Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Creeping Back to Life
I'm beginning to thaw out and write again. I'm going through the Graduate Novel portion of Holly Lisle's "Think Sideways" course, and enjoying myself.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year....I Think
Here is a shining example of what I need to do. It's January 1, 2009. I hereby make a resolution to set down a goal--quite modest in nature---to finish the Wintersland story. No matter how long or short it turns out to be.
The story is intended to be a young adult, which should put it around the 80,000 range--we'll see. The story still feels thin in places, so I may need to develop a couple of characters beyond just the name stage.
The story is intended to be a young adult, which should put it around the 80,000 range--we'll see. The story still feels thin in places, so I may need to develop a couple of characters beyond just the name stage.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Merry Christmas!!
(Picture courtesy of Charlieonline Graphics)
http://www.charlieonline.it/Tut-TagXmas_Greetings.htm
As Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us, everyone!"
Thursday, December 18, 2008
I Love and I Hate This Time of Year....
I love Christmas-time, but I hate writing this time of year. Too many demands on your time, too much stress, too much food, too little exercise...
But spending time with family is great. That has to come first.
Brief snippet: First draft, please don't quote or repost.
---------
The wind sprang from nowhere, gale-force, flinging snow in faces and tangling Katie’s hair. She heard people cry out. The wind circled the Wishing Tree, which remained untouched.
Snow whirled, coalesced into a visible shape. As Katie watched, Mel looked back at her, an agonized expression on her face.
Katie reached out.
“Don’t!” someone said.
Katie hesitated. The girl was again at her side, hanging on to her sleeve.
“She is a Yule Ghost! Touch her, and you will share her agony!”
“How can I help her?” Katie asked in a trembling voice. Her sister’s visibly tortured features shredded her insides.
“I—I don’t know,” the girl admitted.
The wind slowed, subsided to a sigh. Mel lost form and being, dissipating on the last breeze.
“Mel!” Katie whispered.
Leave me, Katie. Save yourself.
From somewhere the anger boiled to the surface, and Katie screamed at her sister. “How dare you leave me!”
But spending time with family is great. That has to come first.
Brief snippet: First draft, please don't quote or repost.
---------
The wind sprang from nowhere, gale-force, flinging snow in faces and tangling Katie’s hair. She heard people cry out. The wind circled the Wishing Tree, which remained untouched.
Snow whirled, coalesced into a visible shape. As Katie watched, Mel looked back at her, an agonized expression on her face.
Katie reached out.
“Don’t!” someone said.
Katie hesitated. The girl was again at her side, hanging on to her sleeve.
“She is a Yule Ghost! Touch her, and you will share her agony!”
“How can I help her?” Katie asked in a trembling voice. Her sister’s visibly tortured features shredded her insides.
“I—I don’t know,” the girl admitted.
The wind slowed, subsided to a sigh. Mel lost form and being, dissipating on the last breeze.
“Mel!” Katie whispered.
Leave me, Katie. Save yourself.
From somewhere the anger boiled to the surface, and Katie screamed at her sister. “How dare you leave me!”
Sunday, November 30, 2008
NANO--Day Whatever
I'm writing again, but I'm expecting a much more reasonable word goal from myself this time around. I had to backtrack about a 1,000 words and start again. I went wrong, and I couldn't continue until I got back on track.
My brother Mike would have been 39 today. The novel I'm writing is my birthday present to him, and will be dedicated to him once I finish. Here's a short snippet from it.
First draft. Please don't quote or repost. Thanks.
The sound of singing drew her. Katie stopped and listened. The singing seemed to come from somewhere to the right and up a short rise. Brush obscured her vision of what might lie beyond that rise. She hesitated, reluctant to leave the road, the only sign of civilization she’d seen, but the music was like a siren song. She plunged off the road and into deeper snow, picking a way through the snagging branches and uncertain footing to the top of the rise.
The first thing Katie saw was the soaring majesty of an evergreen, at least ten feet in height, perfectly shaped, and loaded with decorations on its lower branches. The next thing she saw was the people who surrounded the tree, placing decorations on its branches and singing a song that seemed full of minor keys but somehow didn’t sound like a dirge. Someone played a small tin whistle that inserted a metallic punctuation to the rise and fall of the voices.
