Reactionary Gifts

As you can imagine, mom received many gifts at her retirement dinner. You could tell many people were aware of her coffee obsession since she received a number of Starbucks gift cards. Other gifts included a tea set, a picture frame signed by those attending the dinner, and several gag gifts. My contributions got some big reactions as well. Of course there was my visit and a lovely bouquet of roses, but these gifts didn't receive the same reaction as the other two presents, which I personally thought were minor things.

I gave my mother a copy of my United Daughters of the Confederacy application, including the Civil War service file on her ancestor. I went over the documents, explaining each one, including the letter from Jefferson Davis discussing the character of her ancestor, and an approval and receipt acknowledgement of documents by Robert E. Lee. She was so ecstatic over Lee's signature, which was one among many on the document. Every time someone came to the house, she would show them the papers and have me explain her ancestor's story. I'm sure by the fifth recitation my father was tired of hearing about this gentleman, but mom was so happy.

The other package I presented to her was my manuscript. She regaled everyone at dinner about my dream of being a published writer. It got a bit awkward when people began to ask about my story. I'm sure my mom's former colleagues, who still think of me as ten years old, would love to hear about my highly erotic paranormal. Mom called the other night because she is on her second reading of the story. She loves it and requested the first autograph copy. Her only complaint was my transitions were so intense, she could never find a good time to take a break from reading it.

Who knew the extra weight from the reams of paper in my carry-on bag would be so worth it? You never know what gifts will be cherished more by the individual.

My Blog Has Been Hijacked

I initially created this blog as MrsSnowQueen. Gosh, remember those days. My main purpose for the blog was to share my adventures in Indiana and keep in touch with my Florida friends. As those friendships slid away, I transitioned into the current blog with the idea that I would focus more on my writing and the quest to be a published author, yet continue to discuss everyday happenings and maintain contacts with friends.

The other day, I realized it was mid-May and I had not sent our writer's group May email. I felt bad for dropping the ball which is unlike me. Thinking back, I haven't worked on my personal writing since February and reviewing the blog, I determined the last writing post was March. Interestingly enough, when reading through my blog posts, I can see my writing style slipping since I haven't been writing on a weekly basis, which greatly disturbs me.

For more than a decade, I have prided myself on the fact that I like to try new things and maintain several interests rather than become stuck in a rut. It's a whole mental thing for me. I loved writing and used it as a vehicle to express some of the angst that resides in me because let's be honest, drama and chaos hunt me down though I try to avoid them.

To that end, I have a game plan. I did some of my best writing when I did my Starbucks mornings. This routine ended due to budgetary constraints, but I'm thinking it may be worth the cost because sitting in my living room, sipping coffee, while I "plan" to write doesn't work. Every time, I went to Starbucks, my purpose was to write rather than become distracted by my genealogy files, the t.v., or my latest research idea. So I shall return to my old haunt and begin my writing routine once again, though I won't have my former muse, my favorite barista.

And to my reviewers, yes, I plan to pull out the infamous manuscript and begin the revision process.Hopefully, I'll return to posting about my writing process while entertaining everyone with stories from my crazy life.

Balance

In the past six months my life has become very focused and driven towards one goal though many options remain available. I have chosen to ignore everything except my research, which has led to me being out of balance. I love socializing with my friends, knitting, and writing, yet these aspects of my life are limited or non-existent at this time. I have been very focused on my career lately and with that in mind, my research projects have consumed my minimal free time. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my research and find it fascinating. But I feel compelled to work on it because with each reveal, I discover a new example I can use in a lecture or someday write about the discovery process.

Every evening and weekend, I promise myself that I will spend a bit of time on my writing or just relax and watch t.v. for the night, but it never happens. I'm still coordinating the writing group, but have not even touched my own writing in months. I had written down a goal of two hours of writing during my three day weekend. It never came to fruition though I did find several documents that will help my UDC application instead.

