Florida, Writing Lair, & Last 200 Words

It's hard to pause during summer to write about stuff, but I'll squeeze in some quick updates:

Florida: I was in Orlando, Florida last week for a conference. Clint brought the kids and we stayed in the Disney Coronado. They did all the touristy stuff while I did conferency stuff. Not an ideal vacation for me (insert pitiful woe-is-me music here), but I still did a lot of bonding with my coworkers, ate some good food, drank some great drinks, and attended at least a few sessions that reinvigorated me for the upcoming school year. Oh, and I got to go to Gatorland (and feed baby alligators!).



New Writing Lair: Aside from a few finishing touches like window trim and attic-access, my art/writing studio is finished! I have a little stereo in there now for music, cabinets with all of my drawing/painting supplies, my lounge area if I want to relax between writing sprints, my "fireplace" for cooler evenings...I even stocked it with wine for when I get writer's block (one bottle is leaning toward empty already). It's a good thing this space isn't equipped with a toilet and a fridge because at this point my belly and my bladder are the only two entities that can convince me to leave.

Driving Test: Trinity finally overcame her driving-anxiety and got her license today. It was her first time taking the test and you're allowed to miss fifteen points. She only missed one! I say this with excitement because back in the day I missed... well, let's just say a few more than one. ;)

I'm thinking this is enough updates for tonight? Here's the last 200 words for Black Lilies, chapter four. If it sounds familiar, it's because I actually posted this one in the past for reasons I can no longer remember. Anyway, it'll be the only 'last 200 words' that repeats.

 "I’ll tell you my name as soon as you tell me who you are, and what’s going on.” I crossed my arms and stepped back in a show of defiance. The assignment that was crumpled in my hand fell over my fingertips onto the linoleum floor. Moving quickly, I reached down to pick it up.
 “I’ve seen this stationery before” he said, leaning forward to look at my paper.
 “It’s not stationery, it’s just my assignment. It’s what I’m supposed to be working on right now, but I’ll get an ‘F’ now because of your impromptu performance of the Star Spangled Banner.”

 He squinted his eyes, examining it closer. “Let me see that.”

 Why would he want my paper? There was barely anything written on it. I shrugged. “Here.”

 I tried to hand it to him, but he didn’t move to take it. Instead, he tilted his head, as if trying to get a better view. He mouth gaped open before he quickly snapped it shut. His body seemed to freeze. “I know this writing.” He jerked back, his fists clenched at his side. “Tell me your name, clever girl.”

 I stood silent.

 “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Aviva.”

 My mouth fell open, and he disappeared.

(206 words)

Dirt Bike Jousting, Squobbing, & Last 200 Words

Quick highlights from the last few weeks:

• I went to a party on Mother's Day weekend held by my sister's neighbor. He has a bazillion acres, which means in addition to all the normal party stuff (such as an open bar and catered tacos), there was also zip-lining, Whore Shoes (like Horse Shoes but with spiked stilettos and some interesting rules), and THIS: 

Welcome to the world of dirt bike jousting, where hillbilly meets class. 

(Kind of like me when I wear a dress).

• Trin is in the midst of all her graduating-stuff right now, which means I'm in a state of squealing and sobbing...squobbing? Yep, I'm a big fat squobber. Prom, Grad Night, and then the graduation itself. My baby girl!
• I'm finally having a housewarming party. Er--if you can even call it that given that we've lived in our home for over nine months now. Here's the invitation:

Alright, that's enough recapping for now. Here's the last 200 words for Black Lilies, chapter three.

“By God, sweet girl, you can see me.” His lips spread into a triumphant smile, and then he glided past my desk. “We’ll discuss this after your mathematics lesson.”

I swallowed hard, my hands clutching the side of my desk, my stomach stuck somewhere in my throat.

Mathematics lesson? I found myself lipping the phrase, though I knew his proper speech should be the least of my concerns.

“What’s wrong?” Brett whispered next to me two beats after the strange man had left, snapping me out of my trance as he touched my arm. “You look really pale, Viv.”

I already knew the answer, but I needed to be sure. “Brett, has anyone new been assigned to Rosa’s desk?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” he said, glancing in that direction. “It’s been empty since she moved. I saw you looking over there earlier. What’s up?”

A feeling of panic flooded me at Brett’s words. I couldn’t be the only one who was able to see and hear the oddly-dressed stranger. I couldn’t be. Because that would make me crazy.

Or it would mean I was seeing a ghost.

