K.M. Shea's Blog, page 70
March 24, 2014
Wild Swans–HAH!
The Wild Swans is trolling me. For those of you who don’t know what trolling means…
Trolling: Verb
Being a jerk because you can, most commonly refers to exchanges and activities on the internet. Synonyms: The Wild Swans
I’m happy with the way The Wild Swans is turning out. I’ve mentioned it a few times already, but this story has more hit to it than Beauty and the Beast, and the characters are more complex too. The downside is that this story, this, this irritating tale is never done. I’ve done a few edits on it now, added in several new scenes, and while I want to say it’s done (except for the final edits) I’m resisting. Why? Because every time I tell someone I finished it I’m hit with a nagging thought of “Things would tie up better if it went like this,” or “I forgot to mention that in the beginning of the story,” which means I have to go back and fix it. It’s great because you guys will (hopefully) end up with a really nice end product to read, but it does serious damage to my mental state because it’s just clinging to me like a burr! I like finishing books, I don’t like sitting on them like a roosting hen on an egg!
Still, as much as I complain all the additions are worth it if it means the story is richer/of higher quality. (Just don’t tell it I said that!)
And finally the update for CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE
Life Reader: 21
My Life at the MBRC: 20
Red Rope of Fate: 10
Remember to cast your vote by April 3! The race is much closer than I thought it would be, so I’m just as excited as you guys. Thank you to everyone who voted, and I will see you on Wednesday.
March 21, 2014
Death to Poor Punctuation
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything for budding writers, and in my quest to rid myself of poor punctuation in The Wild Swans I found several helpful websites I would like to share.
Clout of the Comma: Zomygawsh I need this. CotC exclusively deals with commas. It doesn’t really explain the usage of commas as it finds examples and shows you the wrong way and the right way to punctuate the sentence. If you understand the rules of the comma but have a hard time making the jump to applying the rules to your writing, this blog will ease the transition by giving you more examples than you have time to read.
Grammar Cop: Grammar Cop is sort of the “Dear Abby” for the grammar/punctuation puzzled. Readers write in with their questions and Grammar Cop answers. Being that it is reader fueled, Grammar Cop is a great resource because it answers tricky things that aren’t addressed in your typical grammar/punctuation book.
Grammar Girl: I stumbled on Grammar Girl’s blog/article database while looking for information on comma splices. Out of all the sites I have listed here, GrammarGirl is the most recommended and highest rated. She tackles one topic, like comma splices, per article. She is a great resource for grammar and punctuation.
Grammar&Punctuation: I will fess up, I haven’t had a chance to take a deep look at this blog. However, it was recommended by the same people/places that recommended Grammar Girl, so I’m inclined to think it’s a good resource.
If you’re looking for a break from the shame and correcting, check out DailyWritingTips‘ list of “Punctuation Protector” blogs. The blogs take a sarcastic/snarky look at poorly used punctuation. My favorite was the “Blog” of “Unnecessary” quotes. Thanks for reading, Champions. Have a glorious day!
March 19, 2014
Greed is thy name
Today I made the unfortunate discovery that I froze a bunch of the molasses cookies I made with my mother roughly a month ago. I say unfortunate because I just scarfed down several of those cookies, and now I’m starting to regret my greed. Not to self: I no longer have the ability to eat a meal consisting entirely of desserts.
Perfect Dog is doing the bathroom dance, so I’m going to make this quick! I finished the first round of editing The Wild Swans. I start the second round tomorrow.
As for your CHAMPIONS CHOICE update:
Life Reader: 11 votes
My Life at the MBRC 16 votes
Red Rope of Fate 6 votes
Voting is open until April 3.
Perfect dog says “GET OFF THE COMPUTER NOW AND TAKE ME TO THE LITTLE GIRL’S ROOM,” so I shall end it here. Thanks for reading, Champions. Until Friday!
March 14, 2014
CC update & Book Meme
CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE has been open for three days now. The voting results currently are…
My Life at the MBRC: 13 votes
Life Reader: 5 votes
Red Rope of Fate: 4 votes
Voting ends April 3, so be sure to cast your vote before then!
For the record, I want to assure you all that all three books will (eventually) get sequels, but not until next year. The book that wins this contest will get its sequel written this summer–a significantly sooner time.
Finally, I read this cute little book/sharing thing on Facebook, so I decided to post it on here. If you like post your results in the comment section, I’m always interested to hear what other people are reading!
The last book I finished reading: Midnight in Austenland–loved it!
The last book I did NOT finish: Honestly I don’t remember. Probably a reference book–I just research the parts I need to know, I don’t typically read them from cover to cover.
The last book(s) I bought: Library Wars–it’s a Japanese graphic novel, but I love libraries and this series does a fantastic job of making a futuristic story that has love, action, books, and libraries!
The last book I shared with someone: Wee Free Men: the MacFeegles make this book impossible to keep to one’s self.
The last book I raved about: Midnight in Austenland–because who wouldn’t like a book where the premise is taking an Austen styled vacation??
March 12, 2014
Editing & Open Voting
Today I took my first stab at editing Wild Swans. It’s going well, but I’m very excited to share my newest scheme/shenanigan with you! Today is the grand opening of CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE.
