Dwarven Amazon

Did I really just do that?

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:55:43 GMT

Pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. I've been doing that a lot lately, in a lot of areas in my life. And I've just found another way to push it in my writing. Yep. I believe the last time I said I was venturing into new territory with my writing was when I said I had multiple story ideas going on in my head. And now, I have just outlined a novel! I've tried it before, and after I've outlined the first half, I toss it all aside and don't bother working on it. This time, it's different. Why? OK, well, I've started calling my first-drafts just a really detailed outline, but now I had to come up with a synopsis for a book I haven't written yet. Book 2 in the trilogy. I sort of knew what I want to happen, so I will call this synopsis a very basic outline! Yay me! And now I get to do another very basic outline for book 3! The synopsis is general enough that I have a lot of room to move in the story, but I have the basic character and conflict arcs, and it will help to keep track and tie it all up in book 3.

I must say, I love discovering how much I enjoy parts of the process of writing I never thought I could like. It reminds me of my second year at Seton Hill University when my mentor challenged me on my editing process. My first thought was that I can't do it, at all. And then I asked myself why I thought that, I hadn't tried it yet. I adore the editing process now. It is a completely different creature compared to the creative getting down the first draft. The editing is where I get to really work out the story and work on the craft of writing. And now the new challenge of writing a synopsis of something I haven't written yet, something I thought I couldn't do. But I gave it enough thought, and now I have a great working document.

The plan for starting book 2 then, is to begin the first draft on September 1, though to be hones, I just might start it a little sooner than that.

And the work goes on...

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 01:10:54 GMT

But now I have a real reason for it!

Now that I have an agent, I've been busy working on edits of "Disappeared". I thought it was great before, and it was, it just needed more. A lot of little bits of more. About 10,000 words of more.

That has kept me nice and buys, but that isn't the only thing.

I teach a workshop on "Silencing your Inner Saboteur" (my next workshop runs August 8 - 28, 2011, through From the Heart Romance Writers. Sadly, lj doesn't seem to want to insert links tonight. The website is http://fthrw.com/workshops/wkshop_2011_08.php. Registration dadline is August 1). And so I've also expanded it into an e-book available at Smashwords.com (http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75840). It is also available at www.diesel-ebooks.com (http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000075840/Peters-Sherry-Silencing-Your-Inner-Saboteur/1.html). It will be available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Apple in the next couple of weeks.

It is an interesting foray into e-publishing. At this point in my career, it certainly is not something I would personally choose for my fiction. I really do believe to succeed in e-publishing you need to have a name and/or a fantastic publicity machine behind you, even if that machine is yourself. So why choose to go this route for my workshop material? I wanted to make more information available to those taking my workshop, and at the same time, perhaps a few others might stumble upon it and find it useful.

I'd looked into e-publishing for a few months, and while it might be more cost-effective to publish directly with Kobo and Amaozon, etc., if I were to sell thousands of copies, I found smashwords simply more user friendly, and they take care of distributing to all the major retailers so that I can have it available within weeks, rather than in several months while I wait for paperwork to clear.

It is an experiment and we'll see how it goes.

Now back to editing the fiction!

An incredible shift on the writing path

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:59:05 GMT

Well, these last several months have proven to be incredibly interesting and life-changing. My writing journey has changed in a big way. And so, rather than simply documenting here how many words I wrote or how many pages I've edited, etc. I thought I would add to it the new adventure.

At the end of May, i attended Phoenix ComicCon where I met agent Cherry Weiner of the Cherry Weiner literary agency. I won't tell you the whole story here, though I will say that it was a whirlwind. By the end of the weekend, she offered to represent me.

I signed the contract on June 15, 2011.

This is a phenomenally exciting step forward.

Cherry agreed to represent me after reading my manuscript for "Mabel the Lovelorn Dwarf.". I don't know if this has ever happened, but after signing the contract with Cherry, we had a wonderful discussion and came to a mutual agreement, that "Mabel" would need to be put in the drawer.

Thankfully I had followed the advice of countless people. While "Mabel" was on submission to agents, I wrote another novel. It is also fantasy, but is very different from "Mabel".

While I could send the manuscript to Cherry as it is, I wanted to give it another read over and give it another round or two of edits. I've completed the first pass of edits, and I'm glad I'm taking the time. W.hat is written is good, but there are a lot of little ways I can add to it.

My job for the next few weeks is to give the manuscript another two or three passes, try and work out as many glitches and clean up as many typos, before I send it to Cherry at the end of the month.

So as I venture on this new part of my journey, I hope to add in news of the process with my agent.

