her to make me love the characters. I didn’t see Stryker come across as a likeable guy. Yeah, he has faults, yeah, he has to overcome them — but it happens way too fast, way too easy.
Stryker suddenly has a heart. I suspected he did, but he deserved so much better than this book. He deserved better than Zephyra, too. It didn’t make me perceive him as the strong, unshakable heroes I’m used to from Sherri. Instead my sense of strength that I got from him in previous books, evil and malicious as it may have been, transformed into a sense of "What kind of spineless weak git is this?". We keep being reminded what he’s capable of — but it felt more like "Remember, he’s really evil".
I didn’t like Zephyra. (to the point  have to double check how to spell her, and I can’t remember what she looked like — and I finished the book an hour ago…) It was bland and boring, because the "I hate you, you left me" "I had to or daddy woulda killed you" got old real quick.
I mean pa-lu-heeze. Get over it already!
The story lacks the passion of previous books. The characters lack depth and purpose. They came across whiney, spoiled and irritating. As well as too powerful. Too much "I hate you" followed by "I’m sorry" to really have a conflict. Yeah, I like a heroine who can kick the hero’s behind, but I don’t like all powerful. It made me dislike her.
There is way too much backstory and setup to get any sense of the people whose story this is supposed to be. And they deserved better than being thrown into this hodgepodge of storylines.
There’s too much Ash, Savitar, Nick, Jared, Artemis and whatnot involved, along with a whole slew of new and old gods.
Too many things smack of deus ex machina, or at least a serious cop out.
Too much tell instead of show.
Too much explanation where I could have done without, not enough where I needed to know.
And throughout — there is a lack of the tension that made the previous books keepers.
When I’m more interested in the gay bodyguard than in the hero… that’s not good!
First time I give Sherri a lackluster two stars. The reason for the pervious ones being keepers is because they were about the people in the story, not about the world around them. This time it’s more about the world and the powers in them and who does what — with a bit of gratuitous sex thrown in — than about the people.

All in all, I’ll only recommend it to keep on track with the series, but other than that… I kept getting bored.
I was more interested in reading about Davyn than Stryker, more intrigued by Medea than Zephyra — and that’s bad, when it’s not their story.
I know I’m a harsh, brutal, critic, but I also know Sherri can do better than this.
I’ll still get the next one, in the hope we return to previous keeper books, but chances are slowly running out. Stop worldbuilding and start writing about people again.

Man I hate slam-dunking Sherri, but this one doesn’t deserve to stand next to the others.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 55,679
Words Written: 1847
Challenge Total: 5348
Word Count: 57,526
Hero Mood: Worried
Heroine Mood: Worried
Story Snippet:

    "There were kids in purgatory?" Sabriel gasped. "Good God, what did they do to end up there?"
    Of course. She had no idea how it worked. "Everyone goes to purgatory, Sabriel. It’s where your fate is decided. Purgatory is just another word for waiting room. It’s what you imagine it to be. I saw it for what it is, a vast empty space, but when I touched one of the souls there, I saw their version and shared it for a little while." He’d spent a lot of time there, almost all of his childhood and part of his adulthood. First he’d played, then he’d talked. "It’s not the devil’s waiting room, it’s the only waiting room. Some souls like it there and don’t move on for a long time."

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 52,178
Words Written: 3501
Challenge Total: 3501
Word Count: 55,679
Hero Mood: Sleepy
Heroine Mood: Slightly shocked
Story Snippet:
    She quietly opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. With a bit of luck she’d even see some wildlife. The moon was high and she smiled when the scent of mown grass and cool earth drifted into her nostrils. God, there was something to be said about quietly sitting on the porch with a cup of hot tea, enjoying the night. Her gaze drifted along the railing and she gasped when she became aware of Vezien sitting on her porch swing. He didn’t move, just sat, turned sideways, stretched out, his long legs crossed at the ankles. Talk about seeing wildlife. They didn’t come much wilder than him.

Note:
I deleted a good 5k words, because they didn’t work.
Part of this was already written, but never counted.
So yeah, I still have some catching up to do.

I’m editing the blog at the moment — as you may have noticed.

While I was doing that, I realized my list of the Nocturne Series was getting WAY out of hand; I had to do something about it.
Yes, there was a longass list on one page, which you could just scroll (and scroll, and scroll…) down, but it made it difficult to read.
It’s still there, but split up now.

I may do it to the others too, if they get out of hand, but I doubt they will.

I also had J.V. Jones’s Book 3 in the "Sword of Shadows" series delivered today.
Talk about a slow writer! I only had to wait 6 years for this one!

