Emily H. Bates's Blog, page 8
November 9, 2015
“On plenty of days the writer can write three or four pag...
“On plenty of days the writer can write three or four pages, and on plenty of other days he concludes he must throw them away.” –Annie Dillard
November 6, 2015
52 Books
I reached a point today where I thought I might die if I worked on my NaNo novel for another second. So in looking for a diversion, I found a list of 52 books on my phone.
See, a while ago, I was complaining on my Facebook page about how I hate those lists of “100 great books everyone should read before they die,” because 60% of the books on those lists I’ve either read and didn’t like or have zero desire to read. Maybe that makes me uncultured. I don’t know. I just know that I would be perfe...
November 4, 2015
From near to far…
“Today is gone,
Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.
From near to far, from here to there,
Funny things are everywhere!”
(Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish)
Hello from the NaNo trenches! I’m 9257 words in and hoping this flow of words doesn’t ebb too soon. I’m enjoying the total freedom from my inner editor.
How’s your November going?
November 2, 2015
Let your Kirk brain take over!
“Spock, my display is down, I’m flying blind.”
“Captain, without your display compass, hitting your target destination is mathematically impossible.”
“Spock, if I get back, we really need to talk about your bedside manner.”
***
Welcome to November, everyone! After missing day 1 of NaNoWriMo, I made up for it with some rapid-fire typing during Scout’s nap today. I’m somewhere around 3500 words now, and I’m hoping to get a little more out before bed. Gotta get as much written while I’m still f...
October 31, 2015
Weeeeee did it!
I survived October! Can I get a cheer and some virtual brownies? Holy cow, guys, NaNoWriMo is going to be a piece of cake after this crazy month.
I finished my close edit of Stone Alliance earlier today and even started on the interior layout, since Scout was still sleeping when I hit the end. I love doing layout, guys. So much joy. And honestly, relief at focusing on how the words look instead of what they say. It’s a nice change.
Now it’s time to curl up, eat Scout’s trick-or-treating candy...
October 29, 2015
Bring it on.
For the first time in all of October, I have two full days with absolutely nothing planned ahead of me. Of course, they also happen to be the last two days of October, which means they are dedicated to all the projects I need to finish before NaNoWriMo comes charging in.
The two biggest projects? The outline for my NaNo novel, of course. I’m waffling on the ending–how cruel am I going to be to my characters? How closely do I want to weave this one in with the other two (still unwritten) novel...
October 26, 2015
Don’t stop!
The last day of the retreat, Lisa Mangum shared a quote from a Disney Imagineer:
“Don’t worry. Don’t hurry. Don’t stop.”
Just read that a few times. Soak up the full meaning. Appreciate each sentence.
I’m very much a jump-in-with-both-feet kind of person. If I’m working on something, I’m working on it every moment I can spare. Which gets to be a little crazy when I overload myself and have way too many projects that I’m cramming into every spare moment.
Writing is one of those things that can...
October 24, 2015
Award-winning flash fiction!
I’m coming to you fresh from ANWA’s beautiful, fabulous, inspiring NW retreat! The past three days have been filled with so much learning and new friends and great books. The highlight of the weekend was our keynote speaker, Lisa Mangum–amazing! I’ll be sharing a few treasures I picked up from her in coming blog posts.
When we first arrived, we were given a prompt for a flash fiction contest that we had essentially 24 hours to write. Flash fiction terrifies me, guys. I can’t even do short sto...
October 21, 2015
Mark your calendars!
We’re still a ways out, but I couldn’t wait any longer to announce the RELEASE DATE for my next book!
STONE ALLIANCE, the sequel to Demon’s Heart, will be released March 2, 2016. It’s been a long time in the works, and I’m so excited for it to be out for the world to read! Here’s a hint of what to expect:
***
Haunted by his transformation, Rustav must now face the Burrihim invaders without the support of his tuathan kin. But as he seeks new allies to drive back the enemy, a centuries-old grud...
October 19, 2015
Grown-ups and Monsters
“What do you think Ursula Monkton is scared of?”
“Dunno. Why do you think she’s scared of anything? She’s a grown-up, isn’t she? Grown-ups and monsters aren’t scared of things.”
“Oh, monsters are scared,” said Lettie. “That’s why they’re monsters. And as for grown-ups . . .” She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, “I’m going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always...