The pleasantly unexpected

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:37:56 GMT

Inspite of my great optimism and expectations because of yesterday's productivity, it was beginning to look like I wasn't going to get any writing done. Thanks to the slow change of seasons, my wrists were bothering me a little bit, nothing to worry about, just enough to annoy me when I sat at my keyboard. I'd like to say they were sympathy pains for Mabel and her shoulder pain, but I know better, this kind of thing happens at least once or twice a year. So with Dragon Naturally Speaking open as a backup, and after actually doing the dishes out of procrastination, I finally sat down to write. I knew what I wanted to write, I just wasn't sure how much I'd actually get done. Instead of setting the goal of 2,000 words, I changed it to the modest goal of 500 words. Achievable and exceedable goals. Once I started typing, the pain went away, and I did more than exceed my goal.

As for the story itself, I'm enjoying taking my time with it, seeing where the plot is going, experiencing it all through Mabel's eyes. I don't know how much of this is going to end up in the final draft, but that's not my concern right now. And I like that.

Word count: A whopping 2,094!

Day ???

dwarvanamazon — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:53:34 GMT

I've given up on counting days, so I'll have to start being more creative with my subject lines.

After a slow writing week, with really only one productive writing day, I need to make up for it this weekend. And I'm doing just that. I like where things are heading, the characters are behaving themselves, suitably moody for the beginning of a novel.

Word Count: 2,162
This brings me to just over 10,000.

Day 30

dwarvanamazon — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:51:50 GMT

After two days of no writing due to work commitments, it feels really good to get back to the writing. I thought it would be a lot more difficult to get back into the story. So far, there just seems to be something about the characters that just pulls me in. I have some concerns about the way one or two of them are acting right now, but it will work itself out.

Word count: 1370

Day 27

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 03:26:38 GMT

An excellent writing weekend. Despite my procrastination, it has been incredibly productive. Today is no exception. I was ready to stop early, but I'm pleased I didn't, that a friend of mine encouraged me to keep going.

Word count: 1855

Day 26

dwarvanamazon — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 06:00:14 GMT

I'm sneaking it in right under the wire here. That's what happens when I procrastinate all day. It was a good day though, relaxing, a good Saturday. But I'm happier now that I've written. And it was a good day of writing in the end. And I left off in a spot I should find easy to pick up tomorrow.

Word count: 1100 words

Day 25

dwarvanamazon — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:36:39 GMT

Best writing day so far. Put in some good writing time tonight. It does confirm for me though, that I write better between 10 pm and midnight. If I could survive on 5-6 hours of sleep a night, things would be great. Or if I could change my work hours. However, I shall continue to make the most of writing time I get, when I get it. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have plenty of writing time.

Word count: 1200
That's right! Here's hoping for an equally productive day tomorrow.

Day 24

dwarvanamazon — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:04:41 GMT

After a non-writing day yesterday, I had a successful day today. Characters are revealing things about themselves all over the place. It's great for setting the foundation for the novel's conflict. I'm curious to see where this is going. I know, plot-wise, but character-wise I can't wait to explore.

Word count: 900

Onward and upward.

Day 22

dwarvanamazon — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:01:15 GMT

Not the most stellar day of writing, but a few intriguing character developments came to light. I love it when that happens, early in the novel. It's horrible when the characters decide after three or four months of steady writing to finally reveal something interesting about themselves which changes everything.

Word count: 420

Day 21 -Part 2

dwarvanamazon — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:00:59 GMT

I love long weekends! A successful writing day. And I'm slowly getting into the creative mode. It is a great feeling, creating again, not just editing, though I apparently love the editing process.

Word Count: 700
Definitely on track, picking up the pace.

Day 21

dwarvanamazon — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:22:11 GMT

Getting started on the new novel has been a bit tough. The novel I started with on Day 1 is no longer the one I'm working on. The outlining was going fine, but I realized just how boring one of the main characters' story was, so I decided to fire him. Then, thinking about the other main character's story, the story as a whole, there was nothing there. I'd started with an idea, and though the character would have been believable and identifiable, there just really was no story there. As for the idea behind it? It was an idea, but not a story. And the main concept behind the story is something I can use in other stories

All of that is to say, that novel is finally out of my head.

On to the one I really want to write. Still, getting started after so many months of editing, is a slow process. The aim is still to have a first draft done by May 19, which means an average of 1000 words a day. I expect my word count to be slow at first, but towards the end, I tend to fly through, so I still think the goal is totally manageable. It has to be, I have two other writer friends keeping me accountable for it!

Word count: (for yesterday) 412
It's a start.

Day 5

dwarvanamazon — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:06:57 GMT

Slacking already? Not entirely. Thursday was a complete write-off due to a bad cold, knocked me out for the day. Yesterday was moderately better in both the health and the writing.

