Tag Archives: writing

April 18, 2014

P is for Pleasure

…and reading for it.

It used to be that I could get completely lost in a book with no problems. Heaven help my family if it was a series– they might not have clean laundry for a while. There was very little that bothered me about anyone’s writing, at least not enough to distract me from the story.

That’s changed, and I’m sad about it.

These days, I feel like reading is a chore a lot of the time. There are too many books I need to read: things I’ve told friends I’ll read and critique for them, great books in the genres I write in that I’ve never got to, books in other genres that I think will broaden my horizons. And there are the ones I don’t need to read, but want to: the ones I’ve grabbed for free or cheap on the Kindle, ones I picked up because friends raved about them or because I loved the idea and the cover, books by blog buddies. I just feel guilty for not getting to those.

So a lot of my fiction reading feels like homework. I do end up enjoying many of the books on my “need to read” list, but at the back of my mind there’s always the knowledge that there’s something else I need to get to when this one is done.

The other problem is that when you spend a lot of time learning (and yes, often breaking) the “rules” of writing, you notice when other books have flaws.

To be clear: I think writing rules are made to be broken, if we do it intentionally and in full knowledge of why the “rule” exists. But when everything you read from writers, agents, editors, etc. says AVOID INFODUMPS, it’s hard to not be distracted when a bestseller has them in huge chunks at the beginning of chapters– especially when it illustrates why this is actually a pretty good rule.

I’d give examples, but they’d all make me sound like a hypocritical know-it-all nobody, and that’s not how I mean it at all. I make exactly the same mistakes, which is probably why my brain wants me to be alert to them. I am in no position to criticize, which is why I don’t write negative reviews. I respect everyone’s work, and I certainly don’t judge anyone for things I don’t like– personal taste is personal, yo. I like a good rule-breaker, and I never want to be legalistic about anything in writing.** I don’t want to be the snot-nosed know-it-all who criticizes the pros, because I hate that dude.

But I’m being honest about something that I understand is my issue and really has nothing to do with other writers. When these things pop into my head like they would when I’m editing my own work, it’s distracting. It keeps me from becoming immersed in the story.

I HATE THIS. It’s is one of few things I actually dislike about being a writer.

I want to go back to just reading for pleasure, without analyzing why someone’s writing blows me away or leaves me flat. Sure, that’s incredibly valuable for my own work, but for me it sucks the fun out of everything. I wish I could shut that part of my brain off and forget about technique sometimes.

Have any of you struggled with this? Can you fix me? Does reading feel like homework, or do you find yourself unable to turn off your inner editor, even when reading a best-seller?*** Or are you able to lose yourself in any book at any time?

Just tell me this is a phase, ok?

For more A-Z Challenge, mosey this-a-way, pardner.

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*Not that this was the only reason I didn’t love it, but it was one distraction.

**Well… nothing style-related. I will judge the heck out of straight-up unreadable writing if it’s published. I can’t help that.

***SERIOUSLY, inner editor. Get your head out of your butt and shut up.

9 Comments | tags: books, editing, inner editor, reading, writing | posted in A-Z blogging challenge, books

April 17, 2014

It’s Not Paranoia If They Really Are Out To Get You

By Kate Sparkes

Remember when I posted pictures of my office that I built out of plastic storage bins and blankets?

*sigh*

Well, this is my office as of yesterday around lunch time:

Let’s back up a bit, shall we?

On Sunday, I posted what we’ll call my best-laid plans for getting a certain book ready for publication. I was getting back to my office (which had been too cold to work in since January), I was organized, I had a GAME PLAN.

On Tuesday evening, I went downstairs to work. I was moving the laundry over when I noticed a small pond near the dehumidifier. There was a wee “dangit!” moment when I thought the unit was leaking, but I got to cleaning it up before it could spread.

…and then I noticed a separate pool in the play room.

Half an hour later I was standing in freezing water that covered the toes of my rainboots in low spots, and that was slowly creeping toward MY AREA. It was also encroaching on the space occupied by our brand new, purchased-because-emergency washer and dryer.

