Getting Into It April 16, 2009

I have an unusual way of reading books. It drives my DH crazy. I read a book about 3/4 of the way through, then put it down for days – sometimes weeks. Or I’ll read a chapter or two at a time. Or, I read about halfway, make some guesses about the plot, and then read the last few pages to see if I’m right. Then I’ll put it down for awhile and later go back to read the in between stuff.  I think it’s the last he objects to the most, though he can’t understand why I employ the former methods either. I don’t like it when my emotions get yanked around by a book. It feels like I’m loosing control of them, in a way. That and it often effects my mood. Suspense especially. Tonight I refused to watch Lost because the man is working third shift and I would be all alone (well, with the dog) in a little apartment on the ground floor in a complex that is usually busy until the wee hours of the morning. No thanks. I did that once and was awake and thoroughly creeped out until 3 A.M.  An example would be the Dean Koontz book I’m (still) currently reading, the Darkest Evening of the Year. I’m over half-way now and I’m still reading it a chapter or two at a time. Maybe this particular one is harder because it involves dogs (my breed, too) as well as people, but I do this with lots of books. Another would be Wideacre, by Phillipa Gregory. I’m about 4/5 of the way finished (have been for about 4 months), and I’ve already read the ending. I still want to go back and find out how certain things ended up the way they did, but I’m much happier knowing the ending.

Looking at it from one perspective, it’s a compliment to the author. It means he or she made their characters real enough that I’m concerned about what happens to them. On the other hand, my fits and starts and sneak peaks do limit the ability of the story/author in some ways. I often miss foreshadowing when reading this way. I don’t get to know the characters quite so well. And when I sneak the back of the book, I don’t get to fully appreciate the building of the story. My husband says this is an insult to the writer, and as a writer I should never do this. He does have a point, and I’m trying to break myself of reading the ending first. I have a lot of trouble just letting random authors take my emotions/mood for a ride, though.

What do you all think? Am I being unfair to my fellow writers? Or am I not alone in this odd way of reading? If you don’t think I should read this way, tell me why. If you think it’s all fine and dandy, give me a reason for that too. I’m just interested in hearing what other writers/readers think.

Oh yeah, just for the record, I do the equivalent with RPGs and some movies. I can make it through a comedy or a chick flick, but give me an emotional ride and I just can’t quite take it. I’m currently trying to work up enough courage to finish the Patriot. After insisting someone tell me if so-and-so and so-and-so dies. *sheepish*

Milestone April 6, 2009

20,021 words. Need I say more?

Actually, yes. Matthew Pearl has a new book out! I literally danced when I found The Last Dickens in Barnes and Noble. Sadly, I couldn’t buy it at the time. Once I get my hands on it though, I’ll be sure to post a review. Hmm. Maybe I should go back and post reviews of his first two books, The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow. He is one of the few authors whose books I buy before reading or even reading reviews. I liked his first one best, but the Shadow was still very good.

Spring Procrastination March 24, 2009

I’ve heard a couple other writers bemoaning the bad case of procrastination/writers’ block that has hit them in the past couple weeks; I wonder if it’s something about the time of year.

My WIP is a bit stuck again. My MC is turning into a snot, and I don’t like it. So I’m glaring at the page wondering how to fix this problem, and yet she just glares stubbornly back. Sigh. When I get “stuck” like this, it is so vital that I still write something. Sometimes it’s just a journal entry or a blog post, but my writing usually benefits more from prompts and exercises. I have this book that I sometimes use. Jess recently inspired me with a prompt she put up, but I still haven’t actually written my idea out. Maybe I’ll do that today, since I don’t really have time to glower at my MC much longer.

What do you do when your character tries to take off without you?

