Never Give Up!

Some days the words come easily. Some days, not so much. Recently the words are coming slow, but the important thing is that they are coming. I have myself on a deadline and that helps but it also seems sometimes to be so daunting that I shut down. I've seen many posts lately with tips on how to continue writing through blocks, tricks to make yourself write even when you don't want to, etc. I think it's a sign. I read them all, think about which ones could help me, apply where I can, but most importantly, I sit in the chair and write.

What helps you get through a writing block? Is that even a real thing? I've seen it debated. Usually, I have to scroll back through my work-in-progress to reread where my head was just before. That helps put me back into the moment. Music helps tremendously - right this second I am letting my fingers work to the beat of some Imagine Dragons, "Believer" to be precise. I find songs that put me in the mood I need to be in to write my story. Sometimes those songs don't really make sense, but something about them get me into the head of my heroes and heroines and even my low-down, no-good bad guys! I usually have to block myself off from all other distractions. I retreat with my coffee to the computer room, shut the door, turn off the lights and turn on the tunes.

It does sometimes help to get away - find a secluded place outside my office and home to settle in and write. At those times, I still have to block out the distractions and put the earbuds in so the tunes can take me into my own world. I love writing in libraries. The atmosphere is always so chill and helps me get deeper into my work.

All of that is a stark contrast to where I find my inspiration, which hits usually out of the blue at inopportune moments. You know, moments when I have nothing to write on to jot down what just hit. Like in the car, while I'm driving or in the shower, where my mind usually goes a hundred miles a minute with ideas. I don't have to put myself into any kind of mood for inspiration to hit.

I always keep a notebook on my person for those times. I will pull over if the inspiration is strong while I'm driving - find a parking lot, pull out the notebook and start writing it all down. If it happens in the shower, the first thing I do upon exiting is grab that notebook and write the thoughts down. I have notebooks everywhere - usually there is one to be found anywhere I happen to look; on my nightstand in my bedroom, in my purse, my car, at work, squirreled away in a kitchen cabinet, and many in my writing room. 

Find it where you can, kiddies! Inspiration is all around you. Then, no matter how slowly (or quickly for some), get that inspiration into your work, whether that is art, writing, performance...Surround yourself with creative people, keep that flame burning and don't ever think you can't.

 

The Big Reveal (Or Not, Since Everyone Pretty Much Knows Anyway)

     So, I've been working on my latest book the last couple of months. No spoilers or anything, but this one follows the journey of a character that was introduced in my first book, Reborn. Yes, it's Elerbee. A priest who joined the party by appearing...myseriously?...in the bottom of a well. I thought I'd give a little teaser to what Elerbee will be up against in this new book. Madness, mayhem, adventure, elves, love, struggle! See, and you thought I was going to give it all away!
     I'd never spoil it for you but there will be demons, there will be a struggle and there will be elves.
     I know it seems like I've been working on this book for a very long time. It's true, I have. I'm not a fast writer by any means, but I try to stay consistent. I have a goal to finish this book by April where I'll be at Red River Con, Shreveport/Bossier's very own RPG Convention! (That's Role Playing Games for all you non-nerds out there).
     In the meantime, there are some exciting things you can do to get ready to read Elerbee's perilous adventure. My husband and I teamed up to write a module for a Role Playing Game based on my first book. It is set entirely in the world I created for these books and it takes you on an adventure leading up to the events taking place on the world of Cantor when you start Reborn. We play-tested the module at the LongCon in Longview, TX this past November and I was so thrilled at how much people told me they enjoyed it. If you're interested in obtaining this module, shoot me an email, an instant message, a text, a call, a shout or whatever!
     I'm out for now, but be kind to one another out there!

Research Galore!

Here's my dilemma. I started out researching the Druids of the Iron Age and have ended up reading a book on Buddhism. How does THAT happen?!

I'm still pretty determined that the worshipers of the gods on Cantor are more like Druids but, there's just something very intriguing to me about Buddhism. It allows for so much free interpretation and that's kind of cool to me. Followers are encouraged to come to their own conclusions about things without being told they are wrong or bad for it. Eh, I don't know - I should probably get back to the Druids if I ever want to finish this story!

We're going to camp next week, so I'll have to put a hold on pretty much everything. No writing, no daydreaming, no researching. No! *gasp* How ever will you manage? you ask. By bringing my trusty ol' notebook and jotting ideas down here and there, names of songs that strike me and in those weeeeee hours of the night when all the campers and counselors are slumbering, I will probably have some time to think. I enjoy this camp so much, though, that it's not really that big a deal. It is a camp for people with autism and I have never had another such enriching experience than this camp! I love these guys and I love seeing our new young counselors come in every year wide-eyed and not knowing what to expect and then leaving three days later with a smile on their faces and a new respect for people with disabilities. They learn so much and it changes their lives for the better. I usually don't have a problem with words, but this one is hard to describe. So, I'm excited!

Keeping You Up-To-Date

Well, now, every time I come back, I say "I'm going to blog more!" and I lie. Each and every time, don't I? I can't say for certain what switch was flipped lately but I've really gotten more of the attitude to promote myself and try to keep myself busy with writing. I have been throwing myself wholeheartedly into Seige of Souls. All I can really tell you is, wow, I am excited about this book!

I have been exploring the 'bad guy' in this one recently and he's something else, let me tell you! I didn't realize his depth until I started researching him and thinking more about why he's doing what he's doing. This is good, because that means he'll be an excellent character (I hope!). It's really had me wrapped up in what motivates people to make the choices they make. We can't know what another is going through unless we're walking their path, yet we find ourselves judging others' decision and actions all the time. I do it. I did it just today. This is either going to make for some wonderful writing sessions or some real gut-wrenching, soul-searching, can't get the words on the page moments!

