What are you writing now?

The power of independence!

2011-09-21T17:34:00.000+12:00

I'm currently getting to quotes to republish two of my books independently. The time limit that the publishing house had hold of them has or is due soon to expire so I'm striking while the iron's hot!

Why I should do this was illustrated by my 6 monthly royalty statement received yesterday. I sold 22 pregnancy books - 2 at 'high discount' and for that I received $84.85! (that's a royalty of 10% of the cover price which is usually $40.99 but is $24.95 on high discount). I sold 21 baby books - none at high discount thankfully - and received $86.08. If I had independently published these books and sold them via Fishpond I would have received $1762.57 less Fishpond's hosting charge of $176. 26. I would have paid about $1000 to publish them - a print run of 250 would cost about $4590 from go to whoa! With the collapse of the major bookstores happening left, right and centre online bookstores are taking over and this has removed the obstacles to sales for indie publishers.

I've put a few copies of my baby loss book on Fishpond to see how it fares. It's not mainstream so I'm expecting very little but if I sell one for $20, I pay $2 to Fishpond and having paid $4 for it I'll make $14 - compared to the $3 I'd make in royalties!

The future is here and it's Indie, baby!

Exploring other options

2011-09-12T11:08:00.000+12:00

The past two Saturdays I've been on courses run by The Story Bridge who specialize in helping authors independently publish their books through courses and tips. They aren't book publishers, book producers or book distributors just information providers. It was an interesting couple of days. The first day course was How to self publish and market your books. It was both a great eye opener on the publishing industry in New Zealand and why there are so few opportunities for new writers and the procedure of independent publishing. The marketing portion was perhaps more applicable to non-fiction than fiction but there were still some good tips. The most valuable part of the course for me was on writing your blurb. James gave a very clear guideline and it helped me to create a good blurb which was tightened up to a really good blurb through sharing with the group.The second day course was How to blog and sell your books online. It was really more a how to blog course but there were some valuable nuggets of information such as how much a PayPal account costs - negligible! That Smashwords will add you to their catalogue which is distributed worldwide. That PublishMe will have your book on their site if you've used them to produce it. I did find it slightly hard to find the catalogue - I guess I'm used to tabs - so had to work backwards to find the button for the Publish me shop. The Blogging section probably didn't answer the question I came in with - how to get people to your blog. I can, as you can see, make a blog so I did need a little more but such is life. I did learn about search buttons and tabs! You can actually make your blog your web site if you so desire with up to 10 tabs.

At the second day course there was a guy, David McMillan, who had independently published his children's book Kokako egg for dinner and I was impressed by the quality. The illustrations are excellent, unfortunately she isn't listed on the book information page of the site so I can't credit her here. The book costs $22 and you can buy it on the Publishme site. David set up a blogger site on the course but I must have misread the address because what I have written down is nothing like what he did! Hopefully he'll add it to his author info on PublishMe and I can link to it here.The other interesting thing I found out is that you can add your books to the Fishpond site so they basically sell on your behalf but you don't have to have the books in their warehouse. Once you get an order you send it off - sounds good!
So I had a reasonably inspiring couple of days and I definitely look at independent publishing in a different light. I'll definitely give it more than a casual glance.

What a turn up for the cards!

2011-08-20T22:56:00.000+12:00

This weekend I've been attending the Romance Writers of New Zealand Conference. It's been incredible! Such great speakers - Tess Gerritsen, Bob Mayer, Jessica Faust, Maria V Snyder. Choosing a workshop to attend has been tortuous! Which one out of such a incredible selection shall I choose? I have had extreme attendees remorse, despite really enjoying my choices, hearing from other attendees who made other choices. I'll never know how far a team of horses can travel in 8 hours! But I do know where to put my rations when parachuting in for a 30 day mission in occupied territory and what the armored division refer to foot soldiers as - crunchies!

Many writers booked pitches with agents and editors. You get to sell your manuscript to said agent or editor in 10 minutes. This was my first conference and my manuscript is still like Dr Frankenstein' s monster before the lightning struck so I had no desire to sign up for any. I got the 'only you are holding you back" speech but I thought no, I'm here to get a feel for things and prepare for next year so I wasn't phased.

We had a first timers get together where we newbies met up and that was nice. It preceded the cocktail party - There were no cocktails! Rip off! That was a chance to chat with other delegates, speakers etc. Nice! I managed to get violently ill in the middle and had to high tail it to my room on the 23rd floor PDQ!

Today had raffles for high tea with an editor Lucy Gilmour from Harlequin and lunch with the fantastic Tess Gerritsen - I didn't win either. Then there was a raffle with a mass of prizes - Nicola Donaldson (a Clendon Awards finalist and very funny) won two prizes! So did someone else but not a sausage for me! They then said that the raffles for breakfast with Jessica Faust - super agent and nice person - and morning tea with Sue Grimshaw were to drawn at the dinner that night and you had 15 minutes to purchase your tickets - put your phone number on if you weren't attending the dinner. I bought 6 tickets for breakfast with Jessica and put my number on. No expectation but making a contribution to conference funds. Well knock me down with a feather - I got a call to say I'd won! I shrieked and then I felt ill! I have no pitch, I have a young adult that yes is finished but no really clinching blurb and a half written paranormal romance with no title! Eek! So I'll just go and have a nice breakfast AT 7AM ON A SUNDAY MORNING! I have got a little pitch but who knows! I was planning on sending it off to her in a few months! So much for relaxed observation! I was prepared for email pitching! I wish there was a guide to what is expected of one! Probably number one is don't vomit on the agent - if I manage to not do that it should be OK!

It's up!

2011-07-26T08:45:00.000+12:00

Elodie - Kashani's last hope is now available in Kindle format on Amazon. You don't even need a kindle to read it! There are Kindle Readers for most platforms - PCs, Macs, smartphones!

Simon has a copy on his android and Toby is already up to Chapter 8 on his PC. He keeps asking questions and wanting to know what's going to happen next. All of the things you do when you're reading but you don't have the author there to ask! I've been staunch and told him just to keep reading and all will be revealed.

I'm not really certain how popular juvenile fiction is on Kindle so time will tell if it even gets read! I'm just going to have to get my guerilla marketing campaign.

Preteens, Tweens and Early Teens - it's time to meet Elodie Jedda, Kashani's Last Hope - if only Kashani could be convinced of it!

When the only thing standing between two powerful High Lord's bent on destruction is an 11 year old girl, you had better hope she's got a lot of powers. The only problem is the only thing powerful about Elodie is her personality and her belief in herself.

How will she ever convince anyone that she is the only person who can stop Jante Calende from his plan to assassinate the Ruler of Kashani? Whether he succeeds or fails, nothing in Kashani will ever be the same be the same again.

Available for purchase in ebook for 99c (US) from Amazon. Click here to view.

24 hour countdown begins!

2011-07-25T00:04:00.000+12:00

It's 24 hours until my ebook Elodie - Kashani's Last Hope will be available on Kindle! I've gone through the tortuous process of converting it from a manuscript to a format that Kindle likes. Then I went through the tortuous process of making the font smaller throughout the whole thing. AND then I went through the tortuous process of discovering that Kindle sets the size of the print so I didn't have any power over it!

The actual process of adding it to Kindle was not too bad. The wizard works well and there were plenty of popups to explain things. I had originally planned to have it there for free but alas that is not an option! Apparently nothing free is valued and you must at least charge 99c US for the honour of reading your book. So I will get a royalty of 30% on a book valued at 99c! Basically a smidgeon under 30c! So in order to buy a 6 inch sub from Subway I would need to sell 13 copies! I see a lot of blatant self publication in my future if I fancy seeing a movie or buying a hold-in-your-hands-papper-book.

I did make it free to share so I managed my altruism there! I have achieved what I wanted to which was explore another form of media. It also gave me a great opportunity to try out some of the features of my favourite writing software Scrivener which was useful. It meant a weighty manuscript at least had another function apart from being a paperweight and it made me feel productive. An all round Oo rah I believe!

Getting excited about my ebook!

2011-07-10T20:21:00.001+12:00

Today rather than working on my adult fiction I worked on a cover for my ebook Elodie - Kashani's Last Hope. I used PhotoShop and followed advice off youtube to create a female teenager! I based her a bit on Amanda Seyfried who has some of the features I imagine Elodie has.

I'm really reasonably pleased with it despite all the faults! It was fun! I now understand what layers are all about - I even have cloud and mountain layers.

Now I can finish proofing the manuscript and then convert it and upload it to Kindle and then wait! I'm putting it up free initially just to give it a wee chance then may go up to 99c! Won't be retiring on this!

Borders have 30% off when you buy 3 books so I took advantage. I bought How to write a dirty story, The Writer's idea book, and A novel in a year. Woo hoo I love reading how to books! I've been working my way through the Gotham Writer's workshop. Lot's of exercises to loosen up your brain. All fun fun fun!