Katie stood, her feet cold in the snow, astonished that anyone would decorate a tree out in the middle of nowhere and sing while they did it. At least thirty to forty people stood around the tree, dressed in warm fur coverings, leggings, and knee-high boots, and with colorful scarves covered with intricate designs.
Crunching snow to her left drew her gaze. A girl about her own age, red hair framing her face, freckles across her nose, approached her. The girl’s expression was open and friendly.
“Hello!” the girl said. “I’ve not seen you here before. Have you come to make your wish?”
“Wish?” Katie repeated.
“Yes. This is the Wishing Tree. Did you bring your decoration?”
“I’m sorry, I have nothing,” Katie said.
“Oh!” the girl said. She reached inside her fur coat and brought out a tiny doll made of sticks and cloth. “Here. I brought her in case someone lost or broke their decoration. You can have her.”
Since the girl held out the doll with an expectant look on her face, Katie took it. She looked at the doll and marveled over the handiwork. The doll wore a cloth dress that seemed to be made of some pliant leather and decorated with the same kind of intricate designs she saw on the girl’s scarf. The doll’s face was hand-painted and very detailed.
Katie looked up at the girl, lost. “What should I wish for?”
The girl cocked her head. “Surely you must have some desire in your heart.”
I only want one thing, Katie thought. I want my sister back.
The intensity of her expression must have caught the girl’s attention. She reached out and caught Katie’s sleeve. “Be careful what you wish for,” she said. “Do not wish for the impossible, for it can only lead to pain.”
My brother Mike would have been 39 today. The novel I'm writing is my birthday present to him, and will be dedicated to him once I finish. Here's a short snippet from it.
First draft. Please don't quote or repost. Thanks.
The sound of singing drew her. Katie stopped and listened. The singing seemed to come from somewhere to the right and up a short rise. Brush obscured her vision of what might lie beyond that rise. She hesitated, reluctant to leave the road, the only sign of civilization she’d seen, but the music was like a siren song. She plunged off the road and into deeper snow, picking a way through the snagging branches and uncertain footing to the top of the rise.
The first thing Katie saw was the soaring majesty of an evergreen, at least ten feet in height, perfectly shaped, and loaded with decorations on its lower branches. The next thing she saw was the people who surrounded the tree, placing decorations on its branches and singing a song that seemed full of minor keys but somehow didn’t sound like a dirge. Someone played a small tin whistle that inserted a metallic punctuation to the rise and fall of the voices.
Katie stood, her feet cold in the snow, astonished that anyone would decorate a tree out in the middle of nowhere and sing while they did it. At least thirty to forty people stood around the tree, dressed in warm fur coverings, leggings, and knee-high boots, and with colorful scarves covered with intricate designs.
Crunching snow to her left drew her gaze. A girl about her own age, red hair framing her face, freckles across her nose, approached her. The girl’s expression was open and friendly.
“Hello!” the girl said. “I’ve not seen you here before. Have you come to make your wish?”
“Wish?” Katie repeated.
“Yes. This is the Wishing Tree. Did you bring your decoration?”
“I’m sorry, I have nothing,” Katie said.
“Oh!” the girl said. She reached inside her fur coat and brought out a tiny doll made of sticks and cloth. “Here. I brought her in case someone lost or broke their decoration. You can have her.”
Since the girl held out the doll with an expectant look on her face, Katie took it. She looked at the doll and marveled over the handiwork. The doll wore a cloth dress that seemed to be made of some pliant leather and decorated with the same kind of intricate designs she saw on the girl’s scarf. The doll’s face was hand-painted and very detailed.
Katie looked up at the girl, lost. “What should I wish for?”
The girl cocked her head. “Surely you must have some desire in your heart.”
I only want one thing, Katie thought. I want my sister back.
The intensity of her expression must have caught the girl’s attention. She reached out and caught Katie’s sleeve. “Be careful what you wish for,” she said. “Do not wish for the impossible, for it can only lead to pain.”
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Oh, yeah. Happy Thanksgiving!
What I'm thankful for---that I still have something to say, even if I am typing like a one-handed juggler with an itch.
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