Daily Writing Tips had a nice post on [sic] the other day, and I figured it was worth repeating… but I won’t [sic] it.

So, what does it mean?
You see it all the time in articles in the newspaper, or on the web.

Sic is the Latin word for “thus,” or “such.”

It means, something is exactly as it was said, or appeared. Spelling and all.

For instance, we had a lively discussion about submissions, and how we’re prone to triple check — even after the thing is already out of the door — whether we attached the right file.
In reply, Debora said, I do think "neurotic" is just another word for "writer" [sic]

Those were her words, exactly as they appeared.

If I’d said Deb responded saying neurotic is yet another word for writer, then that would not be [sic], because I’m paraphrasing.

So, is it becoming any clearer?

If only it were that simple.

I blogged on my blockage woes over on Passionate Critters, because it drives me mad when it happens. When everything stops. When the words won’t come and the characters fall silent.

And a hearty thanks to Cathie Linz, who makes me laugh and tells me I’m not crazy — just a writer.

It’s on again.

Starting November 10th, we shall write like crazy (like we don’t always do that) for 70 days.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 48,952
Words Written: 3226
Challenge Total: 16,582
Word Count: 52,178
Hero Mood: Very Horny
Heroine Mood: Freaked out
Story Snippet:

I’ve mostly edited and polished, so no snippet for now. Stuck on page 87 omg!

Seriously, I suck at this one at the moment. It’s been driving me mad.

Val posted an article about Avon and the words "Paranormal" "Series potential" and "Romance" jumped in my face.

I’m going to spend some time going over their guidelines tonight.

If it fits… then I’ll give it a shot with Naiche or Vezien. Or both.

To say I’m terrified of querying is an understatement!

I’m having to play a little catch up at the moment.

There was a pen show… and then a migraine… so nothing got posted, even though I added rather a LOT to this one.

That’s why the Day 12 progress is posted on the 13th. Otherwise I get totally confuddled.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 43,243
Words Written: 5,709
Challenge Total: 13,356
Word Count: 48,952
Hero Mood: Very Horny
Heroine Mood: Freaked out
Story Snippet:

    "Sorry about that," she croaked, sniffling. She blew her nose, only too aware what she must look like to him.
    "Don’t apologize." He lifted her chin with his hand and met her tearful gaze. "Don’t ever apologize when someone hurts you."
    She couldn’t stop a new flood of tears.
    Vezien cursed and kissed her.
    Sabriel gasped against his mouth, too shocked to stop him. She blinked the tears away, staring at him in utter confusion. He kissed the tears off her cheeks, so gentle, it almost made her cry again. Her breath came in gasps, her stomach did flip-flops - and her nose was still running. She couldn’t get over the fact that he didn’t draw back, nor did he pressure her. Sabriel rested her hand against his heart, stunned to feel it racing. He drew back slightly and looked at her.
    "Don’t stop," she whispered.

I haven’t written a word on Vezien’s story, which bugs the hell out of me.

Instead I’ve been trying to shut up another one, which keeps yelling in my head.
In the end I figured as long as he’s screaming, he’s going to distract me from doing what I should be doing — so I’ll write him out of my head for now.

So todays update is not on Vezien, but on Taan instead.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Taan
Words Written: 4963
Challenge Total: 7647
Word Count - Taan: 3324 (+ 1639, Character interview)

Well, all in all, that’s not bad.

Every writer should wander around with a notepad and a pen. Seriously.
I carry a moleskine around with me, mainly because it’s small, handy and has a little pocket to put stuff in.
You may argue about that laptop, and the old "I don’t need…", but well, I’m telling you. You do.
Formats change. Your PDA might break. You might run out of battery power on your Blackberry.

That notebook?
You’ll still be able to use it in 50 years time. That format never changes.
Ask Hemingway.

It’s useful to quickly note down those brainstorms you get at the most inconvenient times.
To write down that elusive bit of research you just tripped over.
Character sketches.
Location notes.
Bits of dialog.
Parts of the plot that eluded you.
Plots you haven’t written yet, but which are too precious to forget.
To Do lists.
Character Names.
The taste of that cherry pie you just had.
The smell of the house you just walked into.
The name of a song you just remembered.
Somewhere to put that menu in the Diner you want to use in your next novel.
Prices of things.
Colors of things.
The feel of the velvet curtain you accidentally pulled down at your friend’s house.
Phrases used by professionals.
Legal terminology.
Sketching the layout of a building.

You name it, it’s useful to have a notebook to hand. Because if you know it’s there, you’ll probably use it.
It’s quicker to write in than trying to text yourself, trust me.
And you just never know when the stuff you put in it comes in useful.