I am not a planner!

2011-06-23T18:18:00.000+12:00

Well I followed the plan and finished my first draft aka guideline. So far so great. Then I realised there was no zing! I also found a small aspect of my character had potential to be much more interesting. The seat of the pants method allows me to follow where my characters lead, the Marshall method allowed me to plan an outline but this method required me to know exactly where I was going before I started. I didn't! So I'm going to subject it to the Marshall method or snowball and then return and try the first draft method - it should be less than 30 days because all the initial spadework has been done.

To avoid doing the above work, I've been creating a website! It was made with Sandvox and I'm well pleased with it. It's sitting pretty in my own domain - how cool is that! So pop on by nicmillerclendon.com and see what you think!

An excerpt from Elodie - Kashani's Last Hope is there. It's only the prologue but the ebook is nearly ready to face the world; we just await the artwork. And you know you can't rush creativity but if you see my daughter you might want to drop into conversation a subtle enquiry as to how the artwork for her Mummy Dearest's Kindle book is going.

I want to paint it black

2011-05-08T22:15:00.000+12:00

The writing has been on hold for a week while I redecorated the bedrooms, as you do during a wet week in May.

What have I learned from this experience?

Paint does not dry in 2 hours when it is pouring with rain in Auckland. It takes 12 hours and oozes.

If you are using a spray gun to paint you need to wear head covering or the expensive dye job is undone by white streaks.

Also if you are going to use a spray gun, wear foot covering as the drop sheets will get coated in thick wet paint which will transfer to your feet.

Magnetic paint does not like plastic

If you have a black dog and paint a wall white, she will find it and turn herself piebald.

It takes 5 times as long to put everything back into place than it does to move it out of the way.

If you go to Mitre 10, you will always leave with three times as much stuff as you originally planned to buy.

Lilac painters tape tape is as light and fairy-like as the name implies, green painters tape prefers to be stuck to your fingers much more than what you want it to stick to and blue painters tape could possibly, if enough was used, stick a elephant to the roof.

Simply buying gloves is not enough to stop your hands getting paint covered, you actually need to wear them.

In the end it all looks fantastic and is worth all the grief!

Now back to my previously scheduled writing......but the outside walls could do with a bit of stain.....

Give me what I'm looking for!

2011-04-24T18:35:00.000+12:00

In the past two days I've been offered things and when I've chased them up I've been told they are unavailable! Is it because we are at the bottom of the world and unworthy? No wonder we have had to rush through an anti-internet filesharing bill! I'm actually anti it, especially since none of the politicians debating it seemed to have a clue! Melissa Lee admitted piracy! I understand copyright and artist's receiving their due but here in the land that time forgot we are often unable to actually legitimately access said artist's work. You go to buy something off utunes and surprise surprise, it's not currently available in the New Zealand store! Below is what happened when I tried to download an app for a New Zealand magazine M2woman - to read the online version from the New Zealand website!

And then when I finished my last blog entry this is what popped up.

I thought 'yes, I'd like to spice up my blog with widgets;. I clicked on the link and this is what I got:

I ask you!

And don't try and find a tv show you enjoy that one of the networks has canned to see what you missed: The West Wing, House, Modern Family....

Because you cannot access them from here, legitimately! It's becoming all a bit the boat that rocked really! Pirates vs Zombies.

It all becomes clear!

2011-04-24T18:19:00.000+12:00

I've been feeling a bit unsure about this writing plan. She seems to promise so much and I was wondering if she and I could both come up with the goods. Much of the plan seems to depend on you having no life apart from writing! Who has the time to create an outline capsule of EVERY scene in a single day! Not I for one! So I seem to be extending a day's goal over a couple of days during the week and then furiously catching up on my dedicated writing day. It works but my head feels like cotton and it seems I clench my jaw while thinking, which in single half hour or hour sessions is barely noticeable but during rushtime I end up quite sore!

And today is Easter Sunday so the library wasn't open! I had to lock myself in the bedroom to try and write but it's not the same! Two boys playing army games and one renovation rescue husband meant it was not a peaceful idyll.

BUT I have found that the plan does work!I'm actually getting the scenes sorted and the snowball effect is occurring so ideas hatch more ideas and I now have my succubus heroine doing the world a favour by assassinating a North African leader (if Muammar Gaddafi suddenly disappears.......). So it's stringing together but I'm still struggling with getting the back story in in a well meshed manner rather than shoehorning it in because 'you have to know this'. It's really quite important that the story of why Dido became a succubus is revealed because there is a whole other book and more that could come from it. Atlantis is a treasure trove!

I need to play a bit of angry birds to get the kinks worked out. Have you played it? What gets me is there is no point in the birds exterminating the pigs because they die in the execution - unless I've been particularly skilled and a few survive - and therefore there is no one left to care for the eggs anyway. And what kind of parents would they make anyway? The red one and the yellow one look like they have real anger management issues anyway and the white bird actually blows it's own eggs up!

Maybe some Sims Medieval would be better. All frustrations can be taken out in swordfights and throwing serfs to the beast. The only real issue I have is once I've got some really great Heroes I complete the ambition AND HAVE TO START ALL OVER AGAIN with new heroes. There is no development of character! I could carry on playing with them I suppose but it seems pointless when there are ambitions to achieve and kingdoms to expand.

Anyway, I have reformed my trust in Karen Weisner and am reaching day 23 and brainstorming relatively unscathed. As long as there is no roleplaying coming up everyone should come out of this alive (or not depending on whether they are in fact already dead or nearly dead)

So, happy Easter or spring globe receiving day ;-)

Day 16 and counting

2011-04-17T15:43:00.000+12:00

I went to a writers group meeting today - if two of us constitute a group. The coffee was good and we discussed the new internet piracy laws. Great to have a bit of brain exercise. His suggestion from a Twitter tweet that Google just buy the music industry would certainly make life easier. He told me about the Science Fiction conference on Queens Birthday weekend - it's in Auckland this year so I may go! Love my geekfests.

I'm up to Story evolution and outlining and my head hurts! It all looks a bit of a mishmash at present and her examples are all crystal clear - of course they are based on already completed books so she knows where she's going! I think it's going OK but it could also be going very badly - a train wreck in the making - it's really hard to tell.

I've bought an iphone 4 in the hope that it will have a better relationship with my Mac than my crackberry has had. I'm not convinced of it's super powers as yet. The larger screen is very good, I'll give it that. I've got my documents for work loaded on it but using itunes to do so seems strange! I used the Blackberry as a usb and it was very straight forward. The plan I got was about $10 cheaper than what I was paying for the Blackberry with the phone included and 3GB of data as opposed to 100MB - even with Blackberry's brilliant data compression it was a no brainer! It has facetime but the fact you have to be on a wireless network and your callee also has to be on one means it's not the most useful app.

I am supposed to be evolving my story right now so I guess I should return to Scrivener and toil. Free internet at the library is such a dangerous thing! I can easily find plenty to help me avoid the current task.

8 days in!

2011-04-09T16:16:00.000+12:00

I am now in the midst of 7 days of research. This is the fun part! I'm tracking down more information on Atlantis and events in the 17th to 15th Century BCE. I'm leaning towards my heroine living in Williamsburg Virginia and working in Washington DC. My hero can live somewhere nice around there (ie research nice real estate for vampires with oodles of cash in vicinity of Washington). But there is the chance they may all live in Chicago.

My research list currently has 14 items on it and that's only after 2 days.

So far the plan seems to be working OK. It's a bit of a trust exercise really. I just have to believe that by the time I get closer to the end I'll have a firmer idea where I'm going. Well I actually know where I'm going, it's the getting there and the stitching all the bits and pieces together that is challenging my belief at present.

At least I have beautiful software to use! I did the Scrivener tutorial and it was a host of 'cool's and 'Aha's. Is it wrong to want to find the developers and give them a big sloppy kiss? Probably! Might be construed as stalking and that is frowned upon. So I'll just burn incense at an altar built in their honour, cos that's not weird.

I think software development is really akin to magic. All this clever stuff happens and it's just created by words - what's that if not magic? Harry Potter and the riddle of C++, now that would be a page turner!

"Harry pushes his glasses back up his nose and with a wave of his mouse finger, typed

int main() {
   int c = 0;
   for(int x=0;x<6;x++) {
   // this loop will set x to 0 then 1,2,3,4 and 5 before exiting.
      printf("%d",x);
      c = rand();
      switch(c) {
/* This is a multi-line comment. The switch statement tests c against each case statement
and executes the code within the loop until it reaches a break keyword.
Execution then moves to the end of the switch statement.
*/
         case 1 : {
            printf("%d",c);
            break;
         }
         default : {
            break;
         }
      }
   }
   return c;
}

Yeah, take that Voldemort!"

