Woohoo! I have an EIN! And I am here to testify that if you follow the instructions linked to in the previous post, the most trouble you'll have is understanding the operator's accent! *confetti*
Also, unrelated good news - the dog book, she is finished! I finally finished the MASSIVE AND EPIC re-edit (i.e. I rewrote 75% of the entire book from scratch >.<), it's been accepted, and it should be available in mid to late August. Yay!
Happy days indeed. B-)
Showing posts with label 33 Mistakes About Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 33 Mistakes About Dogs. Show all posts
18 July 2012
21 March 2012
A Random Assortment of Updates
*waves* Hi-hello! How goes things? Long time no see (as always, sigh). At least the New Minion is a passable excuse for not blogging, right? RIGHT? O:)
So, I have a random assortment of updates today - which, considering the title of this post, is shocking, no? Mostly, it is non-writingish. There has not been much writing in the 6 weeks since New Minion's birth, although the last week has been more productive in that regard - and I finally, FINALLY figured out where/how to start Jesscapades. Really, I feel like I ought to plow on and finish the current draft (I have 52,000 words, give or take, and it's about 2/3 done), but I can't help but think I'm writing throw-away words when I work on it... So I may decide to just go back to the beginning and start over again. We shall see.
It's funny, though. If you've been hanging around the writing world for long enough, you'll know that sooner or later every writing how-to translates to - 'but everyone does things their own way'. There's no one right way to write - and yet, much and all as I know that, I feel like going back and starting from the beginning of Jesscapades is the 'wrong' thing to do, because so many of the pros say that you should never go back, only go forward. Stupid of me to let something like that hang me up - I mean seriously, isn't it better to go back to the beginning and rewrite, even though I haven't finished the end, than to NOT WRITE ANYTHING AT ALL?? Dude. Seriously.
Unfortunately, my brain is a very all-or-nothing place, something that manifests everywhere from hobbies to housework. I hate vacuuming (which I always try to spell vaccuming or vacumming!), for example, because I have this horrible, lingering feeling that unless I've moved every single piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, the job ISN'T DONE PROPERLY. And I LOATHE not being able to do things properly. Hence, house ends up unvacuumed because the Inky, she has neither the time nor the muscles to move every bit of furniture every single time. *sigh*
I suspect this is somewhat of a serious character flaw, one which I am Working To Overcome. To that end, 2012 has been dubbed the Year of Finishing Things, in which I must finish all projects that I start, or finish old projects. None of this bad-habitty, start-a-project-all-excited, reach-critical-mass, freak-out-and-run-away business.
I have already finished one lovely shiny project early this year: The Chair. Those of you with exceptional memories may remember that I mentioned DH & I were reupholstering our old lounge. Well, we did it, and here is the shinyfish result (well, nearly; I apparently don't have a pic of it TOTALLY finished, which is sad, because OBVIOUSLY it looks better with arms and a seat cushion):
I've started another rather major undertaking: making bags. It combines too many things I love not to do: pretty fabric, textures, colours, designing stuff, useful things (BAGS, HELLO!), Etsy, and hopefully, enough extra cash to enable my return to work in July to be part time rather than full time O:) (yes, that was a slightly shameless plug...) Because I am Amy and can never have enough blogs that I rarely update, I've started another one! This time to deal with all my fabricking adventures. Do follow if you're interested in that sort of thing, and unless anyone here screams loudly to the contrary, I'll post here when I have something new over there. So head on over and find out why my shop is called Cobbett&Paws... :)
Finally, in the list of random updates, the Dog Book, she is nearly done. FINALLY. This was only supposed to be finished, you know, LAST OCTOBER. *sigh* Oh well. Better late than never.
And speaking of dogs, you totally have to watch this video I stumbled on today. CANINES FOR THE WIN. We all knew they were superheros in disguise.
What are you guys working on at the moment? Do you have something you're having trouble finishing? I know, I'll make a Finishing Club 2012 badge, and we can all pledge to finish something this year, bwa ha >:) To the year of finishing! Hurrahs!
So, I have a random assortment of updates today - which, considering the title of this post, is shocking, no? Mostly, it is non-writingish. There has not been much writing in the 6 weeks since New Minion's birth, although the last week has been more productive in that regard - and I finally, FINALLY figured out where/how to start Jesscapades. Really, I feel like I ought to plow on and finish the current draft (I have 52,000 words, give or take, and it's about 2/3 done), but I can't help but think I'm writing throw-away words when I work on it... So I may decide to just go back to the beginning and start over again. We shall see.