I recommend everyone carry one, whether it’s one of the more expensive little moleskines, or a 99 cent scratchpad.

I would like to thank Chris Colin, of www.sfgate.com, for his unbiased and well written article about the Romance genre.
I don’t know him, but he made a friend in me with what he wrote.

The writer in me rejoices to see someone look at the genre for what it is, and not let his judgment be clouded by hearsay and prejudice.

I recommend reading it.

Writing long hours isn’t for everyone.
Many of us work on projects that encompass much more than just writing. There’s research. Revision. Distraction…

When you write a long project, it can help to set yourself targets. Realistic targets, that is.
Saying "I will get my book published this year" isn’t a realistic target. It’s not even a target. It’s a longterm goal, but not realistic.

There are a few things you can do:

1. Work out your priorities
If you work on several projects at once — like I do — it’s important to know which one needs to be finished first. It generally isn’t a good idea to have more than one project on the go at any given time, but it can be done. If you have your priorities set and know where you’re going.

2. Set yourself a realistic goal
It’s no good saying "I will have my novel published this year". It’s a goal, yes, but an unrealistic one.
If you say "I will finish the book this year and submit it to X number of publishers / agents." that’s more like it. You can actually achieve that, there are no unknown factors involved.

3. Set yourself realistic targets
That’s different from goals. Targets are short term, goals are long term.
Good targets are:
Write 1000 words every day.
Brush up by reading relevant books once a week.
Research new markets every Saturday.

4. Keep track
Whether you use a word counter, or use a "Goals" site like Joe’s Goals, or write your achievements down on a piece of paper — keep track of how you are doing somehow. That visual clue is motivating, no matter if you fall short sometimes. It’s that kick up the rear or the pat on the back, but most of all, it shows you’re working on things. I use my blog to record my progress, setting my targets there, and blogging my progress. Get your friends on board and they’ll kick you up the backside when you slack.

5. Assess how you’re doing and adjust if you have to
Life happens. Sometimes you get ahead of yourself, sometimes you fall behind. Don’t get discouraged. If it doesn’t look like you can achieve your targets — rejig them. Maybe they weren’t realistic and now you know better what you can achieve.
Only make 500 words a day instead of 1000? Fix your target to reflect it. You will feel better when you set it to something you can achieve, rather than beat yourself up over not making it.
There is no point in feeling guilty, because that reflects on your writing. It only makes things worse, so instead of feeling guilty — rework the target. Once you achieve your targets, you feel better about yourself, and things are easier. Next time, set the target slightly higher. i.e. go from 500 words to 750. Over time you’ll find it gets much easier to achieve it, because you’ve already proven to yourself that you can do it.

Most of all — keep writing.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 42,454
Words Written: 789
Challenge Total: 2684
Word Count: 43,243
Hero Mood: —- None today. Fixes.
Heroine Mood: —- None today. Fixes.
Story Snippet: —- None today. I mainly did some fixes.

There is an interesting article over at Writer’s Digest, which chronicles what turns various agents off.

It’s well worth reading!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Total Previous: 40,559
Words Written: 1,895
Challenge Total: 1,895
Word Count: 42,454
Hero Mood: Semi Frustrated
Heroine Mood: Confused
Story Snippet:

     Sabriel slid slowly down the wall when the front door fell shut behind him. Her hand lifted to her lips, touching them as if they’d changed shape. They tingled. She could still feel his thumb there, couldn’t forget how he’d made her feel. She hadn’t wanted to feel anything. Not for him. Now she couldn’t get that look he’d given her out of her mind.
     He’d looked at her as if she were the most precious thing in his world.
     How the hell was a woman supposed to resist that?
     For long minutes she just sat and stared at the door, her mind a jumble of contradicting thoughts, trying to get over her attraction to him. And she was attracted. Sabriel wouldn’t lie to herself, didn’t try to reason her feelings away. There was something about him that pulled her in, something that made her care when she wanted to hate him. It was all a total mess.

My challenge for October is going to be 21k Words. Again.

The update is on the right, in the progress meters as well, but I figured I put it in here too.

However… I’m going to do it in the form of a Tweety.

Also… I’ve started to mess around on Twitter. Eeek.

And here is the Tweety Format again:

Title: Cursed Legacy - Vezien
Words Written:
Words Total:
Hero Mood:
Heroine Mood:
Story Snippet:

I will probably update the word count at midnight, which is about an hour from now. Last night the count stood at: 40559 (This is mainly for my own reference so I know how I am getting on!)

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.

