Getting Back on Track

It's been some weeks since I last worked on my manuscript. What blocked me? Me! I got too tired or too busy to find the time to sit down and create.

Yes, I was taking care of my son after his surgery. However, that didn't stop me from working, There were many occasions I could find to slip away for an hour or so to set up my computer and get down to business.

The change happened when even that schedule was interrupted when we went to Tennessee. Staying in a hotel room with 4 adults, and all my son's medical paraphernalia cluttering any flat surface, it was hard to work. Also, we were at a conference, so there were many people we knew and visited with. Needless to say, I was very busy, just not on my manuscript.

Once we arrived home, it's been difficult to get back to normal. Only home two weeks, and was off again for a post-surgical visit in Delaware. Have been home a week now, and really need to get back to my manuscript. It's nagging me and making me cranky. (Of course, if you call me on that, I'll deny everything! :D)

So, to get started, I put myself on the roster for reader at TWRP. I do need to finish that prelim tonight! After that, I'll bring a notebook with me tomorrow when I take my daughter to Stonybrook near Dansville for a few hours with her friend. I can insert a few chapters to my working story. It's taken a different direction right now, so I need to see where it's going to take me.

Here I am again

First off, yes I've been writing, but slowly and sporadically. My story has turned this way and that, but I have maintain my original idea, just my characters have become younger and younger. Throughout this process I have found my voice, my thoughts and myself... now I must write my story. I'm going back to what I found works through the Warrior Writer by Bob Mayer. Starting August 2nd, I am dedicating 1000 words per day to myself. I know I can do it, have done it. Now is retraining myself to do it.

The only person I can truly let down is myself, this time it won't happen. Time carved out is hard when balancing family, kids and life, especially when there is no cash flow, but when it is something that your passionate about, it comes down to just doing it. So here it goes, five months into my journey of writing a successful novel has come down to six months. Six months to have it query and submission ready. At least I know the story line, the characters, the quirks, now I must write the day to day words. I must be a warrior writer. I have my goal, the process. It's on me to get it accomplished.

I know I have say it time and time again, but this time. I will finish this book, Sometimes a Witch. 

Some accepted truths just need to be looked at differently.

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his class one day. "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However," he pointed out, "there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up "Yeah, right."

To Share or Not to Share

Recently was reminded of the fragility of peace on open public forums. I posted a new profile picture with the lyrics of a song as the caption. Was it unfitting for someone my age? I didn't think so.

We have to remember when we participate in such public forums everything we post, whether it be pictures, links or words, it's there for all to see and comment on. One negative comment was posted and all my other 'friends' jumped all over the person. So NOT the intention of posting the picture.

So what has this meant to me? Do I need to think more carefully about what I'm going to post? Maybe. Is this incident serious enough to really worry about? I don't know. I'm upset my friends are at odds over it, but the act itself was an innocent way of celebrating my weight loss and being able to be happy to have pictures of myself seen again.

I would like to know your opinion. Should we be more careful of what we post, or am I'm worrying over nothing?

Home Sweet Home

Those words never meant more to me than they do now. I've been away from home almost as long as I was two years ago, but it will be even longer when we head off to a conference. What does this mean to me?

All those little things I was able to do without preparation are a luxury right now. Everything I do has to be scheduled around strut turns, medication times and mobility availability. Taking everyday life for granted is no more. The care and attention my son, Stephen, needs is more important than anything frivolous, unnecessary trip or errand I want to take.

That's right. I said 'want.' All those little trips to Walmart, Goodwill or the mall were essentially frivolous. There was nothing I really needed, or wanted even, to necessitate the frequent trips. They were all reasons to get out of the house.

I've been 'out-of-the-house' for over a month and will be out for another ten days or so. Yes, we do come home today, but only for 24-36 hours. Then it's load up the car for four people to stay in a hotel for ten days, travel for fourteen days. There's no room in the van now for two of us, with the wheelchair and all the paraphernalia we've accumulated to care for Stephen in the last month.

I miss my meetings, my friends, even work. I miss work because it gave me a place to be without family, yet still be out in the world for a more constructive purpose. This summer will be less enjoyable without being able to do all this, unless I learn to accept my life as it is now and embrace all the quality moments with my family.

YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU KNOW YOU KNOW

“Write what you know.” “Write what you read.” I bet there is not a person reading this who hasn’t heard those words. I’m here to tell you, you know more than you know you know.

If you read romance, it has created a comfortable nook in your mind where you can go to escape. You know where everything is located in your cubbyhole and can pull it out whatever you need. It is your place and you know it well.

If you read science fiction, you know what a believable alternative world is. You read it – you know it.

I read fantasy almost to the exclusion of everything else. Therefore, I must write fantasy. When I started writing, I knew I was a fantasy writer. What else could I be?

Along the way, something went wrong. Three and a half years into my writing “career”, I don’t have a single completed work of fantasy. (To be fair, the fantasy story I am “working” on is a novel. I have six “scenes” written, but that is as far as I have gotten.) I have written romantic-adventure. A shape shifter story. A serial killer story. I have a Zombie, two life transition/redemption stories and a science fiction story. I have written a non-fiction piece about my tour on a submarine. I have a gangster story. Most shocking, I have written nine poems. (I have no idea where they came from.)

It is easy to see that some of the above are loosely related to fantasy. But, what about the others?

It turns out, I know more than I knew I knew.

I have been receiving Newsweek and US News and World Report for years. I receive two computer magazines. I have been reading non-fiction that includes tight, concise writing.