What happened in the hours that followed was a frenzy of me following The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy‘s advice: “DON’T PANIC.” Really. If there was any doubt that my depression is improving, this was proof that I really am feeling better. Sure, I freaked out a little, but I delegated everything involving phone calls to AJ* and took over whatever else I could. When we moved beyond Shop-Vac territory, I got to work moving stuff upstairs and above the ever-rising water line. By midnight we had a neighbour’s sump pump going, and the water level seemed to have at least stopped rising.

By morning we were at six inches of water in spots. I FORMULATED A PLAN (come on, I deserve a few caps here), got AJ to help me implement the parts that involved getting the washer, dryer, and freezer up on to plastic bins, delegated more phone calls (to insurance and the landlord-type-people**), and took more stuff out of my office and hauled it upstairs.

Yadda yadda, contractors came late yesterday afternoon, we found out we’re on a septic system (would’ve been good to know) which is having issues with the insane amount of snow that’s melted in the past few days, there are other problems, and it might be three weeks before we can move back into our house. Oh, and insurance won’t cover contents of the basement that we lost.

Um.

So about those best laid plans.

If I were the type who thought in a certain way, I’d say this was a sign I wasn’t meant to get this book out. SOMEONE or SOMETHING in the universe is throwing up roadblocks! It’s not meant to be! I don’t think that way, and I know the timing is coincidental, but it sure feels like that.

If I had another way of thinking, I might decide that if I can just THINK POSITIVELY, all of the problems will go away and the house will be toasty warm and smelling like roses in no time.

I’m taking a slightly different course of thought and action.

I’ve decided that this is the story I’m going to be telling in ten years when people ask about publishing my first book. I’ll be able to laugh about it by then, and I’ll talk about how this was important enough to me that I took my work wherever we went. Right now that’s my in-laws’ house, but in a few days it’ll be on vacation at my parents’ house at the other end of the province, and after that it might be in a hotel 45 minutes away from home. I’ll say that I had to drive the kids back for school every day, but I worked in the school library, the still-kinda-stinky house, wherever (my kingdom for a local coffee shop!).

Stephen King wrote Carrie when he lived in a trailer with two kids and had no money. JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as a single mother and lost her job somewhere in there. How can I offer my future fans anything less than all of my determination and the hardest work I’ve ever done on anything? Damned if I’m going to say, “Well, things went to shit and I took a few weeks off.”

That’s not to say that I’ll be sticking to my ROW80 goals exactly, because the kids are going to need a lot more hands-on time in the next few weeks, there will be a lot of driving time, and other things are sure to come up (God help us).

The point is, I’m staying thankful (more on that in a later post), and I’m not going to let this stop me.

After all…

Oh, but if I’m slow at responding to comments or e-mails, and if I drop out of the A-Z challenge after my scheduled posts dry up, you’ll know why. 😉

–

*If I’ve learned anything else from this, it’s the extent of my phobia. RIDICULOUS.

**Our house is owned by the government, who is Andre’s boss. It’s… interesting.

13 Comments | tags: determination, editing, obstacles, optimism, self-publishing, writing | posted in Depression, domestic goddess stuff, Home Life, writing

April 16, 2014

N is for Notebooks (and Not)

By Kate Sparkes

Confession: I’m a sucker for a new notebook, especially if it’s a good price. Our dollar store gets a lot of the spiral-bound kind I like and sells them for $2, so I have way too many.

(the baby dragon one is not from the dollar store)

I mean, I adore $40 leather-bound notebooks, too, but can’t afford them and would never be able to actually write in them, so they’re kind of out.

The point is, I have a LOT of notebooks.

They’re great. Portable, pleasant to write in if you can find one that lies flat, great for journaling or brainstorming. The thing is… I’m starting to realize how limited their usefulness is.

Much as I love being able to write things out in pen or pencil, I have a hard time keeping notebooks organized. Even if I use one per project, it’s impossible to rearrange notes to put scenes in order, or to put more pages in where I need them later. Binders are better for this, but aren’t as portable as a notebook. And the other problem is that space is limited– I either spill over into another notebook (rare) or have a whole lot of wasted pages (frequent).