(188 words)

Last 200 Words - Chapter Two

Quick highlights from the week:

• I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with Shan and Sarah on Saturday night. It had been too long and I love hanging out with my BFF! Even though I showed my gratitude by dumping Sarah's margarita all over her crotch. I tried to wipe it up for her but that just got weird.
• We discovered an amazing winery/vineyard on my mountain, right down the street from Shan's house (the winery is actually using the apples from Shan's orchard to make hard cider). A group of us went for a wine tasting and even though I'm a closet hillbilly I decided to go along with all the swirling and inhaling and checking for legs. Did you know wine has legs? Which is funny because the more I drink of it, the less I have legs...well, usable ones that walk straight, anyway.
• A swarm of bees attacked our school during lunch last week. By swarm I mean SWARM. They had to do an on-call telling teachers to keep our students barricaded in class until the rampage had ended.

Okay, last 200 words for Black Lilies, chapter two.

 The dark figure seemed to turn on the rope. Without thinking I reached for it, wanting more than anything to touch it. To touch him. To help him, somehow.

 With a long arm, he reached for me. 

 Coming to my senses, I choked on my scream and jumped back, nearly tripping on my feet. I felt a hand grab my elbow and I almost screamed again, before I realized the hand was trying to steady me. 

 “Whoa there. Are you okay?” It was the dark-haired guy with the sling. Joe, I thought. His brown eyes were deep and warm against his olive complexion. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

 I gratefully accepted his hand and righted myself, trying to control my breathing. Heart beating like a drummer on steroids, my eyes darted around the space where the shadow-man had hung. He—it—was gone.

 The grand clock in Pendulum Square, the one we Sezonians call The Face of Maui, tolled in the distance, its deep bells cutting through the night. Ten soulful chimes, each slipping into the dark like a shadow.

  I swallowed hard and looked up into Joe’s concerned face. 

  “I think I did see a ghost.”

(197 words)

Last 200 Words - Chapter One

Lots to write about but no time! Just to keep my blog from going stale, once a week I'm going to copy/paste my last 200 words for each completed chapter of Black Lilies (similar to what we used to do for the WIP Marathon), unless the last 200 words is a big fat spoiler.

Note: These excerpts are being pulled from a working draft and are subject to change.

Okay, chapter one! Dang it, this one is the most boring when it's out of context. Oh well.

Yet the words chilled him. They seemed aimed directly at him, though he had only conceived a name for the clock minutes ago. He turned around, suddenly feeling watched; vulnerable.

  The paper began to skid in the breeze, and he reached down to retrieve it. Flattening it again, he skimmed down to the end of the letter to find the closing salutation.

Yours in Time, Aviva

He let out a breath. That confirmed it. He didn’t know anyone named Aviva. He had never heard of that name in his life.

Curious now, he went back to read the letter in its entirety. The beginning was confusing, and some parts made him chuckle. But by the time he reached the end, his eyes were fogged with moisture, and his skin felt hot. He was glad that William and George had gone home so they wouldn’t witness him behaving like such a pansy.

He carefully folded the letter and stuffed it into the pocket of his trousers. The letter wasn’t meant for him.

So why did he feel, deep down to his core, that it was?

(185 words)

Last 200 Words - October

Okay, I'm totally cheating. As you know, I quit doing the WIP Marathon reports because of all the reasons I explained in this post. But I'll admit it, I'm still itching to post a tiny bit of progress, especially when...well...I'm actually making progress (now's a good time to mention that my idea of "progress" is moving up by a mere K or two a month, and that pitiful word counts are my modus operandi). So while I can't commit to writing full-fledged WIP Marathon reports once a month, I've decided that when all of the WIP Marathoners post their reports, I'm going to simply post my last 200 words. I'll also mention how many words I've added this month. Unless it's pathetic. Then I'll conveniently forget and leave that part off.

Word Count for October: Around 10K of Black Lilies. No, I didn't do that all in one month. This is my TOTAL word count since I started the novel LAST WINTER. I'm in bad shape here.

Last 200 Words:

“Don’t patronize me. I’m not a child. And I’ll tell you my name as soon as you tell me what’s going on.” I crossed my arms and stepped back in a show of defiance, accidentally dropping the assignment that was crumpled in my hand. Moving quickly, I reached down to pick it up.

“What’s that?” he asked, leaning forward to look at the paper.

“It’s my ‘lesson’, as you like to call it,” I bit out. “It’s what I’m supposed to be working on right now, but now I will get a zero because of your little impromptu performance of the Star Spangled Banner.”

He squinted his eyes, examining it closer. “Let me see that.”

Why would he want my paper? There was barely anything written on it. I shrugged. “Here.”