This new project is one of those that has had to moodle and percolate for several years. Some time ago, I wrote up a partial outline for this novel. I read it over again yesterday, and decided it was fairly good, if general. A great jumping-off point at any rate. So yesterday and today I've begun taking that outline and expanding it, filling in a lot more detail. This is just the start, but I've made some decent progress.

It definitely helps to have something to work off of. A part of me wants to just dive in and start writing, but I have to remind myself that the point of outlining before I write is to keep from floundering as I write the first draft. It is hard to change methods, but I think it will be well worth it.

Day 2

dwarvanamazon — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 04:00:57 GMT

Slow beginnings, but beginnings none-the-less. Not a lot to report today. I started a couple of character sketches. Tomorrow I think I'll start to sketch out two of the cultures.

Not a lot, as I said, but it is a start, and I think I'm looking forward to living in a new world for a while.

Day 1 Again

dwarvanamazon — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:57:07 GMT

The time has come for me to start on a new novel. After months of editing and editing and editing and rewriting and editing and a couple of short stories and editing, I'm looking forward to shifting the brain back to full-on creative mode.

It does feel a little, a lot, daunting, starting a new novel. They really are a lot of work. At the same time, I love meeting new characters and discovering new worlds. I really do live best in my own imagination.

The plan is to have a first draft done by May 20. Perhaps a touch crazy, but a first draft is not a final draft and with small, daily, achievable and exceedable goals, it is so doable, unless it turns out to be an epic door-stop. This time around I'm trying a new process, to hopefully make my first draft a little closer to that final draft.

Outlining is the keyword today, a detailed outline, so that I have the plot down before I start writing. The hope is that when I finish the first draft, I won't be going back a few times trying to figure out where all the plot holes are and how to fix them but rather focussing on the actual writing in the editing.

So Day 1 again, of the new novel and of daily reportage which may mostly be: I outlined, or, I wrote, but with word counts added.

Cheers to my new baby, and to all my writing friends creating their own!

Stranger in a Strange Land

dwarvanamazon — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:19:54 GMT

I find myself in a place I don't think I've ever been before. As a writer that is.

I tend to be a one idea at a time kind of girl, and that one idea is generally a novel, not a short story, idea. So I work on it for a year or five, and when the novel is done, I sit around terrified for a few months, thinking 'that's it, no more writing from me' until a new story idea comes along and I work on that one for another few years. This, of course, did not serve me particularly well when I attended Odyssey Writing Workshop when I had to write a new story pretty much every week for six weeks. Everyone else was talking about their idea files and I had no clue what that was. I've come to accept this about myself as a writer. I'm a one novel at a time girl, when the novel is done, eventually another one will come along. It's fine, saves me a lot of story distraction.

So now that I have about five story ideas, three of those short stories, one is at least a novella if not a full-blown novel, an epic series, in addition to the other rough draft I had begun last winter which I want to sit down and outline, I don't know what to do with myself. They're all calling to me at once, pulling me every which way, except to the keyboard or pen and paper. Notes have been made for each one, so they'll all get their time, it is simply a strange place for me to be in.

And I'll be honest. I kind of don't like it.

But then again, maybe it is something I need to get used to, like I had to accept being a one idea girl.

A Journey Comes to an End

dwarvanamazon — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:15:35 GMT

On the last weekend of April, 2009, there was a fire in the building where I work, at the University of Manitoba. The building is divided into two, split by the staircase, Biological Sciences on one side, Psychology (where I work) on the other. In one of the Biological Sciences lab, there was a small fire started by the wearing out of a refrigerator's cord. Long story short, smoke and water damage throughout the building meant we were all heading to temporary office space. All of this a couple of days before moving into my Condo. Moving from temporary housing to permanent housing, and out of permanent office space to temporary office space.

We moved into Chancellor's Hall, which is a beautiful house, made into guest accommodations and a special reception area. It's a house, with a kitchen, dining room, living room and the all-season sun-room, which became my office space. While this situation has by no means been perfect, it has been fantastic in a lot of ways.

And now, after many, many changes to the time we'd be moving back, we are. Or at least the files are. I'm still in the sunroom, possibly until early next week, maybe later.

Still, moving back into the building after renovations is finally becoming real. I knew it would, but after so many times of no, not yet, or we have no idea, it is finally happening, right at the time I initially thought it would.

Here's to the end of my sunroom stay.