It's funny, though. If you've been hanging around the writing world for long enough, you'll know that sooner or later every writing how-to translates to - 'but everyone does things their own way'. There's no one right way to write - and yet, much and all as I know that, I feel like going back and starting from the beginning of Jesscapades is the 'wrong' thing to do, because so many of the pros say that you should never go back, only go forward. Stupid of me to let something like that hang me up - I mean seriously, isn't it better to go back to the beginning and rewrite, even though I haven't finished the end, than to NOT WRITE ANYTHING AT ALL?? Dude. Seriously.
Unfortunately, my brain is a very all-or-nothing place, something that manifests everywhere from hobbies to housework. I hate vacuuming (which I always try to spell vaccuming or vacumming!), for example, because I have this horrible, lingering feeling that unless I've moved every single piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, the job ISN'T DONE PROPERLY. And I LOATHE not being able to do things properly. Hence, house ends up unvacuumed because the Inky, she has neither the time nor the muscles to move every bit of furniture every single time. *sigh*
I suspect this is somewhat of a serious character flaw, one which I am Working To Overcome. To that end, 2012 has been dubbed the Year of Finishing Things, in which I must finish all projects that I start, or finish old projects. None of this bad-habitty, start-a-project-all-excited, reach-critical-mass, freak-out-and-run-away business.
I have already finished one lovely shiny project early this year: The Chair. Those of you with exceptional memories may remember that I mentioned DH & I were reupholstering our old lounge. Well, we did it, and here is the shinyfish result (well, nearly; I apparently don't have a pic of it TOTALLY finished, which is sad, because OBVIOUSLY it looks better with arms and a seat cushion):
I've started another rather major undertaking: making bags. It combines too many things I love not to do: pretty fabric, textures, colours, designing stuff, useful things (BAGS, HELLO!), Etsy, and hopefully, enough extra cash to enable my return to work in July to be part time rather than full time O:) (yes, that was a slightly shameless plug...) Because I am Amy and can never have enough blogs that I rarely update, I've started another one! This time to deal with all my fabricking adventures. Do follow if you're interested in that sort of thing, and unless anyone here screams loudly to the contrary, I'll post here when I have something new over there. So head on over and find out why my shop is called Cobbett&Paws... :)
Finally, in the list of random updates, the Dog Book, she is nearly done. FINALLY. This was only supposed to be finished, you know, LAST OCTOBER. *sigh* Oh well. Better late than never.
And speaking of dogs, you totally have to watch this video I stumbled on today. CANINES FOR THE WIN. We all knew they were superheros in disguise.
What are you guys working on at the moment? Do you have something you're having trouble finishing? I know, I'll make a Finishing Club 2012 badge, and we can all pledge to finish something this year, bwa ha >:) To the year of finishing! Hurrahs!
06 September 2011
Pictures and Linkies and Fun Stuff, Oh My!
If there were a prize for writing-blog-posts-in-your-head-then-never-posting-them, I can pretty much guarantee I'd be a winner. In the past week, I have written blog posts on looking for happiness, learning stuff from marking, why exercise is like writing, and of course, the two posts I've been writing and rewriting in my head for over a month, investigating self publishing and Holly Lisle's courses. Oi. *facepalm*
It's now like an hour and a quarter past my ridiculously early bedtime (hi, bump-who-drains-my-energy *significant look*), but I was DETERMINED to say SOMETHING today, so here I am, saying... something.
Actually, I have something I think is exciting to say :o) I've been messing around with the blog and the website trying to actually make the website look something like something I like. What that looks like, I'm still not 100% sure, which is part of the problem. I know what I want ON the site, just not how to prettify it, and it's driving me nuts o.0 Anyone know a cheap web designer out there? Apparently I'm in the market *eye roll*
ANYway, as part of this, you'll notice (if you click through) that the linkage across to the top of the blog has been updated, and there's this handy-dandy section called 'readers' now. Long time readers may remember that some time ago, I had a companion site that had projects I was working on, excerpts, totally illegally pilfered images, etc :P
Well, it's back! Only this time, it's legal! Ah ha.
Seriously, though, I have about 8 shorts up on Smashwords now and another couple to pop up there soonish, and the Dog Book (33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs) is undergoing a major and gruelling revision in preparation for being re-released, and I thought it was about time I threw up some of the extra stuff I have for all these things. I have images, inspiration-trivia and deleted scenes/excerpts for the shorts, and the Dog Book will have a MASS of extra stuff: photos, appendices, linkage, video clips... All sorts of Really Awesome Stuff.
None of this is up yet, but I'll start putting it up in the next week (around marking, my favourite!) and sit back and let you all devour gleefully. Or maybe just devour. Or, you know, nibble around the edges. Either way.