I tried to hand it to him, but he didn’t move to take it. Instead, he tilted his head, as if trying to get a better view. His already pale-face turned white, and his bright eyes grew wide. “I know this writing.”

He jerked back, his fists clenched at his side.

“Tell me your name, clever girl.” 

I stood silent. 

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Aviva.” 

My mouth fell open, and he disappeared.

I Want to Write about Twitchy Boobs and Stuff

I've been thinking about quitting my blog for awhile now. And then, because my friend Mel is occasionally and freakishly psychic, she just happened to send me this article: I Gotcher Blog-Writin' Advice Right Here. She thought I might be entertained by it (which I was) but probably didn't realize how close it would hit home for me (except for she probably did). It's a long(ish) read, so let me copy/paste the two paragraphs that spoke to me the loudest:

The blogs of writers are often sad, sad things. They go largely unused, acting as empty, gutted monuments to the writer's own lack of blogging productivity. You visit a writer's blog and the last post is from June, 2012. Wind blows sand over a corpse. The comment sections are, two, maybe three people deep (and the author is one of those commenters). One of the most recent posts is a promise to post more posts, to blog more blogs, to blargh more blarghs, and that post was three years ago. Two rats chew on a third rat. The ground is salted and dead. 

Here you're saying, But an agent or a publisher says I have to blog. To which I respond, that agent or publisher is operating on bad information from five years ago. And it was bad information then. Blogging because you have to? What an execrable task. Who wants to read a blog that you feel is an obligation? I want to read something the author wants to write, not filler content meant to prop up a dead thing. This isn't Weekend At Bernie's. "HEY LOOK AT MY BLOG IT'S TOTALLY ALIVE." *waggles dead blog's sunglasses* *forces dead blog to messily eat carrots and dip*

The author of this post, Chuck Wendig, basically put words to everything I've been feeling about my own half-assed blogging endeavors (actually half-assed seems too generous. Let's go with quarter-assed). After reading Wendig's article, here's what I said to Mel:

I've been debating letting my blog go. It sucks too, because there was a time I LOVED my blog. I loved writing little posts about nothing.... Back then my blog was more personal to me. I didn't have any real readers, so I just wrote for myself, and it was cathartic and fun. Then I started writing a book, and my blog became booooooring. Like, I'm bored with it, and that's a bad sign. And now, reading this article, I feel like I really need to just say goodbye to blogging. But then a small part of me doesn't want to let my blog go because it's sort of my baby. It's been with me for six years now and has chronicled a big chunk of my life...

I don't know. I just really miss the days where I wrote pointless posts like "A Herd of Cantaloupes" and "That which is Pretty, Like Unicorns and Roaches and Stuff." Back then, I wrote because I wanted to write; because something quirky was playing in my brain and I had to get it down on paper--or screen. Case in point: Last night, it took me forever to fall asleep because my left boob had a tiny muscle spasm that wouldn't stop. I was so intrigued by the muscle twitch that I couldn't keep my hands off it, and at one point I realized that if anyone walked into the room, it would totally look like I was feeling myself up. Here it occurred to me that this is one of the stupid things that I would have blogged about in the past. But now I only blog about writer's block and word counts. This makes me sad. And makes me want to yawn.

Long story short, writing a book has turned me into a boring blogger. I started my blog way before I started writing a book--before I even knew that I was going to write a book--so back then, I wrote blog posts just to write them. It was my way of chronicling the little nuances of life--those little moments that aren't deep or important, thus forgettable and nonexistent if it wasn't for writing them down (my sister discussed this phenomenon beautifully in her "Remembering the Jelly" post).

NO MORE. I'm sick of my Bernie-blog. I'm done with obligatory blogging performed in a sad attempt to give the impression of life to an otherwise lifeless blog. 

Which means I'm no longer participating in the WIPMarathon Reports (sorry guys. *sniffle*). I will still follow the WIPMarathon Reports from others though. These are, after all, my writing comrades, and I care about the progress they're making on their WIPs. I also still plan to talk about how my novel is coming along once in awhile...but only when I feel like it, not because "it's that time." The schedule serves as great accountability/motivation, but it also serves as one big guilt-trip when I miss the deadline.

Which brings me to my next point: I'm no longer going to feel guilty if I haven't posted in a long time. Like, why should I feel bad? If I wrote in a diary only once a month, no one would care. Why should a blog be different? I mean, I understand the importance of blogging regularly if you want to gain/keep readers. But I don't care about that anymore. I'm done with strategic blogging. My few attempts at it were feeble and lacked heart anyway.

