Cate Morgan's Blog, page 16

Author’s Log: Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming (& #ROW80)

In other words, after my last post of completely surprising Awesome Overload, I’m determined to not rest on my laurels and keep the momentum going. Even though I’m not scheduled for anymore drafting this month, I want to make sure I hit the ground running in February, which means stamina training  and clearing the decks now.

So for the rest of January I am focused on revisions on Keepers #3 and developing Keepers #4 as well as Keepers: Origins #2.

Quickly! To the Goalmobile!

Production Schedule (& ROW80):

BRIGHID’S MARK (In Production): We’re still in the final stages of production, as I’m awaiting the arrival of my ARC. It is, however, already up for Pre-Order on Amazon! Remember, if you want an ARC (Advance Review Copy) OR you end up pre-ordering Brighid’s Mark, please let me know at cstcross [at] gmail [dot] com.

KEEPERS #3 (In Revision): This week I’m polishing specifically for content. Next, it’s another round strictly for POV, as this was my big, bad Issue (with a capital “Ish!”) from Keepers #2. I should have this into Editor Awesome’s hands by the end of the month.

KEEPERS #4 (In Development): I plotted my way through Keepers #4 fairly quickly, considering I only had a few images and ideas in mind for a couple of scenes. It’s funny, but it seems I’ve now been writing long enough that I know longer needs charts, graphs and pie charts for outlining plot structure for shorter works–it’s such a habit with me now that I’m automatically thinking in terms of structure. This doesn’t mean I am now pantsing my way though–far from it!–but I can now spend less time plotting elaborate time lines and more time developing other factors once I get a bullet point summary outline down on paper. My outlines includes dialogue snippets I don’t want to miss using, and character background and tidbits.

For instance, I’ve decided that my protagonist (Keeper of the Flame Tess Daniels) has a penchant for whiskey and cigars. And that her romantic interest, Jack Riley, thinks this is totally hot. She also wears cowboy boots and flirts to keep her secrets secret. She drives a beat up army jeep with no doors and does her own, Keeper version of an exorcism.

I also just received The Positive Trait Thesaurus AND The Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Pugilisi in the mail, so I’m looking forward to utilizing these guides since The Emotion Thesaurus has been such a boon to my bookshelf.

KEEPERS: ORIGINS #2 (In Development): I decided when I was putting together Keepers #2 that I wanted Callie to have had a past set in the Jazz Age of Chicago, and this is one of the reasons she’s naturally drawn to somewhere like New Orleans in her psyche. I wanted her to be flapper or what was known as a “Bright Young Thing”. But more research is needed at this juncture. For instance, while “Bright Young Thing” was a term used in England in the Twenties, would such a term have been used stateside? Where were all the hip cats going to obtain prohibition alcohol and an education in jazz in Chicago? What were the other historical events of the time? So I’ll be watching The Cotton Club a lot, a documentary of the prohibition era I found on Netflix, and digging into the geography and era before getting to drafting in March.

Okay, your turn–what are you up to this week? And what are your favorite writing references?

Epic FLAIL Warning: Three Awesome Things (#ROW80)

Taking my queue from our fearless, intrepid leader Kait Nolan, I’m doing a special post of Three Awesome Things, because this week the Awesome ovefloweth. Ready? Set! AWESOME!!

 AWESOME #1:

 Keepers of the Flame: Origins# 1 has broken 100 downloads on Smashwords–AND it just got approved for Smashwords’ premium catalogue, so it it should be available for free download across multiple platforms/sites soon. 100 may not sound like a lot to you guys, but it was better than I expected, considering it’s only been out a couple of weeks and it was only available via Smashwords. I really didn’t know what to expect, what with all the noise out there in the indie/self-pub world, and so its modest but steady climb has got me doing a Tigger Bounce all over the place. NUMFAR! DO THE DANCE OF JOY!!

 AWESOME #2:

My rough draft of Big Dang Projeckt (aka The Minstre’s Daughter) is complete! Clocking in at 99K words, it’s finally done! DING DONG THE DRAFT IS DEAD! DEAD, I TELL YOU!! BHWA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA!!!

*crazy eyes*

*hyperventilates*

*falls over*

This is especially awesome, because I had a horrible drafting day on Saturday due to lack of sleep. But then I got a good night’s sleep, and on Sunday, settled in for the day’s words at 9:00 am on the spot, determined to spend the day getting as close as possible to the end. I ended up booking 6.5K words and (with breaks) typing THE END at around 7:30 pm. Woo-hoo!

