Loni Townsend's Blog, page 9

Finding the Write Setting #IWSG

Man, time is sneaking up on me. It’s been a scramble to try to keep up with everything in life, and that’s put me behind in everything else. It’s hard to believe that it’s already September and Insecure Writer’s Support Group day.

I’ve got insecurities a plenty. Will I frustrate people with book 3’s timeline? Will I finish MMF this year? How will my rewrites in Isto turn out?

But I haven’t really had time to focus on that lately, so I’ll just answer this month’s question.

IWSG Question of the Month: If you could pick one place in the world to sit and write your next story, where would it be and why?

To tell the truth, my choice of location has nothing to do with writing. It’s been a life long dream of mine to go to Japan. I used to talk about traveling there with my grandma. It was a childhood fantasy that never came to fruition, and I admit, it’s one of the largest regrets of my life that I’ll never overcome. Between school, work, and life, I never made that hope of mine a reality, and my grandma has since passed away.

So, if I could pick one place to go, it’d be there. I’d travel back in time and hop on a plane with my grandma. It doesn’t matter if we wound up at a shrine in the mountains or in the center of busy Tokyo. I could write anywhere. It’d be so much cooler if it were there with my grandma.

Where would you go? Would it be some place in the present? Or would you travel to the past?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post Finding the Write Setting #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Doing All The Stuffs #AmWriting

Before I get into today’s post, I want to say thank to everyone. Life has slowly been making its way back to stability. All of your condolences have been heartwarming, and I appreciate it.

Now, onto writing related stuff.

Have you ever wanted to do so much that you find yourself uncertain where to start and therefore you finish nothing?

That’s me.

As I reviewed my Isto chapters to figure out how to revise for better tension, I decided to take out the arrival of some people at my main character’s location and replace it with a monster fight (unwritten, as of yet). Since my brain insists that I keep everything in line, I hopped into book 3 of my series to see what the damage would be. I’d added these to my plan, but now they’re not going to be there. I’m okay with them not being there, because I wasn’t sure what role they’d play in the greater story arc other than a mention of them in a 6K character origin story I wrote some time back.

That got me reading book 3’s chapters.

Good news: I still find the story interesting. Bad news: It left me wanting to write fresh story rather than edit existing chapters, because creation is so much more fun than correction (though my friend Dani would disagree). I added about 2K worth of words and tried to figure out how I wanted to lay out the chapters. I’d made a plan for this book, but things aren’t as short as I’d anticipated. What had been one little Post-It note on my plan (caught in illusion) has turned into three chapters. And on my plan, I’d had another character’s story further along at that point, which again throws off the flow.

As I chewed my lip debating if I wanted to start passing this hot mess off to my critique group, I decided that no, I wouldn’t. I’d go with something safer, something lighter, something that I’d hoped to finish this year.

So I dug Murder Most Fowl out of the holding bin.

Since I needed a refresher, I started rereading. I was up to 20K with a target of finishing around 25K, so completing 5K before my group gets to that point in the story should be doable. As I got toward the last two chapters, I realized why I had stalled out. Things get serious and it just became dramatic and unfun. So I cut the last 2K, and started that section over. I’m once again where I left off, but this time I’ve got ideas on how to move the story along.

Needless to say, I haven’t made much progress on Isto’s edits. *hangs head* But hopefully, by this time next week, I’ll have finished MMF and can complete my circle to find myself back in Isto territory.

Do you tend to work on multiple stories at once? Do you ever find yourself distracted by other stories, keeping you from what you should be doing?

The post Doing All The Stuffs #AmWriting appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Heartbreak and Emotions #Life

I had to say goodbye to one of my dogs on Sunday. One (sounded out as oh-nay) came into my life 14 years ago. She was a seven week old shiba inu puppy whom the owners had bought but hadn’t realized how high strung she’d be. She happened to be visiting the same vet as my dog (also a shiba inu), and when the owners couldn’t take it anymore, the vet reached out to me. Would I like to buy her for $700 (a big discount for a purebred shiba inu in Idaho 14 years ago)? I politely declined, not wanting to make the investment when I was already paying for my other dog’s broken leg. A couple days later, the vet called back. The owners would give me the dog for free if I was willing to give her a good home.

And so, in August of 2005, One came to live with us and became part of the family.

After five years of living among adults, we weren’t sure how she’d handle the addition of kids to the household. But once we brought home our daughter, we knew there wasn’t anything One wouldn’t do to protect her.

She guarded both children through infanthood, keeping a watchful eye to make sure nothing harmed her little humans.