Acheron
(Dark Hunter Series)
Sherrilyn Kenyon
ISBN 978-0749908669

Blurb

Eleven thousand years ago a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron endured a lifetime of hatred. His human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Brought back against his will, he became the sole defender of mankind. Only it was never that simple…
For centuries, he has fought for our survival and hidden a past he never wants revealed. Now his survival, and ours, hinges on the very woman who threatens him. Old enemies are reawakening and uniting to kill them both.

Review:

Finished reading the book. Now… I have mixed feelings about it.

First, let me tell you about it.

I have wanted Ash’s story for a long time. Now that I have it… In a way I wish I didn’t.
Not because I didn’t like it. It’s a heartbreaking story and one worthy of him, but… It brought a character who was larger than life down to the realm of mortals. I don’t get tired of Sherri’s writing. It’s sassy and out there, it always has been and I’ve loved everything she’s ever written, even before this series was ever born. I’m biased where her writing is concerned, that’s why — although I truly love her books — I don’t usually put my thoughts about them to paper. (Or screen, in this case.)
With that in mind…

I read the book, all 700+ pages of it, in (almost) one setting. Us mere mortals have to sleep when our eyes start to droop. It starts before Ash is born and continues through the horror of his childhood. If you’re squeamish, this isn’t a book for you. If you want to know what makes Ash tick, it’s a book you should read. The betrayal, the pain and suffering that have shaped the character are laid bare in a horrendous chain of events. You get to see Ash’s soul, his pain, his lack of self-worth. It’s there, in brutal detail. You get to see Artemis and how their unfortunate relationship starts and develops into supreme hatred. But to hate something, you have to love it first.

I loved to read about the interactions between Ash and his DH’s, loved seeing Talon miss at basketball. As heartbreaking as the story is… I think I grinned as much as I cringed.

I won’t tell you the story, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. But I can tell you that, while I liked the heroine, I hated her at the same time. Because she takes Ash out of the equation. I’m happy for him, but that doesn’t mean I like her.

I guess we have to get used to Savitar and Jaden as being larger than life in place of Ash, and that’s why I have mixed feelings about the book. No, he’s not any less powerful or potent, he’s just different now. The book changes him from the Ash we know and it’ll take a while to get used to that thought. I’ll reserve judgement until I read some more books first. I want to see where Sherri goes with this. I know she can do it, I’ve always believed in her, even way back when, when she didn’t really believe in herself. Sherri, if you ever trip over this, let me tell you — I see you in Ash. A lot. You’re a survivor. Don’t ever change that.
And for what it’s worth… one day we will meet up and then I’ll give you that hug I wanted to give you 11 years ago, when you told me some dimwit told you that you’d never get published, that what you write isn’t publishable. The woman was wrong. I told you that then and I’d love for you to know that you’re my heroine. Because you gritted your teeth and did it anyway. By any means you could. And I truly, truly want you to know how good it makes me feel to see you go from strength to strength and leave that dark time behind.
Back then, when everything dropped around me, and I hit rock bottom… I didn’t think I’d ever write again. Then I saw YOU rise from the ashes. And you made ME believe it can happen. Thank you for that.

I have a few gripes though. (When do I not?)

There are a couple inconsistencies. (Sorry, I read books not just as a reader, in my mind I crit the dang things and edit…) There are bits the editor should have caught, but I can forgive them. The book is very long. Things get missed. Or maybe I missed it and skip read, but I re-read the previous pages and it was still there. It’s the hospital scene after Tory wakes up… I won’t elaborate, but… hello. She just woke up. When did she get a chance to speak to her friends? It’s a little thing, but it made me go "Huh?". A couple of others, too, but really, I can live with it and fill in the blanks.

Overall, it’s a riveting read. It’s not like the other DH books, but at the same time it is. It’s a lot darker, more painful. It took guts to write that. It’s a story of survival.

Most of all, it’s a reluctant keeper. Reluctant, because of what I said above: Ash is out of circulation now.  We need a new mysterious badass to root for and worry about, now.
(So get on with it! Chop chop, back to that keyboard, break time is over!)

And BTW… I want Styxx’s story. Yeah, he’s a bastard. A total and utter… yeah. That.
But something tells me he’s not quite as bad as you paint him and that he’s saveable. You hinted at it. Grr. Something tells me there’s more to him, and that while he was a total and complete vindictive, evil bastard to Ash… he had his reasons. Everyone had it in for Ash, yet there were still some who rooted for him.
Who did Styxx have? That waste-of-space father of his, who wouldn’t know love if it bit him? The mother who more or less abandoned him, too?
I might be wrong. I might have him all wrong and he’s supreme evil. I might have completely misunderstood. But…
It makes me wonder.
No one is born evil. We’re all the product of the events that shape our lives, the product of the actions of other people toward, or against us.
So yeah… Make me like him, I dare you.