  AWESOME #3:

 Out of curiosity while trying to see if Keepers: Origins #1 was available at online vendors yet (it’s not) I discovered on Ye Olde Amazon that BRIGHID’S MARK (Keepers of the Flame #2) is NOW AVAILABLE FOR KINDLE PRE-ORDER!

I can’t believe it’s out in the wild already! I mean, we’ve got over three months for release! I don’t even have ARCs yet.

Naturally this means I’m going to have to think up a free gift for those who go for the Pre-Order (not just for Kindle, but anywhere). This doesn’t mean that if you want a free ARC from me you can’t have one–far from it. Just drop me a line. But, if you DO pre-order, also let me know, and I’ll add you to YET ANOTHER LIST.

I’m beginning to feel like Santa here. I DO have lists, and I AM checking them twice.

Considering it’s only a couple of days into the week yet, I shudder to think what other Awesome might be coming down pike. (Oh, who am I kidding–I AM TOTALLY READY FOR MORE AWESOME.)

Gee, I guess I should get to working faster on Keepers: Origins #2, huh?

Author’s Log: A Long Time Coming (& #ROW80)

 Um, so I got a little carried away and ended up planning out my Production Schedule a couple of years out. And by “couple” I mean “six”.

At the end of last year I rearranged my schedule and earmarked certain things I wanted to draft through 2015. Well, now I have a Spreadsheet That Never Ends and it goes On and On my friends, and now I’m drafting through 2019 with two submissions happening in 2020. At that point I will have completed my tenth and final Keepers of the Flame novella, completed several other series, and more than a few novels. Yeesh.

I think it’s safe to say it got rather away from me, like a frozen yogurt dispenser that won’t stop dispensing. But unless I get hit between the eyes with a lightening strike of inspiration, I should be able to clear out my novella cache and focus solely on novels at that point. *dons tinfoil hat and ducks*

Of course, this is all subject to change at any given moment, but with FINALLY reaching the tail end of a rough draft for Big Dang Projeckt, I find myself looking forward to the future and all that I want to accomplish.

I’m also pleased as punch that downloads for Origins #1 are moving right along, even though Smashwords hasn’t gotten it up at retailers just yet. (I had to fix my title formatting and resubmit for review to their Premium Catalogue.)

Quick! To the Goalmobile (TM) before I find something else to write!!

Production Schedule (& ROW80)

BRIGHID’S MARK (In Production): Final proofs have been turned in to Editor Awesome, so we’re in the final stages of production. ARCs come next, so if you’re interested in getting a review copy (electronic only), then feel free to drop me a line. See my “Contact Cate” page for details.

THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER (Drafting): 93% Complete–whoo-hoo!! As of this writing I’ve got two chapters (six scenes) to go, so it may end up being slightly shorter than anticipated, but it’s still a little soon to tell. I could end up on a roll that needs to be trimmed back. But I’m almost there! In fact, as you’re reading this, I’ve probably got my intrepid heroes duking it out with the Big Bad.

KEEPERS #3 (In Revision): First three chapters are revised, though I added something in Chapter 1 I’m going to have to go back to explain. I figure if I finish Big Dang Projeckt this week, I can use the rest of January to polish.

KEEPERS #4 (In Development): Cracked open a fresh new notebook and started a profile on my protagonist. Keepers 4 is going to be something of a departure from the first three books in that while they took place in big cities (London, New Orleans, and NYC), this one is going to happen in the desert somewhere. I’m playing with the idea of Sedona, AZ because it’s so danged pretty, but we’ll see.

How about you, fellow Word Wranglers? How’s the new year going for you so far?

Author’s Log: In Memorium (& #IWSG)

 So, um, I TOTALLY MISSED that the Insecure Writer’s Support Group was pushed back a week due to the holiday. My bad.

*shame*

My oopsie does give me a chance, however, to write I post I’ve been dreading. I experienced–and am still feeling a bit–something of a breakdown last week. Most of you have read my mentions of a certain threatre director I studied under as a theatre geek, and how her teachings have helped made me the writer I am today. I may have learned craft from mom and lots of reading and practice, but my unique voice and approach to production management and criticism was formed and developed by her. My passion for theatre certainly came from her, as did my determination to be fearless. “Gotta love it!” came from her, as did “If you’re not loving it, you’re doing it wrong!”

