This weekend wasn't the greatest for productivity, as much as I may have hoped for it, but it is starting to pick up.
Word Count:
Saturday - 194 words on Ice Debt
Monday - 1,328 words on Ice Debt
Not bad all things considered. It was a stressful weekend with our puppy having complications from having his dew claws removed on Aug 8. He's better now, but we didn't sleep much.
I also went to a wedding this weekend. A friend of mine from Jr. High invited me to her beautiful wedding. It was great to see her again, and so happy.
My office is coming closer to completion. Only shelves to put up on the walls and a drawer unit left to purchase and install. These two things might take some time, but the space is working better than ever before already.
I'll keep you posted.
Tina
PS: To those of you living in the Edmonton Area... Wow, talk about the heat. I'm actually glad that its going to rain for the next couple of days. I love the heat, but plus 36 is a little too hot even for me.
Showing posts with label Edmonton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edmonton. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Hard at Work?
Hello all,
This past week we got the keys to our house and proceeded to rip apart the bathroom in renovation. It's about 5 days away from completion now, so we plan on moving in this weekend.
Who knew renovations (even when you aren't the one doing them) could be so stressful? I guess it's mostly the fact that we have so much to do before we can move into the house on Saturday.
On a side note, no writing this week. I feel the itch to write starting to get under my skin so I know it won't be long now before packing, painting, and moving will just have to take the back seat for an hour or two so I can write. I'll be SOOOOOO happy when we are in the house and I can start focusing on the things I want to.
I don't have too much else in the way of an update, so I'll end this here. Hope you are having a fantastic week.
PS: For anyone who lives in Alberta... WHAT HAPPENED TO SPRING? I had to bring out my big winter boots and trudge to work this morning in over a foot of snow. I really hope it warms up by this weekend. I don't want to move in a blizzard.
Tina
This past week we got the keys to our house and proceeded to rip apart the bathroom in renovation. It's about 5 days away from completion now, so we plan on moving in this weekend.
Who knew renovations (even when you aren't the one doing them) could be so stressful? I guess it's mostly the fact that we have so much to do before we can move into the house on Saturday.
On a side note, no writing this week. I feel the itch to write starting to get under my skin so I know it won't be long now before packing, painting, and moving will just have to take the back seat for an hour or two so I can write. I'll be SOOOOOO happy when we are in the house and I can start focusing on the things I want to.
I don't have too much else in the way of an update, so I'll end this here. Hope you are having a fantastic week.
PS: For anyone who lives in Alberta... WHAT HAPPENED TO SPRING? I had to bring out my big winter boots and trudge to work this morning in over a foot of snow. I really hope it warms up by this weekend. I don't want to move in a blizzard.
Tina
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Being Distracted
It's been two weeks. I'm so bad at keeping you all updated.
I've written all of... Wait for it... 50 words in the last two weeks.
I've been distracted. Thinking about doing some freelance writing on the side. Thinking of doing a lot of things on the side.
In the end I did none of it, mostly because D asked me why I felt the need to spread myself so thin that nothing would get finished. And the answer to that is, I have no idea.
Maybe it's a subconscious thing. Maybe I don't want to finish anything. Or maybe I have such a curious mind I latch on to new ideas and delve as deep as I can into them given a short amount of time. What ever the reason, I come up with crazy schemes or ideas a lot.
So what now? Well, I get the keys to my very first home in exactly 7 days, 3 hours, and 45 minutes, so I'm not thinking about anything else for a while. We have to renovate the bathroom before we can move in so that will be stressful. And when I do have some down time, I will work on my No-Plot Project and that's it. I really should stop getting so distracted, it makes life very complicated.
Anyway, that's the last two weeks of my life. I hope you are having a simpler time.
Cheers,
Tina
I've written all of... Wait for it... 50 words in the last two weeks.
I've been distracted. Thinking about doing some freelance writing on the side. Thinking of doing a lot of things on the side.
In the end I did none of it, mostly because D asked me why I felt the need to spread myself so thin that nothing would get finished. And the answer to that is, I have no idea.
Maybe it's a subconscious thing. Maybe I don't want to finish anything. Or maybe I have such a curious mind I latch on to new ideas and delve as deep as I can into them given a short amount of time. What ever the reason, I come up with crazy schemes or ideas a lot.
So what now? Well, I get the keys to my very first home in exactly 7 days, 3 hours, and 45 minutes, so I'm not thinking about anything else for a while. We have to renovate the bathroom before we can move in so that will be stressful. And when I do have some down time, I will work on my No-Plot Project and that's it. I really should stop getting so distracted, it makes life very complicated.
Anyway, that's the last two weeks of my life. I hope you are having a simpler time.
Cheers,
Tina
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Positive Attitude
OK well I don't have much of an update for you.
I haven't written in the last week. D and I have been spending some time "discussing" how we want the bathroom in our new house to look like (we have to completely renovate it before we move in). That and trying to buy a new used car seems to have taken up most of my time.
Still, I feel optimistic about the coming week. It's another short week for me (the joys of working for government) but I think I can get a lot done.
It's all about being positive. A positive attitude attracts positive energy, or so I'm told.