And on that note, I'm really, truly, honestly, I-promisely, off to bed. *snore*
It's now like an hour and a quarter past my ridiculously early bedtime (hi, bump-who-drains-my-energy *significant look*), but I was DETERMINED to say SOMETHING today, so here I am, saying... something.
Actually, I have something I think is exciting to say :o) I've been messing around with the blog and the website trying to actually make the website look something like something I like. What that looks like, I'm still not 100% sure, which is part of the problem. I know what I want ON the site, just not how to prettify it, and it's driving me nuts o.0 Anyone know a cheap web designer out there? Apparently I'm in the market *eye roll*
ANYway, as part of this, you'll notice (if you click through) that the linkage across to the top of the blog has been updated, and there's this handy-dandy section called 'readers' now. Long time readers may remember that some time ago, I had a companion site that had projects I was working on, excerpts, totally illegally pilfered images, etc :P
Well, it's back! Only this time, it's legal! Ah ha.
Seriously, though, I have about 8 shorts up on Smashwords now and another couple to pop up there soonish, and the Dog Book (33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs) is undergoing a major and gruelling revision in preparation for being re-released, and I thought it was about time I threw up some of the extra stuff I have for all these things. I have images, inspiration-trivia and deleted scenes/excerpts for the shorts, and the Dog Book will have a MASS of extra stuff: photos, appendices, linkage, video clips... All sorts of Really Awesome Stuff.
None of this is up yet, but I'll start putting it up in the next week (around marking, my favourite!) and sit back and let you all devour gleefully. Or maybe just devour. Or, you know, nibble around the edges. Either way.
And on that note, I'm really, truly, honestly, I-promisely, off to bed. *snore*
04 May 2009
Release Day and Contest Winners
Woo hoo! It's release day! Stop by the Holly Lisle Shop to purchase your copy of the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs now! Or at least, shortly, since due to the time difference I don't think it's quite released yet... Maybe in an hour or two :D
Remember, the first ten people to purchase a copy and email me a copy of an order of purchase or a receipt or some such will be entered into the draw to win a copy of For The Love Of A Dog, which I will post out to you for FREEEEEEE!!!
As for our other contests...
1) The Character Chat
A round of applause please for your winner, Merc, and her character, Shah! Hoorah, congratulations! I'll be in contact with you to organise a time and manner in which to chat %-)
2) The Free Copy of the 33 Mistakes Book
Congratulations to Windsong, who won with this "review" (should that be preview? O:)):
"In this daring book, Ms. Laurens not only sweeps common misconceptions about man's best friend away, but she burns their ashes as well. For those of you that believe dogs are domesticated wolves, there is still hope.
In 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, writers learn that dogs are people too. They communicate through more than one language, they "see" the world through more than just their eyes, and they have personalities all of their own. This book dispels myths and debunks common misconceptions. After all, dogs may not be human (or domesticated wolves), but they are still people in fur coats."
Well done, Dany. This made me giggle :D A copy of the ebook is winging its way to you presently.
Remember, the first ten people to purchase a copy and email me a copy of an order of purchase or a receipt or some such will be entered into the draw to win a copy of For The Love Of A Dog, which I will post out to you for FREEEEEEE!!!
As for our other contests...
1) The Character Chat
A round of applause please for your winner, Merc, and her character, Shah! Hoorah, congratulations! I'll be in contact with you to organise a time and manner in which to chat %-)
2) The Free Copy of the 33 Mistakes Book
Congratulations to Windsong, who won with this "review" (should that be preview? O:)):
"In this daring book, Ms. Laurens not only sweeps common misconceptions about man's best friend away, but she burns their ashes as well. For those of you that believe dogs are domesticated wolves, there is still hope.
In 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, writers learn that dogs are people too. They communicate through more than one language, they "see" the world through more than just their eyes, and they have personalities all of their own. This book dispels myths and debunks common misconceptions. After all, dogs may not be human (or domesticated wolves), but they are still people in fur coats."
Well done, Dany. This made me giggle :D A copy of the ebook is winging its way to you presently.
02 May 2009
Houston, We Have A Cover!
Look, look! Isn't it shiiiiiny?
Sorry for the delayed posting. The 'podcast' will come later this afternoon; yesterday and Friday were psychotic, so you know.
BUT. I have a COVER!
Innit pretty? :)
Also, don't forget to enter the contests! And it's not too late to vote for which mistake you want me to read for the podcast %-)
Sorry for the delayed posting. The 'podcast' will come later this afternoon; yesterday and Friday were psychotic, so you know.
BUT. I have a COVER!
Innit pretty? :)
Also, don't forget to enter the contests! And it's not too late to vote for which mistake you want me to read for the podcast %-)
27 April 2009
Contests, Contests Galore!
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED.