I have been desperately seeking a balance in my life so I can enjoy all my interests, but can't seem to shake this compulsion. This weekend was filled with several shocks and I rolled with the punches until last night. Suddenly, all the emotions I had been tamping down, emotions that I vent in my writing, came to the surface because they've had no outlet. Maybe this will be my motivator to balance things out, to learn how to juggle all the interests rather than giving myself over to one. Hopefully, I'll find my muse again and discover myself along the way because there is more than one aspiration for my life.

Writer's Mayhem

There has been a lot of talk, but little action involving the writing world this past month. The fabulous Kay and I attended a writer's group meeting, where we were expected to analyze scenes in our favorite book and discuss why the scene works and how we can incorporate that element into our own writing. Sounded like a great idea at the time, but not so informative. Everything that was discussed was so oversimplified it blew my mind. Now, I know, I am a snob in the writing arena. Kay and I both are members of RWA and receive numerous perks thanks to our membership. And the things being discussed in this group are the basics covered in our monthly magazine, much less the workshops available at our fingertips. I could understand a beginner's group, except the ego mania and sycophants at this meeting. Once again my snobbishness will show with this statement, but I wouldn't be acting all uppity if I was self-published. Wait I wouldn't be self-published, not in the arena this person was hyping; the $1.00 menu publisher. It doesn't mean anything to those of us looking for a contract with a publishing company. And I understand the teacher bringing her books as examples, but not openly handing them out and offering to autograph. We recently distributed a book written by the amazing Dawne, who was shocked when people approached her for an autograph, so I wasn't impressed by the ego. But the final comment that made me decide never to return related to one of the workshop attendees, followed by the instructor making this comment, "based on samples submitted, I can tell who will never be published." Excuse me, if you read the complete crap I wrote a decade ago, you'd say the same about me, yet I've been published in my professional work and have vastly improved in my personal writing. This comment revolted me, especially as her loyal follower loudly agreed with the instructor. Enough said, we won't return to this group, which is fine since we have such an amazing group of our own.

The writer's group from our recent writing challenges met for dinner on Wednesday night. It was a raucous fun time. Some of the individuals have never socialized together, but the dynamic was intriguing. We each challenge each other in our writing endeavors, yet we cover the spectrum from fiction, romance, historical, research oriented, and personal memoirs. I'm so glad that Sarai insisted we get together. It was a welcome respite and motivator. Sarai mentioned she hadn't been writing the past month since we didn't have a challenge.

Which leads to the latest March Mayhem. Each of us are approaching our projects so differently this time around. Several individuals are looking for time to research their writing material, while others want to organize what they have, and some plan to count words, pages, and time spent. March will be an interesting time for our writing group as we continue forward in our pursuit.

A Lot of Numbers at Play

It has been all about the numbers this past week. Last week hubby and I celebrated 10 years together and Wednesday is our 9 year wedding anniversary. And how did we celebrate these milestones ... with pizza from 800 Degrees and episodes of The Walking Dead.

Another number issue arose when we met with a realtor to look at a house. We have been hoarding money for closing costs and a down payment, which means possibly no vacation for me this year. Of course, I'll be traveling with my speaking engagements, but I have no plans for a large trip. And this is the week I'll work on our taxes and cringe over how much money I never see. Hubby may be the master at saving money, but I am the whiz with our budget and taxes, but this time of year is painful.

Last week ended the latest writing challenge with the gals. I barely crossed the finish line, gasping in amazement at Aisha and Dawne's astonishing final numbers.

And finally, there are the narcolepsy related numbers. Sine getting sick last June, my weight rose by about 15 pounds. Since my diagnosis, I have searched for ways narcoleptics workout since you usually don't have the energy. Though I know I have not found the perfect solution, I have dropped 9 pounds. I am willing to accept this as my new weight. Though it is not where I was, it can become the new norm with my condition. Another new acceptance involves my bedtime truly being roughly 9:30-10:00. Late nights are rare things anymore unless I can sleep the entire next day away.

