Day: September 16, 2015

Organic vs. Organized

I have several manuscript in progress. I’ve been using Scrivener to plot the stories. I love the program. I find it easy to use. I adore the ability to color code my files. Everything about the program is designed to facilitate the writing experience.

If you’re an “organized” author.

I have yet to finish a project started in Scrivener. Not the program’s fault.

I started writing another book on June first. I even started writing it in Scrivener, but couldn’t be bothered with all the steps and plotting. The words didn’t just flow. They gushed. I didn’t have time to set up files or chapters or character profiles. I wrote on my Alphasmart and uploaded to Scrivener, thinking I would organize later. But since I wasn’t indulging in chapter breaks, only scene breaks, I decided to compile the files into a word document. I went back to my “old-fashioned” way of writing: Alphasmart to Word doc, then clean it up later.

First draft completed the last week of July. 56 days, start to finish. (This is while holding down a full-time Day Job.)

I finished the rewrite and revisions on September 7. Sent the manuscript off to my publisher.

There’s no help for it. I am clearly an organic author.

 

 

 

Camping

I have never understood the appeal of camping. I like indoor plumbing. I don’t like bugs and/or insects.

A few weeks ago, three of us sat around a fire pit at the side of a lake and reminisced about our childhoods. My two friends both grew up “in the city.” To them, camping was playing with their cousins, catching lightning bugs, fishing, watching the stars at night. It was a fun time.

I grew up next door to some of my cousins, so we did things together on a regular basis. We lived in the country, where life included catching lightning bugs, playing hide-and-go-seek, and watching the stars at night. Those activities weren’t special; they simply were. At least, back then.

I never considered it camping.

That said, many of my cousins now go camping. There is even a Crazy Compton Cousin Camping Weekend in September. Really.

As much as I would love to join them, I have lightning bugs in my own backyard–and indoor plumbing.

 

Slice of Life Sunday: Yoga & Me

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I have always been attracted to the idea of yoga. Calming mediation, spirituality, plus the physical benefits seem like a wonderful combination. Several decades ago, I signed up for a local school’s adult education class in yoga. I went once. First of all, I have a bad knee and couldn’t do many of poses. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I was with older women who couldn’t wait to try “this yogurt stuff.” Seriously. There was no mental inclusion, just twisting into pretzel shapes. I was in the wrong venue.

Now I am an older woman myself. I’ve wanted to try yoga again. I want to be centered.

I bought a yoga mat.

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I bought a yoga DVD.

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I bought books about yoga and writing.

 2014-11-09 17.37.28 2014-11-09 17.15.23 2014-11-09 17.13.59But DVD wouldn’t play in the player in my bedroom. There was no room to roll out my yoga mat in the family room.

Then I bought a new lap top computer. The DVD plays in the computer, so I tried  doing yoga in my living room. There was enough room to roll out my mat, but that was about all.

I’m not a fan of exercise. I do wonder if I’m more attracted to the idea of yoga than actually practicing it.

We’ll find out soon. I “reclaimed” my home office.  There is now plenty of space for yoga practice.

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 We’ll see how it goes.

WIP Wednesday: What I’m Working On

Due to a SNAFU, the scheduled author was unable to make it today, so here are the first several lines of my next werewolf book, tentatively titled, And Jericho Burned.

Toke Lobo

Toke Lobo

 

Summoned as if she were a disobedient child, Lucy Callahan stood with her sister before her crazy brother-in-law, her hands, teeth, and stomach muscles clenched. She tried to focus on her irritation with Michelle instead of the wariness Randy inspired.

“You can’t leave,” he said, slamming his fist on his dilapidated wooden desk. “Michelle needs her family.”

His voice was too big for his physical presence and had a mesmerizing effect on certain segments of the population, much like the Pied Piper and rodents or St. Patrick and snakes.

Retreat Food

As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m getting ready to go on a writing retreat. One of the things I always bring is a fresh fruit salad. Unlike most restaurants, I do not consider melon in any form a fruit, and refuse to use it in a salad.

I make two types of fruit salad: one for family gatherings and another for writers. The writers version is much healthier.

That’s it. No dressing, no sweeteners; just the natural sweet goodness of the fruit.

We eat fruit salad for breakfast, for dessert, for snacks. Some people mix it into their yogurt. It’s versatile. It’s simple.