I talk about her a lot. Almost every Friday night, in fact, when the Tech Monkey I get together to play video games and watch movies, to the point I’m sure he’s tired of hearing the same stories over and over. But that didn’t stop him from collecting a bunch of my favorite live performances on DVD as gifts for One Epic Christmas.

If this is beginning to sound like a eulogy, that’s because it kind of is. Last Friday, wanting to share this wonderful, extraoridnary woman with my husband, and further impress him with her credits (Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, Grease–yes, THAT Grease–, Rocky Horror Picture Show’s original NY and LA casts, to name a few), I went looking for her. It also occurred to me that it would be great to touch base with her on Facebook or somewhere, to let her know how I was getting on.

Instead I found an obituary, and her memorial foundation Theatre UnVeiled. Her name was Denise Jacobs, and she was one of the first and few mentors I ever had. I’ve held her lessons close to my heart for twenty years now, still bark her Denise-isms at innocent bystanders, still remind myself how to be fearless when needed. When I decided to make writing more than a hobby, her signature line “Don’t think about–just do it!!” is what sat my butt in that chair to figure out not just the story I wanted to tell, but the craft behind it and the business to come.

When I studied with her I went to a public California high school where sports were infinitely more important than the arts. My mom didn’t drive, my stepdad worked a lot and weird hours because he was a field tech for medical equipment. We didn’t have a lot of money, certainly not enough to invest in expensive equipment like dance shoes. She gave me and several other kids rides, or got the older kids to carpool with us–really instilling a sense of community among us. She’d get her theatre colleagues to donate services, equipment, anything. Hers were the first pair of professional dance shoes I ever donned. She taught me how to Time Warp.

She could be difficult–lord knows, YES. But I knew it came from tough love, from a need to see us reach our full potential. It was her realistic advice to skip college that kept me out of debt with useless degree–because I didn’t start young with traditional training, I was better off jumping into practical, on-the-spot training, and she would see the first doors were opened. I In the mid-’90s when everyone MUST go to college or you’ll die homeless and starving within five years of graduation–and California schools totally bought into the propoganda–this was highly unusual, and practically the highest form of Nazi, Communist evil. It’s no wonder she taught high school for only a few years before moving on to college. She helped me through my first breakup in the middle of rehearsals for the spring musical my senior year.

She would invite her theatre colleagues and college contacts to our performances and competitions–making sure were scouted the way athletes were. And not just the popular or lead kids–all of us determined to make a go of theatre beyond graduation.

She passed away in 2011–so short a time ago. She was only 62, and I still don’t know what happened. I wish I’d looked for her sooner, although she probably wouldn’t have known what to do with social media if she couldn’t have put a costume and shoes on it and slathered it in makeup and iambic pentameter. She had no patience for such nonsense–if you couldn’t put it onstage, or couldn’t adopt it, she didn’t want to know about it. But I might have tracked her down through the college or my old stage buddies, been able to send her an email letting her know how much she meant to me. How much she still means to me. I didn’t have a lot of stability or confidence back then, but I did have a lot of anger. She pulled me from what could have been a debilitating vortex, and instead helped me become someone so much better.

I guess the moral of the story is, life is short y’all–so whatever you want to do with yours, don’t wait around waiting for something to happen. Don’t put it off until it’s too late. In other words: Don’t think about it–just do it!!

Author’s Log: Cleanup On Aisle 2013 (& #ROW80)

It’s a fresh new year, and thus a fresh new round of A Round of Words in Eighty Days (aka ROW80)! I now give you, without further ado, The Stating Of the Goals:

Draft 1,000 Words/Day to keep the voices at bay. Every word I write over 1,000 will go into a Word Pool, and every word I lose below 1,000 will come of out the pool. When I have at least 1,000 words in my pool, I get a day off from drafting.

Finish Drafting Big Dang Projeckt by Jan 31. I’m reeeeeeeeally close on this one, so much so I can almost taste it. I’m ramping up for the big naval battle at the climax, which means I’m in the home stretch. If I keep up with my first goal, I should easily make it. Woo-hoo!