So though I love buying notebooks, I find myself shifting to other options. TECHNOLOGICAL options. I struggle with technology, but I can’t deny that some programs/apps have distinct advantages over paper.

EVERNOTE is a great program. There are a few like it out there, and everyone has their favourite, but I have no complaints with this one so far. I like that I can organize my notes into “notebooks” (hey!) to keep them organized, and can always add more as I need to, without worrying about space or leaving enough pages for future notes. I can access it from anywhere if I have my phone on me, so it’s perfect for those random moments when inspiration strikes while I’m out walking, or at the grocery store… or at church (sorry, pastor!).

Oh, and it’s free, unless you spring for the premium version. I don’t even know what that entails– I’ve been happy with the basic service.

They have other products, too. Skritch lets you write/draw/make notes on photos, there’s one that does digital handwriting, something with food, yadda yadda. I’m not so fancy with my computery things, but they’d be worth looking into if you like this program.

Moving on.

You’ve all heard me rave about Scrivener before, but let me tell you something: I had NO idea how much I was missing out on until I took Gwen Hernandez’s course. She’s the author of Scrivener for Dummies, and what I learned has me thinking that I might only be using notebooks for brainstorming in the future, because this program does everything else that I need.

Those index cards I’ve been using to organize scenes during revisions? It’s got ’em. I can colour code them, mark what stage of writing they’re at (notes, draft, revised, whatever), add keywords to track characters, show locations for each scene… whatever floats your boat, really. And it’s easy to move them around on-screen if I need to shake things up, stick a new scene in, or take one out.

Sayonara, paper.

The info panel lets me make notes for the scene or the whole project without interfering with the manuscript, play with those keywords, keep research and resources handy, add inspiration photos, and a lot more that I can’t do in a paper binder.

As for the writing itself, we’ve covered this before. Each scene is its own file in the binder, so I can move them around, jump to a different scene in one click if I need to fix something or find a reference, group them by chapter, find scenes by keyword (for, say, working on a single POV character’s chapters).

I can’t even begin to tell you all how much I miss just this one feature now that I’m editing in Word.

Scrolling sucks, is what I’m saying.

Scrivener’s not for everyone. Some people find it confusing, or just don’t like using it. Some are perfectly happy in Word, and that’s fantastic. I don’t understand it, but I fully support everyone in their software choices. But for someone who’s looking for an alternative to the frustrations of notebooks and binders (and scrolling, oy), it’s been the best tool I’ve found.

And… that’s it. That’s the only two tools I need to work toward replacing notebooks. I didn’t think I’d ever see the day when it would happen, but then, I thought I’d hate e-books, too.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!

I’ll keep using binders for things like worldbuilding and series bibles, and I’ll keep a little sketch pad on-hand for doodling and drawing. But it sure looks like I’m going all computery for everything else.

For more A-Z challenge, click here

9 Comments | tags: brainstorm, evernote, Notebooks, Scrivener, writing | posted in A-Z blogging challenge, Product Reviews, writing

April 15, 2014

M is for Marianas Trench

By Kate Sparkes

…because why wouldn’t it be?

(I guess I’m supposed to put a content warning, since there’s AN F WORD in one of these songs… *clutches pearls* So there. I warnded you.)

These guys rate a thank-you in the back pages of any book I ever publish– at least, the stories I’ve been writing or revising in the past year and a half. I don’t know what it is, their music just works for me. I relate to it, even though I probably have nothing in common with their lead singer/songwriter. It wakes me up. It relaxes me, in spite of all of the screaming. It gets my imagination all bouncy and hyper.

I keep finding songs that relate to my characters. It’s fun. I’ve shared some here before, but I keep finding more. Like this GORGEOUS a capella Billy Joel cover:

Or this one, that reminds me of the new love story in book two. *sigh*

Or this one… which has nothing to do with writing in any way, but is making me happy these days. I just started listening to their first album, and love it WAY more than I expected.

I now own everything by them I could get off of iTunes. Time for a new album…

*waits*

Yeah, I’m a sixteen year old girl. I’m okay with that.

Oh, and my older son is a fan, too*. He built them a lego stage.

