Terri Wallace's Blog, page 9
September 3, 2014
It’s all about the revisions
Sometimes the hardest part of crafting something (or life in general) is knowing what to keep and what to discard.
Originally posted on Lisette Rue:
Today marks day three of “trying to be healthier.” In the past few weeks, I realized that I am no longer 20-something. Hell, I am no longer 30-something. The realization came in a very humbling way. I realized that these hot, sexy things that I write about would–well, let’s me honest: these things would leave me a gasping (and not in the good way), sweaty, muscle-cramped mess.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have no desire to be a size 2. I did that once and those were the most miserable few months of my life. I quickly found out that (spoiler!) hunger makes me bitchy. And tired. And no fun. No, I want to keep the curves but gain some stamina. (Sexy requires a bit of endurance. No hungry twig-girls could handle the sex in my stories!) Hence the new attitude: Strong and healthy is sexy!
So I have surrounded…
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September 2, 2014
The House on H Street
If your Kindle is hungry, or if you just need a little Back to School treat to read while waiting at the bus stop, or stuck in the insanely long school pick-up line, download The House on H Street. It is FREE on Amazon, and this creepy urban fantasy will help scare away those Back to School Blues!
August 8, 2014
What if I fall?
Sometimes you read something that so perfectly captures the feelings of your soul that it feels like the writer used your tears to pen their words. Yeah, this is like that.
Originally posted on Cristian Mihai:
“What if I fall?”
“Oh my darling, what if you fly?”
Do you ever ask yourself if you like the person you are? If you are who you’ve always wanted to be? Do you know who you want to be?
To be honest, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I realized who I really wanted to be. I want to be that guy who tells people they can fly. I want to see the magic they have stored up in their hearts for so long. And I want to make them see it, I want to make them use it. Because, truth be told, falling is just another way to fly.
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August 6, 2014
Making Writing a Priority & When Helping is Hurting
Imagine all the writing time I will have if I can conquer my Compulsive Helping Disorder?!
Originally posted on Kristen Lamb's Blog:
The weird thing about the new paradigm of publishing is the Digital Age Author is a very different creature. She might be a single mom trying to squeeze in a couple hundred words before the kids wake up or a husband struggling to fit in a writing burst during a lunch break. It can be a dad striving to finish his book while still caring for his family. Maybe it’s a retired person balancing FINALLY pursuing that dream of writing…while caring for grandkids.
Which is to say that a lot of part and full-time writers are also caregivers. Many of us wrestle with guilt. I do. I love writing SO MUCH and it is SO FUN. But if I write instead of finishing laundry I am “bad” :( .
I’ve learned a rather weird lesson lately and I believe it’s worth pondering. We talked about workaholics the other day. It is…
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August 1, 2014
Autumn, Back to School, and Thanksgiving
Autumn is coming…
The minions will be going back to school soon. This means that all of their activities and extracurricular activities become my own. The chaos commences tomorrow. I must go exchange the 1/2 size violin for a 3/4. There are school supplies to be purchased, lunch boxes to be bought (gluten free lunches anyone?), shoes to be picked out, and organizing to do.
I have to confess, though: Growing up, I always adored Back to School time. I loved the new supplies, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. I could not get enough plaid skirts. (Well, plaid anything, really.) I loved the anticipation of autumn just around the corner.
I would wear sweaters long before it was legitimately cool enough to justify it. (I will happily wear a sweater at 70 or 75 degrees, but 55 degrees is officially “mandatory sweater weather!”) In case you were not aware: I. LOVE. AUTUMN.
Seriously. It is my favorite time of year. I love the smell in the air, the crunch of dry leaves underfoot, the shift in flavors from the lighter fare of summer to the heartier meals of autumn. I love new boots and jackets and scarves. Suddenly, I want to knit, to sew, to cook! Heck, I even got married in autumn, because who wants to have an outdoor wedding in sweaty June? Give me October!!! Yep, I’m an autumn girl.
And the best part is…it is nearly here. Once September arrives, I will start prepping in earnest. There is a wood pile to stack high, a chimney to get cleaned, a pantry to stock, and clothes to sort. And I am so ready!
But, in the meantime, other things must take priority. I have a new “side project” which will be ready soon. It is a drastically different genre, and will be published under a pen name. But I am very excited about it. I am days away from finishing the first draft. Then there is editing to be done before it is offered to beta readers. (It should launch in late August or early September.) And there are still a couple of weeks of summer before the kids all head off to the bus stop, ready to take on another year of learning, and messing up, and growing up. So, while I am eager for fall, I want to make sure that I don’t miss a moment of it!
Maybe this weekend we will rent a movie, pop some popcorn, and drag out a pile of blankets to cuddle up on while we watch, and talk, and laugh. Perhaps we will make slushies with the machine that their Grandma Z gave us. And we’ll have an anniversary dinner for my parents, too. Fifty years! Yep, there is a lot to be thankful for. A lot I should slow down and enjoy.
What are you thankful for this time of year?