Spring Fever March 21, 2009

I didn’t mean to take a two-week break, but that’s life for ya. I did a little writing in that time, but not much. I kind of got out of my groove when our company came (which was very fun, just not really good for my muse) and am just now starting to get back into it. However, I’m not sure how long that will last, since I volunteered for extra hours at work this week. Since I actually HAVE a job now I’ve been getting back into gear with school (I’m at 80-some credits now, yay), so extra money is very good and very needed, it’s just the hours cut into my study/writing/other stuff time, not to mention my time with my man. It’s only a week though, so I guess I’ll survive.

With spring coming on, I’ve been hit with an organizing bug. This includes finished multiple sewing projects that have been languishing in my closet for months (in one case, years). So I guess that’s interfering with my writing as well, but they really did need to be finished.

I’ve begun to wonder if I try to read too many writing blogs. There’s 39 unread entries sitting in my Google Reader right now. Granted, this only happens when I skip about 4 days of reading, but still. I dunno.

Reading update:

The Darkest Evening of the Year is taking me forever to read because it’s so creepy. I can only read about two chapters before I have to put it down so I’m not totally freaked out.

Passionate Housewives I’m still reading, taking it slow for various reasons.

Hancock Park was  returned to the library when I discovered the protaganist was lesbian. Sorry, I’d just rather not spend my free time reading that, even if it was otherwise well written.

Dog Man is still in my to be read pile.

B is for Burglar was pretty good for a modern mystery. I didn’t realize the alphabet series was a chronological story, so I sent “O” back and read C is for Corpse instead. Fast reads, I guess 3 stars overall. Nothing spectacular, but I’ll probably finish the series when I’m wanting a light read.

The Glimmer Train Guide to Fiction is still in my pile as well, and I’ve barely touched it since my last post about it. Maybe I jinxed it. Actually, I have a bad habit of doing more reading about writing than actual writing, so I purposely left it alone for awhile. I’ll be reading more in it over the next few days, I hope.

Hmm. Haven’t been doing much reading, have I?

Miscellany March 4, 2009

I now have more than 18,000 words on my WIP. I know this is not a lot, especially to certain people who complete NaNo four times over during the course of November, or even just once, but for me it’s rather major. My goal with this WIP is just to finish. I’m not aiming for publication, just to assure myself that I can indeed finish a novel length project. So I’m excited.

The fact that I feel somewhat possessed by it at present also excites me. I haven’t felt like this about a story since I was about 14. It’s driving me to the keyboard, even though I have other things I know I could/should be doing (cleaning the bathroom, finishing my quilt, putting away the clean dishes, etc). I guess I could say my muse is back, perhaps in the form of the very happy golden retriever with his head perpetually on the arm of my chair or in my lap.

Posting may be sparce over the next few days, as we’ll be having some company. I expect my muse will be demanding any of my extra time, but I’ll be back soon.

What I’m Reading February 26, 2009

My husband and I are both off from work today, so while he finishes his nap (he worked graveyard shift last night) I’m sitting here with a cup of my favorite tea and a pile of books. I have several books I want to/need to finish reading in the next week, because I decided to try out a mystery book club that meets at my local library. Besides those, I have a couple books that were recently given to me and some research books to read. Whew! So here we go. I may write reviews of these once I’ve finished them.

The Darkest Evening of the Year, by Dean Koontz. The story centers around a golden retriever rescue operation, as far as I can tell, hence my desire for the book. My sweet husband gave it to me along with a lovely card and box of Godiva chocolate for Valentine’s Day.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald. This was given to me by my dear friend Theresa for my birthday after we’d discussed it a little.

B is for Burglar and O is for Outlaw, both by Sue Grafton. These are a couple books for the mystery book club. I’ve read one of Sue Grafton’s alphabet series before and wasn’t all that thrilled (quite a bit of language and sexuality – blah, I just wanted the mystery, please), but I thought I could at least  start a couple others. I’ll just skip them if they’re not any good. While I don’t mind language in books when it is for good cause (i.e., bad guy realism or an intense situation) it really irks me when swear words are used in place of what should have been a broader vocabulary on the part of the author. Anyway, we’ll see.

