I didn’t plow through 11 chapters yesterday and surely won’t today.  As long as I fix the beginning, which is the rest of the scene I’m on and the next chapter, I’ll be ok.  I’m sick of the beginning of this book.  I’ve changed it what 3 or 4 times now.  I don’t want to see it every again.  The middle is what needs work.  If there was only one thing this all showed me it’d be how important my outlines are.  I didn’t do a full outline for this book, and I feel like I’m twisting in the wind, following each gust until I realize I’ve gone the wrong way.  It’s ridiculous, and no one could do this every time they write.  I, at least, don’t want to.

So, I need to not be in such a rush to get started on the next book.  As much as Raven’s voice is calling to me, I need to maybe listen a bit longer before I begin.  And then I want to outline it thoroughly.

In the meantime, I have other little things that need to get done today too, so I better get moving. Tomorrow starts Fast Draft at RD.

Ever feel irritated with what you’re writing?

That’s how I feel about my current WIP.  I guess I shouldn’t be so angry, lol.  It’s not Giada’s fault I’m bored with her.  It’s not her.  When I reread, the story is still interesting and she still makes me smile, but I get so bored so fast.  How do I get past it?

How do I keep it interesting long enough to finish the darn thing?

I’m thinking I need to write faster, but what if that doesn’t work?  Will I be doomed of a career of never being happy, or will I figure it all out some day?  LOL I hope so ’cause this sucks, and I’m not giving up.

I’m presently working on two books right now.  I know I shouldn’t.  I need to finish AMTDF before starting BM, but it’s the time of year.  For the past two years, especially last year, October came along and the inspriation and desire to write something scary was prevalent.  This is the month we get nothing but movies and shows in time for Halloween, so it’s a great time for horror movies and things that go bump in the night.  So I’ve told myself to start a thriller during this time.  Unfortunately, I didn’t time things appropriately this year and October is here and AMTDF isn’t completed yet.

So, I want to start BM.  I agreed to join Fast Draft with the divas starting next Monday.  Two weeks of writing at least 10 pages a day.  What a great time to begin something new.  I’m thinking I can start BM and then when FD ends I can finish AMTDF.  I have to have that completed by Halloween.   It’ll be cutting it close, and I shouldn’t risk it, but I also don’t want to wait until next year.

Plus, I can’t get this new idea out of my head.  My heroine, Bailey, is 16 and the books starts off with her in the mental hospital.  She is screaming for me to let her go, so I feel I need to abide. ;)  Ok, so I simply like the idea of writing something scarish.  I have the next five days to plot it though, so wish me luck.  Actually, I started plotting this one a couple of months back, but then the main character was 32 and named Alexa.  I want to turn this into a YA for several reasons–one, being to give her less power, two, because of the voice and my natural ability to do casual well and three, because this idea had so much backstory, some of it taking place when she was a teen, it makes more sense to have it happen back then.

So, I’m off now to tackle the revised plot and characters.  Catch ya later!

Do you really call two weeks of cleaning house and writing a vacation?  Maybe I should say my break is over, referring only to my children.  Just as well too because I am terribly missing them–especially my little peanut.  He gives the best hugs in the world, and I haven’t had any in some time.  I told him he had a lot of hugging to do when he gets home.  I can’t wait!

So, I sent in the revised Stiletto entry, right?  Then I entered that entry (well the first, slightly condensed five pages) for RD’s WAW (Romance Diva’s We All Win contest) and several opinions were kinda average.  I hate average; I try not to do average.  That is easy.  I’ve been average my whole life, and I’m looking for a little greatness here.  Besides, I *know* the piece is great, it’s just a matter of whether or not I displayed it correctly.

Which has me thinking I started it wrong again.  I cut out the first chapter based on advice from one of the Stiletto judges.  But starting where I did and adding enough backstory to have it make sense is too much.  It slows down the action.  Then I was thinking of the advice I got from Gemma Halliday (yes, *that* Gemma Halliday).  She said she likes her mysteries to be linear and to start with the action.

Where is the action?

See, a couple of people kept saying the action began when my heroine enters the reality show house, but I kept disagreeing.  I felt a look into her ordinary life was important.  Not just to add scenes but because how she lived before is a direct contradiction of how she has to live in the house.  Everything she has to become is all she’s against.  If I don’t show her as herself, in reality, without internal monologue, doesn’t it take away from what I’m trying to establish?

I believe it does, and now I believe it even more.  What I’ve learned through all of this (so, I guess the revised entry is a “mistake”, and I’ve learned a lesson–grew) is that I was correct in wanting to show some of her life, but originally maybe I was showing too much.  One chapter of beforeness is fine, and that chapter will include her makeover aftermath and interactions with her dead friend.  Those things are important to the story, well the friend is, and no one who read the WAW entry picked up on any of it.

I guess I could totally rewrite the scene to reflect it all doesn’t have considering it was written as is with different intentions originally, but I like this other way better.  The scenes I have planned were my two funniest ones anyway, plus, with my heroine talking with her sister and dead friend, it gives me opportunities to add in the backstory through questions and clarifications–dialogue rather than monologue.  Much more effective!

So, today I will be spending a bit more time with my characters, creating these sheets for them based on some info I just got from EPIC.  Then come Monday it’s back to making the changes and finishing the damn book.  It’s gonna have to be a decent first draft thought, cause I don’t want to see this damn thing for a couple of months after.

My day involved cleaning the second half of my son’s room, just have to was bedding and make it and straighten up the closet.  I cleaned out the litter box :P, chatted with Divas and edited the entry for RD’s WAW.  Oh, I also designed one page of my new website–maybe.  The new site is definite; I’m not positive I’ll use this page though.  It’s really not a whole page, just an opening splash.

Next I’m going to do some billings and write the next scene of AMTDF.

My kids went to NY on Saturday, so I have the next 2 weeks alone (hopefully).  I have a plan loosely mapped out so I can get all the “work” done this week and be free to do as I please next.  So far, yesterday I rewrote the first two chapters of my book, for the revised Stiletto entry (which must be returned by tomorrow).  That took ALL day.  I wanted to pluck my eyeballs out but decided that really wouldn’t help.

Today I rewrote the syno, cleaned the kitchen, washed the kitchen, bathroom and hallway floors and the stairs.  I then cleaned the bathroom and got through half of my son’s room.  He’s such a pack rat and a pig. Ewww! Old, hard French fry at the bottom of his car box. I got tired, hungry and thirsty, so I took a shower, made a sandwich and am now blogging.

I plan on spending the rest of the night editing the entry (oh joy!) and sending that puppy in.  If I get it done quick enough, I’ll finish putting the books on my shelves and free up a plastic bin for the rest of my son’s toys.  I’m actually afraid to go under his bed.  I’m also getting a sweet tooth, had one last night, but I didn’t want to bake cookies cause it was so humid and the kitchen floor was so gross.  I may go do that while I edit.

At this rate though, my time I go to pick up the kids, I should have the house done, the first half of the book revised and a good nother 2-3 chapters completed and two websites done.  At least I hope.  I signed up to do Fast Draft with some divas starting October 6, so I’ll have those two weeks to finish the book too.  Although, I really wanted to start something new next quarter. Darn.

Ok, off to bake cookies and edit two chapters.

I’m kicking off my two-week vacation (kids are in NY with Grandma and the rest of the family) with my WIP. It needs to be revised slightly–the beginning–and the plot needs to be deepened. I get so involved with one area of the book and sometimes forget to focus on others.

I’m actually excited and need to get cracking. Tootles!