You cannot convince there is nothing magical about crystal reports!

Writing environment

2011-04-09T11:25:00.001+12:00

Today I'm writing in my favourite spot - the deck! It's peaceful, there's plenty of fresh air to keep the brain cells chugging and the Rocky and Gaggia are close at hand. It's slightly cloudy but what can you expect in April but it's still t-shirt weather (but I am wearing my pink fluffy slippers - because I can!).

I can hear pigeons and other birds and the sound of traffic is virtually nil. In fact the only distractor is the occasional small plane droning overhead. The mosquitos are a bane but Off works well (once I find it - I hide it in a really good place and then forget where it is - did find lots of ibuprofen in the searching process so it was win-win). It's now softly scented so you don't smell too dire! The dog occasionally wanders out and reclines in a chair like the human she thinks she is. Really quite nice and I'll miss it in winter!

In winter I plan to often decamp to the local library. They are encouraging the use of libraries as more than just a plan to borrow books from. Our local one has free internet (WiFi), big tables, comfy chairs AND POWER POINTS TO PLUG YOUR LAPTOP INTO! How cool/kind is that! The only downer is no cafe! I may have to upsticks and wander along the road to choose from one of the 8 or so cafes (not a Starbucks in sight!). Browns coffee shop in the Browns shop in Remuera makes possibly the best coffee in Auckland. You don't even have to go into the shop. Mmmm want to go right now!

I do, of course have the study at home but it doubles as a TV lounge/storage/guest room and seems to also have a secret sign which reads 'drop all your junk on the floor and pile dishes here - oh and while you're at it mess up all the bed coverings and never ever tidy them up'. But it is there for the using. It's just it is tempting to switch the TV on once you've shoveled through the muck and found the desk.

I'd love to be one of those cool authors who hangs out at a coffee shop all day but I feel guilty and end up constantly buying coffee and there is only so much the human bladder can cope with. But it is nice to know it won't burst. I don't think the promise of an acknowledgement in a book will really cut it as payment for long term table occupation but who knows?

I reckon a retreat would be a nice idea. A week in a back of beyond place with no disturbances would probably work. I'm not too sure about a week in a nice hotel though - sightseeing might be too tempting. No, wait! That could be research! I REALLY need to go to Chicago to research my novel but I guess I could substitute another city if there were some good deals going. Do you think that would fly with the accountant? A week in Chicago would cost about $4550 as opposed to $2289 for a week in Hawaii or $3500 in San Francisco. For $4000 I could check out historic Williamsburg for a week. I am really not seeing the accountant being onboard with the idea. Maybe 3 days in a motel in Rotorua and I drive myself?

Oh Dear!

2011-04-06T11:54:00.000+12:00

I have discovered that being a seat of the pants writer equates, in my case, to continual changes and rewrites and never seeming to get near the end. My book has evolved and devolved and revolved but has not passed Go and has not collected $200.

I joined the Romance Writers of New Zealand recently and got two back copies of their magazine. One of them may or may not be the making of me. It discussed the book by Karen Weisner - First Draft in 30 days. It's aim is to craft your novel in an organised manner so that after 30 days you have a comprehensive outline which serves as a first draft, thus reducing the number of drafts you do by a significant number. Having used the Marshall Plan for Elodie, I was open to this but the big discovery from the article was the most fantastic software! Scrivener, which was designed for Mac (yay!). It pulls everything together for you in a comprehensive, fairly easy to follow way (there are tutorials!). I'm using it to get Elodie in to suitable form for publication to Kindle (more on that later). So I now have a plan! I've completed days 1-6 and here is a run down on my success:

Day 1: Character sketches: OK, it would have helped if I hadn't thrown everything on its head and decided my Heroine was now a Succubus originally from Atlantis! And Rosie just did not suit her as a name! This turn around was the result of listening to a geophysicist discussing his discovery of a possible site for Atlantis on the coast of Spain. It lead me off following Plato's theorising and helped formulate a reason and a date for the 'fall of Atlantis' at odds with him (it's all around different numbering systems and transcribing '0's.

Day 2: Setting sketches and research lists. This went OK around Atlantis but with the change in focus I needed to move the action away from Seattle so as not to appear to be stealing from Yasmine Galenorn (who is such a creative dynamo!)

Day 3: Plot sketch: Myeh - vague ideas but not very fully formed - bones on a corpse at this stage. Karen promises it will come together.

Day 4-5: Summary outline: Runs screaming from room! Tragedy of Day 3 means this is very random.

Day 6: Miscellaneous scene notes and closing scene notes: This I can do! Lots of random bits and a clincher. Not so suicidal now!

So there is where it's at! I have a project each day and at the end I may have a first draft!

I have been given a free pass on Sunday afternoons to escape and write so we'll see how having a long uninterrupted writing time helps.

Just a quick note on Elodie.

I was already to publish on Kindle, FREE! to catch an audience and am lucky enough to have the world's most talented fantasy artist as a daughter. She is doing me a cover page (can't wait). But while I'm waiting I stupidly thought "Hey, what about replacing some magic with Steam punk!" So now I'm going to change a few bits and pieces (like the physical form of the travellators - still need magic to work them). I had horse and carts any way so they can just upgrade to carriages and food can be cooked on aether stoves.

Argh!

It's been too long Baby!

2010-12-19T16:33:00.000+13:00

I haven't been avoiding you, really. I've heard you calling every time I open my Mac, trying to catch my attention. As I scroll down through the files I feel your excitement rising as I get closer to you and then the disappointment as I scroll past and head for the folder entitled 'Work'. There you lie like Frankenstein's monster, waiting for that spark to bring you to life. I've built you up and broken you down over and over again. I've killed those you love, turned your friends into monsters and left you lost and confused.

It's not you, it's me. There's nothing wrong with you, you're perfectly lovely. I just have trouble with commitment. Am I prepared to risk rejection? Am I prepared to trust that you are strong enough to be exposed to the world?

I spent some time with people who can help me. Some are a bit like me but some of them have made that leap. They've offered their progeny to the slathering jaws of the publishing industry and some have survived and made it safely through. We've all agreed when you lose the fear, you've lost the edge. When you feel the fear and do it anyway then you are still alive. And so, once again, I will rip you apart and build you up.

Life would be so much easier if there was no need for sleep. It takes away valuable time that could be used for more creative things than defragging our internal hard drives. Or perhaps if there was no need to work. Yes, perhaps it is the fault of work that I have left you only partially formed, really just a skeleton with bits of flesh here and there. NO MORE PROCRASTINATION!

Did you miss me?

2010-05-22T17:47:00.000+12:00

I have been negligent and I bow my head in shame! I've been busy busy busy but just not in the writing arena! I've returned to the buzzing metropolis of Auckland and a job that requires brain usage, I've been brooding over my injured foot and I've been watching a lot of angel and Buffy DVDs!

I've also gone over to the dark side after my laptop became temperamental. I got an Apple Mac Probook which is amazing! It has fantastic battery life, it is intuitive, it looks pretty cool - I can type in the dark and the key board lights up! It can happily open Office documents, no problemo......but it doesn't support the writing software I was using. So I've just starting trialing another package and hopefully it will do the business. So far it seems really good but the downside is I have to get all the previously sweated out work from the evil purple laptop and integrate it into the new program. It is sadly a bit more than a cut and paste job. On the bright side, the manual nature means I am rereading and having new sparks of inspiration. Plus the new software has added features which have helped me really expand the whole story and it has evolved. Still vampires, ghosts and ghoulies but more examination of the human psyche and the hierarchy of needs....reliving those university education papers! OK, examining characters' motivations and what makes them tick.

So the timeline for completion has moved further into the future but I'm OK with that. At least the characters haven't revolted and changed the whole genre while my back was turned! So.....I'm BACK! Ready to find more beautiful words and amusing snippets.

Come over to the dark side

2010-02-12T20:26:00.000+13:00

My whole book has turned around, upside down and inside out! Deciding to take a step into paranormal romance was just what it needed! It 's allowed characters' true selves to emerge! Nick the vampire, an old mind eternally stuck in the body of callow youth, has developed from a prop to a person. Of course he's a tortured soul, aren't all dark ones! But he was a tortured soul before he became undead and so is continually fighting the essence of what he has always been. Plus he doesn't get ugly like Angel and Spike when he vamps because that would just be too obvious and Rosie would have found out his secret way too soon.

The big surprise was when Rosie discovered that Jasmine who she had thought was in love with Nick was actually a witch whose family had been charged with protecting Nick's mind so he would not go insane with the deep sorrow he felt as a vampire. That wasn't the biggie though....the biggie was when Rosie asked Jasmine if she was a Wiccan and Jasmine answered "No, I'm a witch like you.". Really took me by surprise! Explained Rosie's love of candles though!