Highly Recommended — if you can stomach the torture.

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."

http://www.fantasist.net/timeline.shtml

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm

Just two for now, will add more.

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!"

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.)

The stats of the callenge are as follows:

SoCNoC Total: 2618516  words written by 143  participants

The End of SoCNoc!

60,000 words! OMG!

I am damned amazed at myself. The book isn’t finished, but I’m very close to finishing the first draft.
Another 10-15k and I’m done.
The total words of SoCNoC will probably go up a little more as the US guys post their totals, but damn, that’s over 2 and a half million words written in one month!
Way to go, everyone who took part!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 1003
Words Total: 60056
Hero Mood: Annoyed and desperate
Heroine Mood: Still sick
Story Snippet:
    "We can’t take her up there."
    Mason pretended to be asleep. Up where?
    "Not much choice, Nathan. He’s a mess. He’s probably in worse shape than she is."
    They were talking about Sorol, she knew it in her gut. Mason had no idea who the guy with Nathan was, but it appeared he knew where Sorol was.
    "That bad? I know Cáel said they were interrogating him, but-"
    "Nate, they ganged up on him. Each one doing as much damage as possible. When I saw him, he had a broken jaw, both arms were dislocated. He had a hard time breathing, so I assume his ribs are broken too. Hell, they killed him six times already. Brought him back each time only to kill him again."
    Oh God. Mason lifted her head, staring at the newcomer.
    "Damn," Nathan said softly. "She heard."

Home run, baby!

I’m planning to have 60k written by tomorrow night, nearly there.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 2364
Words Total: 59053
Hero Mood: Dead
Heroine Mood: Sick
Story Snippet:
    Whoever stood behind him pulled on his arms again, making him twist in the chair they’d put him in. He managed to hold back the scream this time. Over and over fists slammed into his head, breaking the skin, breaking bone. He couldn’t open his eyes anymore, they were both swollen completely shut.
    Another brutal hit made him black out, but a bucket of water brought him back to his senses.
    "None of that," he heard Acwellan say before a fist slammed into his jaw.
    Sorol gasped with the pain, breathing was close to impossible now. Someone hit him with what he assumed was a baseball bat, finally breaking his jaw. Blood exploded into his mouth and he tried to swallow, but the agony almost made him choke. Then the bat slammed into his chest, breaking ribs, driving one of them clean into his heart.
    "You fucking idiot! You killed him!"
    I wish, Sorol thought.
    "He deserves it," Cáel spat, hitting him again.
    The pain stopped and Sorol felt himself slide forward in the chair before everything went black.

I saw Amanda, one of my critique partners, blog about the Banshee.

It kind of made me remember a lot of the fairy folklore I used to read about.

There are several types of sídhe (shee)

All of them come from the Tuatha Dé Danann, which were the Gods originally, but are now known as the Sídhe, and within the structure, you get some really bad fairies, to be sure.

The Baen Sídhe, the Banshee. Everyone knows about that screeching woman, I think. If you hear her wail your name… Ah, well. Hope you had a nice life. ‘Cause it’s over now.
The others… people know a lot less about.
The Leanan Sídhe tends to go after mortal lovers. If the guy consents, then he’s doomed. He’ll be her slave and the fairy will suck his life out of him until they waste away. (I can already hear the guys go ‘What a way to go’ heh.) Well, you’d think once they are dead, they’d be free, right? Not so. The only way you will leave a Leanan Sídhe is by finding someone else to take your place. However… If the man refuses to consent, then she becomes his slave. (I can see a terrific story there!)
The Daoine Sídhe are the most harmless of the lot. It more or less means "The Good Folk" or "The Gentry" and they are the most peaceful of the whole bunch.
The Sluagh Sídhe, the Fairy Host, are made up of restless spirits. As a whole, they are undead, or cursed, evil and nasty dead fairies.

Anyway, that’s a few of them.