It has been an interesting week of numbers with lots of upheavals, downgrades, and acceptance.

The Reviews are In

I received reviews of my latest manuscript this past month, but before I share, I have to thank my reviewers profusely. Not only did these gals take the time to read over my work, but they truly critiqued it like pros. I have notes written all over the print versions plus five pages of recommendations. They truly worked on these reviews, which I greatly appreciate.

The story I gave them to review was my experiment into a new subgenre, a paranormal romance where the characters come from other realms. Not only was it a new topic, but I wrote it in first person without plotting or outlining it. I created my character and setting notes as I wrote the story.

As I said there were pages of notes, so I'll only post a few comments.

- "Let me begin by saying, I'm excited. This story has tremendous possibilities and there were parts of it that had me riveted to what was going on. And I think with some 'cleaning' up you should send this one off ... You did a good job and I'm looking forward to seeing an entire series. I think you have created a good idea that just needs to have a few tweaks. This should be the one that you ship off."

These were amazing words from someone who maintains a popular book review site.

- "Your changing from one scene to the other was pretty smooth."

Loved hearing this since there are flashbacks and dream sequences throughout the story. It does not flow in a straight line.

"As I said before, the story really kept my interest and the pacing was very good. Just enough information was revealed to keep me going without telling the whole story at once."

I had worried about not revealing enough and holding back.

- "I wanted more of your other world ... and that means you created a fascinating place."

- "When do I get book two?"

Not only did I enjoy the positive commentary, but was pleased with their critiques and recommendations, which included a misunderstanding of the ending scene, which needs to be rewritten; more hints leading to the big reveal; more of the other realm; and flesh out the two secondary villains.

Then there were the discrepancies between my reviewers, who each read different types of subgenres. One reviewer said, "The intimate scenes were hot and well written," while another stated, "I think there may be too much sex, unless you are going to send to an Erotica publisher ..." I asked my reviewer who regularly reads paranormal for her opinion and she said it was the right amount of sex. Two of my reviewers thought I should tone down some fight scenes, but another thought they were required to show how volatile the other beings behaved.

Right now, I plan to set this story aside for a month and think on it. I plan to jump on some of these recommendations in February, but I need to think over the others. For January, I plan to start cleaning up the first half of my Nano 2010 project, which is book two of this story. I hope that by working on the next book and paying attention to the direction it is heading, I will know what to fix in book one.

So my many thanks and love to my reviewers for your support and guidance through this harrowing experience. I plan to make the necessary changes, ask for your reviews again, so I can send this story to several agencies and begin the next phase of this adventure.

True Writersblock

This blog was supposed to focus on events in my life and my writing, since that is a large part of my free time, but I have recently developed writers block. It began when the writing contest ended in November. The story I had been working on up to that point had been flowing; the characters so alive and telling me their story. Now I have remote ideas pop in my head, but can't seem to put them down in a reasonable format. It has become very frustrating. For the time being, I have decided to not force the issue and hope the impulse will compel me again soon.

In the meantime, I will cut back on my time at my favorite Starbucks. I used to find comfort in sitting with a cup of coffee, earbuds in, typing away, but what's the point if I manage to sit there for two hours and complete a sentence or two. Truly, this is how bad it has been. It is sad to give up my favorite place, but I could justify spending the money if it helped me with my writing. It's humorous that I've decided to suspend my time there because I was notified this week that I'm a Gold Card Member now. I have no idea how many cups of coffee I have bought to reach this goal, but I know it's too many.

What's in a Name?

My characters have started to take over! I love when they become individuals in my mind with full personalities, acting out the scenes for me. I was discussing this phenom with the girls and about how my hero, Sebastian,(yes Kay, I stole the name after our conversation in the elevator) is very much an alpha male and is aggressive in the intimate scenes I wrote. I had even questioned adding some mild variations of bondage and domination into the scenes. Of course, in the end the hero will have his deeply seated reasons for his bedroom behavior.