So... I hope you have a positive week too.
Tina
I haven't written in the last week. D and I have been spending some time "discussing" how we want the bathroom in our new house to look like (we have to completely renovate it before we move in). That and trying to buy a new used car seems to have taken up most of my time.
Still, I feel optimistic about the coming week. It's another short week for me (the joys of working for government) but I think I can get a lot done.
It's all about being positive. A positive attitude attracts positive energy, or so I'm told.
So... I hope you have a positive week too.
Tina
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Ides of March
It's been two weeks since I last wrote. A lot has happened.
As you know from the last post, we bought a house. Last week we finalized the purchase after the home inspection (which was nerve wracking).
The other thing is work (day job) related. Alberta held a general election which resulted in a cabinet shuffle and a new break down of the ministries. Boring stuff to you outside folk, right? Well to us who have to work inside, it's cause for confusion. The end result being that my unit is being moved to another ministry. Joyful Stress!
So why the blog post title? Well the Ides of March is the Roman term for the 15th of March (or thereabouts since it was according to the Roman calendar). The house purchase was finalized on the 13th, the confirmation of our ministry move was on March14th, and...
Word Count:
Saturday (March 15) - 1,496 words on Ice Debt (in 2 1/2 hours)
Ice Debt is coming along really good. I'm really enjoying not having to follow a previously developed plot line. It's taking longer than I thought it would, if only because I'm not writing as much as I should, but I like what's coming together. I broke the 10,000 word barrier, which means a lot for someone who has a hard time getting past chapter 2 or 3 (I'm on chapter 4).
All in all, the Ides of March or the middle of March has been good to me. It's thrown a lot of changes my way, but they say that this time of year is good for that.
Maybe I should aim for next years Ides of March to try and get my novel published. It's always worth a shot, right?
I hope the winter months haven't been too hard on you, but you can be glad they're over. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring.
Tina
As you know from the last post, we bought a house. Last week we finalized the purchase after the home inspection (which was nerve wracking).
The other thing is work (day job) related. Alberta held a general election which resulted in a cabinet shuffle and a new break down of the ministries. Boring stuff to you outside folk, right? Well to us who have to work inside, it's cause for confusion. The end result being that my unit is being moved to another ministry. Joyful Stress!
So why the blog post title? Well the Ides of March is the Roman term for the 15th of March (or thereabouts since it was according to the Roman calendar). The house purchase was finalized on the 13th, the confirmation of our ministry move was on March14th, and...
Word Count:
Saturday (March 15) - 1,496 words on Ice Debt (in 2 1/2 hours)
Ice Debt is coming along really good. I'm really enjoying not having to follow a previously developed plot line. It's taking longer than I thought it would, if only because I'm not writing as much as I should, but I like what's coming together. I broke the 10,000 word barrier, which means a lot for someone who has a hard time getting past chapter 2 or 3 (I'm on chapter 4).
All in all, the Ides of March or the middle of March has been good to me. It's thrown a lot of changes my way, but they say that this time of year is good for that.
Maybe I should aim for next years Ides of March to try and get my novel published. It's always worth a shot, right?
I hope the winter months haven't been too hard on you, but you can be glad they're over. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring.
Tina
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Bought a House
Well it's done.
We finally found a house... here's the funny thing, it's the same house that I talked about in the last two posts.
Turns out they were tired of having to wait on the market for so long. Their realtor called ours and said they'd be willing to take our last counter offer. $15,000 under the original asking price (they reduced the price twice since we walked away).
It's still the best house we've seen with the cheapest price tag. So of course we jumped on the opportunity.
Last night we put in a formal offer, and they accepted (minus one small date change we were willing to accept). Now comes the Home Inspection, getting the Finances and getting Possession of the home on April 15th. That's only 5 weeks away. Wow.
I'm still not as excited as I think I should be. Perhaps it will all sink in when the Mortgage comes through and I actually have to pay for the house. :)
As for my writing, well you could say that it's suffered. The Week of February 18 -24 I wrote no words. Last week (February 25 - March 2) had the following:
Word Count:
Wednesday - 1,108 words on Ice Debt
This week I give no guarantees on my productivity, at least not until the final conditions come off the home offer (March 13). After that, I should finally be able to get back into writing.
Hope you have a great day, and for you writers out there... Have a Fantastic Writing Day!
Tina
We finally found a house... here's the funny thing, it's the same house that I talked about in the last two posts.
Turns out they were tired of having to wait on the market for so long. Their realtor called ours and said they'd be willing to take our last counter offer. $15,000 under the original asking price (they reduced the price twice since we walked away).
It's still the best house we've seen with the cheapest price tag. So of course we jumped on the opportunity.
Last night we put in a formal offer, and they accepted (minus one small date change we were willing to accept). Now comes the Home Inspection, getting the Finances and getting Possession of the home on April 15th. That's only 5 weeks away. Wow.
I'm still not as excited as I think I should be. Perhaps it will all sink in when the Mortgage comes through and I actually have to pay for the house. :)
As for my writing, well you could say that it's suffered. The Week of February 18 -24 I wrote no words. Last week (February 25 - March 2) had the following:
Word Count:
Wednesday - 1,108 words on Ice Debt
This week I give no guarantees on my productivity, at least not until the final conditions come off the home offer (March 13). After that, I should finally be able to get back into writing.