Here we go again!
I’m starting to use up the snippets I scribbled over the course of this little excercise, so the story is starting to come together — and it’s nearing the end!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 1788
Words Total: 56469
Hero Mood: Desperate
Heroine Mood: Weak
Story Snippet:
    "Remember that cantankerous old miner?" Alvarez asked, grinning ear to ear.
    "Victor Jones." Sorol groaned loudly. "How could I forget that bastard? He salted my rear end with that elephant gun of his."
    Mason’s eyes widened. "What?"
    "About four miles down the mountain used to be an old mining shack. The guy who lived there thought we were after his claim." Alvarez explained. "I used to nose around there in my wolf form, but Sorol can’t shift, so I pretended to be his dog."
    "Right. Why were you checking out the guy? Were you after his gold?" Mason frowned.
    Sorol and Alvarez exchanged a sheepish look.
    "What?"
    "Well, Jones had a daughter." Alvarez said haltingly. "Real pretty. Not like the hags in the camps, but a real beauty of a girl."
    Mason lifted a brow at Sorol.
    He stiffened. "Ah no, don’t look at me like this. I was just there to distract the old man. The dog had the hots for her, not me."
    Alvarez growled at him.
    Sorol grinned. "Down, Lassie."
    Seeing them squabble like this made her laugh again. "Lassie was a girl, Sorol."
    His grin became even broader. "I know."

Not really slack, just not posting progress as much as I should.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 4679
Words Total: 54681
Hero Mood: Beliggerent and worried
Heroine Mood: Bewildered but elated
Story Snippet:
He flashed a wolfish grin and Sorol wanted to grab him and throw him out. Damn that guy. They’d made a sport out of snagging each other’s conquests and Alvarez with his dark latin looks had triumphed more often than Sorol cared to remember. “Of course, I have to admit Sorol has impeccable taste in women. I should know, I usually run off with them.”
Mason laughed, which had Sorol glower at both of them. “Oh don’t be such a stick in the mud, Sorol. He’s joking!”
“He’s not,” Sorol muttered.
Mason gave Alvarez a wide-eyed look. “No?”
“I made off with a handful in the past.” Alvarez confirmed.
“You try to make off with this one, and I’m going to have a wolf skin rug,” Sorol promised.
Alvarez grinned and winked at Mason. “I think he’s serious.”

It is done! 50k in 3 weeks, not bad going, methinks!
However the story isn’t finished… lets see how much I manage to write in the last week!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 2340
Words Total: 50002
Hero Mood: Oblivious
Heroine Mood: Half Dead
Story Snippet:
“Don’t do this. Please.” Dixie hoped her plea would change his mind, but deep down she could sense something evil in him. Oddly, Mason seemed afraid of him. All this time she’d wanted Sorol, and now he was here and she looked terrified. Dixie couldn’t work it out. Why didn’t she say something? “Mason, I can’t let him take you.”
She struggled to say something, but Sorol cut her off with a brutal kiss.
Dixie shook with terror. This was the man her sister claimed to love? A man who seemed to scare her half to death? “Don’t. Please don’t take her.”
“Out of my way.” Sorol wrenched her away from the door, tossing her behind him as if she were garbage.
Dixie slammed into the wall and slid down it, stunned. She saw him open the door, then everything went black.

Slack. Stuff happened.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 320
Words Total: 47662
Hero Mood: Devastated
Heroine Mood: Worried
Story Snippet:

No snippet today

After slackage, I’m catching up a bit. Neatly at the 50k though, so I think I can afford a little slackage.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 3575
Words Total: 47342
Hero Mood: Devastated
Heroine Mood: Worried
Story Snippet:
“I should have stopped the bastard! I saw him, but Erzas went for him before I got there. Sorol took his head, Rag. He laughed at me, and disappeared.” Chaia’s eyes glittered with hatred. “He took his head.”
“Wait. Are you saying he left with it?” Raguel stared at the Nephilim.
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Why would he do this? He’d feel as devastated as you do.” This made no sense. They couldn’t kill each other without feeling the loss of the soul, which generally prevented them from even trying. “You’re absolutely certain it was Sorol?”
Chaia lifted his eyes to Raguel, glaring at him. “I watched him cut Erzas’ head off, Rag! Of course I’m sure!”

How come I can get anything in ebook format — except reference books?

Wouldn’t it make sense to have something you’re not reading for pleasure, which would benefit from being searchable, which might cost a bomb to print and can benefit from revisions… in ebook format?
I’m talking about synonym books, thesauri, dictionaries, lists like A-Z of whatever, Name books… stuff like that.

Why is it that the ones I want, never seem to be sold as an electronic edition? Why not include a PDF version (after all, the dang thing is being submitted as a file, in the first place!) on a CD with the print version?