And from this point forward, if I've been MIA from my blog for 90 days straight and I come back to write a post that says "Our hen Princess Buttercup is actually a dude," and that's all my readers get, well, then, that's all they get. No more crushing sense of obligation to give more. Really, I probably won't have many readers left by this point anyway, so GOODBYE PRESSURE. 

I guess none of this makes sense, because the goals I just laid out seem to be creating a really crappy blog in which "Wind blows sand over a corpse" (Wendig). But these are the things I need to change in order to keep blogging. Period. I'd rather have a crappy blog that I enjoy writing than no blog at all.

I love my readers and I want the ones who care to stick around. But someday when I'm 80 years old, I want to remember the jelly. Not word counts. If that means losing what little readers I have left, I'm okay with that. So...*raises glass* Here's a toast to jelly (sorry, I had to say it).

#WIP Marathon Report (Or Lack Thereof) - February

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my month. But for prosperity's sake, I'll still do my report. Here goes:

Last report count + chapter/count/scene count: 2,354

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 2,367

Woo hoo I've added thirteen words! That's, like, one word every three days. I'm going to invent a writing challenge opposite of NaNoWriMo and then I'll officially be winning.

WIP issues this month: No issues. It would actually take WRITING in order to have some issues.

Four things I learned this month in writing: 

1. Magic needs rules: I recently struggled with a book in which the MC was struck with extraordinary powers (healing, invisibility, turbo-speed) with no clear explanations offered as to why she suddenly had these powers. This made me realize that even within the realm of fantasy, magic needs to work within the parameters of established rules in order to be believable. I think many authors use the "fantasy" genre as an excuse for lazy writing, and I want to be really careful to avoid this dynamic myself.
2. Books in a series should stand alone: At least, to a degree. Spinning from #1, I think some authors also use SEQUELS as an excuse for lazy writing (and far too many people accept this!). Just because a book is part of a series, this shouldn't give the author leeway to be overly vague/obscure about what is happening in the story. There's a difference between being purposely mysterious because you want to keep your readers in suspense versus being overly vague because you yourself have no clue what direction your tale is going, or why your MC is suddenly a paranormal being from another realm. Falling back on your sequel to resolve these problems seems like a cop out, especially given that more often than not, the sequel doesn't end up accomplishing this. 
3. Color thesaurus: It seems like such a small thing, but I swear when I was writing Chasing Echoes, I kept running into problems with Stryder's eye color. His eyes are gray, but not wanting to keep describing them as "gray," I found myself running out of options (Steel? Charcoal? Chrome?). Well....this awesome writer created a Color Thesaurus to help other writers choose the exact shade they're looking for. Check it out--it's pretty handy!
4. 10 ways to cover up a murder: I found this awesome infographic* on Pinterest, perfect for the writer of mystery/suspense whose WIP features a diabolical sociopath! Black Lilies features a minor character who happens to be a serial killer, but sadly I don't think this infographic will help me much given that my murderer lives in 1876 (i.e. DNA was an unknown back then, and fingerprinting didn't start until 1892). *If you're a serial killer please don't click on this infographic.

What distracted me this month while writing: Ugh. I don't even have a good answer to this. Just my own writer's block and laziness. It doesn't always take the fantasy genre or the promise of a sequel to be a lazy writer...sometimes it just takes a lazy person to be a lazy writer (aka: Me). The second edition of Chasing Echoes was just released (for eBooks only, paperback is still in progress), which took me away from writing. I also did more research into 1876, and with Clint's help I brainstormed the backstory for Kade (my MCs love interest), so I'm feeling like I'm almost at the point where I can write this damn thing.

Goal for next month: Same goal as last month--I want to start, and finish, chapter 2 of Black Lilies. 

Last 200 words (I tried to make it big so my 13 words would seem like 200):

I turned to face it. It was slinking its way toward me again.

#WIPMarathon Report - So Very Late!

Thank goodness for WIP Reports or else my blog would still be sitting here, cold and deprived and alone, forever and ever.

I realize that this WIP Report is SO LATE. I really want to apologize to my fellow bloggers because I know I have been totally MIA--from my own blog, and yours. I wish this was coming with the promise that I'll be more consistent, but I just don't know.

Okay, report time!

Last report word count + chapter count/scene count: 0

Current report WC + CC/ SC: 2,354 - Almost finished with chapter 1.

I never produce big numbers guys. But I've decided it's all good, because Book 1 was nothing more than a conglomerate of my low, pitiful word counts, yet it still shaped itself into a novel. I'm 99% sure this one will too. Well, maybe more like 82.3%. Or 78.4...okay, I might not have enough faith to move a mountain, but at the minimum I can move a hill. A small hill. 