The others, (the gangster, romantic-adventure, serial killer, and the redemption stories) come from TV and MOVIES. I firmly believe that if you watch it, you know it.

You know what makes you laugh – you had to choose between Frasier and Home Improvement. How many SVU’s have you seen – hundreds?

You say you don’t watch romantic adventure. Didn’t you love Mr. and Mrs. Smith or the Star Wars series? How about Burn Notice? (Yes, Burn Notice.)

I do NOT read romance. I loved The Notebook movie.

The point is, when it comes to your writing, you know more than you know you know. Use it to write anything you want.

Recovery III

What's new with me? Steve is doing much better now that they've taken out the k-wires near his knees. Enough to let me leave and come home for a few days. My brave boy is an inspiration to me and everyone around him.

The legs are still not as straight as the doctor wants them to be, so we're still cranking those struts until next Tuesday. This is done to two struts per leg in the morning, another two in the afternoon and the last two before bed.

Got great news tonight. He went twelve hours without getting another pain pill. For someone who was constantly checking with me for when his next dose was due, this is a tremendous feat. Today was not as good for my husband. His phone sent Steve's call to voice mail while he was checking his voice messages. Steve was so worried, he called the desk at the house for someone to go look for his dad in the dining room. LOL!!

I have to understand my boy is feeling more vulnerable than we've ever experienced with him. This is hard to grasp and we sometimes tend to take it lightly. However, it's a serious issue with Steve and we have to be very careful to keep the lines of communication open when we're not in the near vicinity.

Obsessed, written by Sandy Istvan

My husband thinks I’m glued to my chair, and I understand that. Almost daily I spend five hours or more writing. Call me obsessed. My characters are more familiar to me than friends and neighbors. I tell them what to do and save them from disaster; help them fall in love and console them when their relationships fall apart. Must be how God feels about His misguided flock.
In the past twelve months I’ve submitted two manuscripts to two publishers. And you guessed it; both were rejected. Ah, but rejection doesn’t daunt me; at least not for long. I just guzzle coffee and begin the hatchet job. Words that end in ‘ly’ are taboo. Can’t use the words was, were, had, has. If you search for such inappropriate wording and highlight it, an amazing crazy quilt of color enhances your pages. So it’s hack and substitute; hack and substitute. Sometimes it’s helpful to invert a sentence here and there. Why write ‘she was a beautiful young woman who had a lot to learn’?? After all, ‘men remained a mystery to the gorgeous babe’ says the same thing – doesn’t it?
After a time, the substitutions come automatically. But then the writer runs across the limited selection of replacement words. Say ‘had’ for example. She had a headache. Try ‘her head pounded like a trip hammer,’ or maybe ‘her head hurt so much she couldn’t see straight.’ More colorful, right? More interesting. Also more wordy, and therein lies the rub. Oh it’s a great pastime, this word folly.
I imagine seasoned authors spend a lot less time with word play. They’ve learned all the right words – even the proper off-color phrases their salty detectives and floozy females speak so well. As I said, I have a lot to learn. Gotta go – my lovers are waiting for me to send them to bed.

Book Reviews

Several years ago, for a short period of time, we had a regular spot on our meeting agenda for book reviews. Newly published or years old, it didn't matter, as long as the book was "new" to the LCRW reviewer.

I'd like to revive that agenda item here on the blog. There are a couple reasons for this. All are personal: I don't have to worry about a blog topic and it gives me an excuse to read for pleasure or research. Anything to get away from editor work.

For my first effort, I offer John Sanford's "Heat Lightening" a police procedural set in Minnesota, the second in the Virgil Flowers series. I learned about B.C.A. officer Flowers while listening to the audio version of Sanford's latest Lucas Davenport "Prey" story. Virgil is a younger, handsomer version of Lucas--to quote Mr. Flowers.

I had feared I might find myself cuddled up with a clone of Lucas, but soon realized that Virgil is a character all his own, and vastly different from the smart mouth, sarcastic Davenport. Don't get me wrong, Virgil's got a mouth on him, too, particularly when he discovers the next in a long line of ex-wives. Not yet 40 he's been married 3 or 4 times; must be the influence of his minister father [marry them before you ____ them]. Rather than a former hockey player, he's an outdoorsman who quotes Virgil, Camus, and Proust and is better known around Minneapolis and St. Paul for the naturalist articles he writes for magazines which attract fans who hunt, fish, trap etc for fun, profit, and relaxation. Plus, an occasional quote from the Bible.

Add to all that an interesting mystery that has me turning the pages. I appreciate a book that you can't put down, don't you?
Kat

Recovery II

My son, Steve, is slowly recovering from his bilateral tibia/fibular osteotomy with application of Taylor Spatial Frames. This is his opinion. The opinion of the medical professionals - his orthopedist and physical therapists - is that he's moving along rapidly and with great improvement. His recovery speed is up to him.

I, myself, see improvement in his walk, his ability to maneuver between the chair and bed, as well as his mental state. He's holding up pretty well, but is upset when he encounters what he considers set-backs. These would be the temporary inflammation of the pin sites, or stiffness of his knees. This is to be expected with this type of surgery. However, Steve wants to be well and on crutches NOW. He's beginning to see how 'human' he really is.

The hardest part of all this is learning to hold my tongue. Steve's feeling things he's never felt before, and not just physically. He's feeling vulnerable. With vulnerability comes harsh words, snapping and general crabbiness. In such close quarters, it's hard to not react or respond back with equal venom.

We stop turning the struts on the frames Saturday night. That would be twenty days of turning 6 struts. Hopefully as the bones knit together, he'll be in less pain and find his mental equilibrium again.

More again next week.