Back from TNEO

dwarvanamazon — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:01:56 GMT

I have returned from The Never Ending Odyssey alumni workshop week. It was thoroughly inspiring and challenging (I love a good challenge to work harder, do better), and fantastic to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Naturally, as it happens when you have a gathring of Fantasy and Science Fiction writers gathering for a week, all kinds of crazy in-jokes happen and a new form of communication begins. The critiques I received were incredibly helpful, and I received a rejection from an agent while there, which, I have to say, I couldn't have been in a better environment for support and encouragement and the challenge to push myself harder so I don't take this as a setback.

The only downside was the cold, nearly stomach flu I managed to get, but it seems to be getting better already. Flying was not so fun with bad sinuses. Thank goodness I took this extra week off of work to recover. Tomorrow it is back to the writing and outlining process and fixing the problems with the Urban Fantasy novel, which I'm quite looking forward to.

And in other news, today is my first full day without having a diet coke. Had my last one yesterday at 10:30 am, eastern. We shall see how this going cold turkey goes. I've had diet coke nearly every day since I was in grade 11, a long, long time ago.

Happy Canada Day!

dwarvanamazon — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:10:32 GMT

How did I spend my Canada Day? Finishing up my critiques. Yep, that's right. They're done. I just have to write them up, sort of. Won't take long, started that tonight. Feels good. One more side project and then I get to explore creativity again. I also spent a bit of time lying out my my condo's pool, coloring myself of my nation's flag. OK, maybe not quite such a deep red, but definitely pink in some places. But considering the pool isn't exactly heated, it sure felt nice. And then, of course, there was the watching of the football, opening day of the CFL season, a rematch of the Grey Cup between Montreal and Saskatchewan, and well, apparently Saskatchewan still can't count. You'd think, after the massive error of too many men which cost them the Grey Cup, they would have taken some lessons over the winter, but, no. Nearly cost them again, in overtime. Too funny.

Happy July!

The flaw in the plan

dwarvanamazon — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:11:27 GMT

I have a bunch of critiques to do for TNEO (The Never Ending Odyssey) and I figure after spending months editing the novel I'm still in that editorial frame of mind so that would be a good time to do the second read-throughs. Well, yes, it is. Lord knows when I'm editing I can't read a book for fun without picking at it. But also no, because I'm kind of really tired of, well, editing. Good news is that I'm half-way through the critiques. I will get them done this week. I'm just whining tonight.

Day 98

dwarvanamazon — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:56:21 GMT

Well, I finished editing the novel, sorting out the chapters, and writing the synopsis. I've also begun submitting it. So, thus ends that part of the journey. Before I figure out what to write next -- I've never been one of those writers lucky enough to have a multitude of ideas and characters begging to be written -- I have a lot of critiquing to do this week. I do sort of have some sort of idea bouncing around in my head, a slight development on what was there a couple of weeks ago, so I'll let it percolate for a few more days before I attempt anything with it. The way it is shaping up though, it looks like it might be an entirely different process from what I usually do, not that any tow novels or stories have had the same process, but usually I start with a clear picture of the character in the opening scene, or one close to the opening. In this one, the character is only fuzzy at best. Won't worry about it though, it has time, and I have chapters to critique.

Days 92 & 93

dwarvanamazon — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:12:34 GMT

Done! After two long days, I've finished this last round of entering edits. Yay! Just have to do a spell check and work out the chapter breaks and update the synopsis. Next week, that baby is going out the door! Very, very pleased. I'm only a bit behind where I thought I'd be, but I think I said the other day about the extra projects, which are all fantastic, and all things considered, I'm pleased with how well I'm doing.

In a couple of weeks, I think I might actually get to be creative minded again, not just editing minded.

Day 91

dwarvanamazon — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:55:27 GMT

Loads to do in the next few weeks, but I'm well on schedule to get it done. OK, I'm a bit behind where I thought I'd be by now, before I took on all the side projects, but only by about a week or two, so not too bad all things considered. For future reference, however, I am not allowed to take on multiple side projects in any given month. One, yes, no more than that.

Finished another round of edits on the novel today. Yay! The plan for this week is to be entering them and hopefully one last bit of clean-up on the typos.

All in all, a very good day. And now, I deserve an hour or so of relaxation time.

Days 88 - 90

dwarvanamazon — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 19:08:02 GMT

I've kind of been away from a computer the last couple of days so I haven't had a chance to post much. However, I've gotten a lot of editing done this weekend. I am now at page 250, so 44 more pages to go. I don't know if I'll get them done tonight, I have a family gathering beginning in the next half hour, for Father's day. Good progress has been made though, so I am pleased with how it is all going. My workshop on Silencing your Inner Saboteur starts tomorrow over at www.savvyauthors.com so I've also just finished some last bits of prep for that for tomorrow, so I'm all set.

Happy Father's Day!