Leah R. Cutter's Blog, page 24

Baker’s Dozen Reissued!

I am reissuing my collection of short stories, Baker’s Dozen, through Book View Cafe.

This has been my most successful collection. I’m excited about having it available with a new cover, and a new venue!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Make-it-not-broke draft finished!

Earlier this morning I finished the second draft of “The Popcorn Thief” — the make-it-not-broke draft.

Blue ribbon prize at the Kentucky State Fair for ten cobs of the best popping corn

I wrote the first draft fast and furious. I knew I would miss things, though, so I kept good notes, in a spreadsheet, of what I would need to add. I ended up adding a little over 4000 words between drafts 1 & 2, at least three distinct scenes, plus lots of layered in things.

Next step? Put the book to the side. Let it rest for three weeks. I have to write a short story this week (tentatively titled, “Love in the Salt Mines.”) I’ll also be getting back all the comments for “Siren’s Call” that I’ll have to incorporate, and so that novel will be finished by September 15th (and sent to the copyeditor.)

After the 15th, I’ll get back to “The Popcorn Thief.” This novel is all about Voice. It was one of the things I was practicing with this novel (if I don’t practice, how can I get better?) So I’ll read every chapter out loud, because my ear will catch things my eye misses. Plus, this is all done with a southern accent. I have to make sure none of those damn Yankeeisms have crept in.

And then? I’ll send “The Popcorn Thief” off to first readers, and I’ll turn to short stories. I’ll announce that challenge when the time gets closer. Hint: It’s bigger than “Baker’s Dozen.”

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Story Inspiration Sunday

I blog about what inspires me both here and over at Book View Cafe. Feel free to comment here or there!.

It isn’t just pictures or poetry or the critters who share my yard that inspire me.

It’s also music.

Like many writers, I can’t listen to music with words while I’m writing. I need pure sound, that inspires me to write faster, or draws me in with its mood. While I sometimes write in silence, just listening to the wind in the trees, or the rain pattering the roof, or the birds in the backyard, sometimes I listen to man-made noise.

So — some links!

I listen to a lot of soundtracks while I’m writing. Different soundtracks for different novels or stories, of course.

One of my favorites is Tron Legacy, by Daft Punk. It’s electronic music, and when I’m writing fight scenes, or any kind of chase, this is one of my go to pieces.

For more moody writing, I frequently turn to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. This has some good fight music, but also more atmospheric pieces. Stirring, is what I call it in my head.

One of my favorite CDs is Orbital: In Sides. I’ve often described this CD as a soundtrack looking for a movie to highlight. It’s another electronic piece. Lots of action and movement.

Then of course there’s the super hero theme. For smooth jazzy lounge music that’s just fun and gets me bouncing along on crazier themes, I have The Incredibles. This is really upbeat music, that I find evocative, setting the mood for James Bond type fights on mysterious islands.

I write a lot of things that take place south of the Mason Dixon line. One of my absolute favorite CDs is by The New Orleans Nightcrawlers: Slither Slice. I had the great fortune of seeing this band play a couple of times while I was in NOLA. They’ve got a great brass section, and a good beat.

As you can tell, I work with a lot of energy. That’s frequently the first thing people notice about me. (Some say hyper — I say high energy and focused.) Caffeine is my drug of choice, particularly for writing, not alcohol. But there are times when I like a quieter, slower piece of music for writing.

One such piece is the soundtrack to the film American Beauty. This is quirky, interesting, but also much quieter than the things I generally listen to when I’m writing.

Another is the entire trilogy from The Lord of the Rings. I am such a LotR geek. I watch the extended DVDs probably once a year. I know the music and the images so well, I can always see the scenes when the music plays. I haven’t learned The Hobbit music as well, but it also has a special place in my heart.

The other source of quiet music I listen to are instrumental. I’ve tried classical music, but it doesn’t work for me. So instead, I listen to George Winston, and Adrian Legg, Patrick Ball, and others.

And then there’s the jazz music, and swing, and country, and zydeco, and…well, you understand that the reason I have a large harddrive on my laptop is so that I can store all my music on it.

So what type of music do you listen to? What do you like to write to? What inspires you to keep your butt in the chair and your fingers pounding on the keyboard?

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

PAPER MAGE to be an audio book!

I can FINALLY announce this!

My first novel, Paper Mage is going to be produced as an audio book, done by Audible!

I will post with more information when I get it. This has been in the works for some time. I’m just glad I can finally tell people!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

FINISHED! First draft of The Popcorn Thief

I flew to Kentucky this weekend, to do research for this novel. I spent a lot of time in airports and airplanes.