Hancock Park, by Katherine V. Forrest. Also for the book club. I have no clue about this author or her writing style, so it should be interesting.

The Glimmer Train Guide to Writing Fiction, edited by Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B Swanson-Davies. I picked this up because Glimmer Train is such a highly thought of literary magazine. So far it’s proven to be interesting, and the first chapter actually gave me a lightbulb on what to do with the point-of-view in my WIP.

Whose Body?, by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’ve read one other book by her (Strong Poison), and loved it. She wrote mysteries set in the early 1900s, and her Lord Peter Wimsey character is awesome. I’m guessing this one will be just as good. Even if it’s not, Strong Poison is definitely worth checking out.

Dog Man, by Martha Sherrill. This is an autobiography/history of how the Akita breed survived through World War II in Japan. Since I’m in love with the breed, I wanted to read the story.

Also reading a short history on Germany to help with my genealogy research.

Whew! I think that’s quite enough for right now. I can’t be grateful enough that we now live close to a substantial library system! If anyone else has read these, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Words, Words, Words February 21, 2009

Today’s editing is going hard. See, I decided a secondary character needed to be deleted. Completely. She was cluttering up my story, or maybe confusing it would be a better term. Buuuut…there was almost an entire chapter sort of based off her, and despite needing to be rid of her, I really needed the events of that chapter. Guh. So I’m trying to straighten out that mess.

My point of view was kind of awkward as well. My MC was prone to long, inward rants. I think part of that was me trying to get inside her head enough for the reader to hear her thoughts without actually writing in first person. So I’m deleting most of the soliloquies and trying for a very close, limited third person POV. We’ll see how that goes.

Now I’m getting a bit impatient with all the editing and wanting to get back to writing the rest of the story. However, I don’t go back to work until tomorrow afternoon, so I’m hoping I can have these six chapters 95% edited by then and can give myself permission to get on with it.

Links February 19, 2009

This is a cool article about naming your characters. The author’s writing blog is one you don’t want to miss, either.

Great blog for those of us wanting to eventually be published.

I love having my own library catalogued.

While I don’t use FanStory myself, I was reminded of it again by an e-mail this week. Some may find it very enjoyable and useful for critques and learning.

FundsforWriters is another great resource (mainly for non-fiction writers). Check out the e-books. The founder also keeps a blog.

Of course, the Christian Writers Guild is also an excellent resource. Just don’t let them tell you that there’s only one way to write a selling book, and they are (obviously) bent to Christian books.

Victoria Gaines is always putting up inspiring authorly quotes.

I recently discovered Bookmarks Magazine. Awesomeness.

Yup, the old fall-back of Writer’s Digest. Sometimes a little snotty in tone, but with excellent resources and articles.

For keeping up with all those blogs: Google Reader. My favorite, it’s clean and simple and it works.

The WIP February 15, 2009

I’ve reached a minor break in my story. The next part is going to be really fun to write, but my first part is so mixed up that I’ve decided to edit it first. So I’ve sent the first six chapters to my very honest but very kind critiquer – my husband. I love editing. Something about honing the words, the characters, and the story is oh-so-satisfying to my OCDness. I think I’ve worked out a good system for editing (for me, anyway). Instead of just working on one file, whenever I start a new round of editing I copy the file into a new one and number it. That way if I decide I like the way something sounded in an earlier edit, I can just go back and copy/paste. This is probably old hat to a lot of folks, but I just had the brilliant discovery in the past couple weeks. *blush* My word count is also going down, from 17,523 to 16,242 so far, and I’ve only gone through the first two chapters. It makes me wince a little, but I think the project is really benefiting from the shave. Still, this is a very light edit, not the ruthless chopping I’ll do when the entire thing is finished.

Editing is always good for a few laughs too, of course. Like when I discovered I had my MC draining a glass of milk at one point, then a of couple pages later emptying the same glass. Haha. Le husband caught one too – I mentioned that the pantry and cabinets in the house are bare of food, yet the MC is washing breakfast dishes. Doh! These are always facepalm moments, but they make me laugh.