And they're all right here on this blog! Whee! :D
1) Character Chats
The post from week before last got me thinking: a couple of people mentioned to me that they're unfamiliar with the idea of character chats. Really, they're a blast! And a few weeks ago, Michelle had a contest on her blog for someone to participate in a character chat. So I thought - this is the week of contests! Why not?!
So.
Rules: Anyone may enter. To enter, leave a comment on this post introducing a character you'd like interviewed. You have approx 100 words to convince me to choose your character over everyone else's, so be creative! Let your character's voice and personality shine through! :) To clarify: you may write this in any style you like, in any tense/person/POV, so long as I can get a sense of your character from it.
Prize: I'll interview the winning character and post the interview on the blog. It'll be fun! :)
Closing Date: Monday May 4.
2) Book Reviews
As you know, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs is coming out really soon. Now, naturally, I'd like people to buy this book ;) but I also really want to give away a couple of copies for FREE! Yay! Free book! :)
So I was thinking, people usually give away copies before the book comes out as 'Advanced Reader Copies' (ARCs) so that other people can review them. I'm not sure what I can do about ARCs, but in the sentiment of this...
Rules: Submit to me a 100-200 word review of my ebook. No, you can't read it first. Yes, you still have to review it %-) (hint: you can take a look at the topics covered here) The best/most inventive/most creative/most exciting/interesting/pretty review will win a copy of my ebook - and I may award runner up prizes on a discretionary basis.
You can either post your review in the comments section, or you can email it to me :)
Prize: My ebook! Huzzah!
Closing Date: Monday May 4.
3) The Ultimate - Free Books
This contest is NOT LIVE yet. I'll do another post next week as soon as it is.
When my ebook is released, the first ten people to buy a copy and email me a copy of their receipt will go in the draw to win a brand new copy of For The Love Of A Dog, one of the books I drew on in writing my ebook. This is a really, really awesome book about emotion in dogs - but it's about so much more than that. It's about emotions in people, too, and emotions in general, and the connections and communication between us and the people - and animals - we love. Honestly, if everyone who had to deal with dogs read this book, the number of dog-related injuries would dramatically decrease. This is a really, really great book.
Rules: Buy a copy of my ebook once it's released, and email me your receipt. If you're one of the first ten, you'll be entered into the draw (you'll receive confirmation that your email has been received, and I let people know when the cut off has been reached).
Prize: For The Love Of A Dog, by Patricia McConnell, posted out to you wherever you are, completely for F-R-E-E!! :D
So there you have it. Three contests in one day. Yippee! So - are you going to enter? :)
PS - Wow. This has been a really smiley post.
PPS - If you enter in the comments below, please make it clear WHICH CONTEST you're entering. Thanks :) (Oh look, another smile! :D)
PPS - Don't forget to go vote for which mistake you want me to read out in Friday's post! :)
And they're all right here on this blog! Whee! :D
1) Character Chats
The post from week before last got me thinking: a couple of people mentioned to me that they're unfamiliar with the idea of character chats. Really, they're a blast! And a few weeks ago, Michelle had a contest on her blog for someone to participate in a character chat. So I thought - this is the week of contests! Why not?!
So.
Rules: Anyone may enter. To enter, leave a comment on this post introducing a character you'd like interviewed. You have approx 100 words to convince me to choose your character over everyone else's, so be creative! Let your character's voice and personality shine through! :) To clarify: you may write this in any style you like, in any tense/person/POV, so long as I can get a sense of your character from it.
Prize: I'll interview the winning character and post the interview on the blog. It'll be fun! :)
Closing Date: Monday May 4.
2) Book Reviews
As you know, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs is coming out really soon. Now, naturally, I'd like people to buy this book ;) but I also really want to give away a couple of copies for FREE! Yay! Free book! :)
So I was thinking, people usually give away copies before the book comes out as 'Advanced Reader Copies' (ARCs) so that other people can review them. I'm not sure what I can do about ARCs, but in the sentiment of this...
Rules: Submit to me a 100-200 word review of my ebook. No, you can't read it first. Yes, you still have to review it %-) (hint: you can take a look at the topics covered here) The best/most inventive/most creative/most exciting/interesting/pretty review will win a copy of my ebook - and I may award runner up prizes on a discretionary basis.
You can either post your review in the comments section, or you can email it to me :)
Prize: My ebook! Huzzah!
Closing Date: Monday May 4.
3) The Ultimate - Free Books
This contest is NOT LIVE yet. I'll do another post next week as soon as it is.