Hope you have a great day, and for you writers out there... Have a Fantastic Writing Day!
Tina
Thursday, February 21, 2008
House Update
So the house I mentioned in the last post.... It was not meant to be.
Counter offers and Counter-Counter Offers flew back and forth throughout the day, but in the end we couldn't get it for what we wanted to pay. So, we walked away.
I'm fine with it. Really :)
There are a ton of homes on the market right now, so we are sure to find a house we want to buy and for the price we want to pay.
I haven't written at all this week. I was so stressed out from putting an offer in, that I couldn't even remember what my story was supposed to be about. That's pretty bad.
Any way, things should calm down soon. We're looking at houses today and Saturday. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.
Tina
Counter offers and Counter-Counter Offers flew back and forth throughout the day, but in the end we couldn't get it for what we wanted to pay. So, we walked away.
I'm fine with it. Really :)
There are a ton of homes on the market right now, so we are sure to find a house we want to buy and for the price we want to pay.
I haven't written at all this week. I was so stressed out from putting an offer in, that I couldn't even remember what my story was supposed to be about. That's pretty bad.
Any way, things should calm down soon. We're looking at houses today and Saturday. I'll let you know if anything interesting happens.
Tina
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Buying a House
Remember how last week I said that D and I were looking at houses again? Well we found one... and we are putting an offer on it tonight.
We spent the majority of the last week looking at homes. Thursday we met with a realtor to help us see inside the homes we've been interested in. Saturday we viewed 5 homes and on Sunday we drove by some more homes on our own. Monday (Family Day in Alberta) we viewed 2 more homes and found the one we're putting an offer on.
Seems a bit fast, even for me, but I think it's the right thing to do. It has everything we wanted in it (except that it's not a semi-bungalow but that wasn't really on the list... it was more my secret wish). It has a huge backyard which will be great for dogs, and it has an unfinished basement that we can develop into more living space. It also has a small room I can turn into an actual writing office, which is awesome. After looking for a couple months last year during peak times and almost a month this year, D and I have seen well over 30 properties. While it still needs some work, this is the best home we've seen.
Now that I've let you all know what's new in my world I will give you the pathetic word count for the week (remember, I was looking for a home):
Word Count (Feb 11th - Feb 18th)
Wednesday - 760 words on Ice Debt
Hope you all have a fantastic writing day. I will keep you posted as things develop.
Cheers,
Tina
We spent the majority of the last week looking at homes. Thursday we met with a realtor to help us see inside the homes we've been interested in. Saturday we viewed 5 homes and on Sunday we drove by some more homes on our own. Monday (Family Day in Alberta) we viewed 2 more homes and found the one we're putting an offer on.
Seems a bit fast, even for me, but I think it's the right thing to do. It has everything we wanted in it (except that it's not a semi-bungalow but that wasn't really on the list... it was more my secret wish). It has a huge backyard which will be great for dogs, and it has an unfinished basement that we can develop into more living space. It also has a small room I can turn into an actual writing office, which is awesome. After looking for a couple months last year during peak times and almost a month this year, D and I have seen well over 30 properties. While it still needs some work, this is the best home we've seen.
Now that I've let you all know what's new in my world I will give you the pathetic word count for the week (remember, I was looking for a home):
Word Count (Feb 11th - Feb 18th)
Wednesday - 760 words on Ice Debt
Hope you all have a fantastic writing day. I will keep you posted as things develop.
Cheers,
Tina
Monday, February 11, 2008
Feb 4 -10 Word Count
If last week was a write off... this week is abysmal....
Word Count:
Wednesday - 641 words on a new short story
That's it. I didn't work on Ice Debt (my No-Plot-Project). I didn't do much of anything really.
It's all because we are starting to look at houses again. The market in Edmonton seems to have slowed down a bit in the last couple of months. Enough at least to have a few more homes in our price range. I'll keep you posted if anything interesting happens.
One last update; I am registered to attend the World Fantasy Convention 2008, which is coming to Calgary Alberta from October 30 - November 2. I'm really excited. If you're interested in going you should book your hotel room soon. When we (my writing friend Rox and I) booked last week, Wednesday was already booked up.
That's all I've got right now. Hope you had a fantastic writing week.
Tina
Word Count:
Wednesday - 641 words on a new short story
That's it. I didn't work on Ice Debt (my No-Plot-Project). I didn't do much of anything really.
It's all because we are starting to look at houses again. The market in Edmonton seems to have slowed down a bit in the last couple of months. Enough at least to have a few more homes in our price range. I'll keep you posted if anything interesting happens.
One last update; I am registered to attend the World Fantasy Convention 2008, which is coming to Calgary Alberta from October 30 - November 2. I'm really excited. If you're interested in going you should book your hotel room soon. When we (my writing friend Rox and I) booked last week, Wednesday was already booked up.
That's all I've got right now. Hope you had a fantastic writing week.