The terrible weather we had for ever so long in Wellington was helpful in making me put words to paper so I'm up with the word count. Pity I haven't been so diligent with blogging!

Today's beautiful word
Vestigial Occurring or persisting as a rudimentary or degenerate structure

Today's word count: 850 words
Total word count: 29750 words

A day in Pompeii

2010-01-10T14:50:00.001+13:00

I love Lindsay Davis' Falco series set in Rome so I thought I'd check out the A day in Pompeii exhibition at Te Papa. It was interesting seeing the amphora and cooking pots etc in 'the flesh' and the pictures of Caupona and laundries reinforced the pictures Lindsay had drawn in my head. The displays of jewellery were interesting and I was surprised at how modern the bed seemed! Not quite what I visualized Falco and Helena using.

There was a 3D movie of the events over the 22 hours of the eruption. It wasn't that inspiring. Could have been done much better! Only the birds and the red hot embers really seemed to escape the screen. I had seen photos of the casts of the residents who hadn't escaped but they were both fascinating and heart-rending. There was a couple together, him reaching out to her, a slave with shackles on, people using clothing to cover their mouths to try and stop themselves suffocating, a guard dog, the metal discs on it's collar still present. And the girl whose robe had ridden up around her waist, leaving her lower body bared to the world.

It realise there is huge expense involved in bringing these displays to Wellington but none so far have left me feeling my $15 was money well spent. I am obviously a philistine. Museums are competing with movie makers and amusement parks for the public's dollar and our attention spans are getting shorter. It saddens me that if the 3D movie had been just a little better or the displays slightly more inspiring, I would not have begrudged a cent. Instead I felt let down. The time line was along a wall where people queued for the movie so there was little room to stand and read the eye witness accounts, there was examples of graffiti but any translation was off to the side. There was no natural flow so you ended up turning back on yourself when the flow in one direction became stronger than the flow in the other.

I think in future I'll stick to the regular exhibits and making the occasional $5 donation. The McCahons in the Art section make my day and the kids areas are brilliant. I feel a sense of joy as I enter level 5 and the McCahon panels stretch out in front of me, French Bay is light and beautiful and 'I'm scared, I stand' is so simplistic in response to the last chrysanthemum. I love standing looking at a McCahon beside a Hotere....we have some wonderful homegrown art. My fantasy Christmas stocking would contain A big McCahon http://www.mccahonhouse.org.nz/galleries/53_60intro/cm000069300.jpg, A Hotere (I'd love Black painting pleasehttp://cruciality.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/ralph-hotere-towards-aramoana-1982.jpg) and a Buchanan.http://www.deanbuchanan.co.nz/

Dance of joy

2010-01-09T22:42:00.000+13:00

A change of genre has been like a breath of fresh air in the dank desert of my book! It's like a machine with hundreds of individual cogs all linked up together. Just like each movement effects the others, each change has produced other changes that have resulted in renewed enthusiasm and more keyboard pounding.

Luc has been replaced by Rosie's brother as the means for Rosie and Nick being thrown together, allowing Luc to appear later in full incubus mode to ensnare poor Megan without the prior complication of explaining why he hadn't sucked the life force out of Rosie over the years....although he actually had.....ooo twisted!

I haven't reintroduced Dave in his spectre role yet. I'm not sure how that will work for Rosie. Is a ghostly lover better than none at all? Can his ghost compete with Rosie's memory of Dave? Does Rosie want Dave back in her life if he's only a shade? Is a ghost in the hand better than a vampire in a bush?

I am so into the book now that being kidnapped for a day of shopping following a walk this morning was not a freely appreciated as it might otherwise have been. Eight hours away from my little friends was hard but I did enjoy getting out and about in the capital. Of course it means I may end up sacrificing a visit to the markets tomorrow morning for a night of keyboard canoodling. Choices choices!

Creatures of the night unite!

2009-12-27T15:11:00.000+13:00

I hope you had a nice Christmas. We had the ultimate New Zealand Christmas....brilliant cloudless blue skies and hot hot hot! And we all complained about how hot it was! Coleslaw replaced vegetables, potato salad replaced hot potatoes and we ate chicken and lamb instead of turkey and beef. There was no hot christmas pudding but there was trifle (alcoholic and non), fruit salad, jellies and a chocolate fountain to dip fruit in. Yum yum! We ate in the sun under umbrellas on the deck with a view of the harbour. Bliss!

The book has metamorphosed into a paranormal romance. So the word count has gone backwards and people have changed dramatically but the joie de vivre of writing has returned. Don't worry, I've kept the original in case the characters resent being undead or hair covered.

So Nick is not really young, he's a 350 year old vampire who was changed at 28. Luc is not simply evil, he is a soul sucking incubus. James may be an angel or a guardian. Lydia is a were-lynx, and various other characters have become paranormal. Rosie remains Rosie, Megan ditto. But.....Dave can now play a bigger part as a ghost! So no more irons falling on my head. At least someone will be happy! I was quite fond of him so I'm pleased he gets a second chance.

So now Wellington is being infiltrated by the others and I don't think anyone will really notice. After all I saw Darth Maul in Dixon St and 10 foot tall women in Cuba Mall and there were animals on every street corner last week begging for donations.

Today's beautiful word
Metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.

The horrors of vodem!

2009-12-23T19:53:00.001+13:00

Having to monitor my internet usage due to the limits of using a vodem has meant I've been a very lax blogger. Not very good really.

The horror point of my week was seeing "The Time Traveller's wife". I knew it could never capture the beauty of the writing throughout the book but I was unprepared for the complete transformation to chick flick. Beautiful characters were lost, the whole importance of the loss of his feet was glossed over and Claire reached him in the meadow when he met Alba rather than having to wait until she was an old woman before he was able to make his way to her. I am saddened. This is why I don't go to the movies much.

My book is dragging.....it is trapped in a mire of dullness and lackluster. I'm thinking some vampires, shapeshifters or super-humans need to be introduced. Rosie has tried to hold her end up but everyone else really is not trying. Nick just slunk off. I think the problem is he was a special type of guy and somehow in the process of writing he toughened up and lost that quality that made him so. There are enough hard men out there and one more is barely worth notice but the interesting intricate soul he was shone. Alas he seems to have been told to 'harden the feck up' by someone....I suspect Lydia because she is really developing into a psychotic bitch. I guess I can run with it and explore why he has changed so radically but he's really closed down. He obviously knows he's ruined his chances with Rosie.

James has become determinely gay. I have no issue with his gayness but I really had him pegged as Rosie's Mr Knightley. Bother! Now I need to introduce a whole new character! Perhaps two so James can be happy. Maybe Nick could come to terms with his confused sexuality and fall in love with James, leaving Lydia thwarted. A twist indeed!

Luc did a brilliant job of being a leopard temporarily changing his spots and wooing Megan but he's back to his delicious devious misogynistic self, thank heavens! He is so fantastically unlikeable that it was hard seeing another side to him. Fortuitously the accidental muse tripped over his stories and tales of his exploits gave me some bonus fodder.

I think they all need infecting with vampirism and then maybe they will perk up and behave better. I am worried that Rosie will turn next and become Charlotte Lucas or, please no, Fanny Price. I think she needs a night on the town with a bottle of tequila or maybe Nick does.

Oh well, Merry Christmas to one and all. Enjoy the festivities and I hope you get the gift your heart desires.

I suffer for my art.

2009-11-16T18:45:00.000+13:00

Just a short blog today. I'm morbidly ill. I think it is food poisoning. I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible symptoms. campylobacter symptoms Not certain it is campylobacter but it's pretty hideous. All I've done all day is drunk hot gingerale, spent way too much time in the smallest room and slept. Oh and amazingly written 850 words! I'm hoping it's really only a 24 hour bug and I'll be fine tomorrow. Time will tell!

Today's beautiful word
Plethora A superabundance; an excess

Today's word count: 850 words
Total word count: 36862 words

The muse is on a roll!

2009-11-11T18:58:00.000+13:00

Today was one of those days when it would have been better to stay in bed! Rice was spilled....twice! Coffee dribbled, milk dripped, sundried tomatoes made a bid for escape, people left messages for other people on my work phone without paying any attention to the message and there was no blue cheese!

So what could make it better? How about reeling off 6873 words with no effort! Rosie was destined to have a bad day because we share everything. Naturally hers had to be far worse than mine! Although it did end with a phone call from her Tiger so she ended it feeling fairly happy.