Kay quipped that I would have to write for an erotica publisher and needed a new name. You see, I already have a pen name. I figured with my Eastern European last name and the fact that I already write professionally under my legal name, I should come up with another name for my personal writing. But the girls believe I need a more erotic name, something like Cherie Wilde.

What do you think? What would be a great pen name in general or for an author of erotica. BTW, I'm not planning to write erotica? Many authors touch on these touchy subjects.

Ready, Set Go ...

November 1st arrived and Nano Wrimo began. My girls, Becky and Dawne, as well as Crystal, in Tampa, have all joined the contest. Upon arriving to work, I discovered Dawne had provided Becky and I darling bags that held a flash drive for each of us to begin our work. No excuses! We can work on our writing on our breaks and encouraged each other to do so.

And we were off! Through the day, we posted updates to one another on how far we've gotten. True, compared to others, we haven't gotten that far, but it is a great start!

Occupying My Time

Once I started to recuperate from my surgery, I was determined to find new ways to occupy my time. As with any new project in my life, I've dived in and experimented. I dabbled in trying to write a new genre of material and found myself absorbed in a new landscape that I really love. So far, Michelle has enjoyed the 40,000 + words I've sent her to review, which is a blessing.

Next, I decided to take pity on Becky who loves to garden, but had spent too much money on this exercise, by having her help me with some plants. I kill everything I touch, so this was tricky. The ever-green thumb, Peggy, offered up some cat mint from her garden and I selected some "pretty" flowers at the store, which Becky helped me pot for my patio. I spent many summer weekends, sitting on my patio with the animals, writing away and gazing at my new pretty flowers.

Next, Sarai invited me to join a knitting group. I had met some of the members at game nights and parties, and I thought of it as a nice way to meet new people. Sarai kindly took me to the store to select my first skein of yarn, which I selected pink, and needles. Edith was very patient, showing me how to cast on and add new yarn. See my finished work, a pink scarf. You can't see the length, but it is long. I'm still unsure why I chose pink since I rarely wear the color, but I'm proud of myself and have already requested a scarf from a friend.

Most of you know how much I love to travel and that I take a gazillion pictures on my travels. I have numerous framed photos and albums in my apartment. I enjoy surrounding myself with the memories. In my travels, I have taken some beautiful scenery shots and decided I should blow them up into poster size images, which I then framed. Hubby was kind enough to place them on the very white wall of our bedroom, adding some ambiance to the room.

I Accept That Challenge

Michelle has thrown down the gauntlet and I have accepted her challenge. November is National Writing Month and a group has created a contest called Na No WriMo. The concept is simple, from midnight November 1st until midnight November 30th, contestants have to create a 50,000 word story. At this time, I don't feel comfortable submitting my material to this site. It's bad enough to let my trusted reviewers know the insanity that plays in my head, much less total strangers. Plus, the point of the contest is to get the material out there, unedited and potentially full of issues. As a perfectionist, I'm incapable of submitting that type of material. But I am up to the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

I am now sharing the challenge with you. Is anyone else interested in trying their hand at creating a story in a month? You wouldn't have to submit anything to anyone, just share the experience with me.

Where Did that Come From?

Certain individuals nagged me while I was home to work on my writing. It wasn't an easy thing to do, what with the medication, my mind being occupied with personal crisis, and feeling like utter ... well, you get the point.

After much love and prompting, I sat down and pounded away whatever popped into my head. Suddenly, I found myself with 10,000+ words and a fear that it was absolute garbage. So I shot a copy to my most trusted reviewer. This is the same reviewer who told me my hero was weak and I lacked conflict in my previous incarnation, so I cringed waiting to hear from her. (Still love you Mich and want to hear your brutal honest opinion.)

