words of advise

from one of the WW published authors:

There are twenty-five simple steps to becoming a published author.Here are the steps:
1. Black ink on white paper.
2. Place your name and address in the top left-hand corner of the first page.
3. Place the title and byline, centered, half-way down the first page.
4. Put a running head (your name, the title, and a page number) in the top right hand corner of every page.
5. Your pages should have one-inch margins.
6. Doublespace your text.
7. Use Courier 10 or Courier 12 only.
8. Type on one side of the paper only.
9. Continue until you reach "The End."
10. Rewrite.
11. Rewrite.
12.....21. Revise
22. Obtain the guidelines for a market that accepts material similar to what you have finished.
23. Follow the guidelines scrupulously when you submit your material.
24. While you are waiting for your rejection slip, start again back at step 1 for your next work.
25. When the rejection slip arrives, send the manuscript to the next market on your list, that same day.

Guess who?

Jim D. MacDonald

uh, i'm just sad

yup i got like three quarters of a page in, half a page, done today, yes... *trails off* i blame being tired, i shall try harder tomorrow.

That's what it is!

A rabbit hole! finally I have a name for it, that thing that's either a plot device or leading one very far astray from the book itself. I could have hugged Laurell when she said that... *metaphysical hug* I hope she got that.

I have issues with rabbit holes all the time.

It was dire...

The Dire Land of Perrinwold, a rather short piece by my standards actually, six pages, three thousand and something words, not much right? I can't imagine it is the piece that will make my career, and yet, it was VERY important that I finish it. Very important to me. I've not made any mention of it because it is the first story that has ever come to me, complete, in one flash. Just like that it was there. Done, all I needed to do was finish it.

It's a metaphore. It's a metaphore that only I may ever get entirely, but it is one none the less, and I'm rather fond of it. It uses many big words, but an old fashioned story tellers voice, because it is very much in the third person. I liked it... I want to do something with it. I think I need to. I'm going to get it on floppy (along with many of my poems) go to Beth's house, load them on her computer, and then email them to myself as an attachment. That's my plan, I'm sticking to it. I fear though that I may be telling too much and not showing, but for the Dire Land of Perrinwold, I think that that's ok. It just makes sense. I'm not sure if other people will like it, I got Lauren to read a bunch and she said she liked it, but sometimes I can't believe her, she loves me too much, and isn't as hard core a bitchy writer as myself. I need to know what improvments need making.

I wrote it based on something I felt about Raven. It was... After an argument that we had that I wrote the first part of it and then another part (but I had to cut and paste that somewhere else) I then continued it the next night and then didn't write for a rather long time (by my standards) now.. now I'm done it I finished tonight and it's done. I would like to congradulate myself a bit on this by the way because it is the first piece in my "currently working on or never finished" folder that was allowed to move... I want that folder emptied, or at least not so pathetic. I got to move it to the most exulted "short stories and prose" folder, let's hear some ooooo'ing and ahhhh'ing.

My mother seemed to have this unbelievably uncanny ability to annoy me today, and find the perfect time that would get me, i.e. when I was writing. It seemed even at 2am when normally we say nothing to one another, she managed to disturb me, yes by talking to me, I thought I was safe! GAH!

Well I guess I'm just going to have to sequester myself tomorrow.

Tomorrow's goal: Finish this god damned laleena bit!

... you know, and phone Raven, Bethany, and Robyn, and workout and stuff as well...

*Tattles*

Bethie told me I could come over to her house, so again my day's page count is 0, yes 0. Blast, I blame both her and my father for the terribly tragic event.

Yup I'm still a bad person

I didn't write anymore yesterday *lowers head in disgrace* I read, that's it. I did think though that if I came here it might inspire me to write tonight.

Yes... tonight. Beetovan

Enigma

Evy

Enigma

Beetovan

Enigma

Must write, must write, must write. I shall write, may even finish it tonight, although that may result in another looooooong night.

Woops.

Ok, this is pathetic... maybe half a paragraph... I may remedy that I may not. I did get harry potter and the half blood prince today... that means READATHON! So yeah.