Finish a BETA-level Draft of Keepers #4. How this is going to be accomplished:

Jan: Research & Development. This means character work, location scouts and research, plotting, and key scene work. This will largely take place in an Official Author’s Notebook ™ of the Spiral Variety. All this scribble-scrabble should eventually result in what is mostly a rough draft that just needs to be pieced together, Beautiful-Mind style.
Feb: Drafting. This is when I’ll move from notebook to computer and begin drafting my “second”, or meditation, draft. This is usually when things I never considered, world-building or character or plot-wise, pop up like weasels in a writing box.
Mar: Revisions. This will be my deepened, polished, now-get-it-out-of-my-face draft, which I will then send to BETA readers. It will when be in a “cooling off” period until my notes come back and it’s due for a final polish.

My biggest goal this year, besides getting The Minstrel’s Daughter (aka “Big Dang Projeckt”) into the query pool, is to be a more prolific writer. I have this goal every year. It never quite works out how I planned, largely because I start out strong and end up burning out.

So I’ve tweaked the process behind my Production Schedule somewhat, so that I am (a) never drafting more than one thing at a time, and (b) am given the chance to refill my energy pool, i.e. pacing myself. This will also mean I’m not rushing so submit things before they’re ready, just because of a self-imposed deadline I’m pushing to meet.

What I’ve done is arranged things in one of three quarterly “cycles”, so I’m drafting for two months and taking a month off. This does NOT mean I won’t be working on my writing during those months. These will be revision and development months, and if I’m drafting anything it will most likely either be something I’m self-publishing and offering for free (like my Origins series), or flash fiction, or I’m spending time doing chapter critiques on the Online Writing Workshop, which I really would love more time to do.

It’s like farming, I guess—two fields going, one resting. In this way I can become a better, more prolific writer without burning out (or so I dearly hope). I’ve also added dedicated submission months for my novellas (Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct) to give myself room to work, but also so that I’m submitting a manuscript every three months—but not submitting a “current” manuscript, rather, one that was developed and drafted and rested and polished over a period of approximately six months instead of the three I’ve been shooting for and missing.

I managed to get a tentative project list/submission schedule in place spanning through 2016, so I should be able to get a respectable body of work out by then. It August of 2016, I will be 40 (yikes! o.O), and it is my overall goal to be writing full time during that year, which means queuing up a portfolio of paying work by then. By then I should have enough series in play and novels in the submission pool to make a go of it.

I have a plan. I have measurable, reachable goals to see it through. Now I just need to buckle down, but not overdo it. Discipline AND Balance, that’s my motto for 2014.

Author Watch: Happy New Year Edition (#IWSG)

 They say “the devil is in the details”, and so it is. It is also, I’ve found, in the planning.

I’m not much of one for New Year’s Resolutions, at least not in an of themselves. Resolutions are one thing; breaking down a resolution into milestones and stepping stones to those milestones is something else entirely.

This last year I’ve had the challenge of a mild health issue creeping up on me, ambushing my good intentions and upsetting my equilibrium. I’ve had to drastically change my eating habits (no doubt a good thing, regardless), which has taught me a little something about discipline, especially with the pizza staring at me in the face. Mocking me, as it were.

So as I sit down to consider my Production Schedule for the year, I also have to leave room for any minor upsets that come up. My writing goal is still 1,ooo words/a day, drafting-wise, but I also need to take better care of myself. Exercise. More sleep. Refilling the mental well. It’s been push, push, push, these last few months, and I need to return to balance. Only then can I write in tip-top condition. I’m in need of a major overhaul and consistent tune-ups, aka Preventative Maintenance. I am a sports car on a winding road–watch how I roar.

This year my Production Schedule still consists of four novellas and a novel, but first I need to sweep up last year’s words. I’m very close to a rough draft on Big Dang Projeckt, I have a final polish to give Keepers #3, and revisions on Waking Muse #1 to go. So January will be dedicated to cleanup on aisle 2013.  All the while I’ll be working on R&D for Keepers #4.

In order to accomplish this I can run a beat sheet for the day’s writing during my lunch hour at work so when I sit down to write I know exactly what I need to accomplish beyond a word count. This way I’m wasting as little time as possible staring a the Dread Cursor of Doom. Once the daily words are in, I can take a short break, then turn my attention to Development and Revisions.