When my ebook is released, the first ten people to buy a copy and email me a copy of their receipt will go in the draw to win a brand new copy of For The Love Of A Dog, one of the books I drew on in writing my ebook. This is a really, really awesome book about emotion in dogs - but it's about so much more than that. It's about emotions in people, too, and emotions in general, and the connections and communication between us and the people - and animals - we love. Honestly, if everyone who had to deal with dogs read this book, the number of dog-related injuries would dramatically decrease. This is a really, really great book.
Rules: Buy a copy of my ebook once it's released, and email me your receipt. If you're one of the first ten, you'll be entered into the draw (you'll receive confirmation that your email has been received, and I let people know when the cut off has been reached).
Prize: For The Love Of A Dog, by Patricia McConnell, posted out to you wherever you are, completely for F-R-E-E!! :D
So there you have it. Three contests in one day. Yippee! So - are you going to enter? :)
PS - Wow. This has been a really smiley post.
PPS - If you enter in the comments below, please make it clear WHICH CONTEST you're entering. Thanks :) (Oh look, another smile! :D)
PPS - Don't forget to go vote for which mistake you want me to read out in Friday's post! :)
24 April 2009
33 Mistakes About Dogs: Podcast!
Do you ever invert words while you're writing? My latest switch was writing 'monastery' when I meant 'masonry' o.O Whoops! :D
ANYway...
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about today's post. Something different is in store: a podcast! Whee! *bounces*
Only, of course, it isn't a real podcast, because blogger doesn't let you upload audio files. So it's a podcast with a pretty picture O:)
Now, you all have to promise not to mock my voice (which I dislike) or my Australian accent (which I don't mind). Okay? Promise? Excellent.
In celebration of the fact that my ebook, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, will be released in a little over a week, in today's podcast I thought I'd let you have a sneak peak of the book. The podcast contains the entire introduction to the book - that's a whole two minutes of nothing but my melodious voice. Very shiny!
If this works out well, and you all decide you like this, I might consider doing it more regularly with fun stuff like story excerpts :)
If you're rather listen to this just as a podcast, leave your email address in the comments or email me and I'll send you the mp3 file.
Next week I'll be announcing a competition that will involve not one, not two, but three FREE BOOKS! Check in on Monday for details.
And if you'd like to hear the soothing sound of my voice reading out some more of the 33 Worst Mistakes About Dogs next Friday, you can go here to vote on which one of the 33 mistakes you'd like to hear me read.
Well, that's it! Have a great weekend :)
ANYway...
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited about today's post. Something different is in store: a podcast! Whee! *bounces*
Only, of course, it isn't a real podcast, because blogger doesn't let you upload audio files. So it's a podcast with a pretty picture O:)
Now, you all have to promise not to mock my voice (which I dislike) or my Australian accent (which I don't mind). Okay? Promise? Excellent.
In celebration of the fact that my ebook, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, will be released in a little over a week, in today's podcast I thought I'd let you have a sneak peak of the book. The podcast contains the entire introduction to the book - that's a whole two minutes of nothing but my melodious voice. Very shiny!
If this works out well, and you all decide you like this, I might consider doing it more regularly with fun stuff like story excerpts :)
If you're rather listen to this just as a podcast, leave your email address in the comments or email me and I'll send you the mp3 file.
Next week I'll be announcing a competition that will involve not one, not two, but three FREE BOOKS! Check in on Monday for details.
And if you'd like to hear the soothing sound of my voice reading out some more of the 33 Worst Mistakes About Dogs next Friday, you can go here to vote on which one of the 33 mistakes you'd like to hear me read.
Well, that's it! Have a great weekend :)
21 April 2009
Sincerest Apologies
Summing up the querying process is taking a lot longer than I'd anticipated, especially what with having been away all weekend at a dog show (we did okay, though not brilliantly ;)), and with having spent the last two days working with my uni partner on our presentation that will be worth 50% of our grade.
So yeah. Not a lot of time to deal with my thoughts on the queries.
HOWEVER. The post is in progress, and I can solemnly swear that I'll have it up for you sometime tomorrow :) It's actually a lot of fun, dissecting these letters, and I'm learning a lot. I think. I hope. o.O
In other news, I have an unoffical release date for my ebook, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs! And it's close! Hoorah! To celebrate, later in the week I'll be sharing the introduction to the book with you via podcast (You all get to hear me speak! Quick, run while you still can!), and next week I'll be unveiling an awesome competition where you could be in the running to win not one, not two, but THREE FREE BOOKS! :) Very shiny indeed.
So, have a good evening/morning/day/night (depending on where you are, of course), and I'll be back tomorrow with lots of bleeding, dissected queries ;) Fun fun!
So yeah. Not a lot of time to deal with my thoughts on the queries.