July 18, 2014
“The Collector” is FREE on Amazon this Weekend
Just a reminder that “The Collector” is FREE on Amazon this weekend. If you are a fan of horror or Southern Gothic fiction, you should go download it now. It has been described as what you would get if Stephen King and Flannery O’Connor birthed a short story. But don’t take my word for it, check out what others have said or, better yet, go download it yourself and let me know what you think!
If you like what you read, check out my other stories and don’t forget to leave a review!
July 11, 2014
Happy Birthday to “The Collector”
Since we are coming up on the one year anniversary of my short story “The Collector” being available on Amazon, I thought it would be a good time to make it available for FREE! Download your FREE copy July 19, 20, and 21st.
If you don’t have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle for PC app or the Kindle for iPhone app for free! If you have already downloaded your copy, you can still download a free copy as a gift and email it to a friend for them to add to their e-reader!
And, as always, once you have had time to read it, please take a moment let me know what you think!
July 9, 2014
A Trilogy of Mondays
Monday was particularly Mondayish. Monday was the day that I found out that my book was pirated. After a hectic lunch hour of preparing a DMCA compliance letter, and lots of stress, the button offering a free download of my copyrighted work was removed from the offending website.
Tuesday resulted in a bit of a Twitter-war with the offending website. A search of their Twitter feed showed that nearly every tweet from them was an apology to a writer or a publisher, along with a recommendation that the (justifiably) angry individual click the “report copyright violation” button and report the it. The offending website claimed that (even though there is a big “DOWNLOAD” button and even though the search result clearing proclaims that the downloads are free) the download button does not actually download free content.
Today has offered a continuation of the Twitter-war, and also a sick child. My eldest woke up with her ear swollen shut and painful. I suspect swimmer’s ear, but she has a doctor appointment to confirm. Since I had to arrange for doctor-stuff, I was late to work, which means that I have to take a short lunch hour, which means my writing time gets cut in half. It also means more doctor bills and prescriptions in my world…a world which is currently overrun by medical costs.
Fortunately, I have a lot of blessings to help even out this trilogy of Mondays. Faith, family, friends…these are the things that sustain me. It’s a good thing trouble is not the only thing that seems to come in threes.
July 8, 2014
A Monday of Pirates
Yesterday I found out that my short story “The Collector” had been pirated. I spent my lunch hour drafting a DMCA compliance letter informing the offending website that they were violating my copyright. Fortunately, they promptly took it down. I have no way of knowing how many people downloaded the pirated copy. Honestly, it makes me sad more than it makes me angry.
I try to make my work available to readers for FREE several times per year. I like the idea of free books. This is one reason I love Amazon, and I love my Kindle, and I love libraries.
And I love readers. I love their voracious appetite for stories. I love it when they share their enthusiasm with other readers, or write a review, or pick up another copy of a book to give to a friend.
I also love writers…and I understand that they need to eat, and that their writing is their livelihood. So I buy books, I recommend books, and I download free stories that they sometimes make available on Amazon. If I enjoy it, I buy more books. I write reviews. I try to support the writers I enjoy…because I want them to keep writing!
I try to balance my passions: I write and hope that my stories will find readers who care enough about the characters to invest in them and buy my stories. For those whose paychecks cannot keep up with their desire for more stories, I make my stories available for free several times a year. Seems fair to me.
SPOILER: I will have a FREE STORY available on Amazon this month! More details will be coming soon.
July 1, 2014
The Quiet Grace of a Forced Reprieve
Last year was The Summer of the Move. The first part of the year seemed to be shaping up into The Year of the Medical Maladies. However, (knock on wood) things seem to be settling down a bit, so I am hopeful that the remaining part of the year will be known as The Year I Finished My Novel.
Where I sit and write…or at least think about writing.
While recovering from surgery, I wrote. A lot. That is the good thing about writing, even if you are unable to move around much–as long as you brain is fairly clear and your fingers function–you can work on stories. Depending on the amount of pain medication the doctor prescribed, there may be a bit more revising that normally required, but at least you can work toward your word count.
The novelization of The Collector is progressing. I hate to speculate on an estimated draft date, because every time I do that Life explodes all over my meticulously crafted spreadsheet and then days pass without pen being put to page. No, it seems that I do better when I try not to tempt fate. When I write quietly, sneaking in words when no one is looking, that is when I make real progress.
If you notice my relative quiet on Facebook and Twitter, it is because I am adding words towards my story rather than into the ether. If days, or a week, or even two (ahem) pass without a blog post, it is because a plot point has suddenly become clear, or a character needs my attention.
I go to sleep thinking about the story, and I wake up with snippets of dialogue in my head. I drive to work plotting out scenes, and I spend my lunch typing them out. It is a comfortable kind of routine, and it is yielding progress.
However, truth be told, I am grateful for the forced reprieve of the past few weeks. I am blessed with amazing friends, a good surgeon, and a family that repeatedly humbles me with their love and dedication. My husband and kids have taken such good care of me, and my mom and dad have surrounded me with love and prayers. Yes, I am definitely blessed.
Nothing like a cancer scare to make you reassess and prioritize things.