This summer I plan to write a long over due sequel for a book. What book? That depends on you. CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE allows you to vote for the book you most want to see a sequel to. The choices are:
My Life at the MBRC
Life Reader
Red Rope of Fate
I will write a sequel to the book that gets the most votes. Voting starts today and ends April 3. I will announce the winner on Friday, April 4, although I will give updates during the voting period.
Voting is open to everyone, but in order to keep things controlled I will be gathering the results myself rather than slapping a poll up here. To vote fill out the contact form in the top post of this page where I have all the info about CHAMPIONS’ CHOICE. Please give me your name and email, and the title of the book you want to vote for.
That’s it, so please vote for your favorite! Anyone care to make a wager which book will win?
March 11, 2014
FINISHED
The first draft of Wild Swans is FINISHED!!! Editing starts tomorrow, with some luck Wild Swans should be available for purchase in the first or second week of April. Right now Wild Swans has settled in at about 70,000 words. (That’s roughly 10,000 more words than B&B) While editing I usually trim down unnecessary words, which cuts the word count by 1,000 or 2,000, however, I do have a two or three extra scenes that need to be slipped in, so Wild Swans will probably be more around 72,000 words when I’m finished.
I have more exciting news to share about what books I will be writing this year, but I have to get everything set up for it so, Champions, you won’t be hearing about it until tomorrow. Until then, for the Champions in the northern hemisphere–embrace the signs of Spring! And for the Champions from the southern hemisphere–I enjoy the coming fall!
March 5, 2014
Sad Panda is Sad
This is a pretty accurate depiction of how I feel right now. I can’t believe it but I haven’t finished Wild Swans yet!! The good news is that all that is left is the epilog. I should finish tomorrow or on Friday. It’s not that I’ve been slacking or anything, it’s that this story is turning out to be much longer than I expected.
Like, we’re talking about 50 pages longer. So, really this is an occasion for a celebration because 1) the book is–I promise–almost finished and 2) it’s going to be longer, which is something the majority of my readers seem to long for.
Unfortunately this means that I’ve used my entire daily quota of somewhat-intelligent-things-to-say in my writing, so I’m tapped out at this moment. I will post on Friday to let you know how the epilogs go. I do think that everyone who enjoyed B&B will like Wild Swans, they might even possibly like it more. It is much more of a plot heavy book, there are more light hearted moments, and it has more character development than you can shake a stick at. (All the FEELINGS! It hurts me!!!)
Alright. I’m going to go sit in a corner and lean against it for moral support. Until Friday, Champions!
February 28, 2014
So CLOSE!
I am SO CLOSE to finishing The Wild Swans. I know I said that last time, but today I get to write the plot climax, and I’m hoping to finish up the story by next week Tuesday. The good news is after I finish it I will start writing real blog posts. The bad news is the editing process will most likely take as long as the actual writing of the book took.
Even so, I have fun things planned for March, Champions. Stay tuned because your input will be required!
In light of the fact that I will probably be writing/smashing keys on my keyboard in a caffeine induced haze, it is safe to bet I won’t post on Monday. I will, however, post the day I finish the first Wild Swans draft, so you should still hear from me early next week. Until I can report in next, take care and party on, Champions!
February 24, 2014
Wild Swans Update & Book Banquet
I have 81 pages of The Wild Swans written. Better yet, the Test Reader just got caught up this weekend and gave it her stamp of approval. Both she and I have high hopes that you all will enjoy this story. Elise and her quirky foster brothers exchange a lot of witty lines, and the story has a little more plot to it than B&B did so it sets a faster pace.
Writing news aside, before I grew ill last week I was craving fictional foods. (Think Harry Potter Butterbeer, Katniss’ Lamb Stew, Lembas bread from Lord of the Rings, are you hungry yet?) I haven’t found exactly what I’m looking for, but in my quest for fiction inspired foods I found a few websites I thought I would share with you guys
Fictional Food: This website is confusing to navigate, but it has some great Hunger Games and Game of Thrones recipes
Cook Fiction: I love that this place has great diversity in the series it pulls the foods from. There’s Bubbly Pies from the Dragon Riders of Pern, Lemon Cakes from Game of Thrones, Scooby-Doo scooby snacks, Sonic Screwdrivers from Dr. Who, and more.
Food Through the Pages: The most extensive site I found, this place has recipes for Robin McKinley’s Beauty, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and more. It also also gets props for the clean webdesign and excellent directions.
I hope this whets your appetite and gets your imagination going! Until next time; be well, Champions.
February 21, 2014
Author ails
Champions, I am alive and relatively well! I’m making this a short post as I have a lot of work to catch up on, but I was out sick the past few days–hence my social media/email silence. Do not worry, I’m feeling much better today. I can’t say I’m in tip-top shape, so I’m avoiding writing because I tend to craft really bizarre interesting scenes when I’m even slightly inhibited by medicine.
I am mostly caught up on my emails, but I received two messages from Champions that I cannot respond to. Yahoo keeps giving me nasty grams that the email addresses I’m trying to get a hold of our MIA. SO, if you’ve sent me a message and I haven’t responded please try again.
On Monday I hope to return to an interesting/not medicine inspired blog post. Until then, Champions.
