Lilith Saintcrow's Blog, page 210

Regular Blogging Will Resume Shortly

I am writing this on the shiny new MacBook Pro that was delivered yesterday, a full day ahead of schedule. Yesterday was a day of lucky breaks, from the Coyote showing up just as I was leaving for errands to lunch in Portland at PF Chang's. (Verdict: OK wine, garlic and sauces good, service all right, not sure it's worth what they're charging.) I got to wander around Powell's for a while, and just as I got home what should show up but a lovely little box with this new laptop in it?

My brain h...

Just Not Happening (Much)

Am I really undertaking to write 4-5K of solid smut?

Apparently I am. But being in a pissy mood means that every single word of a sex scene has to be pulled out with pliers. Not really very sexy, so I'll just link to my old advice about writing those smexx0rs and call it a draw.

Today was a day of errands and waiting and more errands and a haircut and turning the scene over and over inside my head, trying desperately to find the hook that will let me step in and catch the flow. Some days one...

Oh, Monday.

Oh, Monday. Just when I thought my week couldn't get any better, you come along.

Thankfully I don't have to visit the dentist for a while now. I mean, they're nice people, and the nitrous is okay, but the less time I spend there the better.

I had an extraordinarily productive weekend, between tax filing, mowing the lawn (always my favorite chore, NOT) and cleaning gutters. You'd think gutters would be right up my alley. Alas, no. I loathe cleaning them. Except I put together plot architecture, ...

Once More, With Feeling

Cross-posted to the Deadline Dames. We're a few steps away from world domination. Resistance is futile.

Today's Friday post comes from Reader Cat K., who asked the Deadline Dames:

How do you find the guts to keep going? I've sent out some queries, did my research, and all I keep on getting is the R word – that horrible word that has the capability to break your heart,to shatter hopes and dreams.

From reading your blog for almost a year – I know this happens, and that it happens a lot. So, how...

Let The Story Bloom

Tired today. Not sure if the coffee will help. I know I'll sleep well tonight, but that doesn't really help when I'm longing so hard for just a little more sleep. Maybe the treadmill will shake the cobwebs out of my head.

*time passes*

Yeah, I just started a blog post and wandered away. I'm not firing on all cylinders this morning. Or more precisely, I am, but the story living in my head is taking up about half of the cylinders. I'm in that weird in-between space where a story is germinating...

Zero Drafts And Hip Tats

I really don't have much to report today. Yesterday was the first rock-climbing class (not mine, mine got rescheduled) and it looks like the kids are going to love it. I also visited the dentist yesterday. Big fun. They act like I'm a big baby when I insist on the nitrous, but I don't care. It's stressful enough enduring fillings; why suffer if I don't have to?

Today I got the outline of the first of a pair of hip tattoos. I was kind of dreading it, but actually the hip isn't that bad. My...

Where Did Spring Break Go?

Rock climbing classes for the kids start this week. My own class got pushed back to May for some reason. Oh well. Plus there's a trip to the dentist in my future. Fortunately the dentist's office understands about My Issues: "Tell me what you're going to do before you do it. Keep me updated. If there is a chance of it hurting, warn me. If I lift my left hand or wave, stop and tell me what you're doing. I find this stressful and this will make it easier for both of us."

You know, once you...

The Five-Minute Trick

Cross-posted to the Deadline Dames. Where there are games, prizes, and sometimes pie!

This is not a magic trick, but it is responsible for a great deal of my productivity, writing or otherwise. It's also responsible for a great deal of my success with exercise (such as it is). Your mileage may vary, of course, and before we get into it I'm going to talk a little bit about my aims and goals when it comes to writing.

I write because I have to; I've been doing it all my life to make sense of the w...

Biscuits, Tea, And A Sock Monkey

Yesterday I braved Portland traffic (thank God for GPS) and hopped over to Pine State Biscuits for lunch with Mark Henry, Jaye Wells, and Richelle Mead. Oh, LORD. It was great.

The food was delicious–they bake a mean biscuit over there, as attested by the size of the crowd lining up at the door. It's a tiny place, but we scored a table. The table itself groaned under our selections, because everything looked good. I tried my first fried green tomato; I was not brave enough for the andouille...

Wiggle Your Big Toe

This morning I went on a banzai run with the Selkie; it was an estate's worth of books that we packed and hauled down to the store. We work well together both as writers and as book haulers–we exchange information with glances, read each other's minds, and just plain get stuff done really fast. It's a joy to work with someone who anticipates and understands.

Several times I was surprised by just how much I could lift and carry–the running and the shovelgloving are working out. I suppose I...