I've gone back in time with the book. Not as in TTW but rather I've gone back to earlier chapters when life was full of promise and there were sunbeams and unicorns everywhere in Rosie's world. It is quite nice writing about happy people where everything is going well. My next target may be Megan. I may just sort out the tangled mess that is her love life....or not. James is seeing someone....is she going to steal his heart before Rosie wakes up and realises that he is her heart and soul. It is really starting to look like Rosie will be the one who ends up alone....living with 13 cats and plaiting mats from her own hair. Lydia aka lizard woman is about to burst onto the scene, trying to claim Nick as her own....which would have been fine if he knew he was but he is blissfully unaware that her catty behaviour is the result of unrequited love. It does not bode well for Rosie....just how far will Lydia be prepared to go to warn Rosie off? You'll be surprised!

Today's beautiful word
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.

Today's word count: 6873 words
Total word count: 36012 words

Enforced writing!

2009-11-10T21:02:00.001+13:00

I have been putting all my time into the physical and none into the intellectual! My days have been filled with work and exercise and I have been too exhausted to have an original thought. I did manage to read Audrey Niffenegger's second book - excellent but nowhere near as good as The Time Traveller's Wife. I found the ending disappointing and there was little suspense....you could guess what was going to happen before it did. Still lovely words but really it would have been impossible to ever compete with TTTW - it is the most beautiful work.

You may remember I decided to embrace my Queen Bitchiness and read the riot act to someone, well-deserved but still an insult. We had a Mexican stand-off with neither prepared to back down- really nothing had changed apart from I didn't communicate...but he just continued as before. I at least admitted I was pissed whereas St Pancreas maintained he was not. Mayhap he is a Saint! If I was of religious bent then I should start to worry about an eternity in purgatory. Thank goodness I am not! Well, we are working on a truce. So we will see if an armistice occurs on Sunday. We've agreed to meet but now we await a decision on location and time....from the person I abused for never replying to texts.....hmm. I laugh! Ha ha ha! Oh well maybe I can introduce this into my novel. My new ethos is "Don't piss me off or you'll end up in my novel!"

On the subject of religious bent....Telecom's new ad really pisses me off! As a small child I regularly attended church with my Grandparents and one song was drilled into my head (well two...I tend to sing Rock of Ages under times of stress!) ...this little light of mine. It stuck in my head and I would frequently have it floating around in my head. Only years of Green Day and Lily Allen had permanently removed it.....and now Telecom has put it back into my cerebral cortex!

Anyway Queen bitch and religious rantings aside, I decided, based on the advice of my Guru Gordon Wells, to at least try to write a little today and whoopee....1095 words! Rosie had a monologue in the mirror while straightening her hair. She worked out where her life was going, what she'd do and how she'd cope when she had lapses in fighting her addiction to the Tiger. She ended up with gorgeous hair and a much stronger frame of mind. Go Rosie! And she decided to wear red lipstick always!

Today's beautiful word
Elixir A good potion.

Today's word count: 1095 words
Total word count: 29139 words

I have the plague.

2009-10-28T18:26:00.001+13:00

I have a cold! I caught it from one of the consultants at work and I feel bleuch! My nose thinks it's a tap, my eyes are grainy and my arms and legs are like lead. And it's not like I can laze around at the weekend and recover. I have a 7am flight on Saturday and just a little 21.1k run over the Harbour Bridge on Sunday to contend with. Early to bed for me tonight.

Being deathly ill makes the fact that I've written 1029 words this evening all the more fantastic! I am being a good little soldier and meeting or exceeding my targets! Since I feel like a zombie and misery loves company, I decided that Rosie could also be sick. But Ms Rosie has food poisoning and managed to make a spectacle of herself. She has a fairly sensitive stomach at the best of time and the fish she had for dinner was not lovely fresh stuff from the fish markets it would seem (see, I wasn't off on a tangent yesterday! Admit it! You thought I was!). So she is now hiding out at home partially because she is still very ill but also because she is very embarrassed.

Once again today the words just flowed. A blessing considering my brain has been replaced with a plaster model for demonstration purposes only. I hope tomorrow at work is not too demanding. I'm not up to answering difficult questions....like 'what's your name?'

Today's beautiful word
Caramel a medium to dark tan color, firm chewy candy made from caramelized sugar and butter and milk

Today's word count: 1029 words
Total word count: 28044 words

Why are we mortgaging our homes to buy fish!

2009-10-27T19:22:00.000+13:00

We are an island nation so why is fish so bally expensive! We pay easily over $25 per kilo for disappointing fish! And $40 for snapper! Snapper is under pressure due to popularity overseas and quota system! At least if you pay $41 at the fish market it's fresh as fresh and the men will fillet it for you! But it's just like lamb and beef....all the good stuff goes off-shore where they of course don't get it fresh and we get the leftovers.
The nice fish man says the best fish to get is Alfonsino at $10.99 for a kilo and they fillet it! It is a firm fish and doesn't dry out. And you get it with the skin on so it's crispy! It's so pretty too! Glorious orange!
Or you can get in your tinny and go and catch it yourself but then you have to kill and fillet it and I won't!

And following on this train of thought, did you know McDonalds is pulling out of Iceland because it is not economically viable. Currently a Big Mac is USD7.50 and they need to raise the price at least USD1!

Anyway, enough about food!

Today my fingers flew over the keyboard and 918 words were put down in a twinkling. Rosie has moved house so I spent time describing what the change has meant to her. Since I was a good little bunny over the weekend I was quite happy to stop at just over 900 words and enjoy myself! I've got Audrey Niffenegger's latest book and I can't wait to dive into it! I loved, loved, loved The Time Traveller's Wife so have high expectations of this one although I don't believe anyone could top TTTW. We shall see. Audrey has such a fabulous way with the written word so I look forward to devouring Her Fearful Symmetry!

Today's beautiful word
Pluvial pertaining to rain

Today's word count: 918 words
Total word count: 27015 words

A fine is a tax for doing something wrong. A tax is a fine for doing something right.

2009-10-26T16:29:00.000+13:00

For some unknown reason I was wide awake this morning at 5:30 and for some unknown reason I decided it would be a good time to do the GST and Provisional Tax returns! Oh how I praise Cashbooks! It has actually made doing GST returns so much easier. It, of course, doesn't make the handing over of hard-earned money any easier. Still at least I didn't need to tear out any hair and everything came together fairly seemlessly. So tomorrow the IRD will receive an exorbitant amount of money into their coffers that could be better spent feeding and clothing all of us!

After such an enjoyable time I was ready to enter Rosie's world again. In between dancing to the radio, washing the floors, making pikelets and a fruitcake, I wrote! See, even at my best I have an inbuilt talent for procrastination! Still I now have pikelets in the freezer, a cake on the bench, clean floors, lots less money and a sunny disposition AND 2166 more words in the manuscript! I rock! Oo rah!

So there is something for being a friendless refugee in Wellington on Labour Weekend! I didn't even go and stare at the McCahon panels at Te Papa and I Love them more than the bucket fountain. I enjoyed the sunshine only by opening my balcony doors all the way up. I haven't left my apartment for two days! I am even looking forward to going to work tomorrow!

It's only 4:22! That's what happens when you get up at stupid o'clock. The day drags on forever! Too early even to make macaroni cheese! All that is left is to get on my bike and pedal my little heart out. The only problem with that plan is.....my bum hurts! Who designed bike seats! I want a nice sofa-like nana seat not one that is made of concrete and covered with a microscopic layer of cushioning! Maybe I'll just put on Miley Cyrus and do a hoedown throw down! Or maybe Cupid's happy dance might be better.

Today's beautiful word
Soliloquy speech you make to yourself

Today's word count: 2166 words
Total word count: 26097 words

Every little bit helps!

2009-10-25T22:27:00.000+13:00

I spent an hour working out where I was and what needed doing in each section of the book according to the Newnovelist software. It certainly gave some clarity and I feel a lot happier about where things are going.

I'm looking forward to developing the character of the antagonist, Lydia. She hasn't appeared at all yet! She's Nick's friend and is openly antagonistic towards Rosie when she first meets her and makes no apology. She is very bright and often unconsciously manipulates Nick into doing what she wants. She also has a bad case of unrequited love - nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter like unrequited love (Charles Schulz) - which she doesn't initially recognise and then denies. She is not ultimately a bad person but is more someone who makes an immediate judgement about everyone she meets and will never divert from it even if it is obviously incorrect to others. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and would fight like a tiger for any of them. Unfortunately for Rosie, Lydia decides Rosie is a Cougar and Nick needs protecting from her even before she has met her. She sets out to convince all of Nick's friends of this.

After my planning session, I did do a bit more writing but not a huge amount. I have to remind myself that I've done well and every little bit counts! Considering my goal is 850 words a day, 614 extra words on top of today's mammoth effort is not to be sneezed at! Oo Rah!