Tina
Monday, January 14, 2008
Schedule and Birthday
Monday! I hate Mondays!
This past week I started working on my No-Plot project. So far so good.
Word count:
Wednesday - 1,271 words
Thursday - 359 words
I didn't write on Saturday which was my intention but two out of three days isn't bad.
This week I'm aiming for the full four days; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. My new writing schedule. Here I go, wish me luck.
On a completely different (and probably irrelevant) note... my Birthday is this weekend. I'm looking forward to the dinner with family and friends, and of course the breakfast in bed. The gifts are fun and all, but I prefer the "make-me-feel-important" stuff.
Hey it only happens once a year, I deserve to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Tina
This past week I started working on my No-Plot project. So far so good.
Word count:
Wednesday - 1,271 words
Thursday - 359 words
I didn't write on Saturday which was my intention but two out of three days isn't bad.
This week I'm aiming for the full four days; Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. My new writing schedule. Here I go, wish me luck.
On a completely different (and probably irrelevant) note... my Birthday is this weekend. I'm looking forward to the dinner with family and friends, and of course the breakfast in bed. The gifts are fun and all, but I prefer the "make-me-feel-important" stuff.
Hey it only happens once a year, I deserve to enjoy it.
Cheers,
Tina
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Week Three
You're wondering what happened to week two, right?
Well, My friend Rox calls everything before week two PPC: Pre-Pincher-Creek.
D has been looking at getting into a new trade, wind turbine technician. This would take him to southern Alberta, most likely to Pincher Creek. This of course sent my head into nowhere land, because I deal with change so well (that's sarcasm).
Anyway, since September 19th until now, I've written just under 1000 words. Ouch!
So, I have 11 days until the PureSpec conference. I think I may have to settle for my very first goal... having one or two chapters done. I have finished chapter one, so I've already hit that goal.
I think goals and me just don't work. I have to write because I want to, not because I have to.
I'm going to work on cleaning up chapter one a little more and then I'll be sending it to my tutor and see what he has to say about this change in direction.
On a side note: Pincher Creek is quite pretty, however unless I can find a job there I don't think we'll be moving anytime soon.
Have a great thanksgiving long weekend. We'll chat before the conference.
C
Well, My friend Rox calls everything before week two PPC: Pre-Pincher-Creek.
D has been looking at getting into a new trade, wind turbine technician. This would take him to southern Alberta, most likely to Pincher Creek. This of course sent my head into nowhere land, because I deal with change so well (that's sarcasm).
Anyway, since September 19th until now, I've written just under 1000 words. Ouch!
So, I have 11 days until the PureSpec conference. I think I may have to settle for my very first goal... having one or two chapters done. I have finished chapter one, so I've already hit that goal.
I think goals and me just don't work. I have to write because I want to, not because I have to.
I'm going to work on cleaning up chapter one a little more and then I'll be sending it to my tutor and see what he has to say about this change in direction.
On a side note: Pincher Creek is quite pretty, however unless I can find a job there I don't think we'll be moving anytime soon.
Have a great thanksgiving long weekend. We'll chat before the conference.
C
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Week One
*NOTICE: I've changed my 30 day novel into a 40 day novel. This is because doing a chapter every three days sounded nicer to me than one every 2 and half days. I came up with this on Friday morning so I'm not trying to soften the pain of the word counts you will see below.*
I wanted to do weekly updates on my novel progress, but Tuesday's are such good days for me to blog, I think I'll cheat this week and update you on only 5 days of work (Thursday to Monday). I'll let you know right now, my word count is not were I want it to be.
Goal word count on Monday - 12,500 words
Actual words on Monday - 2,634 words (ouch)
To be fair, that is a lot of words to write in 5 days. Here is the word count break down:
Thursday - 1,001
Friday - 0
Saturday - 497 (and edited the 1,001 words from Thursday)
Sunday - 0
Monday - 1,136
You can tell which day's I freaked out. Doubts filled my head and would not leave. I sat down in front of the computer on both of those 0 word count days, but my brain was so frozen in fear of what I was trying to do that nothing coherent come out.
Even Saturday was a lost day. I tried to write, but all I could think of was how awful that first paragraph sounded. And, you know how it is. Once you go back to edit one paragraph the next one could use just a little bit of tweaking too.
I'm no where near my goal.... but I'm almost done my first chapter and that is something to be proud of. And it's something to keep me going. I can't keep freaking out because I'm trying something new, so I've told myself that I'm just going to try. There will be no consequence if I don't finish on time, because this is just an experiment.
Surprise, surprise. Once my subconscious believed me, I was able to write out over a thousand words in less than two hours yesterday. I'm slowly getting back up to my 1000 words an hour, and that is also something that will make this 40 day novel adventure worth it.
"Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking across the floor". One week down, five weeks to go.
C
I wanted to do weekly updates on my novel progress, but Tuesday's are such good days for me to blog, I think I'll cheat this week and update you on only 5 days of work (Thursday to Monday). I'll let you know right now, my word count is not were I want it to be.
