Sand Into Sandcastles

This meme spoke to me today. Wow, this is so what I'm currently doing. Rough drafts are often soooo gross. Something is off, what is it? Does this character work? What's the point of this story? What happened to this scene's focus? Do I break the chapter here? This dialog sounds dumb. Too much detail? Not enough? How the hell do I fix this plot hole? Ugh!

Hair-tearing rough drafts. Got one going right now, and it often feels like a slog-fest. Too much world-building. Too many info dumps. Rushed action. And how the heck am I supposed to get these characters from Point B (managed to get them there safely from Point A) to Point C?

I have to remember: IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's a rough draft! Just write it. Trying to make sandcastles before all the sand is in the box will prove frustrating and stifle the frenzy of creativity.

Relax, breathe, and just write. The pile is ugly, and no one but myself gives a ....

A Change of Seasons

A big summer with lots of changes afoot. First, seven years of working on my novel project came to a close. First anchor raised. Second, on Saturday night I closed LegendFire's doors, after 8 years of caring for the community. Second anchor raised.

Tough changes but good ones. There are times I definitely feel adrift in unsteady waters, without a compass or land in sight. Scary, depressing, exhilarating.

Third, I turned 40 this September. Very little that I had hoped for or imagined about my life has turned out. Terrifying.

Right now all possibilities are on the table. So much freedom is overwhelming and a bit daunting. Attempts to write new things have been hit and miss. My brain is fighting for rest, and I try to be gentle and grant it. But I can't just wait for new inspiration to strike. Been playing with a story about my tragic bard. Submitting his first adventure. No luck so far. Almost but not quite a couple of times. It's a novella, though, so no surprise. There just aren't enough markets for fiction that length.

Also trying to become involved in a couple of other writing forums. None will feel like home, I'm afraid unless I'm willing to dive in all the way and get my hands dirty with discussions and crits. ... Betting I need time away from that sort of thing, too. Nothing wrong with a vacay to recharge the desire to help humanity and seek help in return.

In the meantime, lots of prayer, lots of Bible study, lots of meditation and refocusing about life.

So seasons change. The trick is to find joy in the shifting colors.

Book Release: Fury of the Falcon

At last. The fifth and final volume of the Falcons Saga hits Amazon today. Find it HERE. The print version will be available in about a week, once I receive and finalize the last proof.

How long have I been waiting to type that announcement?

Looks like I started blogging about this massive project back in 2011, but it's been in the works far longer than that. A long, rough haul. Closure is a good feeling. The possibilities at this point are endless, and I'm optimistic.

I thought I had many words to express over this event, but after five volumes at 150k-220k words apiece, my words are pretty well dried up at the moment. A little silence may be in order. My characters don't mind. They're tired too. But, my, what a ride.

The Long Haul Ends...

It's over. Six years and five books later, the Falcons Saga is complete. I finished the edits today and I've sent the file to my proofreader. But the labor is finished. All that remains is correcting errors found in the final reading and formatting everything for upload.

I can't believe it. It's here. The moment I dreamed of for more than half a decade. Freedom. Freedom from this story, from these characters, from this weight on my shoulders. Closure. Finally. I'm overwhelmed with both joy and sadness. In truth, I'm astonished, and I don't know how to feel.

But that's normal, I guess. Now, someone please tell me what to do with the rest of my life. All possibilities are on the table. I'm facing a wide-open sea with no destination in sight. Kinda scary. Kinda thrilling.

National Poetry Month - Kick Off

What's better than an entire month dedicated to the celebration of poetry? At LegendFire we have a month's worth of poetry-writing activities planned, with new prompts daily. That means, it's really bad poetry time.

Today we were asked to learn a new poetry form. I had never written a cinquain before, but it looked simple enough to try on a limited time schedule.

Here goes:

words
passionate, woven
inspiring, convicting, changing
from synapse to revolution
imagine

Progress Diary: End in Sight

Project: Fury of the Falcon, Book 5, Falcons Saga

Entry #22

Wow, I haven't blogged at all this year??? Whoops. Time flies when you're writing. I can't remember the last time I've been so focused. Er, college? The past three or so weeks have been like viewing the world down a tube.

I am so close to finishing this six-year-long novel project that my head is spinning! Like, literally, one chapter and a bit to go. I survived writing all those deaths and the endgame nightmare, and now I'm tying up the final details. What do I include? What do I omit? It's difficult balancing the pacing -- moving the ending along but not letting it feel rushed. Editing this may be a nightmare. But that's for later.

Getting Carah on her way and closing the entire story is all that remains. Can hardly believe it. Makes me lightheaded thinking about it.

One more week? Two?

How Many Novels Are In A Laptop?

And how many tears are shed when a novelist's laptop breathes its last?

The Scenario:

Guild Night with my gaming friends. Voice chatting on Discord. Laughing, conversing, having a great 'ol time. Then WHAM! The whir of hard drive dies. Monitor goes black. Chat cut off. Instantaneous death. I looked to the overhead lights. They are still on. Then I remember I have battery backup for my computer. This should not have happened.

The Panic:

It's over. We had been trying to hold this laptop together with figurative duct tape for the past year. Nausea wells as I realize it's time to dish out my savings and buy a new system. I'm still cringing over the size of that check.

The New Baby:

So yesterday my husband drove to the store to pick up the laptop we chose. I felt like he was bringing home a new baby from the orphanage. I want to love it. But I'm suspicious. Will it work as wonderfully as the old one did in the good days?

In truth, I should compare it to meeting a new coworker. A coworker I will be sharing my office with. Which means nearly every waking moment for the next x number of years. Will this machine be an able writing partner?

Here she is. My new writing partner. Overpowered for gaming. She looks like a race car, don't you think?

The Tally:

At dinner last night, I got to calculating. I purchased my old system with the royalties earned from the first two books of the Falcons Saga. I wrote Books 3 and 4 on that laptop, and well, half of Book 5. That took about 4 years (of heavy writing and heavy gaming) before the old dear was worn out.

So, this made me wonder how many novels are lurking in this new laptop? Two? Three? Four? That's the fun side.

The scary side is that those unwritten novels have to sell enough for me to buy yet a new system when this one croaks. A vicious cycle. So I feel like, now, I'm writing to keep a laptop on the table. Gross.

The Question:

Anyway, I'm curious. How many stories, novels, and poems has your current system helped you write? Are you attached to your system in an emotional way, like I am?