I also want to find the time to write more Flash Fiction, and do First Chapter Critiques on the Online Writers Workshop, but I’ll have to take advantage of those moments as and when they present themselves. I’ve decided I’m going to go back to my Word Pool, wherein any words I write above 1,000 got into a pool, and any words I miss are taken out of said pool. As soon as I have 1,000 accumulated in said pool, I get a day off from drafting. This has worked well for me in the past, so Word Pool here I come.

So, to sum up: more words, more exercise, more sleep. Balance and Discipline.

How about you guys–what do you want to accomplish in 2014?

 

 

Author’s Log: Happy Birthday Edition (#KeepersOrigins)

 First of all, let me wish a BIG HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY to the Tech Monkey! 40 is the new 30, honey, I SWEAR.

As many of you other end-of-year birthday beasties are aware, when your birthday is right around Christmas, you tend to get seriously ripped off with “combined” gifts and no (or, possibly worse, half-assed) birthday parties. I found out when we first met the Tech Monkey had never had a birthday party like his older sister, and his Christmas presents were also his Birthday presents.

I mean, I love my in-laws to death, but really?

So every year I take it upon myself to get him his very own birthday presents, and proceed to cook up a birthday feast to his liking, since he does 98% of the cooking year ’round, and puts up with my dietary restrictions with aplomb. So despite his birthday falling smack between Christmas and New Years’, I throw myself into a Tech Monkey Birthday Extravaganza (TM) of verily epic proportions. On Thursday I ran The Amazing Race: Grocery Edition to pick up all the necessarily makings of said Extravaganza, phone app with list in one hand, cart in the other, careening wildly around aisles on two rickety wheels and running down small children and little old ladies.

Yesterday, I constructed (with architectural precision) a Lasagna, with a capital AAAAAH! I also rolled meatballs, and today as you’re reading this it’s all going in the oven to be served with Bruschetta and Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinagrette. I shall post pictures on the Facebook when all is in readiness for birthday consumption.

As it happens, the Tech Monkey now shares a birthday with something OTHER than the holiday season:

Aika Lareto’s life comes apart at the seams during one fatal trip to London. Instead of a romantic weekend away with her fiancé just as his career as a photojournalist comes together, chaos and destruction ends all their dreams. Suddenly everything she thought she knew turns to smoke.

And there’s a lot of smoke these days, as London is systematically destroyed in what is becoming known as the Second Blitz.

Then a mysterious old man reveals she’s a Keeper of the Flame, a champion destined to fight for humanity in the coming apocalypse. Aika isn’t interested; what she wants is for her life to go back to normal. When she can’t get out of London, joining the city militia seems the next best thing.

It’s there The Agent finds her, and recruits her into Dreamtech–would-be government conglomerate with a plan to save the city. The question is, are they saving it from war–or for themselves?

When Aika discovers the truth, she has a decision to make: embrace her destiny, or disappear.

That’s right–Aika from BRIGHID’S CROSS (Keepers of the Flame #1) is now ready to share her origin story–for FREE! This “short” story turned out to be more of a novelette of about 13K. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Find it wherever fine eBooks are sold–Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and more–including directly at Smashwords.

I’m thrilled to be bringing this story to you at long last–Aika helped me get published the first time, in the End of Days anthology at Samhain Publishing, and writing her origin story helped me answer all the questions left open in BRIGHID’S CROSS due to space constraints and my own fumbling as a first time author. This is also my way of saying THANK YOU to my readers and followers.

So Happy Birthday to the Tech Monkey to and Keepers of the Flame: Origins #1!

Author’s Log: In Which The Sword Is Mightier Than The Pen (#ROW80)

So I experienced some challenges this week. But, you know what? That’s okay. Because they were productive challenges. I either learned from them, and/or pushed my way through them. I’m lacking sleep, but, strangely, I feel pretty okay. (For now. Ask me again around 2:00pm when I finally pass out, buried in paper, stickies, and Ninja Katz.)

For one, I recently experienced another flare-up of a health issue I contracted about a year ago. Suffice to say it was my own fault—I hadn’t had an attack in probably six months, and I got complacent. I ate something stupid, paid the price, and now I’m dealing with the residual consequences. But I did my homework, picked up some supplements and remedies (for preventative maintenance and on-the-spot treatment, respectively), and now feel that I can better manage the situation. But it was a rough week until I was able to reboot my system, so to speak.