Today's word count: 614 words
Total word count: 23931 words

Chained to the desk

2009-10-25T16:39:00.000+13:00

Today I developed a clever plan to make sure I was not distracted by the delights of Wellington city. I got up, had a shower and washed my hair because I do have standards, but then, and this is the clever bit....I got back in my pjs! I also didn't put my contacts in so I'm wearing my ugly glasses. There is no way I can leave! Brilliant in its simplicity! I had Claude Barzotti singing away in French on the stereo, I had the espresso machine on stand-by and I only opened Facebook at my 4 o'clock break for 5 minutes! I didn't turn off my phone in case someone had something important to say but that's a minor detail!

My Queen Bitch performance yesterday has actually resulted in a number of plot devices!

1) A Queen bitch has entered the scene at Rosie's work and I bow down to her bitchiness.

2) Rosie is exploring Buddhism without beliefs - something I had been doing in order to stop my QB tendencies rising to the surface - hopefully Rosie will have more success. However, this exploration has been useful in my own life and the novel. In order to be awakened each of the four ennobling truths must be acted upon in its own particular way - understanding anguish, letting go of its origins, realising its cessation and cultivating the path of cessation. Now for the book I have twisted this a little and this is not keeping in the spirit of the ideals but I'm not perfect! I have Rosie and Megan both understanding the non-communication of Nick and Luc in their particular ways causes anguish. Rosie lets go of its origins by mentally slamming a door in Nick's face when he crosses her mind and Megan rips into Luc and tells him what he does that causes this anguish and leaves it open to him whether he chooses to continue or not but Megan will do nothing further. Rosie realises that the anguish she experienced has ceased when she has to look up Nick's number for someone rather than reciting it from memory and she cultivates the path by removing all unnecessary reminders of Nick from her life. She doesn't tear up photos and delete him from her phone but she removes him from her groups for emails and texts and seeks out friends to spend more time with. Megan has work to do but she is a character with many faults and that is the beauty of her.

3) A gorgeous phrase rose from something the recipient of my grump said. He didn't say the phrase, It just popped into my head as a perfect response but one that should not be used unless one wants to be Queen Bitch and Empress of punk your ass and I'm trying really hard to embrace Buddhism without beliefs but I am a lexophile so I must let my pretties fly. So Megan will use it when she confronts Luc or 'tears him a new one'. She will also comment to Rosie that the occasional placing acceptable behaviour on hold and actually speaking your mind is most refreshing and really is a service to the recipient because they might do some soul searching but as she says "I doubt it, I reckon 99.9% of the time they'll carry on and absolve themselves of any responsibility which is fine with me cos I still know they're an asshole and that's all that matters to me"

It was a beautiful day so I did get out on the balcony on the Tranzx and fed the brain some endorphins. It gives the pigeons something to think about. It also clears out the cobwebs. I did make an exception to the pj rule because I didn't want the pigeons to fall out of the sky from laughing so hard. Remember I'm trying to embrace buddhism without belief and I'm pretty sure that cruelty to animals is something I should avoid. So as long as they don't poop on me or my bike we shall coexist in peaceful harmony. Being out on the balcony I discover many things about my neighbours. Today I discovered that one of them has a big liking for the wacky baccy. For the whole hour of pedalling there was a constant fug in the air.

It's now 4:30 in the afternoon and I have produced 2193 words! I will probably write more this evening but still I am extremely happy with that output.

In one of the photos above you may have noticed my white board. I have it covered in quotations that appeal to me and inspire ideas for my characters. But I used one quotation today that was not on the board but suited James so beautifully. James is a Star Wars fan and when Rosie is talking to him about the way Luc is behaving he quotes Cicero- "He removes the greatest ornament of friendship, who takes away from it respect". Rosie likes this because she thinks it sounds like something Yoda would say, which she thinks is more in keeping with James than a Roman author and orator. I just think it is good sensible advice and shows that there is more to James than Rosie suspects.

Today's beautiful word
Mercurial changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic

Today's word count: 2193 words
Total word count: 23317 words

My life as a soap opera

2009-10-24T22:34:00.004+13:00

Today I really intended putting my head down and really getting through some heavy duty writing. But instead I went and saw Julie and Julia. Meryl Streep is very good...as always. The addition of Julia's own book added an interesting aside. I did not know that "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" was co-authored with two others...French women - Simone Beck and her sister Louisette, whom we will discount because "She doz nurt do za wurk"! Julie's blog was, obviously, much more popular than mine. Maybe I should be spending a year working my way through the Edmonds cookbook! But the joy of the blog for the blogger is you can shout whatever is on your mind out into the ether and at least pretend to yourself that you are being heard and validated.

So if I did not write what did I do? I rode my bike on the windtrainer while listening to my favourite Lily Allen tracks. I did not sing along. I did my food shopping and danced around the store to 80s tunes, just to prove I was in a genuine good mood. This has bearing on the next paragraph. I even smiled at the grumpy woman who lives on the 5th floor. I was in a really fantastic mood. I decided it might be nice to go to a nice pub where I could enjoy a glass on my own and not be accosted by Lotharios. To this end I sent out a few texts to elicit suggestions. Most people replied they were unable to recommend any such place not being big on pubs (Average age being 55 I believe). Fair enough! I would probably reply the same and that is the crux of the matter! Because....

I then decided to insult someone by calling them a rude bastard! I assure the recipient is not a bad person - I have been told he restores ones faith in humanity but I find that a little extreme- I see no signs of stigmata nor a halo. I beg the jury's tolerance. Let me plead my case. Mr RB had become incommunicado without explanation and I had been a little worried. My inquiry was important to me. I sent it....and what do you know! no reply.....so after two hours I decided to go out guns blazing and shoot...myself in the foot. But as I said my response was not based on a single episode, it was the final straw after a long period of tolerance and acceptance (I know, I'm a Saint!). I make no apology for my response, I contend that a recidivist non-texter who does have the ability deserves to be told the plain truth. If not from me, then who?

What I learnt from this episode is the following: silent resentment and mumbling under your breath means you run the risk of continuation of the treatment which causes the same or getting a reputation as a crazy woman and maybe even a pet name. But shock treatment, especially that resulting in defensiveness, can result in sudden re-institution of the ability to text to said miscreant and short term rehabilitation of the recidivist, if only to curse you out or at least do some toy throwing. So dear jury, do you not see it was literally a case of self-defence. Who would not have done the same in my position? Now if my life was really a soap opera, Mr RB would see the effect of his behaviour and there would be a touching scene where we both apologised and agreed to quarrel no more as per Jo and Laurie...whoops I'm slipping over into the classics! But alas it is a reality show so we'll probably form opposing teams and compete for sacks of flour and immunity.

I have also learnt not to buy wine with a cork if you are not in possession of a corkscrew! It is difficult to drink yourself into a self-righteous stupor if you cannot open the bottle. I wholeheartedly support the screw-top proponents! Though bubbly may still need it's special cork to retain it's delicious sparkle.

Today's beautiful word
Recidivist the chronic tendency toward repetition of criminal or antisocial behavior patterns

Quality not quantity

2009-10-18T20:30:00.000+13:00

Today I drove from Auckland to Wellington (637km) so it was never going to be a big writing day anyway. BUT there was a crash which blocked SH1 before Hunterville. Someone had to be cut out of their car and we were told it would be about an hours wait. Apparently there was an alternate route that started out windy but was fine after a while. Soa caravan of us set off but the leader didn't actually know where he was going!

We went up Sanford Block Road, I believe. This may have been right. It was pretty wiry! Lots of mud and the ABS light came on a few times. I had to silence the Navman because she kept telling me to do a U-turn.
I think we should have taken the Taupo road but we set on Chelteham-Hunterville Rd and ended up in Fielding!

Added over an hour to journey so it was an epic fail! But an adventure!

Then I had to schlep stuff from the car to the apartment, put it away, make some dinner (satay tofu and noodles- yummo!) So time and energy were zapped away!

But I did do 373 words that totally changed Nick from immature to slightly mature so it was quality! And made Luc a little more human! So good work!

Today's beautiful word
Myriad having innumerable phases, aspects, variations, etc

Today's word count: 373 words
Total word count: 21124 words

Food as sex

2009-10-17T18:05:00.002+13:00

Now Rosie has finally taken the plunge I'm free to write about a much more important topic - food! I had a delightful time today writing about Rosie and Nick sharing a meal together. The menu included a few of my favourites but not my ultimate favourite - blue cheese wontons. I drew on my reaction to blue cheese wontons to describe Rosie's enjoyment of her fish dish. I may be alone in my appreciation of Chow's blue cheese wontons but I doubt it. The only downside is I really can't eat them in company. I believe Oliver may have been mentally scarred by my first experience of them.

Describing food is a great exercise. Ultimately you want the reader to be able to taste the food. The lemon and capers in Rosie's fish dish should not only burst onto her and Nick's taste buds but also the reader's. I guess one is successful when the reader needs to put the book down and go and find something to eat!