I looked some old poetry lately, too. I found quite a few old notebooks recently and started reading some of the stuff in them. I laughed out loud as some of them, shook my head in wonder and even cringed several times. :) They're all right, though. It kind of took me back to a place where I was so immersed in the writing of it that I didn't care what came out, as long as it all came out on the paper. I enjoy writing and I need to remember that feeling. Sometimes you can get caught up in the politics of it all, the 'rules' and the business-end of writing so much so that you lose that spark; that one little light that ignites the passion. I'm glad I found mine again because it makes me feel good and I think it helps keep me balanced.

So, I've got some thinking to do now about divine magic and gods and all that good stuff. See you soon!

It's Kinda How I Roll

I haven't abandoned you, my readers! I haven't abandoned my writing (although at times it feels that way)!  We're on our way back to normal around my household these days and, who know normal would be so hard?!  Hubby has all devices OFF that broken leg and is back at work, albeit on crutches, or clutches as we call them, for now.  We've been having some behavioral issues with our 14-year-old Aspie as of late, as well and it has consumed a lot of time trying to focus on him and figure all this out.

I have not actually edited much on Reborn lately. I've actually been more focused on the second book, Seige of Souls.  It revolves around a character I totally fell in love with while writing Reborn: Elerbee.  Elerbee is the priestly type, and has started questioning his faith as he notes more and more his god is absent from his life and is failing to grant him his divine powers that helped bring the dragons back in the previous book. His planned trip home to "get back to his roots" is interrupted when he is called to duty once again.  Then there's assassination attempts, a priest gone rogue who is stealing souls to augment his power, a forbidden love, a decision to make...you know the drill. It has CONSUMED me and I am dying to get it all out, almost can't control the urge to write. And, writers, we KNOW when this happens, all you can do is obey.

So, Happy Thursday to you all. I'm off to brainstorm! :)

So Much

Back in August, my husband was in a motorcycle accident.  We have had to cope with so much surrounding this event in our lives that we're starting to regret letting some of my son's issues fall through the cracks.

You know, when Really Important things happen and you have to focus all of your attention on them that the Moderately Important things tend to pile up?  Well, that's kind of what's been happening at my house. When my husband had his accident and broke his leg, it turned our world upside down.  At first, he couldn't do very much for himself and had to have A LOT of attention.  Literally, he could not move from one room to the next without assistance.  He still has to have assistance, but he can move around on his own.  He still has huge metal pins and wires and bolts attached to his leg and it's a chore just to take a shower, but he is more self-sufficient.  Thank the universe!

But with all of this, my son started school and some of the things we normally would be right on top of, fell by the wayside.  He started getting used to being on the computer waaaay more than he should.  And we just let that happen because, you know, we were busy making sure my husband's leg wasn't rotting away and falling off (oh, wait, that was just me worried about that).  After I had been home for about 30 minutes, it was time for dinner, then it was time for the quest normal people call The Shower.  It took an hour and a half, from start to finish, to bath my husband and doctor all the wounds and get him dressed.  Then it was bedtime.  Now, in between all of this, I had to make sure my child did his homework, his chores, took his meds, took his own shower and got to bed on time.  Needless to say, there were some chores that fell through the cracks and some homework that went undone.

In ignoring things like chores and homework, here's what tends to happen: the unfed animals will chew on wires and other such important things around the house, one of the cats will decide her litter box isn't quite tidy enough so, the clean clothes that didn't get folded make for a nice new litter box, and a child who discovers you aren't scrutinizing their homework will tend to not do things or say they did them when, in fact, they didn't and bad grades creep in.  It has been hard trying to right all the wrongs that have cropped up in the past few months.  I can't see how any of it could have been done differently because I was sometimes, literally, dragging because I was so tired of care-giving for everyone, home-making for everyone, cooking for the masses, bringing home the only paycheck we're getting and holding on to my job by the most frayed thread you can imagine.

Some of those things are still happening, but there's some sunlight at the end of this tunnel.  I can see my husband getting better (although there are still bad days intermingled) and getting back to work before the end of the year.  The cat seems to have decided its much better to use the litter box than to be pelted with water from The Water Bottle.  And, the child...well, he's a teenager, I can't say he's really learned anything but mastering the art of arguing about doing homework instead of actually DOING homework.

I Need To Blog

Well, now, hasn't it been a minute since I've seen you all?  A lot has been going on in my life that has kept me from my goals but I am determined to get back into the swing.  I need to write a synopsis, so this will be my focus over the next few weeks.

Recently, my husband was in a motorcycle accident.  He is going to be fine but our road is long and fraught with struggles.  We are positive, trying not to strangle one another with all this "together" time. ;)  He broke his leg just below the knee (both bones broken clean through).  It also severed an artery, which was repaired (he was just cleared by the cardiovascular surgeon this past Friday! YAY!).  He has had two surgeries so far and will only have one more to remove the device on his leg if all goes well, which we are certain it will.  Walking is a mountain he has to climb, but he has started the process of his physical therapy on his own and has already accomplished so much!  BUT, now that my attention can be divided away from him again, I must get my life back on track.

I am a writer.

There, I said it.  Now I have to act like it.  I have a completed manuscript that I have only edited slightly.  It also needs a synopsis.  Since editing doesn't sound like a ride on the merry-go-round to me at present, I have decided to tackle the synopsis.  It's crazy, I know, but someone once told me while I was learning to shoot pool...always take the hardest shot first.  So, here I go, taking the hardest shot.

Have any of you had experience writing this dreaded synopsis?  Let's talk about it!  Share your stories and encouragement and let's get this party started!