Goal word count on Monday - 12,500 words
Actual words on Monday - 2,634 words (ouch)
To be fair, that is a lot of words to write in 5 days. Here is the word count break down:
Thursday - 1,001
Friday - 0
Saturday - 497 (and edited the 1,001 words from Thursday)
Sunday - 0
Monday - 1,136
You can tell which day's I freaked out. Doubts filled my head and would not leave. I sat down in front of the computer on both of those 0 word count days, but my brain was so frozen in fear of what I was trying to do that nothing coherent come out.
Even Saturday was a lost day. I tried to write, but all I could think of was how awful that first paragraph sounded. And, you know how it is. Once you go back to edit one paragraph the next one could use just a little bit of tweaking too.
I'm no where near my goal.... but I'm almost done my first chapter and that is something to be proud of. And it's something to keep me going. I can't keep freaking out because I'm trying something new, so I've told myself that I'm just going to try. There will be no consequence if I don't finish on time, because this is just an experiment.
Surprise, surprise. Once my subconscious believed me, I was able to write out over a thousand words in less than two hours yesterday. I'm slowly getting back up to my 1000 words an hour, and that is also something that will make this 40 day novel adventure worth it.
"Put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking across the floor". One week down, five weeks to go.
C
Thursday, September 13, 2007
A 30 day novel?
I have exactly 30 days... from today until the October conference, Pure-SPEC.
What am I going to do with those 30 days? Well, I'm going to try and write my novel.
I'm sure you've heard of NaNoWriMo (you write a novel during the month of November), and several of my writing friends are thinking of signing up for it. I really wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I should wait until then to start the novel I'm working on now, or start now and work on something else for November.
(Side note: I finished my outline for LLR last night, and I'm ready to go.)
So, I've decided to give writing a novel in a month a try... right now. While NaNoWriMo has you aim for only 50,000 words, I'm aiming for 100,000. Is it possible? Of course it is. Will it be hard? You bet. If I don't finish in exactly 30 days its not that big of a deal, but getting 90% of it done is where I'd like to be as a minimum.
I just feel the need to finish something big. Yes, I've done short stories, and even a novella for the 3-day novel contest... but I want to say, "I've written a Novel." I'll worry about it getting published later, right now I just want to have something I could even submit.
So here I go. I wrote the first 50 words last night, just to get a feel for it, and now I'm jumping in. Day One, Chapter One, let's start this word count going.
C
What am I going to do with those 30 days? Well, I'm going to try and write my novel.
I'm sure you've heard of NaNoWriMo (you write a novel during the month of November), and several of my writing friends are thinking of signing up for it. I really wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I should wait until then to start the novel I'm working on now, or start now and work on something else for November.
(Side note: I finished my outline for LLR last night, and I'm ready to go.)
So, I've decided to give writing a novel in a month a try... right now. While NaNoWriMo has you aim for only 50,000 words, I'm aiming for 100,000. Is it possible? Of course it is. Will it be hard? You bet. If I don't finish in exactly 30 days its not that big of a deal, but getting 90% of it done is where I'd like to be as a minimum.
I just feel the need to finish something big. Yes, I've done short stories, and even a novella for the 3-day novel contest... but I want to say, "I've written a Novel." I'll worry about it getting published later, right now I just want to have something I could even submit.
So here I go. I wrote the first 50 words last night, just to get a feel for it, and now I'm jumping in. Day One, Chapter One, let's start this word count going.
C
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
So Close
Ever feel so close you could taste something?
I'm stressed out. I've got too much day job work, too many family events, and D is thinking about going to school in a different province next year. Too much stuff is going on. I want all of it to stop... because I'm so close to being finished my outline, I'm itching to just start writing.
I know better. If I don't have a complete outline of how things are supposed to go at the end, I'll mess up the beginning and have to rewrite it anyway. Sounds odd? That's just how it works. I have to know the end before I can write the beginning. So, I wait for tomorrow.
Wednesday, Library day. The day were I get to take a few hours out of my life and just focus on writing. It's a permanent fixture in my week, and I honestly can't remember how I got by without it. Tomorrow, I should be finished my outline, and then I can start my novel.
I want to have a couple of chapters done really quickly. Not only do I have to get back in touch with my tutor (from my novel writing course), but there is another conference coming up in the middle of October and I want to have a few chapters done by then. Not that I'll actually show them to anyone, I just want to be able to say that I am on Chapter X, and I started writing in mid-September. I've got a month. Think I can do it? Hmmm.... Maybe, just two chapters...
Still, plotting can be really fun. Who knew the Galder Elves seeking revenge on their Pure Elf cousins, would play such an integral role in my novel? (Galder Elves are creatures of my invention, and no I won't go into an explanation right now).
I hope you have a fantastic writing week, and I'll keep you posted on the progress of my novel (Love Light Rising) as it unfolds.
C
(PS: I only have three more boxes to unpack before I can say that I've officially moved in. We've only been here for a month and half, so that's not bad at all.)
I'm stressed out. I've got too much day job work, too many family events, and D is thinking about going to school in a different province next year. Too much stuff is going on. I want all of it to stop... because I'm so close to being finished my outline, I'm itching to just start writing.
I know better. If I don't have a complete outline of how things are supposed to go at the end, I'll mess up the beginning and have to rewrite it anyway. Sounds odd? That's just how it works. I have to know the end before I can write the beginning. So, I wait for tomorrow.
