I wrote a scene yesterday that may turn out to be my prologue in the urban fantasy. Why is that exciting? Because it actually came out like the urban fantasies that I’ve been reading. Woo Hoo!!! What does this mean? That I’m finally starting to get the structure of these books. YAH!!!
That said, it doesn’t mean I’m ready to stop my writing exercises. Obviously, they are helping tremendously. I know it seems trivial, but you have no idea what a relief this is for me. I’ve been stressing bullets over the last several days because I knew something was ‘off’ in my book that had nothing to do with the plot. I don’t want to get too excited about this breakthrough, but I am grateful. I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t be able to pick this up and that thought was both frightening and frustrating as hell.
Dh says that I’m too hard on myself. (ie I expect to pick things up immediately and have very little patience when I don’t.) I’m not saying he’s right…but he might be. (wg)
This of course got me thinking about learning patterns. I wondered how other writers/artists handle these things. Are you the type to get impatient when you don’t pick things up right away? Or do you give yourself time to learn? If you’re in the latter camp, bless your heart, how do you do it?
Archive for November, 2006
I know I’ve talked about how different my new stuff is compared to my previous releases. I thought I’d give you a little taste of what I’m talking about. RED is written in both first and third POV. This is part of the opening scene.:)
Not many people can handle the pain of being ripped apart. Of having your limbs twisted and morphed until you are convinced your mind will shatter into a thousand tiny shards.
I can.
And I’m tired of hiding my true nature so that humans can sleep better at night. Convinced they’re actually in control of this tiny blue-brown planet. They need to know the truth. Realize that they are not at the top of the food chain.
Far from it.
A permanent shift in power is necessary and I intend to bring about that change one body at a time.
Starting now.
Pain sears my flesh, flaying it from the bone. I scream, throwing my head back as blood sprays across the inside of the car, painting the dirty windshield crimson. Pressure explodes beneath my gums, ejecting my teeth to make room for a row of fangs. My arms and legs snap, breaking bone, tearing sinew, only to reshape and mend.
The change feels like it is taking an eternity as I drown in a flaming river of agony, but I know it’s only been seconds. One last strangled cry rips from my raw throat, and then suddenly I am reborn.
Lungs heaving, I sit up and gaze around. The coppery odor of blood assails my senses, along with something feminine and delicate. Memory evades me. The once familiar vehicle appears alien in origin. The urge to escape its confines is great. A twig snaps in the distance and my ears perk. Naturally curious, I exit the car.
It only takes a moment to remember where I am and why I’m here. I raise my nose in the air and inhale deeply. The world comes alive around me as if blinders have been ripped from my eyes. I scent a distant rain wafting on the breeze, along with the sweet, musky aroma of a woman in the throes of heat. The latter draws my attention and holds it.
Ah, that’s right. I’d forgotten all about my guest. Where are my manners? I must remember to thank her for accepting my invitation…once I catch her.
I’ve finished my rowing for today. I have to tell you, this exercise is kicking my butt…BIG TIME! I can only row for about 10 to 12 minutes at time. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I’m setting a pretty fast pace. (Rowing to eighties rock music helps.;) My goal is to row five days a week, even if it’s only for 10 minutes a day. Eventually, I want to build up to thirty minutes to an hour. For now, I have to settle for my ten to twelve. Sigh.
The Japanese lessons are going slower than I’d like. I’m going to have to double them up to twice a day so that I can at least get through all thirty-eight levels of lesson one. Sadly, I think that by the time I’m done, I will actually know more Japanese than I do Spanish.
After spending the last couple of days typing in sections of various urban fantasies, I’ve decided to rip apart the first two chapters of my urban fantasy to see if changing the opening makes a difference. Keep in mind, I really do like the opening to my book, but I want to see if I can make it better. (ie read more like an urban fantasy)
I am hacking my way through a MASSIVE learning curve at the moment. Between the Japanese lessons and the urban fantasy lessons, I’m waiting for steam to come out of my ears. My dh keeps reminding me of what Stephen King says about writing well, “If you aren’t ready to work your ass off, then settle back into mediocrity and be grateful.” I’m not quite ready to settle back yet. How about you? What are you actively doing to make your writing better? (Beyond the obvious of writing more books.)
Yesterday, I spent a couple of ours typing in paragraphs from several different urban fantasies. (ie I glanced at a few sentences at a time, then tried to remember them enough to type them into a blank document.) I discovered a few things from doing this. The first is that I don’t write enough short sentences. The second is that I need to be pickier when it comes to the word choices I make. (ie floor vs concrete) And the third is that I tend to go for the obvious cliches when it comes to creating secondary characters. NOT GOOD! I’ve actually gotten so much out of this little exercise that I intend to continue it for the rest of the month. Hopefully I’ll get to the point where I’ll be able to recognize the shortcomings in my work and correct them immediately.
Busy, busy day today. I have an hours worth of Japanese lessons because I didn’t manage to do them this weekend. I also need to workout and get to the grocery store. I’m then going to work on the urban fantasy to see if I can apply what I learned from yesterday’s exercise.
A lot of authors have been writing up lists of the things they wish they’d known when starting out in this business. I have done this before, but I’ve been giving it more thought as of late. What would I have found helpful, when I first started? Feel free to add to the list. 