This past year had been a rough one for One. At the end, she was blind, deaf, arthritic, and had a wound on her stomach that wasn’t healing. It was her behavior that concerned us the most. More and more often, she’d act like she was drunk, swaying in place before falling over. We had put off the decision for two weeks before finally agreeing that it was time to say goodbye.

My husband and I have been a wreck all week, but we’ve been keeping composed for the sake of the children. My son asked me last night when the dog was coming home from the animal hospital. I fought off tears when I told him she wasn’t coming home. I think that same realization hit my remaining dog, as he’s been whining and looking out the window as if waiting for her to return. My daughter seems to understand what’s happened, but not the gravity of it.

We love you, One. You will be missed.

The post Heartbreak and Emotions #Life appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Blurble Blurble #IWSG

It’s the first Wednesday of the month. That means it’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group day! What has me insecure today?

Well, for one, my blurb is never good enough for me.

Last week, I talked about my blurb. I’ve redone it again with some help from Elizabeth Seckman.

She’s the ruler of the broken. He’s the breaker of the rules.

He saved his wife and condemned his world.

MaTisha died in the final battle of the Thanmir War. To revive her, Derek stole the power of the deities. Now, they want it back and demand he be the instrument of his wife’s demise.

Derek tries to flee his fate, but divine wrath isn’t his only problem. A mysterious illness threatens a race presumed immune to everything, endangering his only child. He leaves in search of a cure and a way to circumvent killing his wife.

With Derek gone, MaTisha faces trouble of her own. Istos, immortal monsters from myth, are literally sucking the life out of the population.

She must do something, but resurrection’s changed her. She’s lost her power, her guardians, and her self-control is slipping. An insatiable thirst plagues her, making even her closest companions look tasty.

She’s determined to protect her people, but who will save them from her?

*sigh* Why must blurbing be so hard? In the previous post, C.G. Coppola mentioned there wasn’t a question as to the stakes (also something Chemist Ken brought up). And though I recoil from the use of actual questions in my blurb, I did it anyway. As I sat and thought about literal questions to describe the stakes, I realized that I hadn’t emphasized some of the stakes in the story as much as I could. So after rewriting the blurb, I went back through my story and sprinkled some focus and concern throughout the chapters. Hopefully it’ll be enough to add the focus I’m looking for.

On a more secure note, I have to admit I’m proud of my progress in the digital painting realm. My latest digital painting of MaTisha is far nicer than my previous works of her. Yes, she looks different–I purposefully changed her eye and face shape to give her a softer/rounder appearance. But she matches my mental image of my character better than my other works so I’m okay with that. I still suck when it comes to backgrounds, though.

I’m Missing Something #AmEditing

I’ve been working my way through Isto, listening to the chapters through my text-to-speech program. One thing I’ve noticed is the sheer number of missing words I’ve come across that my eyes just skim over. Take this example. Five different people besides me have read it and no one noticed:

    Cameron threw himself to his feet. “Enough!”

    The people closest to him quieted first and it rippled through the rest of room like a ring around a water drop. He glared down from his place on the platform. Several eyes looked away. He focused on Fredrick. “I will admit to charges of treason. You may even take my life if you wish it. But my unit is innocent and that is not debatable. Do I make myself clear?”

Did you see the missing word, or did your mind flow over and fill it in like mine did? It might be easier since you know something’s missing and it’s only a small snippet.

My ears have found no less than a dozen of these mistakes that my eyes just miss, and I’m only a quarter of the way through the book. Sheesh!

Since I was combing through my story, I took another peek at my blurb. Going to Facebook gave me minor feedback, but then Chemist Ken chimed in with his input. So I’m still working on the blurb.

Here’s what I posted to Facebook in a group meant for indie covers and blurbs.

He saved his wife and condemned his world.

She’s the ruler of the broken. He’s the breaker of the rules. Derek stole the power of the deities to bring MaTisha back to life. Given the choice, he wouldn’t hesitate to do the same again.

But people are dying.

An unknown illness manifests among a race immune to everything, thrusting Derek into the role of healer. As he leaves to save the people who once saved him, reports of attacks reach MaTisha’s desk. Istos, immortal creatures from myth, are loose and literally sucking the life out of the population.

MaTisha struggles to keep her people safe, but resurrection changed her. She’s lost her power, her guardians. Even her self-control is slipping. An insatiable thirst plagues her. And now, some of her dearest companions are starting to look tasty.

I went back to the drawing board after Ken emailed me. I admit I have some darlings that I’m unwilling to part with. The new version is about 10 words too long for my tastes, but I’m not sure where to trim it. It’s still a work-in-progress and this is what I’ve got as of this morning:

She’s the ruler of the broken. He’s the breaker of the rules.