Apologies to whoever that’s supposed to be on the left… he ran out of heads.

—

*Yes, I turn down the cussin’ when we’re listening in the car… even though it’s just the best cussin’ ever.

2 Comments | tags: A to Z challenge, marianas trench, music, obsession, writing | posted in A-Z blogging challenge, Entertainment, Music

April 4, 2014

D is for Daydreams

By Kate Sparkes

I recently read somewhere (completely unreliable) that J.K. Rowling once got fired from a job for daydreaming too much. It’s probably untrue, but I liked it. Made me feel like we have something in common.

No, I haven’t been fired for it, but I spend way too much time daydreaming. And I don’t just mean by The Man’s* standards. I’m constantly forgetting what I was supposed to be doing because my imagination has run off again, leading me away from the real world in the most wonderful and exciting ways. I eventually find my way back, but not always before I’ve burned supper or forgotten that I was supposed to move the laundry over to the dryer three hours ago.

Some writers call it research. I’m not sure I can even do that when most of it will never make it into a story. Oh, sure, letting my mind wander has taken me to wonderful places and introduced me to characters who I have written about. The voices in my head have provided random bits of dialogue that have showed up in stories. But there are worlds, plots, and people in my head who are never going to step out of it, either because it’s not a genre I care to write, the material’s a little too close to my heart, or the story just doesn’t have the kind of legs it needs to survive being exposed to the world.

I think that’s okay, too. Call it rehearsal. Call it exercise for that imagination muscle, or letting my muse stretch his legs. Call it being open to possibilities.

Whatever you call it, I think I’m going to stick with it. It makes me happy, and I think that’s worth burning the occasional pancake for.

For more A-Z Challenge fun, click here!

–

*”Damn the Man. Save the Empire.” -Lucas

19 Comments | tags: daydream, imagination, writing | posted in A-Z blogging challenge, about me

April 1, 2014

A is for Absolutely Bonkers

By Kate Sparkes

…because that’s what I have to be. What am I doing? Sure, the A-Z blogging challenge sounds like fun. Yes, there might be more than 2,000 people participating this year, and I’m excited to see what they have to say on whatever topics they come up with. And yeah, maybe I’ll even manage to make a new blog friend or two out of it.

*waves to new person*

All of that aside, this is crazy. It’s April. I’m participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this month, though as of today I still don’t know what to work on. I have a low word count goal, but that’s because I’m going to be spending most of the month editing, God willing. Other plans for April include working on front- and back-matter for a book release, working through feedback from beta readers on a side-project, setting up a Facebook author page, doing up a newsletter for release late in the month, and researching reviewers who might be willing to give my book a look-see. Oh, and I think round 2 of ROW80 is starting.

That, and everything non-writing-related that I’m responsible for, like feeding my family, making sure the house doesn’t collapse in shame over the mess it contains, figuring out how we’re going to pay for new appliances (dental for one of the kids AND a new washer/dryer set), making sure the kids are clean and dressed when they leave the house, walking the dog, trying to not be a giant ball of stress when I’m hanging out with AJ, possibly visiting family at some point…*

NO SWEAT.

So why throw a blog challenge in there that requires me to post six days a week all month?

I’ll tell you why. Because I don’t have to post more than 100 words on any given day. Because if I let myself just relax and don’t stress over missed days, this could actually be fun. Because it gives me something to post about besides FLAAAARRRRGH. Because I can maybe, possibly, kinda schedule some of these ahead of time. Or say… all of them.

Will I make it through the month? I don’t know. Other things are more important. But I’m going to try to post, and to visit different blogs each day until the end of the month (plus my friends and family who are participating, of course).

This will require B for Balance and O for Organization. And T for Time-Management. Possibly D for Drugs.** You might see less of me on Facebook and Twitter. If I miss something important on your blog, friend, please punch me in the back of the head to get my attention.

But not too hard. I still need C for Consciousness. Thanks.