Since stress is a mitigating factor, however, keeping calm and going all Zen Master on my condition can often compete with what I’m writing. And I reached a crucial juncture in The Minstrel’s Daughter this week, y’all. Namely Plot Point 2, when hell has broken all sorts of loose on my poor little town and her characters. In an epic and desperate struggle to take back their home, a few of the good guys have perished. It was necessary, being a war, and all. But dealing with all the deaths and then the aftermath means going to a deep, dark place where the abyss doesn’t so much as look back as BITE.

One of my greatest resources as an author is my theatre background. This is where I received my training in characterization and emotion, and expressing both the internal and external consequences of those things. But to do that, well, you have to tap into the Big Nasty that exists in all of us to some extent. But you can’t overplay your hand. One of my director’s favorite sayings when she caught us overacting in a fervor of intensity was “Save it until you need it!” You can’t hit your emotional 10 in every scene—for where is there to go when you hit the climax?

Besides, the Big Nasty is a tar pit of skeletons—no one wants to go there more often than they have to. (Unless, of course, you’re Dexter Morgan, but I digress.)

I put my little story town and my heroes through a physical and emotional ringer. On the emotional amplifier scale of 10 I went to 11, and now I need to breathe, to reset my equilibrium–and to grieve with and for my characters.

Production Schedule (& ROW80):

BRIGHID’S MARK (In Production): Keepers #2 is officially out of editorial rounds and is in Final Line Edits. After this comes copy edits and then release–we’re in the home stretch! W00-hoo! I’m not sure how much time I’ll have until the Line Edits come in, but I’m guessing around the three month mark. This means I need to take the time to finish up various other sundry projects, namely:

THE MINSTREL’S DAUGHTER (Drafting): Acts I & II are tagged and bagged. Dealing with the emotional fallout of Plot Point 2. Can I finish the final nine chapters in the next 10 days? We shall see. I did drop my overall word count goal back to 90K, as the pacing is picking up quite a bit in this third and final act. This should make my daily cord count goal much more management as well, to about 1800 a day. I really feel like I’m in the home stretch.

KEEPERS–ORIGINS #1 (In Revision): I decided to add an epilogue at the end told from either Declan’s POV or The Agent’s (my Romantic Interest and Antagonist from Keepers #1, respectively). The current ending seems lacking. This needs to be polished and ready to go this week, if I’m going to meet my self-imposed deadline.

KEEPERS #3 (In Revision): Editor Awesome is more than willing to take my submission on Keepers #3 before Keepers #2 is out of the gate–beyong being polished to within an inch of its life, I need to make sure I eradicate Every. Single. POV. Issue. Editor Awesome was very clear on this fact. I can tell I’m going to have to do a pass just for this alone–hopefully ONLY one. If anyone has any advice, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Oh–and Happy Festivus everyone!

Author’s Log: Where The Pedal Meets The Metal (& #ROW80)

So I missed blogging last week. Sorry, guys–I really and honestly forgot. I’ve been so deep into other things it completely slipped my mind. I suck.

*shame*

But. BUT. We have progress. HUZZAH!

Let’s take it by the numbers, shall we?

Party planning. 2014 is fast approaching, and I actually mapped out my Production Schedule ahead of time. Crazy how that works, innit? This is especially important as I want to try a few new ideas, platform-wise. I’ve been reading Create Your Writer Platform by the very helpful Chuck Sambuchino, and Goodreads For Authors by Michelle Campbell-Scott is next on my list. This means that with everything I want to accomplish next year, it’s imperative I manage my time more effectively than ever. To this end I’ve started a fresh new writer’s notebook/journal to keep track of, well, ALL THE THINGS.
Revision Firestorm. No, I didn’t set my manuscript trunk ablaze in righteous writerly fury. No, really. Those fire trucks you hear have nothing to do with me. Ahem. ANYWAY, Round 2 of Editorial Revisions for Brighid’s Mark are back with Editor Awesome, and just under the deadline wire, and now we are officially out of Editoral Rounds and into Final Line Edits with Editor Eagle-Eye. I’m now revising  my way through Keepers: Origins #1 and Keepers #3 with those same notes in mind. I want both polished and ready to go by the end of the month/year.
Drafting Fandango. With Keepers: Origins on the Revision burner, I’m turning my daily word count/drafting goal back toward The Minstrel’s Daughter. Aka the Novel That Just Won’t End.  I need this story. It’s my One Ring. I love it, but it’s slowly driving me mad and killing me by inches the more time I spend away from it. IT MUST BE MINE!!