Anyway, books such as Chocolat have already illustrated the concept of food as sex and I think it works very well. Sharing food is an intimate experience and writing about Rosie and Nick enjoying their meals and sharing tastes acted as an excellent foil for the sexual tension rising between them. I even got over my absolute aversion to people sharing food from the same plate or, shudder, same fork, to let Rosie and Nick feed each other.

So today has been a very successful one...and now I think I need to find something to eat!

Today's beautiful word
Refulgent radiating or as if radiating light

Today's word count: 1587 words
Total word count: 20751 words

Is it hot in here?

2009-10-16T22:05:00.002+13:00

After skirting around it and finding other areas to write about, I've finally taken the bull by the horns and Rosie has slept with her Tiger! There was resistance, nerves, indecision. Then there was surrender to her baser instincts. And then Rosie went wild!

The hardest part is trying to write in a way that is acceptable to readers of chicklit without using 'silly sex' terms...you know - manroot, nubs, honeyed centre, I'll probably go back and rewrite but for now Rosie has ridden her tiger like a rodeo rider at the county fair! - Too much information? So now that's out of the way it'll only get easier....I hope. I assure you there were no crashing waves and only a few fire works.

I may dedicate some time to research....of the romance writers' websites to see if there is anything I need to add. But I'm fairly happy and I know both Rosie and Nick are well-pleased. Dave may be a bit put out but spectre's tend to be a bit disappointing in the area of corporeal pleasures. And Luc is but a distant memory. Simply a benchmark to be easily surpassed as is the role of the ex-lover in chicklit. I was tempted for a moment to make Nick lousy but that would have been a clanger!

And so I leave Rosie praising Farmer's lingerie sales, corpse reviver cocktails and the energy of youth.

Today's beautiful word
Zenith a highest point or state; culmination

Today's word count: 1363 words
Total word count: 19164 words

She's back!

2009-10-15T21:35:00.001+13:00

I'm back! I battled with the demons of procrastination and managed to at least wing them enough to get some more writing done! Now I just need to keep it up! I may need to beg or cajole someone into taking me to some of the local watering spots to observe modern mating behaviours....or I could just watch TV 'cos that's just like real life isn't it?

I'm quite happy with the way things are currently going which is of course the cue for one of the characters to mutiny! My money is on James deciding he's gay but there may be a twist and Nick might come out! I'm hoping neither because it does sort of put a damper on the story line!

Anyway, I got an extra 459 words down - Not bad for someone who would rather clean the toilet than face the empty page! Oh what a cruel task master my muse is!

Today's word count: 1542 words
Total word count: 17801 words

More avoidance!

2009-10-15T13:32:00.010+13:00

I decided to do some research today. In my manuscript I decided Rosie would stalk Nick when he goes cold on her. She is supposed to stand on a street near his office and watch for him to come out and then 'accidentally' bump into him. I figured she could easily do half an hour. Well, I went out and tried it. I found a building with two exits on different streets (couldn't make it too easy) and found a position where I could see both exits. This meant standing on a street corner. I found if you stand too close to the street people stop to let you cross so that meant standing back a bit. You have to look casual but at the same time be alert. This is not easy! I wore sunglasses so I could face a different direction and look out of the corner of my eye! Lucky it was a sunny day in the capital! Holding a cup of coffee works well. So how long could I, a pretty good stalker, stalk comfortably for whilst remaining in the same place? Well, after 6 minutes I felt uncomfortable and obvious. If I was stalking someone they could easily have looked out a window and seem me! I managed 10 minutes and then feigned a text message and moved on! I learnt that you need to look like you are looking out for someone or waiting for something, that coffee is helpful and a disguise might be a good thing or just might be creepy!

Anyway, I now know that the delicate Rosie either has to successfully catch Nick or move on after 10 minutes. I guess she could sit in her car if she could find a suitable spot but that is a little too Julia Hartley Moore! I see her in dark glasses, a fedora, a trench coat and peering out from behind a newspaper while sitting in her highly distinctive car! Not a goer really!

I've done a cull of the manuscript again. So I'm now only 440 words up on where I was before! All that work for so little reward! Still Rosie has done her stalking and nearly got caught. There were no trench coats or fedoras but coffee was involved as well as some Sauvignon blanc prior!

Today's beautiful word
Iridescent varying in color when seen in different lights or from different angles.

Today's word count: 1083 words
Total word count: 17342 words

The mood for writing

2009-10-14T10:10:00.000+13:00

Since arriving in Wellington I have become even more aware of how emotion and how you are feeling affects writing. Duh! But stick with me on this. Of course if you are feeling bitter and twisted it is hard to write about a felicitous scene. But it is also hard to choose an apt word or phrase when you are distracted or tired. Samuel Coleridge claimed that Kubla Khan was inspired by an opium-induced dream, as illustrated by the poem's subtitle A Vision in a Dream, but that the composition was interrupted by a person from Porlock. This may work for poetry but my experience is that writing done while imbibing a few wines, while seemingly brilliant at the time, seems to result in rubbishy crap or maudlin ramblings.

I also find that I need a bit of a natter everyday to clear out the rubbish so I can concentrate on developments in the book without distraction. The change of job has meant I'm not getting this so I find I sit down and my mind wanders of trying to sort out everything but the book! I even start to think about what super power I could most utilise at the current point of time.

What is really irking is I have been given a wonderful plot twist and I just keep skimming over it rather than taking it up and running with it. I may need to invest in a set of handcuffs and attach myself to my desk. Currently I keep remembering things I have to buy right now. I mean I absolutely needed to buy a clock, batteries, plastic containers and coat hangers yesterday. When you can walk out the door and a fantastic choice of opportunities to hand over good money are there right on your doorstep how can I resist! I can even hear the buskers in Manners Mall and I know the Frenchman from Red Cross is out there being Gallic!

You see, even now I'm procrastinating! Instead of writing about not writing, I should be writing!

Today's beautiful word
Felicitous Marked by happiness or good fortune.

Argh!

2009-10-12T20:08:00.001+13:00

I have had huge problems logging into Blogger! But hurray, I'm back! I'm in Wellington and Rosie is moving on. Recently I've been working on a side story about her friend Megan and the wonderful man who turned out to be a piece of work! It's been good fun developing Megan's character and fleshing her out from good time party girl to a more multi-facetted character.

I'm 500 words down but that's not too bad considering I've moved down the island and started a new and rather daunting job! But now I'm back down to it again and hopefully I'll keep on this roll and further develop both Megan's story and maybe bring James into play!

Today's beautiful word
Demesne Dominion, territory

No progress!

2009-09-21T21:59:00.000+12:00

I have been very delinquent in my writing! Still ahead of the plan so if I get my a into g I will be fine! So why the lack of writing?

I've just got a new job in Wellington, starting mid-October so I've been preoccupied trying to work out what I can afford to pay for an apartment, where I want the apartment (walking distance to Courtenay Pl and the Hospital - where I'll be working). I've come up with a short list of 6 - 3 apartments and 3 studios. I'm flying down to check them out on Thursday afternoon....staying til Saturday. I am changing a booking on a flight booked for the end of October so had to fiddle round to avoid paying too much more.

So now I'm just about sorted I can return to Rosie's world and try and get her sorted! Wish I could afford an apartment like hers! I fear I'm going to be in a studio or hotel sized apartment. As long as I have an oven I'll survive!

No word today!

2009-09-17T21:55:00.001+12:00

As you may be aware I killed Dave. It was a very traumatic experience and was not made without much forethought. OK so I'm lying...I created him, I made Rosie love him, I killed him. You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Dave took one for the team, he fell on the grenade, he had but one life to give.

Anyway....I think he's angry! Yesterday I fell down some stairs...nothing to trip on and yet down I went and then today the iron fell on my head. Coincidence, I think not! I kill Dave and then inanimate objects start to attack me! Well, I will not be cowed! Dave is dead and shall remain so. I've made sure there are no bowling bowls on wardrobe shelves and keep well clear when I reach for a can in the pantry.

The random attacks have left me so traumatised that I have written virtually nothing today!

Damn Muse!

On the subject of writing nothing - I am really disappointed because there is a really good element I could put in the book that would add a twist but unfortunately my unintended Muse once again was the inspiration so I will try to stop it creeping in otherwise I may as well write a biography, stick his name on it and see if it sells! Who knows, it might be the next Basketball Diaries! But no, can't do it! It would only have been a teeny tiny bit of a plot twist and all other parts of the twist don't relate but must resist! Nearly convinced myself! It must be interesting to live such a life that so many interesting or, more frequently, humorous things happen!

Today's beautiful word
Conflate To blend together.

Today's word count: 202 words
Total word count: 16902 words

What did Rosie do to deserve this?