Want to see who’s up for the challenge? The sign-up list is here, featuring all 2092 participants! Wow…

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* Really, my life is amazing. A for amazing. I’m so thankful for my family and friends, my work, the fact that I have a chance to try this whole “writing” thing out, my imagination and the beautiful world I’m privileged to wake up to every day when so many don’t get that chance. I am NOT complaining. Just busy. 🙂

**Not really. Don’t do drugs. Stay in school, kids.

18 Comments | tags: blog, blogging, challenge, priorities, writing | posted in A-Z blogging challenge, blogs

March 24, 2014

The Good News and The Bad News (call for beta readers)

By Kate Sparkes

The good news is that Resurrection is finished.

Pretty much.

The problem is that I don’t have a last line. It’s been so easy for other stories (much easier than first lines, certainly), but this one is giving me NOTHING. So I’m going to have to stew on that.

I’m going to try something different with this one and let people see it before it’s been in revisions for years. I know, crazy. But I know now that I can take criticism, and I’m thinking that it might actually be easier to take when I know there’s still work to be done. Fear not, dear betas. I’m not sending rough draft crap. This thing is in good shape, as far as I can tell, and I’ve enjoyed reading it over. It’s just that I know there’s work to be done.

I need to get this last line in, go over the last few chapters to get them out of “first draft” and into “revised draft” state, maybe improve some fight scenes, and get her out.

Annnnd I have to remember who volunteered to read it.

#ImSoOrganized #MarthaStewartRightHere

*cough*

So anyone who’s not put off by a little blood, dead bodies*, and maybe a little undead sexytimes and fighting, who likes the WIP snippets I shared here and here and here… comment or drop me a line at kate.sparkes (at) live.ca. I’m just looking for impressions, thoughts, places you think it drags or could use more of something. It’s short (30,000 words), so there is room for more… whatever. I might throw this one up on Wattpad, too. We’ll see.

This one’s been a lot of fun to write. I’l be waiting anxiously to see whether it’s fun to read…

–

*Seriously, not for people with really weak stomachs, or who are going to hate me for killing children. I DIDN’T DO IT. It was the rogues.

6 Comments | tags: beta readers, Urban Fantasy, vampires, writing | posted in Resurrection

February 26, 2014

WIPpet Wednesday: The Not-So-Triumphant Return

By Kate Sparkes

So I’m working in Word now. Yaaay.

No, I don’t mind not being able to jump to whatever chapter and scene I want, like I can in Scrivener. Scrolling is fun. *eyelid twitch*

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me figure things out so far (like how to highlight the whole document so I could format– never picked that trick up on my own). I think I have it formatted correctly for editing. Now I just need to finish this read-through, and wait for my editor to say that it’s time.

For WIPpet Wedensday, here’s the last twelve lines (in my WordPress editor, anyway) that I read over. The math? 26th, minus 14 for the year. Because I’m reasonable like that.

Oh, context… mer man (hello!) was just visiting with Aren and Rowan, and he and Aren (POV character in this scene) are trying to figure out how to help Rowan. Kel (mer dude) is getting ready to change forms and go back to the water. Aren is refusing to acknowledge that he has feelings for Rowan, because… well, long story.

–

We reached the dock, and he stepped out of his clothes and handed them to me. I put everything in one of the wooden crates in case he needed it again.

Kel looked out over the dull gray water. “Try to be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling for her.”

“I don’t—”

He held up one hand to stop me. “I know, you don’t want to. It’s against your family’s religion or something.”

“No, I mean I can’t let anything like that happen. I told her I’d try to help her. You know as well as I do that she’s not safe as long as she’s with me.”

Kel looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. “You think safe is what she wants?” I didn’t answer. I had no idea what she wanted, and I doubted she knew, either. “I’ll see what I can do for her, if you’re sure that’s what’s best. It’ll be up to her, though.”

“Of course. Thank you.” I turned and walked back up the path, and heard Kel splash into the water behind me. I suddenly felt more alone than I had since I was a child, and hurried toward the light of the house.

–

Yes, there’s quite a bit of casual nudity in this book, what with people changing physical forms and all. I haven’t had any complaints so far. 😉

For more WIPpet Wednesday goodness, stop by and see our host KL Schwengel and click on the link near the top right corner to find everyone else.