Pisses me off, it does…

Sebastian
(Ephemera Series)
Anne Bishop
ISBN 0451460960

Blurb:
Long ago, to stop the onslaught of the Eater of the World, Ephemera was split into a dizzying number of strange and magical lands connected only by bridges—which may take you where you truly belong, rather than where you had intended to go.
Now, with the Eater contained and virtually forgotten, the shifting worlds of Ephemera have been kept stable by the magic of the Landscapers. In one such land, where night reigns and demons dwell, the half–incubus Sebastian revels in dark delights. But then in dreams she calls to him: a woman who wants only to be safe and loved—a woman he hungers for while knowing he may destroy her.
But a more devastating destiny awaits Sebastian, for in the quiet gardens of the Landscapers’ school, evil is stirring. The prison of the Eater of the World has weakened—and Sebastian’s realm may be the first to fall…
Intoxicating, erotic, and intensely romantic, Sebastian is for those who know on which side of the heart—Light or Dark—their passions lie.

Review:
Firstly - I don’t know where they got the “erotic” part from. It’s not. It’s about as erotic as the Black Jewels Series… even though the guy is an incubus.
That said, it’s still a damn good book. Not as good as the Black Jewels, but good nonetheless. I kept reading and Sebastian is adorable when he struggles with his incubus side… and the fact that he’s falling in love with “the little rabbit”. The supporting cast, Teaser, Glorianna (Belladonna), Lee, Nadia… all of them are well rounded characters and make the world come alive.
As usual, Anne Bishop creates a world of Landscapers and Bridges, of Wizards and Demons… and yet they are all human. Dark, or light, it doesn’t matter. They all have a little of both, just in different doses. She meshes their worlds together almost seamlessly, so that what’s dark… may or may not be evil. And what’s light… well. All may not be as it seems.
I finished the book and luckily already had “Belladonna” sitting here waiting to be read. So that’s the next review.
It’s Fantasy and it’s an Anne Bishop. Seriously, what more could you want???

Highly recommended.

 There are still a few hours to go, but I’m semi drunk so I better stop scribbling.
However, I’m getting very close to the 50k and I’m only half way through the month.
Yay me!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 3073
Words Total: 43767
Hero Mood: Elated
Heroine Mood: Puzzled
Story Snippet:
Acwellan nodded. “Let’s get Raguel to put someone on watch here. He might come back.”
Cáel gave a harsh laugh. “He’s rogue. Not stupid.”
“Yeah.” Acwellan picked up an ancient looking pot and held it out to Cáel. “And he’s sentimental. From the way this is displayed, it means something to him.”
“Greek?”
“I’d say so.”
Acwellan was right. Sorol was sentimental. Cáel stared at the pot. Someone had made that, there were still handprints on it. Too small to be a man’s hand, too big for a child. A woman’s print, if he wasn’t mistaken. “You know… you might just be right. He will be back for that pot. I bet Arioch would recognize that handprint on it.”

I’ve slacked. Badly. Time to catch up again.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 3642
Words Total: 39886
Hero Mood: Tired
Heroine Mood: Playful
Story Snippet:
“What about you? Any secrets I should know about?” She knew there had to be. Maybe if she made light of it, he’d tell her. “Got any other girls stashed away someplace? An elephant sanctuary perhaps? Oh, I know! You wear contact lenses!”
“Contact lenses?” He stared down at her. “Why would I wear contact lenses?”
“The black eyes. You never told me what that was about.” Mason cupped his jaw in her hand. “You might not know it, but… they turn black sometimes. Like now.”
His hand lifted to his eyes. “Damn.”
“Well? What is it about? Why do they turn black?”
“They don’t.” He looked away. “They’re always black. I’m faking the human eyes.”
Those incredible blue eyes were fake? “What?”

Was at a standstill yesterday.

First I got sucked in watching the final of The Apprentice (and cheered when Helene got fired.) then I kept… watching.

However, I wrote - longhand, on paper - about 500 words, but I haven’t typed it up yet so no snippets of today.

Since I don’t know the actual word count, I’m stagnant for the day.

I’ve had a monster session today.
Very proud of myself for hammering out all that.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 7492
Words Total: 36244
Hero Mood: Worried
Heroine Mood: Still sick
Story Snippet:
Sorol snorted at that. “Yeah, right.” He nodded at the bruises. “Does that feel like I am?”
“No.” Rakan moved his shoulder and winced. “Fuck, what did you hit me with?”
“Funny you should say that. I’ve wondered the same thing.”
The Nephilim grimaced. “What do you expect me to do now? Let you go?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to fight you in the first place.” Sorol said, a wry grin on his lips. “Figured you must have been hunting something. Leaving you for it to find and kill… Then I get back here and find a Ghul trying to eat you. Not very appetizing.”
“No shit.” Rakan looked around. “Where did it go?”
“Ran. Told it if it had eaten your fingers, I’ll be back to get them.” He grinned. “Guess the thought of being gutted wasn’t too appealing.”

