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It’s not fun until someone loses an eye.
I grossed myself out today during writing. I don’t know if it’s because the AC is broken and it’s 90 degrees up here and the humidity is through the roof, but I apparently needed to outdo myself in fiction. It was one of those weird moments where I’d planned for the scene to go one way and it took a sharp, brutal detour in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. Like the title says, someone literally loses an eye in the process. Of his own volition. I can get away with a bit that I normally couldn’t in Dev’s narrative, because he’s on this Dante-esque journey. I’ve got to hit some…
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This is the last time.
Writing has been slow since my birthday when, as a promise to myself, I scaled that 60K mark. Huzzah! But yeah, that was on the 14th of June, and here we are more than a week later and just cresting 62K. I have excuses, but really I don’t. It should be more. Anyway, I did add that other POV in, and I’m enjoying her presence immensely. It’s helping to tie some of the plot loose ends a little more tightly together and giving a bit of needed comic relief. She’s a clever one, that Dinah Montpre, but she’s also selfish and self-centered. It’s quite the combination. She also has virtually…
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Confessions of a vampire virgin.
Okay, so I’ll get this right out in the open: I don’t do vampires. I’ve never read much about them, I’ve never been glamored by their mythologies, and I’ve never had a desire to write about them. It’s not personal, really. I mean–well, it’s personal to me, but this goes back before any of the whole vampire mania hit the literary community and culture at large. I do remember seeing Interview With a Vampire at some point, but I was so besotted with hobbits and Tolkien at the time that it really had no impact on me. And I have to admit, while I’m a general fan of Joss Whedon,…
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Finding the power in rejection.
I would be a liar if I told you that rejection doesn’t matter, that every time a short story market or an agent lets me know my work isn’t for them, I don’t sulk a little. This last year rejection has set the tone for just about everything in my writing world. While I’ve had some agents express interest in future work of mine, I haven’t found a fit with The Aldersgate nor have I heard back from the editor who’s had it for almost a year. I haven’t talked about either of these things on my blog, really at all, though I’ve hinted at it. Searching for agents is…
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Birthday goals, and halfway there.
No, this has nothing to do with football. (Or, soccer.) Just a quick one before the D&D game starts. My birthday is tomorrow, and I wanted to play D&D with our amazing group. However, I also wanted to achieve a personal birthday goal; I wanted to hit 55,000 in the WIP which marks the exact halfway point in the novel. I had until tomorrow to do this but finished today. Personal goals are important. It’s been hard for me this year, as I usually try to mimic the output of Important Published Writers. (I was reading a post of mine from last year when I wrote 35K in ten days…
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Mouth to paper.
Dictation is a curious thing. I’ve blogged about it before, but I have some new insight. The hands aren’t improving like I’d hoped, due to a second syndrome that will require another surgery most likely (hooray). They’re not as bad as they were, but I’m still using dictation software when I can, just to give my hands a rest. I’ve trained the program a little better now, and it’s no longer giving me as much trouble as before. Anyway. That’s boring. But what’s interesting is rewiring my brain. Some people report that with dictation software, their output significantly improves. These are people who can talk/think faster than they can type/think.…
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Trying to shoot a clockwork wolf.
I’ve been taking a break from writing. Not a huge long one, but a small one, intended to give my hands a rest and help to jog my brain into allowing me a peek into the last half of the book I’m writing. I’ve been sitting on the same scene for days, and though I wrote about 300 words yesterday, I’m still at a standstill. There’s a wolf in the distance, and the protagonist is trying to stop it from being shot. Which might mean he has to shoot his lover. Did I mention he’s in one of the hells? Right. Um. Sure. It’s the least trippy of the hell…
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Yes, I have been writing.
Dustman progress: And there is proof. See? 39%. No, I’m not cheating with the meter. My original 120 is a little high, I think. More realistically the book is going to be around 110K, maybe even a little less. It’s hard for me to know, but as I’m hitting the halfway point very soon I think I’m about on task. While 10,000 may not seem like that much more, it can be painfully unnecessary. So, yes. The Hand Report: Not so hot. So, the hand doesn’t hurt where the injections went in. But the sides? Holy moly, Batman. Clearly something is going on in addition to the carpal tunnel, or…
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The Future Fire – Queer Science Fiction Theme Issue Up!
The Future Fire‘s newest issue is up, and their theme is queer science fiction. I was lucky enough to be asked along to read some of the stories before publication, and then wrote a little introduction talking about the importance (and responsibility) of incorporating queer themes in speculative fiction as well as a little about the Outer Alliance. You can read the whole issue here!
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Cats, hands, and words
We’ve been looking for a new furry friend for the family since our beloved Minerva (the cat) passed away. We went back and forth between wanting to get a dog and a cat, and after every attempt to get a dog was foiled, we opted for the feline variety instead. I love dogs, and I love cats. But I know dogs are much more work. Our Calliope is a wonderful, special, marvelous dog. But she was a ton of work. I trained her from a puppy and it was exhausting–it was also before I had a puppy of my own (i.e. my son)! I just don’t think we’re up for…
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Needles and other unpleasantries
With the help of an ergonomic keyboard, it’s been typing as usual here. However, that doesn’t mean the wrist pain has gone away entirely. There are still days where it’s intolerable (note the post about pain killers, etc.). So today I went the hand doctor, a specialist sort whose office is covered with lots and lots and lots of hands. He looked, he prodded, he asked questions. Definitely carpal tunnel. I had symptoms I didn’t even notice until he showed me (like loss of sensation on some of the fingers). Then, he gave me the rundown: shots, therapy and a steroid patch, or surgery. The good news is that he…
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I’m a geeky woman role model!
I came home this afternoon to discover I’ve been named the Geeky Woman Role Model of May by the fine blog at Girls Are Geeks. I’m flattered and honored! Thanks you guys! You can read the whole post here!