HOWEVER. The post is in progress, and I can solemnly swear that I'll have it up for you sometime tomorrow :) It's actually a lot of fun, dissecting these letters, and I'm learning a lot. I think. I hope. o.O
In other news, I have an unoffical release date for my ebook, the 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs! And it's close! Hoorah! To celebrate, later in the week I'll be sharing the introduction to the book with you via podcast (You all get to hear me speak! Quick, run while you still can!), and next week I'll be unveiling an awesome competition where you could be in the running to win not one, not two, but THREE FREE BOOKS! :) Very shiny indeed.
So, have a good evening/morning/day/night (depending on where you are, of course), and I'll be back tomorrow with lots of bleeding, dissected queries ;) Fun fun!
02 March 2009
That Sentence, and Farewell to Feb
So, to round off last week's post on The Sentence, here's my crit of Anette's proffered goodies:
Estranged from her people, Pearl, a predator by nature, adopts an abandoned prey whelp and holds onto this unnatural relationship, despite that it may starve them both to death.
It's not bad as it is, but the syntax is a little inverted, which makes it hard to follow. Eg, 'despite that it may'. It could also stand to be a little snappier. So this is my take, knowing nothing about the story, or the characters, or any of the other possibilities for things like antag, need, protag, etc :) Forgive me, Anette, if I totally mush the story o.O :)
Even though it might mean death by starvation - never a pleasant way to die - Pearl goes against her predatorial nature and adopts an abandoned prey whelp, holding onto the unnatural relationship in an effort to stave off the loneliness estrangement from her people has caused.
(Too long).
Pearl is a predator cut off from her pack. What she needs is to survive. What she does is adopt an abandoned prey whelp, clinging to the relationship (why??) even though it might spell death for them both.
Okay, it occurs to me at this point the problem I've been having with this sentence: Who are the antagonists? What are their needs? There's no sense here of what Pearl is up against, and I think that could make this a lot stronger than it presently is. Anette, if you're out there (:)), give me some feedback in the comments and we can keep bouncing this around if you like :)
As for February, blech. Didn't really get as much done as I hoped, but nonetheless broke the 30k mark on Jesscapades, which is nice :) I'm getting a better handle on the shape of the story, and have plotted it out past halfway. I also finished up the 33 Worst Mistakes About Dogs book (in store soon!), for a total of 13,655 words for the month. Not outstanding, but definitely less than terrible :)
Estranged from her people, Pearl, a predator by nature, adopts an abandoned prey whelp and holds onto this unnatural relationship, despite that it may starve them both to death.
It's not bad as it is, but the syntax is a little inverted, which makes it hard to follow. Eg, 'despite that it may'. It could also stand to be a little snappier. So this is my take, knowing nothing about the story, or the characters, or any of the other possibilities for things like antag, need, protag, etc :) Forgive me, Anette, if I totally mush the story o.O :)
Even though it might mean death by starvation - never a pleasant way to die - Pearl goes against her predatorial nature and adopts an abandoned prey whelp, holding onto the unnatural relationship in an effort to stave off the loneliness estrangement from her people has caused.
(Too long).
Pearl is a predator cut off from her pack. What she needs is to survive. What she does is adopt an abandoned prey whelp, clinging to the relationship (why??) even though it might spell death for them both.
Okay, it occurs to me at this point the problem I've been having with this sentence: Who are the antagonists? What are their needs? There's no sense here of what Pearl is up against, and I think that could make this a lot stronger than it presently is. Anette, if you're out there (:)), give me some feedback in the comments and we can keep bouncing this around if you like :)
As for February, blech. Didn't really get as much done as I hoped, but nonetheless broke the 30k mark on Jesscapades, which is nice :) I'm getting a better handle on the shape of the story, and have plotted it out past halfway. I also finished up the 33 Worst Mistakes About Dogs book (in store soon!), for a total of 13,655 words for the month. Not outstanding, but definitely less than terrible :)
12 January 2009
InkfeverPLUS and Goals
First up, I'm playing with the back end of the site a lot in prep for a big change. Because of this, I've changed the url of the InkfeverPLUS site to http://inkfeverplus.blogspot.com - and because of this, all of the links on the InkfeverPLUS site are now broken.
I'm sorry about this in that it's a huge inconvenience to you all, but I'm not sorry in that it provides me the excuse I needed to do the site redesign I've been thinking about. So, from now until maybe the end of February, the InkfeverPLUS site will be down. I'll post again when it's back up again. Thanks for bearing with me :)
Now, on to goals...
Hmm. I haven't really had a chance to give this a lot of thought prior to right now. So I'm kinda making this up as I go along. I think, though, that I'm going to make them very simple; the year is going to be insane enough what with a new job, a new uni, a new course.... etc.
Right.