2009-09-16T11:31:00.002+12:00

I am over a week ahead of schedule! If I stopped writing right now I could do nothing until next Thursday and still be right on target. But I won't! Today I thought I was back to a happy place in the book. I had leapt ahead to the sad part after having a brilliant idea and paid for my enthusiasm with a tinge of gloom. That resulted in a loss of sleep last night. I kept trying to work out how to make it right.

Alas the happy bit suddenly became very sad. A character I didn't know even existed appeared. He didn't push in and make his presence known in a loud way, he was more standing at the edge just waiting. I had just started wondering how long Rosie had been with her awful partner Luc. I thought it must have been a long time because she's 40 but then I realised that she can't have been with him that long because he is truly vile. There had to have been someone before him, someone who had given her faith in relationships.

Then a character started forming. A kind loving man who had known Rosie since she was young. Someone who had loved her no matter what. Then I realised....she'd been married before. So what happened? I couldn't see Rosie as a divorcee, she and this man were too in love. No something had to have happened. Cancer? No I felt the loss was sudden and really unresolved. Rosie had a whole lot of complicated grief bottled up inside of her. Then I realised he was the one who had a terrible accident, not vile Luc. But he didn't end up with terrible neurological damage because Rosie would still have loved him and stayed with him....no, Dave had to die. I was devastated....in less than 15 minutes I'd discovered Rosie had had the love of her life and then I had killed him. I was crying while she gave permission for his organs to be donated. Poor Rosie!

Today's beautiful word
Wherewithal The means.

Today's word count: 1904 words
Total word count: 16700 words

Glorious writing conditions in Auckland!

2009-09-15T16:41:00.002+12:00

It's a gorgeous day today so another session on the deck with the laptop! I am so lucky! How's this for a location to write in!

I'm finding starting the day with a good physical workout sets me up for a good mental workout writing. My weapon of choice (or necessity really) is deep water running. Half an hour to an hour of that leaves me ready for a sit down!

Rosie's bottom of the ocean moment

Today I've been working on a sad part of the story. The heroine has finally realised that the Tiger is not coming back. She had believed that they were soulmates. She doesn't understand why he has gone so suddenly and is being torn apart by unanswered questions. He just suddenly changed like a switch had been turned off. He's like everything she'll never find again...at the bottom of the ocean - what she's missing she'll keep reliving...Such a poet that Miley Cyrus ;-)

It has been quite draining. I knew what was going to happen but still it is so very sad to listen to the heroine trying to understand what has happened to what she thought was her Cinderella moment. I almost feel cruel because I know its going to get worse. My heroine has gained in self confidence and charisma as I've written more about her. Poor Rosie - she thought her victim days were over! I know she's probably not going to get the answers she seeks but who knows! In fiction anything is possible and anything ugly can be cleaned up easily.

I managed 1323 words today and now feel like I need a very stiff drink! My characters are like my babies! At least some of them are, some are more like flies and cockroaches! But I am particularly fond of Rosie. She's had a hard run and really felt as though she had finally found love. What is really sad is until I did the rewrite she had! There were going to be ups and downs and misunderstandings but eventually everything would have turned out. But alas now who knows where it will all end.

Today's beautiful word
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.

Today's word count: 1323 words
Total word count: 14796 words

Sunshine writing!

2009-09-14T13:52:00.006+12:00

It is a glorious day today and I spend over an hour and a half out on the deck writing. I'd have stayed out longer but the battery on my laptop is not up to it! Still, what could be nicer than enjoying the sun, listening to cool tunes, drinking chai tea and writing about love!

I flowed like a really flowy thing. 1257 words! And there will be more but not with the sun on my back :-( . Things are just coming together! The main male has floated through, acting as a mentor to the heroine. He is strong, dependable...why can't she see him! But then why can't he see her?

Another 1328 words rolled out! A change in the air. A new start? I've been writing all over the place. I'm now working in a more chronological order. One of the antagonist has stomped off into the sunset...or roared off in his Porsche. The mentor is not answering his phone, the best friend has hers turned off? How will comfort the heroine? Time for the Tiger to make a play ...or is he just a friend? Who knows...not me! He's a devil that Tiger...doesn't play by the rules!

Today's beautiful word
Denouement The resolution of a mystery

Today's word count: 2585 words
Total word count: 13474 words

The Heroine plunged into trouble

2009-09-13T19:22:00.001+12:00

I had a good session this afternoon! The day started well with a good workout in the pool followed by a very nice brunch. I had some work to do and then made a rice pudding. Then I realised I was avoiding writing and slapped myself around a bit!

I'm using a software programme to write this book. It's called New Novelist 2. It works for me. I used the Marshall Plan to write my previous manuscript and it was also very good but I like software. I've now discovered they do a software version! Anyway, using software is working well for me organisationally. I know vaguely where I'm going and what lies ahead. The Marshall Plan involved planning everything out and then writing whereas the Newnovelist 2 is more on the fly. This is working for me.

I'm quite excited because the cracks are showing in the heroine's current relationship so soon she will be able to move in a different direction. Of course currently she thinks she's the one who is going to end it and that will not be the case! I'm way ahead of the game wordwise so that's a nice feeling!

Today's beautiful word
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.

Today's word count: 1050 words
Total word count: 10889 words

Midnight madness!

2009-09-13T09:23:00.000+12:00

An inability to sleep meant that at midnight I wrote another 451 words. It was a case of going back to the beginning and adding a few little bits and pieces to set up future events. It all adds up, say I!

Today's beautiful word
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.

Todays word count: 451 words
Total word count: 9839 words

An introductory post!

2009-09-12T20:21:00.002+12:00

This will be quite long! Bear with me. future posts will be much shorter!

A conversation with a friend made me realise that one of the newer entrants to the romance scene was the Cougar. Now the older man-younger woman romance has been around forever - Emma and Mr Knightley, Rochester and Jane Eyre, Blake and Crystal ;-) -but the older woman - younger man story was not out there. Hmmm, now there's a book idea!

Research told me that Cougars fall in the age group 40-59! Those wanna-bes aged 30-39 are Pumas! If following the "half your age plus 7" formula their 'prey' are Tigers those young men aged 21-29 or Badgers - aged 30-39. Some though may hunt cubs...16 to 20 year olds! The only problem in this is that Badgers often want to be flirting with Chicks - the 21 to 29 year olds! Life is so complicated! So it looks like the Cougars should be hunting Tigers and leave the Badgers to the Chicks!

Searching "Cougar" brings up many very informative websites....it is a lush field of research! So I decided that the subject of my book would be a 40 year old woman who is pursued by a maybe 27 year old man - age to be decided upon. Any younger and the rule is broken! And if she is younger she transforms into a Puma! I decided that she would be a reluctant cougar. This would make for more of a chase. So the working title became the reluctant cougar.
Seek guide to love across the generations

Madatoms.com cougar guide

I worked out a character list and found photos to represent everyone so I had an idea in my head of what people looked like and might behave like. Woo hoo! We had a goer!

I started writing it and it was going very well. But then the characters got out of hand! Well the Tiger did! He decided he wanted to be in a biography. I'd be happily writing and then an action or discussion similar to something a friend had said or done would sneak in! And because of the reality of it, it was often the best piece of writing. So I'd leave it in and resolve to change it later when I knew where things were going. And so 12000 words were written and when I read them I decided I didn't like the way things were going! So today I scrubbed most of the book and changed the whole story! Take that Tiger, oh you think you're the male lead now but I have a twist ahead! You are merely an amusing trick! It's smoke and mirrors and soon the true main male will emerge from where he has been standing!

I am a people watcher. Everything I see is stored away for later use. The guy walking to his car with the old lady in the rain...he has an umbrella and she does not!, the man who paints a beautiful picture of himself to the woman in his life and then it cracks, the woman who thinks she hides her feelings but you can see everything she's thinking written across her face. So anyone who spends time with me runs the risk of a small part of their soul being pinched off and added to the brew! Or in the case of some, a large part because they are just so fantastically full! Alas that happened with the Tiger. And so I will carry on writing and then I'll puff and twitch and change his story so the innocent will be protected.

Today

Today I wrote over 2700 words. The Tiger was rarely glimpsed, the Cougar had a revelation, and maybe the main male made an appearance! I'd like to think so but sometimes I feel I don't have complete control! The Heroine is quite compliant but who knows how she'll react to finding out her love is being turned in a different direction. At least the character who I'd originally critically injured has instead simply decided that he's 'just not into her'. A lucky escape from a terrible neurological injury! And there are characters who are dying to be plumped out and to have their moment in the sun! What a joy to be creating my own little Universe!

My plan is to write on average 850 words a day. Naturally I won't! I might do 200 tomorrow and 2000 the following! It depends on how the Muse is feeling!

Todays word count: 2764 words
Total word count: 9388 words