Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 284

Control Issues

I'm continuing the weird two steps forward, one step back pattern on the book I'm working on. As I work out what should be happening in a new scene, I realize that there's something off about a previous scene that has to be fixed. It's a little frustrating, but I'm hoping that by fixing these things up front, it means the last half of the book will go more smoothly, and I won't have to take the whole thing apart and put it back together again when I'm doing revisions on it.

I also really enjoy...

POV: Third Person

The things that serve as milestones of success or that give the big emotional reaction from writing milestones can be odd for me. I think I was mostly relieved when I sold the first book in my series, after a long dry spell. My big, emotional moment wasn't the sale, or the contract, or the check, or seeing the cover, or even seeing a copy of the book in print. It was when I saw the review Charles deLint did in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. That was when it felt real, and that w...

What is a Book, Really?

If you follow book news on the Internet, you'll know that the industry is still fumbling about for how, exactly to handle electronic books and where e-books fit into the overall publishing picture -- how should they be priced, how should they be treated, when should they be released, etc. I'm not going to get into any of the specific battles involving particular retailers and publishers, but I do want to address something that many of the people involved in this and sounding off about it -- p...

Time Travel and Subconscious Errands

I have pretty much decided not to go to New York later this month, even though the hotel rates and airfares were tantalizingly low. Some research revealed that some of the things I hoped to see as part of my research don't actually exist in a useful form, and some of the things that might have been useful are currently closed for renovations. There might have been enough useful things to sort of justify a tax writeoff, but it would have been mostly a fun trip, and this isn't really the time o...

The Rain/Creativity Link

Although I usually think rainy day=good writing, I've discovered that different kinds of rain have different responses. A gray day with light rain means increased creativity and lots of writing. A cold, rainy day, especially after a warm, sunny spell, tends to generate baking urges. And when it's raining hard with the wind howling, then I just want to curl up with a properly atmospheric book and read. Yesterday was the latter kind of rain. I have a tile roof and a skylight, so it can get loud...

Reconsidering Processes

Yay! It's raining, so maybe whatever stuff that's in the air that's making me sneeze will be washed away! Or maybe I'll have to admit that I have a cold. If it is a cold, it's a pretty mild one, just bad enough to be annoying but not bad enough to count as truly "maybe I should stay in bed" sick.

I found yet another "blind date over coffee at Starbucks" scene yesterday (not literally -- that's just what I've started calling that kind of scene. I may have to do a blog glossary). This one doesn'...

More Musing on Trends

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my parents!

If the way I feel now is any indication, by this afternoon or tomorrow morning I will be barely mobile. I don't know if ballet class was particularly tough last night or if I was working particularly hard, but my thighs are already stiff and sore, and usually the post-class soreness doesn't kick in until later.

I may have sounded a little whiny and self-pitying in yesterday's post about how my taste seems to differ wildly from the bestsellers and the po...

Out of the Mainstream

My writing time yesterday was diminished by having to go to the FedEx place to send some documents to Hollywood. I felt so very Important and Glamorous to be filling out a FedEx label addressed to Universal Pictures. I kind of wished that someone else would be there reading over my shoulder to see that I was sending something to Universal Pictures. What's the point of being Important and Glamorous if nobody notices?

But now I'm back to the real world, where I need to be writing a book so I can...

Minor Movie News

I got some good news Friday: Universal has renewed the movie option on Enchanted, Inc. What this means is that a movie remains a possibility. I knew the decision would be made on Friday, so that was a pretty unproductive day. I spent much of the day anxiously checking my e-mail every few seconds, and then after I got the word, I had to deal with some paperwork (I still have to make a trip to the FedEx place) and was generally too keyed up to concentrate. I celebrated by watching Miss Pettigre...

Weekend Science Fiction

Still not high on coherence, for any meaning of the word. Mountain cedar is killing me. It's supposed to rain tonight, which should help, but in the meantime, I'm making great use of my brother's Christmas present -- a selection of interesting teas. There's Moroccan Mist, which is a green tea with mint, and it's lovely for opening the sinuses, and I'm really loving the hibiscus tea. They suggest serving it iced, but it has almost a hot toddy quality when served hot. Lots of hot liquids seem t...