1) Finish Jesscapades. Edit. Polish.
2) Query Jesscapades to at least 5 agents. (Yes, I hope to do a ton more. But like I said - aiming simple: I already know 5 agents I wish to query.)
3) Roll out the new 'website' and get InkfeverPLUS up and running properly. This is not complex - just time consuming.
4) Blog regularly.
5) Start and finish Jesscapades' sequel.
6) READ. 50 books in the year would be good; I think I did about 35 last year. I'll settle for 40, though, if the year gets crazy on me O:)
7) Oh yeah, big one - finish 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, and get it out there for sale! :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it, I think. It doesn't look like a lot - but on the other hand, blogging regularly is pretty big for me, and the list does include finishing two novels, which is one more than I finished last year :D
I'd also like to increase my total word count again, and hit 200,000 words. If I finish both novels that will give me ~140,000 right there, so it should be doable...
Wish me luck! :D
--> What's your top goal for the year?
I'm sorry about this in that it's a huge inconvenience to you all, but I'm not sorry in that it provides me the excuse I needed to do the site redesign I've been thinking about. So, from now until maybe the end of February, the InkfeverPLUS site will be down. I'll post again when it's back up again. Thanks for bearing with me :)
Now, on to goals...
Hmm. I haven't really had a chance to give this a lot of thought prior to right now. So I'm kinda making this up as I go along. I think, though, that I'm going to make them very simple; the year is going to be insane enough what with a new job, a new uni, a new course.... etc.
Right.
1) Finish Jesscapades. Edit. Polish.
2) Query Jesscapades to at least 5 agents. (Yes, I hope to do a ton more. But like I said - aiming simple: I already know 5 agents I wish to query.)
3) Roll out the new 'website' and get InkfeverPLUS up and running properly. This is not complex - just time consuming.
4) Blog regularly.
5) Start and finish Jesscapades' sequel.
6) READ. 50 books in the year would be good; I think I did about 35 last year. I'll settle for 40, though, if the year gets crazy on me O:)
7) Oh yeah, big one - finish 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs, and get it out there for sale! :)
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is it, I think. It doesn't look like a lot - but on the other hand, blogging regularly is pretty big for me, and the list does include finishing two novels, which is one more than I finished last year :D
I'd also like to increase my total word count again, and hit 200,000 words. If I finish both novels that will give me ~140,000 right there, so it should be doable...
Wish me luck! :D
--> What's your top goal for the year?
07 January 2009
A Bit Of A Ramble To Kick Off The New Year...
So, it is Wednesday. Yes, uh huh, it is. And I was supposed to post on Monday.
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
...
I did, didn't I? Can't you all see that lovely book review down there, saying it was posted on Monday? O:)
Well, it's the 7th already: an entire week into the New Year. How exciting. How tremulous. How... odd. I've been thinking about 2009 for so long now that it's strange to think I'm now actually here. This year will be a very different year for me: I've got a new job, and am supervising people (scary but good), I'm starting a new uni course at a new uni (hoorah, I'm nearly done!), my mum and baby sister are moving away (sniff, tears) - and I plan to query.
Yes, that's right. It's 2009, the year in which I intend to make my query debut. Hoorah! Ideally I would like to start doing this mid-year. It will depend on how busy the new uni course ends up being, and consequently how much time I will have to write - a lot more now I have the new job!
Writing for the last month has been nearly non-existent. I mean, I did write a 10,000+ word play, and add about 3k to the 33dogs book, but nothing on any novel. I'm absolutely itching to get back to Jesscapades - but alack, that shall have to wait until February. This month the 33dogs book is due, the play is being performed (in a week and a half, argh-argh!), I'm going away for 8 days without internet access (during which I'll be directing the play and helping run a banquet). I have to create about 40 characters with profile and motives and goals for a murder mystery night, keep the house in a saleable condition (hoorah, open day on Saturday!), help my Mum move, and create Dad's birthday present which is now only 1.5 months late :S
Argh. This month is going to be insane.
I'll do my best to keep up with blogging, but consider this forewarning: you might be getting a disproportionately large number of book review posts O:)
On Friday I'll recap what I achieved officially last year, and ponder on what goals I'll be setting for the coming year.
Thanks to all of you who regularly read Inkfever - it's truly heartwarming to watch my little visitor counter at the bottom of the page slowly ticking its way towards 2,000 :) The blog is now officially one year and one month old, and I know a couple of you have been following it right from the beginning.
To readers old and new, to readers writerly or not - thank you for sharing in my life, my dreams, my goals and my opinions. May 2009 be good for you (yes, good for you, not kind to you - sadly, two very different things ;)), and may you blossom through all adversity.
