Tag Archives: writing process

Writers need all the help they can get–at least this one does…

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Writing, Writing tips

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And I read a post from Writers in the Storm today where I found some.  For years I’ve gone through my copy carefully for repeated words because I always find them.  Something about choosing a word is a signal to my brain to reuse it. Waste not, want not, right? As a reader I hate repetition, so it’s the last thing I want to commit as a writer. WITS has provided the names of several sites where such misdeeds can be caught, counted, and dealt with. And I’m grateful.  Do yourself a favor and click on the link below.  Cheers!

What is an “Echo?” Tips To Axe These Repeat Offenders.

All of my excuses are gone…

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Ghosts, Hauntings, Random Thoughts, Wisdom Court, Writing

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We had the visit from our son.  Ditto from the old college friend.

I gathered all the relevant info and we completed taxes over the weekend.

I’m not sick anymore.  I’m not on extra taxi duty for the grandchildren anymore.

We survived the incredibly over-hyped blizzard of 2013, April Edition.

I dumped all my cookies and got my Mac to work faster.

It’s too early to plant stuff, unless I cut up the sprouting potato in my kitchen and put pieces into the ground, sans a full moon, and of course with a tip of my hat to St. Patrick, upon whose day potatoes are supposed to be planted.

The laundry falling over the edges of the hamper is just too lame to consider a real excuse.  It is entirely possible to type while nude, and I have clean blankets to wrap around myself when my teeth start chattering.

It’s time to get back to the book.

Kicking, screaming, eyes rolling back into my head, I must go back into A Signal Shown, the second book of the Wisdom Court Trilogy.  My characters are standing in the wings of my mind, arms folded over their chests, toes tapping impatiently.  Even the spirits haunting Wisdom Court have threatened to move to a different old house if I don’t give them some attention.

It’s not that I hate the book.  On the contrary, I love it. I’m crazy about my characters and I know they have tons to tell me about how the plot has thickened while I’ve been Taking Care of Important Things.  And writing will make me feel better because it helps control my inner virago, the one who monotonously shrieks, “Tell me a story, tell me a story.  Tell Me Now!”  Her I’m not so crazy about.

No, I’ve been riding the U.S.S. Avoidance for a while and it hasn’t pulled into port.  Much as it pains me, I’ll have to jump over the side and swim to shore.  If I can steer clear of subsequent grooming rituals, as well as word games to “get my ducks in a row,” I’ll actually get to the computer and Start Again.

First I have to copy edit this blog post.

Okay, so we’ll skip right over November…

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in e-books, Finny Aletter, Mysteries, Technology and Writing, Yvonne Montgomery mysteries

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Although it made me very happy.

I’ve been busy-busy reviewing the e-formatted manuscript of my first mystery, Scavengers.  Thanks to the wonderful work of Nina Paules of eBook Prep, thiswas not an ordeal.  Since I always have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the next new thing, at least technologically speaking, I did whimper a bit and had to be sweet-talked into opening the files, but it all worked out.  And soon, gentle readers, my first foray into mysteries will be available at various venues.  My second mystery, Obstacle Course, will be next.  More about this later.

I’m also very near the point of sending off queries again for my current work, Edge of the Shadow, the first of the Wisdom Court paranormal novels.  Several good souls have read the manuscript, made corrections & suggestions, which I’ve noted and included.  I’ve almost finished the final nit-picky part and am printing it out, so it won’t be long.  It’s my goal to then get back to the second Wisdom Court novel, A Signal Shown, and finish it.  That won’t happen before the end of the year, but that’s okay.

I told you I’ve been busy-busy.  And now it’s time to hunt for a recipe for gluten-free fruit cake.  I am one of the few hardy souls who love fruit cake.  And now I can’t eat the real McCoy.  So, since last year’s recipe was a disappointment, I’ll try again.  Soon, so I’ll have time to soak it with brandy.  Or maybe I’ll just drink the brandy, and then try the fruit cake.  It’ll work.

Cheers!

Okay, we can throw some confetti around, but hold the flashmob

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in Random Thoughts, Writing

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Yesterday–Friday the 13th–I crossed the finish line, slid into home plate, delivered the secret message to the troops–unfortunately the cliches keep coming.  I don’t know if anyone noticed, but I stopped writing posts, kept my FB appearances to a minimum, attached the electroencephalograph sensors to my head, and got to the end of the book.  (Throw confetti here.)

Yes, I have to wander backward to fix some bits here and there–set up a couple of plot elements that don’t show up until the middle, don’t you know–but I got to the last page.  I got to type THE END at the bottom, and sit here and think, “Is that all there is?”  (It’s been a long time since I finished a book by bursting into tears and calling all my friends.)  But I did Tweet & put a brief mention on FB.  Some attention must be paid.

It wasn’t till later that I poured a glass of wine and toasted the gods of writing.  And felt thankful for being a writer instead of a wealthy financier.  (I’m stupid that way.) Today I’m re-potting some plants and enjoying the warmth ahead of the storm headed our way.  I won’t look at the last chapter until Monday.  I’ll start putting in the set-ups and checking for mistakes. If the writing gods are merciful, it will be a quick run-through.  If they aren’t…I’ll jump off that bridge when I get there.

Circumvention, like circumcision, means shortcuts–ewww!

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in Avoiding writing, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, Writing

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Never look a gift analogy in the mouth. (Seriously. Too gross.)

After the last post, so filled with angst and obscure Word issues, I hit “Return” a few times, typed in “Chapter Twenty-Five,” and kept going. There’s more than one way to skin a Header command. (Geez, that sounds even worse than the post title.)

The new Last Chapter continues wending through the moors of invention, and, after consulting the runes, I’m back to scaring myself because the only way I can wrap up the book is to pull ghosties and ghoulies out of the closet–as in storage, not sexuality. Today, whilst receiving a wonderful massage–thanks again, Karen–and gently pushing out of my mind the guilt from not posting here often enough, I realized I’ve passed up many possible blog posts about my writing process.  I’ve been hiding it in the closet, too, along with discarded characters, weak descriptions, and failed plot elements.  It’s so dark in there, I have a hell of a time even finding the damned process.

I’ve thought it better to occasionally sound as though I know what I’m doing than to let people see the disorganization and interruptions, the endless flailing for a decent sentence, the bizarre rituals to crank up what passes for my imagination.  Writing has always been for me a hodgepodge of hard work, wishful thinking, and some small talent. Regardless of what happens in the book business itself, the effort to put words on the page remains the same. Every time I get in a tizzy about self-publishing vs. pursuing agents, or how I need to format my two mysteries into e-book mode, my word-count slows and I feel bad.

The blog is a quick way to short-circuit angst and redouble my efforts to bring Wisdom Court to life. Every writer I know ultimately gives as advice the old, true saw: Plant your ass on the chair and your hands on the keyboard.  Write. We can’t sell what we haven’t finished.