MaTisha died in the final battle of the Thanmir War. Derek stole the power of the deities to bring her back. Now, they demand he restore what was taken and be the weapon used in re-killing his wife.

Derek tries to flees his fate, but discovers divine wrath is only a fraction of his problems. An unknown illness manifests among a race immune to everything, putting his only child at risk. Istos, immortal creatures from myth, are loose and literally sucking the life out of the population.

While Derek leaves to find a cure, MaTisha fights to protect her people. But resurrection’s changed her. She’s lost her power, her guardians. Even her self-control is slipping. An insatiable thirst plagues her, making her closest companions look tasty.

As the death toll rises, the terrible consequences of Derek’s choice become clear.

He saved his wife…

…and condemned his world.

Better? Worse? Suggestions?

Do you like writing blurbs? What’s the most common mistake you make when writing? Do you usually pick up on missing words?

The post I’m Missing Something #AmEditing appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

Tackling Life and Making Progress #WinningAtLife

It’s taken me half a month longer than hoped for, but I finished my rewrite of my final battle! Now I’m gearing up to go through the whole book again and tidy up things like the consistency of the main character’s hunger and checking to make sure the moon coins are the right colors. But that’s not all the progress I’ve made in life.

One of the things I’ve struggled with for the past couple of years is time management. I found myself stuck in a situation of all or none. I either get time for myself to accomplish my goals, or I dedicate myself to my kids and help them improve. It sent me spiraling off into a depressive funk seasoned with a hearty helping of guilt. Mentally, I was barely staying afloat.

My solution? A lunch time power nap.

Now, I’m a person who doesn’t fall asleep quickly, so I thought the power nap wasn’t something I’d ever accomplish. But in my hunt for life optimization, I found an article that pointed out: napping isn’t sleeping. I said, “what the heck, I’ll give it a try” and I have to say, it’s been a game changer for me.

I get up at 4:15 AM now (versus 5:30). I’ve taken up following YouTuber blogilates and doing her PIIT 28 workouts, finishing off with my own interval jump roping which is 1 minute on, 20 seconds of rest for 7 intervals. I’m done by 5:15 AM–time enough to shower and do a Japanese language lesson (something I’ve shirked for years) before snuggling up with my daughter for our morning bonding time. The 20 minute midday power nap gives me enough of a recharge to make it until bedtime–allowing me to get all my evening bonding time in with the kids without feeling like I’m not getting any me-time. This also removes the need to choose between writing or exercise at lunch time (writing usually won).

Truth be told: I am exhausted. But that’s because I haven’t worked out since March. The key will be to not give in to the voices telling me to slack off. To help with that, I’ve got my favorite motivational talk that I’ve pretty much memorized by this point.

Have you had to make major changes to get what you want from life? What have you found that helps you accomplish your goals? Have you ever tried to power nap?

The post Tackling Life and Making Progress #WinningAtLife appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

A Bit of Me #IWSG

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, meaning it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!

What has me insecure this month? Honestly, not that much.

My rewrite of my prologue passed critique group approval, and I’m halfway through rewriting my big battle scene. One of my fellow critiquers commented that my story is like a balloon, I squeeze it in one place (cut 2K from the prologue) and it bulges somewhere else (I’ve added 2K to the final battle so far). It’s not untrue. As far as insecurities go: life and work has been busy lately, so I haven’t been able write in over a week. My goal was to finish all my edits by the end of June. As today is July 3rd, well, we see that I didn’t make it.

Rather than dwell on my deficiencies, let’s move on to the question of the month!

IWSG Question of the Month: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

Ha! Unfortunately, it’s my less desirable qualities that have made it into my characters. MaTisha is a control freak. Cera has an inflated ego. Alberich lacks empathy and coldly analyzes everything (I do have empathy, but it’s a considerably low amount).

On the positive side: I do care about my family, which is a trait that comes out in almost all of my characters.

Do any of your traits make it into your characters? Have you had the “balloon effect” with your writing? Can you believe the year is halfway over?

About Insecure Writer’s Support Group



You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.

The post A Bit of Me #IWSG appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

13 Years #Life

A long, long time ago, I got a job in a call center. They held a multi-week training class, and we had to pass the final test before moving out to the floor. Someone got a perfect score on the test, and that was the first time I ever noticed the quiet young man sitting in the back of the room.

This quiet high-scorer and I were put on the same team, seated next to each other. We had several web-based tools for our job, and he built an HTML page with all the links. As an aspiring programmer, it made my heart skip.