Here's to making our way through another year, and celebrating once again at the end :)
~Inky
19 November 2008
Nano, Round the Third
Yes, I've been absent. Yes, I'm terribly sorry and will try not to let it happen again. Yes, I say that every time :o)
However, the good news is that I'm officially done with study for the year - hoorah! :) So, there is nothing else to distract me until the end of February, when I start again with a new course, at a new university. How shiny B-)
So, because of the Last and Final Push to Get Assessment Done, not much has been happening on the nano front lately. HOWEVER, it's kinda good in a way, because I'm itching insanely to get back to it. I can't wait; I'm bouncing in excitement.
I don't have the official stats on me at the moment - I'll edit them in this afternoon - but for now, the month's progress looks something like this:
* 'Official' Nano words: 12,908
* Of which, 9,139 are on Jesscapades
* Total for the month for all writing is a hair short of 30k
* Of which, ~12.5k is assessment
* Of which, about 8,750 was for my 'short' story for archaeology!! Gah! The thing was supposed to be 5k, but it turned into a monster. The story itself is, I think, 7,260; the remainder is footnotes. Gah!!
So. Assessment is over, and I can get back to writing - and blogging. Happy days indeed :o) I can't wait to snug with my laptop this afternoon and get cracking on Jess again. I also really want to get going on the TP rewrite, and churn out some shorts - the only subs I've done for months have been resubs. Oh, and I have to work on the draft of 33 Mistakes About Dogs, too.
So much to do! And I have time to do it all! Hoorah!
However, the good news is that I'm officially done with study for the year - hoorah! :) So, there is nothing else to distract me until the end of February, when I start again with a new course, at a new university. How shiny B-)
So, because of the Last and Final Push to Get Assessment Done, not much has been happening on the nano front lately. HOWEVER, it's kinda good in a way, because I'm itching insanely to get back to it. I can't wait; I'm bouncing in excitement.
I don't have the official stats on me at the moment - I'll edit them in this afternoon - but for now, the month's progress looks something like this:
* 'Official' Nano words: 12,908
* Of which, 9,139 are on Jesscapades
* Total for the month for all writing is a hair short of 30k
* Of which, ~12.5k is assessment
* Of which, about 8,750 was for my 'short' story for archaeology!! Gah! The thing was supposed to be 5k, but it turned into a monster. The story itself is, I think, 7,260; the remainder is footnotes. Gah!!
So. Assessment is over, and I can get back to writing - and blogging. Happy days indeed :o) I can't wait to snug with my laptop this afternoon and get cracking on Jess again. I also really want to get going on the TP rewrite, and churn out some shorts - the only subs I've done for months have been resubs. Oh, and I have to work on the draft of 33 Mistakes About Dogs, too.
So much to do! And I have time to do it all! Hoorah!
21 April 2007
The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs
Leave a comment here to vote for which mistake you'd like me to read out for next Friday's 'podcast'!
People In Fur Coats
1) Emotion
2) Sweetness and Light
3) Intelligence
4) Causation
Personalities
5) Age, Growth and Maturity
6) Gender
7) Imprinting and Instinct
8) The Breeds
The Senses
9) Sight
10) Sound
11) Smell
12) Taste
13) Touch
Communication
14) The Human Language
15) Dog to Human
16) Dog to Dog
17) Human to Dog
Training
18) Terminology
19) Causation Revisited
20) Ways of Learning - and Teaching
21) Bad Habits
22) Memory and Rewards
Breeding
23) Neutering
24) Pregnancy, Labor and Puppies
25) Mongrels
Showing
26) It's All About The Dog
27) The Glamour Factor
28) Natural Beauty
Miscellaneous
29) Injuries to People
30) Canine versus Feline
31) Domesticated Wolves
32) Dog Jobs
33) Fantasy Dogs
People In Fur Coats
1) Emotion
2) Sweetness and Light
3) Intelligence
4) Causation
Personalities
5) Age, Growth and Maturity
6) Gender
7) Imprinting and Instinct
8) The Breeds
The Senses
9) Sight
10) Sound
11) Smell
12) Taste
13) Touch
Communication
14) The Human Language
15) Dog to Human
16) Dog to Dog
17) Human to Dog
Training
18) Terminology
19) Causation Revisited
20) Ways of Learning - and Teaching
21) Bad Habits
22) Memory and Rewards
Breeding
23) Neutering
24) Pregnancy, Labor and Puppies
25) Mongrels
Showing
26) It's All About The Dog
27) The Glamour Factor
28) Natural Beauty
Miscellaneous
29) Injuries to People
30) Canine versus Feline
31) Domesticated Wolves
32) Dog Jobs
33) Fantasy Dogs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