Then there are the times I bang my head on the desk and wonder if I’ll ever break some old habits. Like constantly repeating words, sometimes as often as in the same sentence. Or writing things like, “Suddenly taken by impulse.” Um.

So how do you edit? A lot of people will disagree with my decision to start editing partway through a novel project, especially since my one goal with this project is just to finish a book-length work. But, it’s working for me. The discrepancies and errors in the first part were bothering me and hindering my continued writing. I have to go back and untangle the mess before I can go on. What works for you?

Shelfari 50 Book Challenge Update February 9, 2009

1. The Hollow – Agatha Christie
2. Murder is Easy – A. C.
3. Murder on the Links – A. C.
4. By the Pricking of My Thumbs – A. C.
5. The Man in the Brown Suit – A.C. – my favorite Agatha Christie book thus far
6. The A.B.C. Murders – A. C.
7. The Body in the Library – A. C.
8. Evil Under the Sun – A. C.
9. A Murder is Announced – A. C.
10. Third Girl – A. C.
11. The Moving Finger – A. C.
12. Murder on the Orient Express – A. C.
13. Endless Night – A. C.
14. The Unexpected Guest – A. C.
15. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – A. C.
16. Merlin – Stephen R. Lawhead
17. Arthur – S. R. L.
18. Eyes at the Window – Evie Yoder Miller – so far the most boring book I’ve read this year
19. King’s Ransom – Jan Beazley and Thom Lemmons
20. The Dante Club – Matthew Pearl
21. The Poe Shadow – M. P.
22. Violet Dawn – Brandilynn Collins
23. The Shadow Within – Karen Hancock – I love all the books I’ve read by her so far, enough to buy them all. I’m waiting to read the rest in the Guardian King series until I can buy them, and eagerly awaiting her next book.
24. Laddie – ?
25. White Fang - Jack London
26. The Call of the Wild – J. L.
27. Scars and Stripes – Lt.Col. (ret) Red McDaniel – awesome book, should be required reading for high school American history
28. The Dog Who Would Be King – John C. Wright
29. James Herriot’s Dog Stories – James Herriot
30. All Creatures Great and Small – J. H.
31. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield – very intriguing, I’m hoping she writes more books
32. Plain Truth – Jodi Picoult
33. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke – lovely children’s book, some adult readers complain of lack of character depth, but I loved it
34. No Graves As Yet – Anne Perry
35. Shoulder the Sky – A. P.
36. Angels in the Gloom – A. P.
37. At Some Disputed Barricade – A. P.
38. Murder Among the Owls – Bill Crider
39. The Writing Class – Jincy Willett – neat book, with an interesting story line
40. Way Down Dead in Dixie – Caroline Cousins
41. Shabby Chic – Rachel Ashwell
42. Strong Poison – Dorothy L. Sayers – I’ve found another good mystery writer, W00T!
43. When Men Become Gods – Stephen Singular
44. The Good Guy – Dean Koontz
45. The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart - M. Glenn Taylor – Do NOT recommend this one at all, it’s well written, but much too explicit, IMO
46. Second Chances – Elise Lufkin
47. A Year of Pleasures – Elizabeth Berg
48. Family Skeletons – Rhett MacPherson
49. James Herriot: Life of a Country Vet – Graham Lord
50. Must Love Dogs – Claire Cook

THERE! I got to 49 and thought, “No way! I know I read more than that!” In fact, though I read several non-fiction books this year, there’s only a few of them on that list. So I suceeded in my challenge, I was just a month late in posting about it. I’ve always been horrible about keeping  booklist. This year I used Shelfari a little, and counted on my library automatic reading list to kep up with the rest. I’m pretty sure I read some others, but I can’t think of them right now and this was all that was on the lists, so here ’tis.

Note: I don’t recommend all of these. Most were okay, but a few had elements some readers will find objectional.