Hey it's one more reason for Bethany to hate harry Potter.

Makes it a bit better

I wrote some more last night and that kept me up until about three. The entire thinig is seven pages at the moment, so I got about two maybe two and a bit or more... yeah about three, three pages done last night. Nope more like four.

my cat is attacking my hand so I say no more.
+.000000
....

celeste, taryne - philosophy - erland, death+eternal life

ahhhhcat.

It'll have to do

Sigh today was a weak effort. I got about half a page done, it seemed the moment I went to write I was needed. Just like yesterday when I finally got on the phone and mom took that moment to set me to work. God damn it.

So the whole thing is at about 3 pages now (I got a little bit more done yesterday, though not much). So yes, a weak effort, but it was a something.

Thoughtful, not less

I've had to think about what's to come, an ending (be it only temporary) must be powerful and the emotions and events leading up to it as well. It will be good and I shall enjoy myself in the writing of it, but these things must be done carefully.

I've written two pages today, about half a page was devoted to a nursery rhyme I had laleena singing, I understand that maybe only one stanza or none of it may end up in the final copy, but I liked the mood it set, and it helped me beging. Now, given the time I've got left things must be stretched and compressed. But I am a writer and that is what I do.

I am enjoying myself but still I must think, I must think and type in accordance. So far they haven't done much, thoughts and changing, setting up for the inevitable. These things must be done carefully.

Good and glorious day

I'm done! All done. There wasn't much left to do really. I just have to spell check (an ordeal that does occasionally take longer than I like) and get it to Susie.

Muchly intrigued am I about this new project of hers.

Yesterday's pages: 1 and a bit
Total pages: 20 (I think) [Edit: It was 20 on my bedroom computer, but proofread and formated it ended up being 18 and a bit]

Think I'll do some more

I wrote a bit for a new project just two nights ago, I think i shall again tonight. I'm holding onto some of the lessons given to me in Fool On A Hill, with a death grip.

I'm not going to say much more b/c that's not cool, and it'll take the shinyness away but damn i like it. In the 2 pg's i've written it's terribly origional.

Almost there

I'm getting close. I'll be done for tomorrow.

Yesterday's pages: 5

*Slaps own wrist*

I'm a bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad little writer. Well, the writing isn't bad, I'm just a bad person. This has to be done --

Yesterday's pages: 0
The day before yesterday's pages: 0

Sigh. I have written today!! And I will write more today!! I promise I will. When will I next see Susan? Tuesday, I imagine. I'll have it done by then, I swear I will.

Sooo Sloooow

Okay so I didn't get a huge amount done yesterday. I maintain that if I'd started some time before 1am I likely could have accomplished more...

My major list of "to dos" for this section have been accomplished. Considering how much I've accomplished, I'm surprised at my page count being kinda lower than I'd thought it would be. Then again, Susie was given a banquet to do and chrurned out 25, comparatively little of which was actually banquet as she had lots of working up to get done. She left me right on the brink of the birthing, so I didn't really have much preliminary to get done. Also, I like that it's fast paced -- from the death of the King to right around where I am now is the climax of the novel (in my oppinion anyway... I donno, Suse may like to extend it to the trial, but I dont' think so.)

I'm not quite done with it yet. I'd like to get them a little bit closer to the trial before I hand it over. There is just a little left to wrap up with the Three, but I think that can be done later, and I have a few other loose ends to tie together befor Susan can have it.

Yesterday's pages: 2

Over the hump... more or less

I wrote yesterday (no kidding) and called Susie to tell her all about it and she never got around to calling me back so now she doesn't get to know. I did get past that tough bit - more or less. There's one more aspect to consider, but as soon as I figure out how I want it to happen it shouldn't be particularly difficicult to write. I know the vagueness of the last post failed to satiate the Suse, so I'll elaborate enough to say that this last semi-tough bit involves Celeste.

I accomplished not much page-wise yesterday, but I'm happy 'cause I got through what I wanted to. I'm volunteering today, but I still plan on getting some pages in.

