Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 278

Corporate Retreat

Well, I didn't quite finish the book. I've essentially finished the main part of the story -- in nearly 7,000 more words -- and my main characters have achieved their goals. I still need to write what in musical terms would be the coda -- the aftermath bit that wraps up any loose ends, shows the consequences of what happened, shows a little bit of how the main characters feel about what happened and gives a glimpse of what will be the new normal now that things have happened. I've certainly i...

The Final Battle

In spite of writing nearly 7,000 words yesterday, I didn't finish the book. I've outlined the scenes I have left to write, and I may need another 7,000 words. I guess I thought I was writing the end of Star Wars, picking up yesterday just at the start of the attack on the Death Star, so all that was left to go was the big battle scene, with a few cutaways to the people at the rebel base looking worried and to the people on the Death Star at first arrogant, then worried, and then the "Yay! We ...

The End is Near

I actually managed choir rehearsal last night, since we're doing our big spring piece this weekend and it would have been a bad rehearsal to miss. Oddly, I could manage the high notes. It was the low notes that gave me trouble. Unfortunately, our big spring piece has a true mezzo soprano part instead of just a soprano part that occasionally splits, and it can get pretty low. I'm not actually a mezzo soprano, but because I have a big range and can read music, that's the part I get assigned to ...

Non-Verbal Communication: Personal Space

I woke up this morning able to breathe through my nose, and there was much rejoicing. The pollen count has been astronomical, so I have some allergy symptoms, but the cold appears to be pretty much over. I also woke up hungry, and I haven't been hungry in days. I managed to plan out the rest of the book, so after I catch up on all the other stuff I need to deal with today, I hope to get back to work and finish it this week.

Now, for a writing post, and since I didn't get any questions, I had t...

Mind Games and Inventions

I sometimes play this game when I'm sick: When I reach the point where I'm sick of being sick and just want to be well, I tell myself when I go to bed at night that the next morning, I'll wake up well. I'll remind myself of the wonderful things I can do the next day if I'm well that I won't be able to do if I'm still sick. I mostly did this back when I had a regular job because I pretty much hated my jobs -- public relations isn't a good career choice for someone with a telephone phobia. I di...

Weekend Viewing from the Sick Bed

It's a good thing I didn't have much in the way of plans for the weekend because I came down with a killer cold. It started with a tickle in the throat on Friday, and I thought it was just bad allergies, since the pollen count has been pretty astronomical lately. It was worse later in the day and really bad Saturday morning. By mid-afternoon Saturday, I finally realized that it was way more intense than any allergy attack I'd ever had, so I likely had a cold. It seems to be in the waning phas...

Tea, Glorious Tea

I think I may have started to figure out what it is I need for the rest of the book. It's been difficult because I've been very "Squirrel!" all week, so easily distracted and with difficulty focusing. I haven't even been able to focus on the book I'm reading, which is very dense and complex, so I maybe manage a paragraph at a time before I get sidetracked by something shiny. I should probably put it aside and read something like Dick, Jane and Spot until my brain starts working again, but the...

Wild Things

I got a late start today because I let myself sleep in. I was having a long, vivid dream that seemed to be about this big scene I've been wrestling with, the way my heroine defeats her enemies. I remember thinking after the dream but while I was still asleep that it was perfect and solved all my problems. And then when I woke up and was thinking about it, I realized that my heroine had defeated her enemies in the dream by shoving cake in their faces.

So much for the subconscious working things...

Book Brain and Caffeine Sources

I feel like most of what I've talked about lately has been my struggles with this book, but sadly, that's most of what's been going on in my life lately. Yeah, there was the San Antonio trip, but I've covered that. My panel there was directed at librarians, so I doubt too many people here want the scoop on how to plan author events at your library in a way that won't annoy the authors.

I'm still in the middle of a book I'm reading, and I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I didn't really watch...

Formidable Characters

I think I've more or less recovered from travel, and I may have kind of started working out what needs to happen in the rest of the book. It's a huge shift from what I had planned, which means I have to totally rethink it, and I need to come up with details and specifics. The fact that this is pretty hard is a good sign that I'm on the right track because it means I can't just handwave my way past it, and it means I'm really pushing the characters to the limit.

One of my current challenges is...