The first 10,000 words received the following reaction: I really like it. I read it in about 20 minutes. I like the beginning, where you don't know what is going on or who is the good guy and who is the bad one. I also like the sense of the supernatural, and that it is not stereo-typical supernatural. I don't really have any critiques at this time.

The next 5,000 words resulted in some criticisms, which lead to a phone call defending my work. I'm quite curious what will be said next. All I can do is keep trying. Thanks Mich for pushing me, reading my work, and listening to me.

Roadblock

I have been bound and determined to complete my manuscript in time for the Writers Conference this summer. It took me the whole month of January to rewrite and tweak Chapter 3 until I felt it finally worked. The characters have more dimension to them and I introduced two new conflicts that would help flesh out the story and the character's mindsets.

I was on my way until February rolled around. With all the personal health crisis I have been struggling through, I have not been able to get into the mindset to touch my writing. For those who don't know, the procedure I underwent at the beginning of the month is not a success and has made me feel worse than I was before. I have been agonizing again over my options, which are severely limited. So, I have not found been able to find solace in my creative outlet, writing. I have an inkling I'm not going to meet my goal this year of finishing my manuscript and meeting with an agent.

On a brighter note, I've discovered how fortunate I am in my friends.

Why oh why did I think ...

I created this blog to write about my experiences trying to in trying to write a manuscript as well as the craziness that is my life. I have detoured from my mission in the last six months, but I am back, bound and determined to write again. Of course, every irrational fear about my dream of being a writer is floating in my head.

I finished my second manuscript a while back. Knowing it needed a lot of work, I allowed one person to read it, to get a feel for where I went wrong in my story. I knew I had messed up the story since there were sections I couldn't stand reading. My "reviewer" did not get back to me about the story and honestly, I was afraid to hear what she had to say, so I let time drift by, until I saw information on the latest RWA Conference.

The authors speaking at the conference are some of my favorite and it's within driving distance, hence no airfare, so I decided I have to attend. The dilemma is I have to make the conference expense worthwhile, so I need to be prepared to meet with an agent, which means I have to complete my manuscript.

Now that I had a goal in mind, I asked my "reviewer" for her feedback. My hero is too weak. Need to rewrite the hero and all of his conversations. There is no conflict. The emotional draw is lacking. These aren't her exact words, but you get the point (and I thank her for her honesty cause I needed to hear it).

So I am currently working on an almost complete rewrite keeping the central theme of my story, while making the hero more heroic and ramping up the conflict. The conflict is a real issue though. I am struggling my way through and hope to have something productive finished in the next few months. July will arrive soon enough and I need to be ready!

Hubby Editing

The hubby offered to read over my latest writing project. The idea excited me to have his perspective and him involved in something important to me. He's only read the first 2 chapters, but he has given me an earful. Mind you, he doesn't read romance, so its a new genre for him. Also, I have to say he has some great advice on how I can perk up some scenes and expand the characters, but he doesn't get it.

Last night, he informed me that my characters are despicable and unlikable. For those who've heard me discuss this story idea, you know how much I love these characters. He informed me the heroine is so abrasive that no man would tolerate her. I tried pointing out that I used to act the same way and he still dated me and asked me to marry him. He says I wasn't that bad, which I doubt. He thinks the characters are elitist, yet that I should add some quips in the dialogue that even I don't get cause they're above my knowledge base. Talk about elitist. My favorite comment though was that no one has these types of conversations in a bar. Much less some loser guy roaming around hitting on women. I had to finally remind him that he didn't go barhopping like I did. That some of those conversations are similar to ones I've had and yes, the losers roam.

A part of me questions the wisdom of having him look over anymore of the story, but he did have some good pieces of advice. I'm going to have to wait for other people's opinion. This is still the very rough draft of the story, but I thought the characters were great!

Muse Gone

As a writer, I have read and heard that certain situations or people will inspire an idea. Just little things that trigger the spark. I once saw a show where the writer used situations and people from his morning routine and created a story about their lives without ever knowing the people. I never really thought I was capable of it until this year.