Yesterday's pages: Almost 3

Parts of it rhyme

We're still doing well over here. Pages are still soming slowly, but I'm still happy with progress. Where I stopped last night I very nearly continued, but I stopped somewhere important, just before a part that's gonna be tricky to write, so I thought I'd consider it some more before I just dove in there.

I have to write a scene (scenes?) that involve two events happening simultaneously. They are different eents, but of the same nature, happening to different people in differernt places, and it involves magic. One of these events is more important that the other, in fact, I considered scrapping the other, but I need both events to justify the one.

I'm already developing a list of what I like and what I worry about in what I've writtin. I put some of the likes down here 'cause when Suse reads them I'll want to know if she liked them too. I'll the worries off for now so she can read it with a clean slate and not be watching for specific flaws.

...Okay well there were things I distinctly liked last night... I can't remember them now. That doesn't mean I don't like what I wrote, only that I'm a ditz and will attribute that to having just woken up 20 mins ago...

Yesterday's pages: About 5

Bethie got to wriiite, Bethie got to wriiiite!

Well ok, Bethie needed a chance to get warmed up: She only actually wrote three and a bit pages. I thought about doing more, I could have, but I decided I'd rather sleep on it, give my muse a chance to figure out where we're going exactly.

I did research yesterday on labour. It was amusing. Yahoo asked if I meant "Child Labour" and I'm like yeah, I do. I click it and go... wait a minute... this is like child slavery - Of course it is! Then I got that worked out and got all I needed to know.

We had a caucus on Fiona yesterday. It seemed that the poor dear was two different people, and well that would never do. I think it's worked out now. It is really quite amazing that our characters have never seriously diverged like that before. We're two people who have to mind-meld to write this massive cast of characters... no kidding we're gonna go two different directions sometimes.

I seem to have great difficulty typing this morning. I don't know if I'm still tired or if it's 'cause I'm not wearing my glasses, but this better get better before I try writing today.

Yesterday's pages: 3 and a bit.

Wonderful

25 pages of pre-birth banquet... wonderful. I can't wait. There will be research happening very much soon ('cause let's face it, I've never given birth) then I get to write lots. Lots and lots. Yay! Can't wait to read it.

2am

2Am and I'm still awake writing this song
If i get it all down on paper it's no lonmger inside of me threaten'
the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary screamin' out aloud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to.

Yes that about describes it. I mean there was a song heavily involved. It's 2 am, well twenty after, and I'm done that stupid banquet. But I must say, it's much better then before... actually, it's really good. I like it. Right now... but that shoudln't change. No it shouldn't. I have all the discussed elements and then some.

It was nuts, there were times when I was all, "I'll finish it tomorrow, but then the sense of creativity took over and I couldn't bring myself to shut down for the night. There were times where I looked and the page I had just started was suddenly finished. shocked I would go back and see that, no, it wasn't lying to me. Then I would continue. The part that really worried me, being fragmented, was not so bad. I kept it all to two POV's then removed one of the POV's, and added two different ones. So for the last bit I had three. It's not bad, and each POV serves and entirely different purpose, so that's good. It's not just random - oh and here's how it looks from this side of the room. Nothing gets replayed either, so it's still interesting.

I knew that if I didn't finish tonight it would be harder to do later, a part of me knew that and even as I ached for bed, I perservered, because... because I had to. This part was to be written as a whole and nothing less. Anything less would have never made sense.

I'm so glad/sad it's done. Paradoxical really. Now I give it to bethie and she reads all about it, then tells me all about the births, oh I gave them reasons for labour... well I gave Laleena one, we're just going with this whole pregnancy in tandem thing for Taryne.

Well as I've said, it's 2am. Time for a book, and time for bed.

God this thing feels like I've been writing it for forever... kind of have been. I feel like my monday marathon was forever ago, and I really wrote in many different times as well. Funny that.

Well Ciao. And good writing to those who read this (whether they exist or not).

P.S. The page count is almost exactly (or exactly) 25 pages.