1. Online writing classes like the ones Gotham Writer’s Workshop gives. (I wish I would’ve found these sooner. They helped me a LOT!)
2. Join Romance Writer’s of America. (Wish I wouldn’t have been so intimidated about joining them. I would’ve gotten a lot further in my career had I joined when I first found them.)
3. Taking more time to figure out what I wanted to write before I started submitting. Would’ve spent less time playing catchup had I done so.
4. Read books from every genre, before deciding on romance. I think I would’ve been a better writer overall had I been well-read.
5. I should’ve avoided critique groups until I understood my writing better. It’s too easy to be influenced if you’re unsure about your work. It also would’ve saved a promising friendship.
What would you all add?
Friday the rowing machine we ordered arrived. YAH! We quickly put it together with only one minor misstep and now it’s up and running. Can’t wait to get going on the workouts. Today we picked up our food from Entrees Made Easy, then spent the rest of the afternoon planning our vacation.
It has been so long since we’ve been on a real vacation that it was a treat to do. We’ve picked out several activities and sites to see. The debate currently raging is whether we should go to Kyoto overnight or just spend our entire vacation in Tokyo. I’m truly conflicted. On the one hand, Kyoto is supposed to be beautiful with its temples and surrounding hillsides. On the other, we’d have to add the extra stress of traveling an hour or so just to spend the night and come right back the next afternoon. Don’t know what we’re going to do.
Tomorrow will be spent doing writing exercises. I’m going to grab an urban fantasy novel and type out a chapter of it or two. Hopefully the flow will begin to sink in and I’ll be able to apply it to my own work. It’s a trick that supposedly works when you’re attempting to write something different than what you’re used to working on. We’ll see.
I managed to work through three chapters of my urban fantasy today. I hope to do three more tomorrow. That should leave me a chapter shy of catching up to where I left off. It’s still not sounding the way I want it to. Very frustrating that.
I have so many organizations that I have to pay dues on this month. 
It’s sad, but I’m just not feeling the love with several of them. I know I’ll rejoin at the last minute, but it still bugs me. I am not getting a whole lot out of the organizations I’m part of at the moment. And yes, I know that you get out of it what you put in, but still… It makes me wonder why I join.
Are there any organizations you’re thinking about cutting out of your life? Are there any you’d like to join?
I’ve started studying Japanese because dh and I are going to try to go to Japan on vacation next year. I’m not one of those people who pick up languages easily. Just ask my Spanish teachers–all three year’s worth. *ggg* I truly wish that I possessed the skill of a linguist. For some reason, it truly bothers me that I don’t speak several languages semi-fluently. I’m a tad disappointed with myself in that respect. Now I know that it’s hard to learn a language when you don’t get to practice it regularly. That fact doesn’t change my feelings. I want to be the type of world traveler who can immerse themselves in a culture, but I’m not there yet.
I am the type of traveler who doesn’t expect the countries I visit to accommodate me by speaking my language. In fact, I try to approach travel with the mindset that I won’t run into a soul who can speak English. Hence the Japanese lessons.
So I’m curious, how many languages can you speak? And what are they?
I’m currently waiting for a weight bench to be delivered to my home. Once it’s delivered, then I’m hauling myself to the polling place to vote. This election is important, so if you’re registered, please vote.
My NaNo month is turning into a bust. I’ve written four pages and not even on the book I wanted to work on. (Isn’t that always the case?) Sigh. I do this every time I receive news of a sale. For about two weeks, I can’t seem to do anything, then I suddenly plow into work. No idea why that is, but it’s not helpful.
I still haven’t heard from Racyli about the contest. May, if you know how to get in touch with her, could you please let her know that she won and I need her email address. Thanks!
Other than voting and waiting for the delivery, I’m going to go into the other room and read my urban fantasy. That’s the only way I know of how to get back into a story that you’ve put down. Stephen King was right. It should never take more than three months to write a book. It definitely loses something after that time period.
I seem to be plowing (my version of plowing, which is probably slow to everyone else) through books lately. I’ve managed to finish Tess Gerritsen’s The Mephisto Club, Dates From Hell by Kim Harrison, et al, Kiss Me Deadly by Shannon Stacey, Sacred Places by Mandy Roth, Reluctant by Lauren Dane, Awaken Me Darkly by Gena Showalter, and Outcast by Amelia Elias.
I’m currently finishing up Jim Butcher’s second Dresden book and Sandstorm by James Rollins. I still need to read Fallon’s Revenge by MacKenzie McKade and Stefan’s Salvation by N.J. Walters. Not sure what I’ll read after those books. Goodness knows I have several in my TBR pile. Has anyone read any good e-books lately?
I’ve joined a new blog called Fangs_Fur_Fey. It consists of urban fantasy and paranormal writers, several of which I’m a HUGE fan of. (Hopefully I can manage not to embarrass myself.) Yeah, I don’t think it’s going to happen either. *g* You can see my latest entry here.
May: Phantom Warriors: Saber-tooth, Racyli: Phantom Warriors: Bacchus, Vicki: Phantom Warriors: Saber-tooth, and Amy: Phantom Warriors: Bacchus. Congratulations ladies. I need you to drop me an email at jordan @ jordansummers.com (no spaces) and tell me what format you’d like your ebook in. Thanks everyone for participating. 