Slow day today, worked long, so much less time to write.
I’ll try to make up some tomorrow.

Snippet time again, had some scenes that needed out of my head.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 812
Words Total: 28752
Hero Mood: In agony
Heroine Mood: Sick
Story Snippet:
Sorol braced himself for the next assault. They’d been taking turns for the past three days, never giving his wounds and fractures time to heal. He had no doubt his face was a mess. His fingers were mashed and broken, his arms twisted, both his shoulders dislocated. They’d driven a spike through his left foot and broken the right one.
“I say we get Naiche up here, or even better, Nastael. Let a Rephaim dig the information out of his brain.” Acwellan stepped closer.
Sorol jerked, but said nothing. They all hated the Rephaim, and Nastael had more telepathic ability in his little finger than twenty Nephilim thrown together. He didn’t want the guy digging around in his brain, ever.
One of the three men in the room grabbed his wrists, wrenched them up and behind him. Sorol screamed with the agony they inflicted.
“Whoa. Musta hurt.” Vezien muttered, then grinned viciously. “Do it again.”

Well, I think I managed about 11k over the weekend, I think that’s a record for me.
Damn, I really want a laptop so I can sit outside in the sun and write!
I might even get some color, then!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 5334
Words Total: 27940
Hero Mood: Frustrated
Heroine Mood: Smug
Story Snippet:
Sorol gave a shout of laughter, hearing her mischievous question. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“Nope. You’ll give in, some day.” Her eyes sparkled and she winked at him. “By the way, I’ve ruined a few pairs of your socks.”
“Ah.”
“And I’ve cut the bottom off another pair of sweatpants.” She held out her leg to him, which was clad in a pair of black pants. Minus the cuffs. “And I’m afraid Chooka has adopted me.”
He grinned. “Anything else I should know?”
She scrunched up her face as if thinking hard. “You’re out of coffee, so I depleted your tea.”
“Can’t leave you alone for five seconds, can I?”
“It was more than five seconds. Three days, fourteen hours and,” she turned his wrist to look at the watch he wore, “twenty three minutes.”

Two challenges today!

SoCNoc - obviously

And…

I did it with 2 minutes to spare!

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 6065
Words Total: 22606
Hero Mood: Laid back
Heroine Mood: Tired
Story Snippet:
“If I keep asking, you might eventually slip up and say yes.” She chuckled. “Maybe I should start the day by asking you. One morning you’re going to be so out of it, you’ll just say yes to get me off your back.”
His reason for refusing was resolved, but she didn’t know that. “So you’ll trick me, and then we have a shotgun wedding?”
“Hey, whatever works!” Mason grinned, then became serious. “I wouldn’t trick you.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” Sorol hugged her close, but his phone started ringing again and he gave an irritated groan, turning his head toward the sound. “Will you give up, dammit!”
“Why are you arguing with your phone?”
“I’m not arguing with my phone. I’m merely refusing to answer, because I’m a little tired of lectures.” Sorol let go of her and headed toward his phone. He stared down at it, then stomped his heel into the casing until the ringing stopped. “There. Much better.”
“You know,” Mason stared at the completely obliterated cell phone, “you could have just turned it off.”

 Argh.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: -169
Words Total: 16541

I’ve edited a bit, and actually lost some ground.

Will make that up tho!
Weekend ahoy!

Well I got up at 8 this morning, and it’s 9 in the evening now. Wrote most of the day, aside from making food, talking someone through email setups and stuff, and… drinking a lot of coffee.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 6909
Words Total: 16710
Hero Mood: Part horrified, part tempted
Heroine Mood: Frustrated and determined
Story Snippet:
“Yeah.” She leaned against the doorjamb and he could feel her eyes on him, despite having his back turned. “You were thinking about it, downstairs. That’s what that expression was about. I didn’t offend you. You were actually thinking about what it might be like to marry me.”
He jerked his head up, slamming it firmly into a shelf. “Ow, fuck!” Sorol rubbed the back of his head and gave her an incredulous look. How the hell had she figured that out? “What the hell gave you that idea?”
She grinned when he kept rubbing the back of his head. “Hurt, did it?”
Sorol sliced a black look at her. Dammit, yes, it had.

Oh boy, I sucked today.

635 words today. (It’s midnight here now.)

However, it was the semi final on The Apprentice and I got sucked into watching it lol.

Title: Cursed Legacy - Sorol
Words Written: 635
Words Total: 9801
Hero Mood: Puzzled and exhausted