I’d led an unromantic life up to that point–my one and only boyfriend lasting 18 months and me breaking off the relationship with, “I think you need a woman who respects you and I’m not that woman.” I’d told my brother I was probably going to be single for a while.

Three months later–quiet high-scorer asked me out on a date.

Okay, so he didn’t really ask. I mentioned I wanted to go to a movie but my bff wouldn’t be able to go. Quiet high-scorer shrugged and said, “If your friend can’t go, I’d be happy to go with you.” I blinked at him and said the first thing that popped into my mind: “Actually, next on the list is Sarah.”

The tale of me and the quiet high-scorer continued with him continually out-performing me, and (though it sounds conceited) I wasn’t used to that and it impressed me. He also wasn’t afraid of risks as I watched him try sushi for the first time (this was almost 15 years ago, so sushi wasn’t as big as it is now). He was fiscally savvy, a hard worker, intelligent, quick-thinking, confident, and had a sense of humor that made me laugh.

Plus, he was cute.

On June 24th, 2006, I married that quiet high-scorer.

Happy Anniversary to My Love. (Alright, alright, so our anniversary was on Monday, but I don’t post on Mondays.)

The post 13 Years #Life appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

You Can’t Be Series-ous! #AmPlotting

For almost 2/3 of my life, Derek’s lived in my head. For those who don’t know, he’s the main character in my big books. I decided his story could be told in 4 installments, which included the discovery of who he is, the consequences of his actions, trying to right all the wrongs, and finally achieving peace.

Cameron

About 18 years ago, Cameron stalked into my brain. (It’s actually really crowded in there, but people get disturbed when I tell them about the voices in my head, so I don’t mention it often.) He was meant to be only a supporting character, but then we both discovered he was more than he seemed. Over the past decade, his role in Derek’s story expanded to the point that he directly influences it, including the villains planned for book 4.

Last week, I determined I need to figure out the events of book 4 to make sure I had all my squirrels in a row for book 2 (Isto, which is my current WIP). I started down my usual route of exploring character goals and dilemmas, and the events needed to get me to the end. I realized it was going to take a while before Derek achieved his peace. He had to deal with family and PTSD first. Bringing in the villains before Derek’s breaking point was going to muck things up, but bringing them in after felt like I was jumping into a completely separate story arc.

That’s when I came to the terrible realization: This series needed another book.

A few choice swearwords left my mouth. You see, I had my book covers finished for my four-book series. They follow a theme relating to my elemental clans. Lucky for me, I do have five elemental clans. Unlucky for me: the only unused clan has nothing to do with the events of the now-book-5.

That hijacked my brain processes into MUST-FIGURE-OUT-COVERS mode and I spent the weekend logicaling my way through titles and symbolism in a mental shell game. The unused clan fit best with book 3, so book 3’s cover got moved to book 4, book 4 to book 5, and an new cover was created for book 3. But then the titles no longer made sense with the symbolism, so the titles for books 3 and 4 swapped. Then I needed a title for book 5 and I didn’t have a good option that would fit on the cover. So, I created a title that would fit and jumped back into book 2 to integrate it into the story.

It’ll be amazing if I finish this series within my lifetime. On a positive note, I’m finally into rewriting my big battle scene. Once I finish that, I’ll reread the story again before reaching out to beta readers with what will hopefully be an improved draft that won’t require major story changes.

Have you ever planned or written a series? Do you spend time figuring out events for future books? Have you had a character hijack your story?

The post You Can’t Be Series-ous! #AmPlotting appeared first on Squirrel Talk.

One Million Words #IWSG

Though I didn’t intend to take a hiatus from online life during the month of May, it happened regardless. Now you might be thinking the post title implies how many words I wrote during my time offline. Sadly, that’s not the case. But it is how many words I consumed.

When it comes to “reading”, I prefer audiobooks because I can listen while doing things like vacuuming, folding laundry, mowing the lawn, or taking my daily walk at lunch. I can also adjust the playback to 1.3x speed. Doing so, I managed to complete the three books available in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive in under one month.

Book 1 – The Way of Kings – 384K

Book 2 – Words of Radiance – 398K

Book 3 – Oathbringer – 454K

And people chastise me about having long books.

I guess that ties into the IWSG Question of the Month: Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

What can I say? I happen to enjoy sprawling epics.

Alright, alright. Thanmir War can be slimmed down from it’s 170K mark, but I’m determined to finish writing the series before returning to revise my debut book. Isto is presently sitting at 185K, and based on my task list, it will probably grow.