At least a pile of dirt. 

On the plus side, I already have a title for this book! You may have seen it on my sidebar. I'm calling this second installment of Chasing Echoes BLACK LILIES. If you dislike it don't bother telling me because that title makes me swoon with happiness and I'm totally keeping it. :P I remember how uncertain I felt about every single title I chose for book 1, so it feels pretty awesome to fall in love with a title so fast this time around. Oh, and lucky for me, Black Lilies exists nowhere on Amazon.

Or wait, WAIT--should I call it BLACK SPRING instead? Crap, I like that one too! And both titles totally connect to my story line.

WIP Issues This Month: Research. As in, I can't even start chapter 2 without doing some research, yet I can't muster up the motivation to do it. A big chunk of my novel takes place in 1876, and I don't know anything about that time period. And while most writers enjoy history, I'm not one of them, so schooling myself on the 1800s sounds about as appealing as stabbing myself in the eye.

What I learned this month in writing marketing whatever: 

1. One reader posted recently on my Facebook wall: "So since I bought your book for Kindle, will you sign my iPad?" Clearly he was joking, but shortly later, another writerly-acquaintance on Facebook posted about this: AUTHORGRAPH.COM. Authorgraph makes it possible for authors to sign eBooks for their readers. Obviously it's not the same as having a signed hard copy of the book, but I think it's pretty innovative. I might look into this later.
2. Ever get a stream of inspiration in the shower? Well now there's THIS: 

Okay, a part of me finds this silly. But another part of me can totally see myself using this and is wondering WHY ISN'T IT BIGGER? I could be scratching out my entire rough draft while lavishing in hot water and suds. 

I know I learned more, but I'm stumped at the moment. So...moving on.

What distracted me this month while writing: So many things. Work. The usual. Plus I went through and edited Chasing Echoes ALL OVER again. The entire book. I took one of my own paperbacks and marked directly in the book. Now I have to apply those edits onto my Word doc and re-do my file on Createspace, and I will officially have a second [cleaner] edition. But the biggest distraction is now that Chasing Echoes is out, social networking has been a much bigger demand on my time. Plus I've been researching marketing ideas (despite my loathing for marketing), and I prepped for my first ever author's event! Here's the flyer I made and posted on Facebook:

I discovered that as much as I hate marketing, I love love LOVE doing community events. Granted I'm basing this enthusiasm on one measly event, but it was SO MUCH FUN. And I sold a bunch of books! 

 Before event

 High schoolers getting their books signed

 Cheesy grin

 Answering questions about writing

 Signing bookmarks

 Thank God Shan was there! She SAVED me. I would not have been able to keep up on my own.

 Old high school friends surprised me with a visit!

 Um...just another picture

 Me and one of my students

My Chasing Echoes Pinterest Board

It was such a positive experience that Clint and I are now looking into other community events that I might be able to attend. Right now we have our eyes set on Crestline's "Wine and Stein Walk through the Pines" event in May, but more about that in another post.

Goal for next month: I want to start, and finish, chapter 2 of Black Lilies (or Black Spring?). I also want to put out edition 2 of Chasing Echoes. Oh, and I need to take a decent pic of myself that I can actually use for an author's bio. Seriously, I have NONE. 

Last 200 words (BLACK LILIES, Chapter 1, ROUGH): 

And then my stomach turned. The smudge was back. I watched as it flickered on the same part of the wall where it had disappeared from before, and then slid across the ground like something gelatinous and alive. 

What was it? I narrowed my eyes, adjusting my glasses again. It was moving at a snail’s pace on the asphalt. 

Moving toward me.

I stepped back, putting my arm on Krystal’s. She raised her eyebrows at me, and I pointed over at the shadow. She followed my gesture, and then turned back to look at me.

“Aviva, what’s wrong? There’s nothing there.”

“Are you sure?” I whispered, not wanting the rest of my family to hear. They were all engaged in some conversation about relatives of Dad sensing time disturbances, or rats, or something, so I doubted it would be a problem. 

“Yes, I’m sure. What do you think is there?”

“I, uh, I don’t know. I keep seeing a shadow.” My eyes skimmed the dark asphalt. Once again, the shadow was gone.

“With all this candlelight, there’s a ton of shadows,” she pointed out.

I sighed, not knowing how to explain to her that this one was different.

The rest of my Sunday is booked, but tomorrow I'm excited to catch up on some of my fellow Marathoners' progress for the new year. Thanks for not giving up on me (and for the shout-outs on twitter to get my butt in gear)!

But one more thing. BLACK LILIES or BLACK SPRING?