K.D. Sarge's Blog, page 57

A Terrifying Lack of Focus

There's just too much I want to do while in between projects, but I want the in-between to not last one second longer than necessary…

Yesterday, around drawing practice and Spanish study, I tried to practice description. I found some pics on pixdaus.com (not linking because it's DANGEROUS, ZOMG) and had a shot.

At last the unbroken white…broke. From the ridge Flame looked down into a giant bowl scooped from the ice, into water clear and luminous and still. Below the surface lay blue palaces...

Homesick for the Inside of My Head

OMG no matter how much I need it, I hate being between projects!

I have a lot to do, though. I'm not so good at writing boundaries–when I'm deep in a project (especially one fast approaching a deadline, cough) I don't do other things.† Website maintenance. Home maintenance. Relationships. *shifty eyes* All fall by the wayside.

When I'm writing,  I think about it all the time. I feel like I'm wasting time if I'm doing other things–reading a book, say, or watching a movie. Thinking about a book t...

Inspired by Edward Elric

If you've seen Fullmetal Alchemist, you know what that title means:

DUCK!

Right now, both at work and at home, Edward Elric from FMA is on my desktop. (I can do this, because I am between projects. More on that another time.)

I have a lot of admiration for Edward Elric. He's lost a lot, but he'll still risk what he has left for what he believes in, and he'll never give up on his brother. He gets down, he has setbacks, but he gets up and goes on. Nothing is going to stop him.

When Edward Elric...

Out of My Hands!

Joss is off to my editor! I am quite delighted. Let him run HER round in circles for a while. I'm catching up on Things.

Sleep may or may not be one of those Things.

For a while, I get to Not Think about the same thing all the time. I get to put whatever I feel like up on my desktop, instead of a wallpaper that helps me focus. I get to clean my desk off go places and stuff.

It won't last long, though. Watch this space. I'm sure I'll be complaining about my vacation soon. (I vacation about as w...

Winter's Night!

I'm thrilled to present the Turtleduck Press anthology Winter's Night! Containing works from each of us, it's been a lot of fun (and work!) to put together. We're selling the e-copies for $0.99, and donating 90% of the proceeds to UNICEF. Because it's that time of year.

I hope you'll check out Winter's Night, and I hope you'll check out our work. You can buy it for Kindle here, from Smashwords here, and a physical copy (currently at $4.99) here.

Enjoy!

Dammit, Life, Back Off!

I'm a writer. It's what I live for. But I also have to make a living, and I'm a mom, and both of those have to come before my writing.

So when I tell you that we're in our third week of "computers as paperweights" at work, you know I'm frazzled. When I tell you my thirteen-year-old is being just as thirteen as it's possible (I hope) to get, you know it's worse.

And when I tell you I have a deadline Thursday and I'm lost in the wilds of Chapter Seven of a probable twenty-chapter book…

I'm gonna n...

My Day

This was much of it, or so it felt.

I did do things. Just not enough things.

Is it ever possible to do enough things?

I'm Thankful for Orlando Bloom

Yesterday was a bad day at work. The day before Thanksgiving usually is–tons of staff take the day off to start their holiday travels, and the kids are excited and rowdy. Riding herd on 600 kids with half your usual wranglers can be difficult.

Here's one of my coping skills.

Back in 2006, I received an awesome present. In December '06, I looked for a replacement, but all I could find was POTC Dead Man's Chest calendars, and who wants to spend a whole month looking at Kiera Knightley?

So I...

That Manifesto Thing

Remember this? Self-Discipline is remembering what you really want. And then there was an update here. Well, it's time for another.

1. To WRITE, not play on the internet. This was going badly until I quit NaNo. Once I didn't hate what I was trying to do, I got better at making myself do it.

Also, deadlines. Deadlines have a way of driving one off the internet and to work.

2. To WRITE, not clean, so stay on top of stuff. I'm…mostly keeping the dishes done? Aforementioned friend who likes to...

Queen's Man #TeaserTuesday

So since I dropped out of NaNo to edit, I figured I'd just get on back to editing. I really don't hate it–I love how it improves an already-great story.

Anyway. Thought I'd share a bit. My main character, Joss Ravid, just did something pretty dumb and is now dealing with the consequences in his own inimitable fashion.

"It might help if you told me what you were looking for," Joss said before Lurk took another swing. Worry actually opened his mouth to answer before Lurk poked him, offending...