What else was I supposed to do but write?

The novel is currently only about 53,000 words long. I’m already adding to it, however. Added one of the missing scenes tonight, have at least two-three other missing scenes that I’ll have to add before I declare the second draft finished, and the novel, no longer broken.

This is a novel I must read out loud before I send it to any beta/first readers. So much of this book is all about the Voice, and it has to be right. So I’ll take the time I need to get it to sound right, every line.

I’m pleased with this novel, how it turned out. The middle is messy, and will take some fixing, but I’m not afraid of it. I’ve already worked through most of the issues that cause that mess, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to fix them. Plus, I’ll still be putting in three hours per day for writing.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am with this novel, with the new process I’ve discovered, with how my writing feels. I feel as though I’ve reached a new level, and it’s kind of awesome. This isn’t to say that I can’t improve, I know I can. But I have a feeling that this novel doesn’t suck, which is a good thing.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Story Inspiration Sunday

I blog about what inspires me both here and over at Book View Cafe. Feel free to comment either here or there.

There are lots of things that inspire me to write, like fashion and weird photography and poetry and food and things.

For the month of August, I’ve been doing a challenge. Basically, it’s writing 3000 words per day, every day, for the first 20 days of the month, so I’ll finish a 60,000 word novel in August.

Sounds crazy, right?

But I’ve done it so far. In the first ten days of August, I’ve written 30,000 words.

What’s my inspiration? How do I sit down at my writing computer, day after day, and come up with things?

One of the things that’s made this challenge easier for me was a talk given by the brilliant Matt Buchman. He’s been a project manager for 30 years, and he gave a presentation on applying some of those principles to managing your inner writer.

As I do a lot of project management for my day job, I was really interested.

One of the questions Matt asked was, “Why do you write?”

I actually didn’t find that question, by itself, that useful. Why I write is personal, and quite frankly varies from project to project. Instead, I had to break that question into two questions: “Why do you write” as well as “Why do you share.”

Me–the second answer, is both obvious and entertaining, and has been a huge part of my inspiration for getting my butt in the chair and writing 30,000 words this month.

And here’s the hint:

In case you can’t read that, it’s Julie, from the Love Boat, your cruise director.

Someone else once said that writing is the closest thing we have to telepathy: It goes from my brain, out my fingers, in through your eyes, and to your brain. I cause you to see the pictures I’ve seen in my head, deliberately.

I have weird shit in my head. Seriously. Very strange stuff.

Part of why I write, and the main reason why I share, is because I want you to see that stuff too. I am the tour guide. Let me show you these things, these exotic places, these strange people.

I’ve always called myself writer/traveler. I hadn’t realized just how true that was until I figured out why I write and share what I’ve written.

And this is what has inspired me, day after day in this challenge.

Every time I sit down at my writing computer, when I’m even a little stuck, and I think about what I’d like to share with you. What characters would I like for you to meet? What kind of life would I like for you to see? What exotic places can I show you?

This has led to some really interesting characters in this novel.

As well as to 30,000 words.

So what inspires you to write? Or to write, and then share that writing?

A lot of writers are entertainers, or story tellers. That’s not me. I’m your tour guide.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Odds and Ends

I’ve been doing a writing challenge this month, writing 3000 words per day.

This challenge has turned out to be–not easy, but surprisingly sustainable.

Then again, I’m still at the start of it. I’ll repost closer to the end, see how I’m feeling.

One of the things I’ve been doing is writing in the morning. I’ve been getting up one hour early, then walking for a mile before I write.

Walking has always been part of my creative process: When my body is moving, the words are flowing. Walking in the morning is a great way for me to wake up, more effective than caffeine, actually.

I used to love writing in the mornings. I stopped when my hormones started acting up and I acquired a morning fog that I couldn’t shake until later in the afternoon. Being able to write in the mornings again is wonderful. I’m really enjoying it.

I’m also typing straight into the computer instead of writing everything out by hand then typing it up. Again, this is something I used to do, then I hit a wall and stopped. I had tried it again for “Zydeco Queen” but ended up screwing up that novel as a result.

So far, typing straight into the computer been really good. And again, surprisingly easy. I don’t feel like I’m screwing up the novel at all. I’ve also changed my process, and am keeping track of all the things I need to add as I’m typing it up, and that’s helped.

One of the issues previously, when I wrote straight to the computer, was that I compressed things, and didn’t let the story expand as it needed to. That hasn’t been a problem so far, but we’ll see.