*pant pant*

To this end I have to double down on my 1,000 words/day drafting goal to over 2,000. Basically, if I average about 2,100 words a day, every day, for the rest of December, then I’ll have a rough draft of Big Dang Projeckt. FINALLY. Fortunately I have some time off from Day Jobbery coming for the holidays, so naturally I’m going to push this word count goal even further so I might actually be able to Christmas Day off. Cuz, yanno, NEW GAMES YAY. And the Tech Monkey’s traditional Christmas Feast would make all of Whoville hang their heads in shame.

So I have quite a lot to accomplish by the end of the year, but I’m in the home stretch.

BTW, if anyone knows why I can’t updated/add image widgets on my WordPress sidebar, I’d LOVE to know. Seriously. *grumble*

How about you guys? Are you slowing down in anticipation the holidays, or are you accelerating toward the finish line?

How I Came To Love Criticism (#IWSG)

 So I love to cook. I’m just not, er, very good at it.

Well, that’s not quite true. I make a white wine sauce for lamb chops that will make you channel Oliver Twist. It’s fairer to say the few things I do cook I cook very well–There just aren’t that many things I know how to cook.

Here’s the thing. Most people learn to cook from their mothers. My husband sure did, boy howdy. He just doesn’t “cook”. He cooks. So much so he was able to open a restaurant on his 21st birthday.

My mom, however, was one of eight kids in an Irish Catholic family, four of them boys. Three square a day was a myth, and its footprints had never been spotted. Joining the Air Force in the early seventies was a revelation. Air Force food, as far as she was concerned, was the best. She won’t make meatloaf anymore, because no one will touch it and we tease her relentlessly about putting raisins and apple chunks in it.

So I never really learned to cook. And, well, I married one. I now officially like meatloaf, after years of not going anywhere near it.

So I recently I had occasion, during one of my typical Neflix marathons, to catch a cooking competition show between restaurants in the UK hosted by Gordon Ramsey, aka The Scottish Chef. During the Italian Cuisine competition, a pair of brothers specialized in very experimental cooking techniques and presentation, and their very supportive mum ran front of house.

Being a very supportive mum, she would never hear anything remotely critical about her darling, genius boys. She would actually argue with the customer, and provide her boys only positive feedback, despite most of the plates coming back with a majority of the food remaining.

Two things I learned from this, as a writer:

Pay attention to the patterns. Any feedback that is consistent is probably correct.
You don’t learn much of anything–except, of course, what you do well–from hearing only positive feedback. You don’t get better in this way. You just get blinders, and thus blind-sided.

As a theatre monkey, I craved criticism. That is, I craved constructive criticsm from trained professionals and my fellow performers, because finding the rough spots in my technique and working like blazes to hone them to sharp edges made me better.

So why should writing be any different?

Fast foward to present day. I’m in Round 2 Editorial Revisions for Brighid’s Mark, Book 2 of my Keepers of the Flame series. Once again, I’m in the hands of an invested, patient professional (aka Editor Awesome). And while she is quick to point out what I do very well, she also details areas I need to be aware of–and provides the coaching necessary to ensure I get better.

Criticism doesn’t mean you’re a horrible writer who should never put cursor to blank screen. If that were true, I never would have sold a single manuscript. Rather, it’s an opportunity to hone your craft.

This doesn’t mean to say that if one single person doesn’t like such-and-such you should immediately change it. There’s no way to please everyone. You’ll spin your wheels in the mud if you try–you’ll just end up burning up your engines and get nowhere, fast.

But pay attention to the patterns. Consistent feedback will draw your attention to weak spots that can be shored up with careful consideration, which then leads to improvement if you’ve learned from the experience. It’s an exercise in mental stamina that will get you to the next level in your craft.

I really, really needed this kind of coaching with Book 1 in my series. Book 2 is so much stronger now, and will continue to grow so. Once again, I’ve come to crave criticism. I live for my editorial letters now, even before I’ve garnered a contract. I’m not worried that she’ll hate one of my stories–I’m worried that she’ll love them so much I’ll end up missing something.

I guess, in the end, this goes back to Lesson 1: Gotta Love It.