Wednesday, Library day. The day were I get to take a few hours out of my life and just focus on writing. It's a permanent fixture in my week, and I honestly can't remember how I got by without it. Tomorrow, I should be finished my outline, and then I can start my novel.
I want to have a couple of chapters done really quickly. Not only do I have to get back in touch with my tutor (from my novel writing course), but there is another conference coming up in the middle of October and I want to have a few chapters done by then. Not that I'll actually show them to anyone, I just want to be able to say that I am on Chapter X, and I started writing in mid-September. I've got a month. Think I can do it? Hmmm.... Maybe, just two chapters...
Still, plotting can be really fun. Who knew the Galder Elves seeking revenge on their Pure Elf cousins, would play such an integral role in my novel? (Galder Elves are creatures of my invention, and no I won't go into an explanation right now).
I hope you have a fantastic writing week, and I'll keep you posted on the progress of my novel (Love Light Rising) as it unfolds.
C
(PS: I only have three more boxes to unpack before I can say that I've officially moved in. We've only been here for a month and half, so that's not bad at all.)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
3-Day Done
I did it!!!
This weekend was intense. I wrote for long hours, had minimal food and sleep, but somehow I completed a 75 page novella that's not that bad. The weekend went something like this:
Saturday - Got up at 8:30 ready to go, but the writing came hard and slow. It started picking up in the afternoon and evening, but my new-old laptop (new for me but actually old) decided to break... yeah, Ok, I broke it accidentally. I finished off the day around 8pm.
Sunday - most of the day was spent looking for, buying, and setting up a new laptop. I didn't get started until around 4:30 in the afternoon. (yikes) So I pushed my sleeping limits and wrote right into the wee hours of the morning.
Monday - Starting writing around 9:30am. By this time my body was sore from sitting, so I tried writing standing up with my laptop on a bookshelf, kneeling on the ground, even on my stomach (which I won't recommend). I wrote for 15 hours in total and came in just under the wire (meaning I wrote right until midnight).
My novella (because it's a bit too short to be called a novel) is called "Beloved Child", and has 6 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue (it's sitting at 19,108 words). And unfortunately, I'm submitting this is unedited, because I pushed the midnight deadline just to finish. I did go through as I was writing to make sure things were spelt correctly and such (and it's very possible I missed some), but I did nothing of real editing.
I read through it last night before bed (yes, between midnight and 3am). There are a couple of choppy bits, some bits that don't seem to make sense, but over all it's not half bad. It's really fast paced, more than I'm used to, but hey... it was written in three days, so of course it's going to be fast paced. I also wrote a little blurb after "THE END" that goes over what I've learnt from this. This truly was an experiment in trying to write an entire story from the bad guy's point of view, and I did that. I also manage to write my very first (and second) fight scene, and I don't think I did too badly.
I must have needed the sleep today though. Yes, I went to bed at 3am, but I slept until 2:30pm this afternoon. I haven't done that since I was 15 years old.
I'm glad it's over. It surprisingly painful to write for that long every day, but at the same time, it was very rewarding. Because this was an experiment for me, I pushed my limits. I got really depressed at one point because writing from the bad guy's point of view doesn't give you a lot of hope. Yet overall, I found a way to push passed it. I think the end result turned out pretty good. (oh, I also found out that I love short sentences right now, and I think I used them a bit too much. Oops)
If you get a chance to do it next year, I would recommend it. I might even join you.... Hmmm, do I really want to do this more than once? Probably :)
Have a good one,
C
This weekend was intense. I wrote for long hours, had minimal food and sleep, but somehow I completed a 75 page novella that's not that bad. The weekend went something like this:
Saturday - Got up at 8:30 ready to go, but the writing came hard and slow. It started picking up in the afternoon and evening, but my new-old laptop (new for me but actually old) decided to break... yeah, Ok, I broke it accidentally. I finished off the day around 8pm.
Sunday - most of the day was spent looking for, buying, and setting up a new laptop. I didn't get started until around 4:30 in the afternoon. (yikes) So I pushed my sleeping limits and wrote right into the wee hours of the morning.
Monday - Starting writing around 9:30am. By this time my body was sore from sitting, so I tried writing standing up with my laptop on a bookshelf, kneeling on the ground, even on my stomach (which I won't recommend). I wrote for 15 hours in total and came in just under the wire (meaning I wrote right until midnight).
My novella (because it's a bit too short to be called a novel) is called "Beloved Child", and has 6 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue (it's sitting at 19,108 words). And unfortunately, I'm submitting this is unedited, because I pushed the midnight deadline just to finish. I did go through as I was writing to make sure things were spelt correctly and such (and it's very possible I missed some), but I did nothing of real editing.
I read through it last night before bed (yes, between midnight and 3am). There are a couple of choppy bits, some bits that don't seem to make sense, but over all it's not half bad. It's really fast paced, more than I'm used to, but hey... it was written in three days, so of course it's going to be fast paced. I also wrote a little blurb after "THE END" that goes over what I've learnt from this. This truly was an experiment in trying to write an entire story from the bad guy's point of view, and I did that. I also manage to write my very first (and second) fight scene, and I don't think I did too badly.