This is all part of that new level of seriousness. I had thought that, before, I had something of a work ethic. HA! I’m sure learning the difference now. What I’m doing now is really what I’ll need to do in order to be a professional writer, and write full time someday.

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Keep celebrating

I am doing a writing challenge for the month of August, aiming for 3000 words per day.

As part of that challenge, I’m getting up an hour earlier every morning and writing 1000 words.

The first morning, as it was the start of the novel, it was easy and 1000 words flowed out nicely.

This morning, when I went to feed the cat, I found a conga-line of ants dancing from the back door to the cat bowl.

After dealing with the ants, I only managed 700 words.

This was bumming me out, until I realized–wait a second–I wrote 700 words this morning before breakfast! AND I washed the kitchen floor! This is an accomplishment I should be celebrating, not feeling badly about this.

So celebrate! Each and every one of those words! And having a clean kitchen floor to boot!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Sale ends tomorrow!

I’ve been selling The Raven and the Dancing Tiger for $0.99 for the month of July, to celebrate the arrival of The Guardian Hound.

But July ends tomorrow, and so does the sale. I’ll raise the price back up to $5.99 early Thursday morning.

So if you’d like a chance to read The Raven and the Dancing Tiger, for cheap, now’s the time!

In other news, I’m just about ready to send Siren’s Call out to first readers, and to start the next novel, The Popcorn Thief. And expect more NEWS next week!

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.

Story Inspiration Sunday

I blog about things that inspire me both here and over at Book View Cafe. Feel free to respond either here or there!

This post is going to deal with places and things that make me write.

To start with, here’a picture of my writing nook:

This is upstairs, in my bedroom. I have a stand for my laptop, as well as a separate keyboard, so I’m not always hunched over when I’m working there.

My writing nook is a quiet place, with the perfect lamp overhead, and a small table for holding my coffee or chocolate.

I love writing in this space. It’s tucked away from everything, quiet and serene.

Here’s the view from my writing nook:

Just beyond those trees is the rooftop of an apartment complex. I get the full moon through that window at night, as well as bright sunlight during the early morning. While I might get a quiet wash of traffic (there’s a busy-ish street just beyond the apartment complex) I also get a plethora of birdsong. Sometimes it gets so loud I joke about my aviary.

And yes, being in my nook, looking out on the trees and rooftops, puts me in the frame of mind to write, and write a lot. Nothing will disturb me there.

Another one of my favorite writing chairs:

Yes, this chair is as comfortable as it looks. It was a Craigslist find. I adore it. The cat adores it as well. She’ll frequently perch on the back of it, and thwacks my head with her tail until I reach up and pet her.

Just to the left of this chair is my fireplace. During the winter, I’ll get a fire going, curl up in this chair, and spin stories out through the night.

Since it’s summer, I thought I’d show you another place where I frequently write:

My entire backyard is very serene. It’s surrounded by trees and greenery, cut off from the rest of the world. I have a couple of bird feeders back there, as well as a bird bath, which all see frequent visitors.

I’ve created a portable standing desk (boxes and a stand) that I can use on the table in the backyard, so I can easily stand and write. (During the winter, I’ll frequently stand and write at the kitchen counter.)

Again, this is an incredibly peaceful environment, full of the sounds of nature, that I find very inspirational.

And one more inspirational piece of furniture:

I know some of you are going, “Huh? How can a filing cabinet be inspirational?”

The reason why I didn’t post for the last couple of Sundays was because I was in Lincoln City, OR, at a Master Publishing class.

As part of that experience, I started having a series of fascinating conversations with my inner writer, about what I could do to support her.

Her main complaint is that I haven’t been taking the writing and the publishing seriously enough.

For example, while my files concerning my story and novel contracts are kind of vaguely organized, they’re not very well organized. There are many things that I need to do better in terms of keeping better records.

So one of the first things I did when I came back was to buy a filing cabinet, just for keeping track of contracts, etc. for the fiction.

Why was this inspirational?

My inner writer is a cranky two year old. Sometimes she might have the maturity of a twelve year old, but rarely.

Her response to the filing cabinet was, “Challenge accepted.” She’s not sure how long it will take her, but it’s her burning desire to FILL that cabinet with fiction and contracts, and make me buy a new one.

Which is how that filing cabinet has, in very short order, become an incredibly inspirational piece of furniture in my house.

Do any of these inspire stories in you? What kind of furniture or furnishing inspire you to write more?

Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so here or there.