29 February 2008

Happy Leap Day!

It's not that I have anything to say. I just think that, when a day only comes along every fourth year, one ought to take note of it. To that end...

Happy Leap Day!

25 February 2008

Exerpts

There are a lot of exerpts to read on the Samhain Cafe. Today esp. since tomorrow is release day, but lots in general. I don't read many because I know what I like and if I can tell from the blurb that something's not my bag, I skip it. No harm, no foul. Only there was a title the other week that I thought might be cool and fun, so I started reading one of the two posted exerpts. ... The author lost me with one word. One stinking word. ::sigh:: I hate that. I can't entirely blame them, or anyone else, when something truly tiny just shuts me right out of an otherwise good read. On the other hand, when it's something I consider very basic and simple and easy to get right, I can't help but get a bit pissy about it. Of course that leads me to wondering if or when I might be making the same piddly sort of mistakes. Gods, I hope I don't, but there's the fatalistic part of me that figures it's inevitable. I suppose it's one of the advantages to writing in a fictional universe though; I don't have to know the dialect-specific quirks and turns of phrase of another region than my own because all the regions I write about are inside my wee brain. I'm making them up and they can talk any way I want. They still need to be consistent, but no one else can say, "Hey! No one from CityXYZ would ever say that!" because, hey, my city, my rules. ;)

Am I the only one who goes whacko about tiny shit like this? Seriously. I know I'm a grammar freak and other things where language is concerned, but I can't be the only one. Can I?

22 February 2008

Random updates

I realized I had my comments filter set far too exclusively. Sorry anybody who wanted to comment and couldn't. If you still want to and still can't...uh...oh! Email me if you have my address or, if you don't, go to my website and use the form to tell me what a git I am and that I still need to fix my comments filter.

That novel with the ménage-à-trois I mentioned the other day? Yeah. Finished it.
::happy dance::

21 February 2008

Pantser Joy

I told this story to a friend today who promptly and through her mirth informed me that this was the sort of thing I needed to put on my author blog. So I am.

I'm a pantser, as we determined not long ago. I love the thrill when random things I put into a story come together into something cohesive and coherent, as we determined shortly thereafter. Got that? Okay. Here's the scoop. The novel I'm currently writing is the fourth I've written in its particular universe. I've also written many short stories and super-short stories in this universe, so there is much history here. (Now who would have thought, back in 198? that the mystical Druidic religion I created would come to this? ) The basis of all their rituals is three. It's always three with these people. (Don't ask why; I made it up in high school. I may have had a reason then but I simply do not recall.) You don't have to have three for everything, but for serious workings, three is recommended-to-required. You can't calm three rivers colliding as rapids into a gigantic whirlpool without three Druids. I rest my case.

Jump ahead some twenty years.

I, the eternal pantser, discover in my current work that it is possible to manipulate the magics the Druids used in their rituals and spells through other means. Say for instance, sex. I didn't know that. I only discovered in the last six months when I wrote it.

Add to the mix a cursed theatrical company that really needs its bad luck to change and two boys who intend to fix the problem. But wait! There's more! (And it's not a ginsu knife.) I said two boys. You noticed that, didn't you? But the Druids work in threes, not twos. So there's this chick who plans to help them. It's her company, too, and she's tired of all the bad ju-ju.

Now comes the joy of the pantser: The plot requires (you guessed it) a ménage-à-trois in order to resolvle.

I'd quote Hannibal Smith here, but my plan didn't come together--because there was no plan. Of course, I still feel that A-Team like satisfaction. ;D

19 February 2008

Slash & Burn day


This is who I'm blogging about today over at Slash & Burn. Isn't he just irresitable? His name is Garth and you can read about him over there as soon as I get it posted. :)

13 February 2008

Lurv!

I officially *heart* Betsey Johnson. Here's why.

I needed to run some errands this afternoon so at 2:00 I popped out of this office tower and onto the sidewalks of downtown. I strode purposefully down 5th Avenue - I needed to buy bus tickets at the transit stop - and I passed by Betsey Johnson. I glanced in the window because, hell, it's Betsey Johnson. Now let's face it; I will never be able to afford anything from this store. Maybe if something fabulous turns up at a thrift store I will someday own some Betsey Johnson. Otherwise, no. Which is a shame because what did I see in their window with Valentine's Day less than 12 hours away? I saw four dresses. Four all black dresses. I grinned and giggled and was so pleased that I went inside and thanked them for having four all black dresses in their window this Valentine's week. We all had a good laugh and I went about my errands.

And that's why I *heart* Betsey Johnson.

12 February 2008

Haiku fun

I admit this is a bit more fun when you have a longer back catalogue of blog entries for it to pull random things from, but I still think this one is pretty good.

Haiku2 for maiastrong
people in his life
he's undercover after
all the hot sex was
@
Created by Grahame

07 February 2008

Vocabulary words

I learned a new word just now: pantser. It was used in a comment over at Slash & Burn and I thought, "Huh? Whazzat?" Thanks to our friend Google, here's what I learned.

"Pantser: One who writes by the seat of their pants, and who does NOT plan, plot, outline, or do character studies ahead of time. They generally get a basic idea for a story and/or character(s) in their head, sit down at the computer, begin writing, and trust that everything will work itself out in the end." (The Plotter & The Pantser)

I love it! I've always been a pantser and never knew there was a name for it. Even in grade school I wrote the report first and then wrote the outline to fit it. As a fiction writer, I love that feeling of excitement that comes from discovering, two-thirds of the way into writing something, that the random crap I threw into the story early on is actually all coming together to form something cohesive. If I plotted it all out, what would happen to that thrill? It would be gone. So let's give it up for all the pantsers out there. Hip, hip, huzzah! :D

05 February 2008

Slash & Burn

It's my day to blog at Slash & Burn. Check it out!

Slash & Burn

My first blog there was back on 22 January. Don't recall if I mentioned it before or not.