ROW80 UPDATE

Like I said, I’m just trying to be ready to send this thing off. After that, I’ll be reading, and going back to that plan of trying to finish Resurrection. I’m feeling a little better about things than I was a few days ago. I just wish I enjoyed challenges more, you know? I’m happiest when things are easy and I can be lazy.

There, I said it. I wish I were different, but that’s me. I haaate challenges. Does that mean I get bonus points for going ahead with one?

I think I need to get back to working in my office. I’ve been upstairs too much lately. Need my own space.

Um… I think that’s it for my update, actually. Oh, but in other news, Krista Walsh’s Evensong is on sale for 99 cents this week for e-books. If you haven’t got it yet and think you might be interested in a fantastic fantasy adventure that involves an author being transported into the world he writes about (and facing the characters lives he’s been ruining), go get it now! Links here. It’s a great read, well worth a buck and a few hours of your time.

23 Comments | tags: editing, excerpt, fantasy, mer, merfolk, WIPpet Wednesday, Word, writing, YA | posted in Bound, ROW80, WIPpet Wednesday

February 24, 2014

Birthday Breakdown and the Rest of the What’s-Uppage

By Kate Sparkes

Caution: Here be self pity. SLAP ME ALREADY.

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been sort of kind of a little bit not here so much lately.

No hard feelings if you haven’t.

I haven’t done a ROW80 update in a while, haven’t participated in WIPpet Wednesday for a few weeks. Mostly it’s because I have nothing to share or update. I’m stuck. Frozen. Dead in the water. THE THINGS THEY ARE NOT GOING SO GOOD IN MY BRAIN-HOLE is what I’m saying. I can’t write, can’t even make sense of my own work when I read over it, can’t focus, can’t brain today I have the dumb, what have you. Can’t think of much to write about here, obviously.

Maybe it’s the pressure. My editor was sick, but he should be ready for me to send my manuscript soon (hence the reading over for continuity issues after I made changes). I’m honestly terrified that I’m going to get this thing back with nothing but a message that says “this is crap, try again.”* Now, that would work out to be less expensive for me than an actual edit, but it might not be the best thing for my spirit. Or my career. Or my sanity.

I can’t read blogs about publishing right now. Thinking about formatting is giving me stomach issues. Celebrating friends’ successes is still making me happy, but I can’t think about my own work right now. I’m thiiiiis close to saying screw it, I didn’t need to follow that dream, I’m fine, it was a stupid idea anyway and wasn’t likely to come to anything because I lack guts and persistence and other good stuff.

I won’t, because momentum, but it’s a thought.

Oh, and I’m looking at eighteen-year-olds on Twitter who finished a draft of a novella and are like “I AM THE BEST WRITERER EVER AND AM GOING TO MAKE A BRAZILLION DOLLARS WHEN I PUBLISH THIS NEXT WEEK WHO WANTS TO PHOTOSHOP ME A COVER LOLZ” and wonder where I can get some of that confidence (if not some of that business sense, because that sounds like a bad plan to me). Because I feel like a bad writerer right now.

I’m going insane, basically.

On top of that, AJ is going through a really bad time at work. He doesn’t take it out on me or the kids, but it’s still one more thing that I’m worried about, and it means that I can’t really talk to him about my self-imposed issues. Because really, I’ve brought this all on myself, so what right to I have to gripe? Well, except here…

*headdesk*

In other news, I turned 33 yesterday. I can’t really take credit for this achievement, as I wasn’t responsible for bringing myself into the world and I’m fairly risk-averse, so survival was likely… but I’m still really happy about this turn of events. Another spin around the sun is definitely something to celebrate, and too many people don’t get to enjoy lives as long as I’ve had. I got to see both of my parents on my birthday for the first time in years, got a FaceTime call from my extended family in Ontario (and they sang “Happy Birthday” to me, which made me cry), spent 6 hours driving (not the most fun part), saw a juvenile bald eagle (which I count as a gift from Mother Nature, because why not), had a lovely evening… good times. OH, and epic cutie-pie Sidney Crosby scored a goal in the final hockey game of the Olympics, and I’m pretty sure that was just for me.