I must have needed the sleep today though. Yes, I went to bed at 3am, but I slept until 2:30pm this afternoon. I haven't done that since I was 15 years old.
I'm glad it's over. It surprisingly painful to write for that long every day, but at the same time, it was very rewarding. Because this was an experiment for me, I pushed my limits. I got really depressed at one point because writing from the bad guy's point of view doesn't give you a lot of hope. Yet overall, I found a way to push passed it. I think the end result turned out pretty good. (oh, I also found out that I love short sentences right now, and I think I used them a bit too much. Oops)
If you get a chance to do it next year, I would recommend it. I might even join you.... Hmmm, do I really want to do this more than once? Probably :)
Have a good one,
C
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
3-Day Check List
My preparation check list for the 3-Day Novel Contest:
√ Finished my outline for "Beloved Child"
√ Got a desk for the spare bedroom
√ Got a laptop for the spare bedroom
_ Need to set up the spare bedroom with my new desk and laptop
_ Need to buy healthy snacks for the weekend
_ Need to figure out what D is doing for the weekend (so I know if I'll be home alone or not)
_ Need to clean the apartment so I'm not tempted to do it over the weekend
I should have all of this done by the end of the week. It is only Tuesday.
I hope to update you on my word counts throughout the contest, but I won't guarantee it. I will be working in a room with no Internet (because I get distracted easy), so my online time will be limited to an hour or so a day. I'll try and let you know how I'm doing, but it may just be after the fact.
If you are doing the 3-day novel contest, good luck. If not, please be cheerleaders for those of us risking our sanity to participate. Have a good one.
C
PS: I received my USA stamps, finally, so "Pain and Blood"(my 2nd short story) is now on it's way to Analog Magazine. Cross your fingers for me.
√ Finished my outline for "Beloved Child"
√ Got a desk for the spare bedroom
√ Got a laptop for the spare bedroom
_ Need to set up the spare bedroom with my new desk and laptop
_ Need to buy healthy snacks for the weekend
_ Need to figure out what D is doing for the weekend (so I know if I'll be home alone or not)
_ Need to clean the apartment so I'm not tempted to do it over the weekend
I should have all of this done by the end of the week. It is only Tuesday.
I hope to update you on my word counts throughout the contest, but I won't guarantee it. I will be working in a room with no Internet (because I get distracted easy), so my online time will be limited to an hour or so a day. I'll try and let you know how I'm doing, but it may just be after the fact.
If you are doing the 3-day novel contest, good luck. If not, please be cheerleaders for those of us risking our sanity to participate. Have a good one.
C
PS: I received my USA stamps, finally, so "Pain and Blood"(my 2nd short story) is now on it's way to Analog Magazine. Cross your fingers for me.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Smile
Well, I'm not the happiest person on the planet, but I better off than I was on Friday.
We found a place to live. It's not great, but it's not bad either... and it's a roof over my head.
So now that the chaos has been averted, I thank all of you who helped me out over the last week and an half (was it really that short of a time frame?). All your encouraging words, and emails containing millions of ads, was all very appreciated. Thanks.
Onward and forward. Wednesday is Library day and I'm looking forward to getting some writing done, at last. I did manage to throw some researching into the last week, so that it wasn't a complete loss. I'll do some writing on Wednesday, go to a wedding on Friday, and start packing on the weekend. Busy week ahead of me.
In closing, I'll leave you all with an affirmation. These are helpful phrases to help you through just about anything. Here is the one I used this weekend:
Have a great day!
C
We found a place to live. It's not great, but it's not bad either... and it's a roof over my head.
So now that the chaos has been averted, I thank all of you who helped me out over the last week and an half (was it really that short of a time frame?). All your encouraging words, and emails containing millions of ads, was all very appreciated. Thanks.
Onward and forward. Wednesday is Library day and I'm looking forward to getting some writing done, at last. I did manage to throw some researching into the last week, so that it wasn't a complete loss. I'll do some writing on Wednesday, go to a wedding on Friday, and start packing on the weekend. Busy week ahead of me.
In closing, I'll leave you all with an affirmation. These are helpful phrases to help you through just about anything. Here is the one I used this weekend:
I have the strength and courage to face all of life's challenges!
Have a great day!
C
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Apartments
I'll keep this brief.
I'm still looking for a place to call home. 3 weeks, 4 days and counting. We have found a couple maybes but one was super tiny and the other was kinda grungy. The tiny one we said no to, but the grungy one is big and cheaper than most we've found (you get what you pay for right?).
We're going to try and squeeze another viewing in tomorrow before 'D', my boyfriend, leaves for the weekend. He's going on a boys camping trip to Jasper. Perfect timing don't you think?
That means I'm on my own this weekend trying to find an apartment. I hope we decide on one before he leaves. That would mean that all I have to do is the paper work and give them money. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until Monday.
Things are going so quickly in this city. An ad came up in the paper and I called at noon to ask about it. It was already gone someone came by and put the damage deposit down that morning. Granted it was for an amazing price but still... people are desperate.... and I might be one of them soon.