While working on my first project this past winter, I was struck by inspiration. I watched a band perform when the drummer was brought to the front of the stage and explained he was going to sing a solo of a song that inspired and moved him. I was so touched by the end of his performance, I was tearful. I thought...he's my next hero, this man who can pour his heart out in a song.

I was determined to finish my historical project and tried not to think of the new story that was playing in my head, but finally caved and created the character Nick, who of course sings a solo performance that has such a passionate effect on my heroine.

Two weeks ago, I saw the band perform again when it was announced that the drummer was leaving the band. I'm sure my mouth gaped open because I kept thinking...I'm not done, Nick had yet to win my heroine over. The drummer went front and center on the stage again and sang the same song from this past winter, but this time the band accompanied him. I'll admit, I was brought to tears at the depth of emotion the drummer poured into the song. Can you guess the ending in my story that I finished this past weekend?

More Writing Reviews

I have received two more reviews on my writing and thought I would share. I have to qualify by saying, yes, I know I shouldn't write historicals. I've learned my lesson. Though I research and research and research, apparently, I need more research on the subject. I had the same thought about midway through the book, but I had to continue on.

I find it humorous that both individuals wanted to know if I would still be their friend after reading their reviews and if I would allow them to read my current work. I have to thank the four individuals who were kind enough to read through 200+ pages of my writing. I truly appreciate your critiques and thoughts and have taken them to heart in the aspect that I'll implement the ideas in my current work.

Here are some of the comments:

- Plot was good. Kept me interested.

- More description

- Staccato (Steve says this about my articles as well)

- Pretty good. Kept me reading

- Twilight Zone Town of Terror (not where I was going)

- Can't determine the hero's condition

- Creative bone was good

- Love scenes were great!

- One scene in Chapter 12 an example of some good writing. (Yeaaaa)

- Short sentences made into one dynamic sentence.

- More dialog. The dialog you had was really good, I wanted more.

- Show me, don't tell!

I've had other people offer to critique my work and I will call on you in the future, I promise. At the moment, I think I'm going to set the historical aside and focus on my current project, especially since I'm nearing the end of it. I feel I have a better understanding of the current work. Once again thanks to all the people who have offered to help.

My Writing

I keep getting asked how my story is going. To tell you the truth...it's moving. I finished my first 80,000+ word manuscript this past February. In my mind, it was not a good story. I struggled through it. If I found it hard to write, obviously it would be difficult for others to read. Note to self: why did I think I could write a historical? I accepted it was my first try and allowed two people to read it. I truly appreciate their complete honesty. Here are some of their comments (I mixed them up, so no one could determine the reviewer):

- I like the story. It is engaging and I found myself thinking about it when I was not reading it, good sign!
- I liked the main characters and could see why they would appeal to each other.
- Work on your dialogue, it is almost too formal in some places and doesn't flow properly in others.
- Need more background.
- Too much tell, not show.
- The love scenes are well written
- Writing kept me interested - it wasn't a chore to read through and I looked forward to seeing what would happen next.
- Good twist.
- Need to clear up fantasy v. not fantasy.
- Major story concept doesn't work - the villain

In the meantime, I have been working on a contemporary story. Instead of mapping out the course, I have been free-styling. The current story wants to escape from me and I'm letting it. I figure it can be polished up later. Maybe this new one will be the one I feel more comfortable sharing with others and may submit as a query to agents.

100th Post

I am excited to announce the 100th posting of mrssnowqueen. It's very exciting for me to have written so much. I started the blog as a practice session for work and it has grown from that initial concept into a more personal arena.

As with everything in my life, it has evolved and expanded. And for personal reasons, I have decided to no longer write as mrssnowqueen. I am off on another adventure. If you still want to hear my stories, please let me know. Otherwise, it has been a joy to test my hand and share the journey with you.