Monday, July 26, 2010

Post: Chaos in my Cosmos


I know what you're thinking--you haven't written a single post in two weeks! For once my co-worker is right. I am a slacker, but I do have a few good excuses, though. The chiefest among them being a strange creature that invaded our bedroom, a tiny little monster that makes its home in beds. I speak of terrifying bedbugs. Nasty little things. The infestation wasn't severe, but it was irritating enough having a new bite or three each morning. So we decided to bomb our room with a fogger, designed specifically for the little bloodsucker. Oh I hate things that suck blood: bedbugs, mosquitoes, vampires, clocks, you name it! After the bombing, we had to wash all of our clothes. Everything. That takes time. Then there was a holiday and much family gatherings, an engaged brother in-law, a swamped work-load, and the prospect of having to move out much sooner than anticipated, thus causing me to look at all the stuff we've gathered in the last five years. I'm thinking about a yard sale. As you can imagine, this has put a damper on achieving my personal goals, which includes writing.

Update: I know! Chapter 11 isn't done, but it's less than a page away from being so. The moment I'm done here, I'm going to finish it and nothing is going to stand in my way until it is finished! On top of that, I've altered my personal goals so I can write a chapter a week until this book is complete. It's been in the works for too long. Everyone I've shared it with so far loves it and they want part two. Time to focus and get to work.

Once again, I apologize for not staying on top of this blog and withholding advice. Just so you know, if I don't write something, I more than likely am spending time with my family or something of some significance.

I'm David, and the pencil sharpener works!

Note: See! A couple hours later and a working draft for Chapter 11 is done! Now to reread it, edit, and polish. I honestly can't wait to start Chapter 12 now.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Post: Writing Out of Order?



Incredible. Here I am, trying my darnedest to move chapter 11 along, and my muse has impressed me to write the very end of the book. Normally I write in sequence when I put a story down in the computer, with some detailed outlining of future events on the side, but this time around, the story wants its ending first--a complete rough draft of it! When you think you're in control of your work, you're really not. The only conclusion I can make is that some foreshadowing from early on may have some problems. Perhaps I need to experiment to see if my payoffs are going to work or not. Payoffs. That's an idea for this weeks advice!

This last week was a busy one. Again. I don't know when I'm going to have a relaxed week anytime soon, so I can't promise that chapter 11 will be done in the next few days or so, but I have a few pages down for chapter 20-something. That will help near the end. July is one of my busiest months of the year for reasons that I don't wish to disclose. Don't worry. It's legal. My expectations for new pages are lower than normal. It's not fair. Nothing would make me happier than to sit in a library all day with my laptop, typing away for hours and be paid for it. But alas, I have to prove my worth and profitability first. I like a good challenge!

Nothing new in The Dragon's Heart department. I'm still waiting to hear word if the manuscript will pass along to the next hand. I know it needs work, and this is a long shot, but I'll take any chance that's given to me.

Now, has anyone done a garage/yard sale before? I'm thinking of downsizing on a few things but I've never tried to host one before. Suggestions? Tips? Warnings? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for looking, fellow web-hoppers. Check back later this week for Aspiring Advice for the Aspiring Author.

I'm David, and the sprinklers work.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Aspiring Advice: Useful Internet Tools


Today, The Cosmic Laire celebrates its 100th post!
 
This weeks advice isn't necessarily advice, but rather a few helpful pointers or resources that I've discovered that could help to benefit your writing. The first and most obvious choice for writers and people in general who want to find something is Google! Keep in mind that search engines may not bring up what you're looking for (and they may bring things up that you never wanted to look up). I tend to use Google to find suiting landscapes or objects that I'd like to use in a scene, or look up information on details that I want to expound on. If you write Historical Fiction, Google and Wikipedia are NOT your friends. They can be used to help you explore, but their historical accuracy is highly questionable. The library is a better resource. However, if you're looking up information on, say, the breed of a particular dog to be used as a background image, just for color, then by all means, Google away. The same can be said for learning the basis of sewing or how watermills work.

There are a few sites out there that you may want to visit. I frequent these on a regular basis when in the drafting process. Don't worry. I won't trick you:
Your Dictionary: http://www.yourdictionary.com
Thesaurus: http://thesaurus.com
Encarta: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx

And, by happy accident, I found a free, clean software that allows you to look up the definition and synonyms of any word on the screen, whether it's on the Internet or in a document. Any word. This has proven helpful as I tend to use the wrong word at times. Once installed, all you do is place your cursor over the word in question, press (Ctrl+Right Click) and a mini window pops up, giving you lots of information and suitable alternatives.
This free software can be found here:
WordWeb: http://wordweb.info/free/

Be forewarned. There are such things out there called "writing software." I wouldn't go there. Most of them cost money, the free ones are iffy, and if you rely on it too much, your writing can get sloppy. In other words, try to learn how to spell the words that you use a lot but misspell often, as not to rely on a spell checker. Learn to master the language you are writing with. It's an important process that I still do--must do--every day.

Thanks for clicking in. I hope this information was helpful to you as it has been for me. If anyone happens to know of further resources and sites that have helped with your writing, feel free to link them in the comments section. I'm always eager to find new tools of the trade.

I'm David, and my lamp needs less wattage!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Post: My Mind has been Workshopped!



Good grief and gravy, man. The lameness that is the maintaining of a consistent blog continues--partially my fault and partially not. This last week has been a hectic ride of intellectual ah ha's and cheap woohoos, starting with a Writing Workshop with my favorite living author, Orson Scott Card. It was my first time meeting the man. He is such a cool dude. And funny! But what the workshop description didn't tell me was that he would stretch my mind. Make it expand. Oh yeah. That he did. Now I have a few tricks and tools to motivate and better my writing! Then I went and saw a movie that I had been anticipating for some time which turned out to be very disappointing. No kidding. It took a few days to recuperate from the shock. Let's just say I'm a little turned off by movies for now. The fireworks on Saturday were nice though, as were the burgers! Happy late birthday, America!

And now, a slice of the past . . .
When I was twelve, I went to a bookstore with my sister. I had a few bucks. I browsed the Sci-Fi section. There I ran into a copy of Ender's Game. I picked it up, read a little, and was intrigued that it was about a boy around my age. So I bought it, read it, and loved it. It was this and other such events in my pre-teen years that encouraged me to take up writing. I wanted to do something with vampires at first, but people kept telling me that Anne Rice held claim to that genre and publishers wouldn't look at anyone else. I didn't bother. So I went with Science Fiction and gave it a go, making a trilogy out of a story idea I had. The rest is history.

Currently I write fantasy, both epic to young adult, for those of you who don't know. My current project is a YA novel (title unannounced) with a fantasy flavor that will, hopefully, appeal to all genders of all ages. Chapter 11 is still underway and nearing completion. If I'm lucky, the novel will be finished before Christmas. That's two years. It hasn't taken me that long to write a novel before, but I'm not dismayed. It took J.K Rowling more than twice that to write the first Harry Potter novel. Maybe that's why it's so good?

That's all the updates for today.
And, as always, thanks for clicking in!

I'm David, and chlorine tastes funny.