On every birthday I declare that THIS is going to be my year, the year when I do things and make things happen and yadda yadda. Maybe this is it. Or maybe every year just builds on the one before, and there is no one year.

Time will tell, I guess. Until then, I’m going to keep on going. I’m starting an online course today about using Scrivener. It’s my favourite writing software, but I only understand its most basic features and would like to know more. This won’t help with the fact that I need to learn how to use Word and track changes for editing (Help? Anyone?), but it will help when it comes time to publish. I have a friend’s book I promised to look over, and I’ll get to that once this ms has gone to the ~~butcher~~ editor. I’ll have a cover artist starting soon, which might be a nice distraction. And there are projects lined up, begging for attention…

It’s not that there’s nothing to do, it’s just that I can’t do it.

Except that I will. I’m just going to keep going and trust that things are going to get better. That’s a good plan, right?

RIGHT?

–

*To be fair to my editor, he would probably phrase it more nicely, as a shit sandwich. You know, where you frame the harsh bits in niceness. Like, “This was an interesting effort. But it sucks. Hey, I saw a picture of your cat and she’s really cute.” BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE NICEST THINGS HE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND TO SAY.

7 Comments | tags: angst, challenges, confidence, doubt, issues, writer, writing | posted in ROW80, writing

February 2, 2014

ROW80 Update: WTF, Past Me? Edition

By Kate Sparkes

Well, I figured out what to do with myself. I started reading over Resurrection, and had happy times all over the place. And then I got the the part where it stopped RATHER abruptly, and screamed at Past Me for not just finishing it so Present Me could ENJOY IT IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?

Apparently, yes.

So I’m going to have to finish that up, if only to satisfy myself (and anyone who wants to volunteer to beta read approximately 40,000 words of vampires, addicted victims, gory crime scenes, snappy banter, betrayals and sex. No fun at all, really. First chapter’s here, BTW)

I think that Cinderella story just got them back into my blood.

ROW80 Update:

WRITING

New goals as of last Wednesday: Plan out the rest of Resurrection. COMPLETED.

Oh, I planned it. It took an hour, five pages in my notebook, a lot of work on my dry-erase board and a few slams of my head into a wall to clear it, but I did it. Guys… it was so good I wanted a cigarette after. Then I remembered that I’ve never smoked, so I settled for a Fruit Roll-Up instead*. It was fantastic.

I always knew how this one was going to end, but didn’t know how to get there. I do now.

New goal as of today: Finish first draft of Resurrection by the end of February. I only have two hours per weekday day to work this month, but that’s okay. I should be able to do this. My husband might lose me for a few evenings, but this is going to happen.

Oh, and this week I also kinda sorta found a cover designer for Bound and got that information sent off so she can start in March, NO BIG DEAL.

READING

Read “Under the Empyrean Sky” by Chuck Wendig. SO GOOD. The concept (agricultural dystopia, creepy-ass GMO corn, oppressed people and flying cities) is fantastic, and the story lives up to its ideas. I’ll get a review up on Goodreads soon.

LIFE- Goes on. I can’t talk about it. I have vampires in my head.

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7 Comments | tags: #ROW80, goals, Urban Fantasy, vampires, writing | posted in Resurrection, ROW80

disregard the prologue

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P is for Pleasure

It’s Not Paranoia If They Really Are Out To Get You

N is for Notebooks (and Not)

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The Good News and The Bad News (call for beta readers)

WIPpet Wednesday: The Not-So-Triumphant Return

Birthday Breakdown and the Rest of the What’s-Uppage

ROW80 Update: WTF, Past Me? Edition

Vines and Vices (All the Queen’s Knaves book one)

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disregard the prologue

Tag Archives: writing

Vines and Vices (All the Queen’s Knaves book one)

Urban Fantasy (writing as Tanith Frost)

Bound (Bound Trilogy Book One)

Torn (Bound Trilogy Book Two)

Into Elurien

At Any Cost (Bound Trilogy prequel novella)

The Binding (Short Story)

Follow via Email

Kate Sparkes

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