Sorry to rant about something completely not related to writing. I haven't gotten any writing done since I found that nasty note under my door last Friday. This weekend will be such a waste of valuable writing time. (sigh)
Hope your having a better week than I am. Cheers.
C
I'm still looking for a place to call home. 3 weeks, 4 days and counting. We have found a couple maybes but one was super tiny and the other was kinda grungy. The tiny one we said no to, but the grungy one is big and cheaper than most we've found (you get what you pay for right?).
We're going to try and squeeze another viewing in tomorrow before 'D', my boyfriend, leaves for the weekend. He's going on a boys camping trip to Jasper. Perfect timing don't you think?
That means I'm on my own this weekend trying to find an apartment. I hope we decide on one before he leaves. That would mean that all I have to do is the paper work and give them money. Otherwise, we'll have to wait until Monday.
Things are going so quickly in this city. An ad came up in the paper and I called at noon to ask about it. It was already gone someone came by and put the damage deposit down that morning. Granted it was for an amazing price but still... people are desperate.... and I might be one of them soon.
Sorry to rant about something completely not related to writing. I haven't gotten any writing done since I found that nasty note under my door last Friday. This weekend will be such a waste of valuable writing time. (sigh)
Hope your having a better week than I am. Cheers.
C
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
New Everything
I walk into my apartment on Friday after work. It's 5pm and I'm looking forward to reading a bit and having a relaxing evening. I almost step on a notice that had been slipped under the door, 3 in fact.
The first one says the building I live in was sold on Thursday, and here is the new contact information for the landlord. The second one says the caretaker of the building is moving into a different apartment number and we can drop off our rent there from now on. The new owners don't accept cash, and rent must be in the form of a cheque or money order. So far so good. I couldn't understand why someone wouldn't take cash but it's a not life or death issue.
The third one is addressed to me and says "Your lease agreement is up for renewal on July 31st. We hereby serve you notice that we will NOT be renewing your agreement and expect possession of your apartment by noon on July 31st."
I'm being evicted.
"Jump on a plane and fly me to Canada." A civilized, first world country. You would think that having a place to live would be a basic necessity. You know, "food, clothing, shelter", the stuff we learnt in the 5th grade. But I guess it's not so in Alberta. If I don't find another apartment in the next 4 weeks, we might just be buying a tent and joining the hundreds of working homeless who live and work here in Edmonton. What a joke.
I called the new owners to ask what was going on, and they basically told me the rent in my apartment building was too low. They won't be renewing any one's lease. Once we're out, they'll be gutting and renovating our apartment so they can charge, "a lot more money". Hurray for capitalism.
The rest of my weekend was spent looking for an apartment. Here's a fun fact. Surrey, BC has cheaper rent then Alberta. British Columbia! How's that for "catching up to the other top five cities in Canada." I think we've surpassed that. Edmonton is on par with Toronto, the capital of the Country. Calgary is the 2nd highest in rent, next to Vancouver. Vancouver I can understand, they have an Ocean. Alberta has oil. One of those will run out, can you guess which one?
Sorry about my rant but this really burnt. In four weeks, I have no idea were I'm going to call home. That isn't the nicest feeling in the world.
Cheers to all you starving artists. Life bites, but never give up on your dreams. They're the only things that will keep you sane.
C
The first one says the building I live in was sold on Thursday, and here is the new contact information for the landlord. The second one says the caretaker of the building is moving into a different apartment number and we can drop off our rent there from now on. The new owners don't accept cash, and rent must be in the form of a cheque or money order. So far so good. I couldn't understand why someone wouldn't take cash but it's a not life or death issue.
The third one is addressed to me and says "Your lease agreement is up for renewal on July 31st. We hereby serve you notice that we will NOT be renewing your agreement and expect possession of your apartment by noon on July 31st."
I'm being evicted.
"Jump on a plane and fly me to Canada." A civilized, first world country. You would think that having a place to live would be a basic necessity. You know, "food, clothing, shelter", the stuff we learnt in the 5th grade. But I guess it's not so in Alberta. If I don't find another apartment in the next 4 weeks, we might just be buying a tent and joining the hundreds of working homeless who live and work here in Edmonton. What a joke.
I called the new owners to ask what was going on, and they basically told me the rent in my apartment building was too low. They won't be renewing any one's lease. Once we're out, they'll be gutting and renovating our apartment so they can charge, "a lot more money". Hurray for capitalism.
The rest of my weekend was spent looking for an apartment. Here's a fun fact. Surrey, BC has cheaper rent then Alberta. British Columbia! How's that for "catching up to the other top five cities in Canada." I think we've surpassed that. Edmonton is on par with Toronto, the capital of the Country. Calgary is the 2nd highest in rent, next to Vancouver. Vancouver I can understand, they have an Ocean. Alberta has oil. One of those will run out, can you guess which one?
Sorry about my rant but this really burnt. In four weeks, I have no idea were I'm going to call home. That isn't the nicest feeling in the world.
Cheers to all you starving artists. Life bites, but never give up on your dreams. They're the only things that will keep you sane.
C
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