Picture Pause - Cuteness Overload

Hey, Honey?

 

Yes, dear?

 Could you buy some pickles while you're out.  And ice cream.  I need ice cream.

;o)

When Reading and Writing Collide

I spent yesterday with my nose in a book.  Two actually.  Unfortunately, neither were mine.  On the upside, one was Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch.  (If you haven't read this series, what are you waiting for?  It's gnarly.) And the other was Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman.  Also quite gnarly.  Two awesome books at a time?  Heaven.

My own book?  Well, it's sitting on the hard drive waiting for me to finish it - preferably before midnight Tuesday if I want to keep my promise that this sucker will be done in January.  No excuses.

But it does bring up an interesting point.  When your two loves are writing and reading, what happens when those loves collide?  I know I should be writing.  I knew when I got our of bed yesterday that I had four days to finish Djinn 2.  But I also knew I wanted to read JB's book.  So I told myself I'd read for an hour and then get to work.  And I did read for an hour.  After which I made myself step away from the ereader program for a quick trip to the postal place and the grocery store.

My big mistake after I got back was going to the couch.  Evil wicked nasty couch.  I thought I'd read a little of Gini's book and then go work.  Flash forward several hours and I'm so deep in someone else's story, that even when I take a break, I can't envision going back to my own book. 

:headdesk:  I should've known better.

Well, today I'm going to do better.  Even though I'm still not sure how to write the end, I will write it.  I will stay away from the couch.  I will not open the Kindle for PC.  I will write until I can write no more, and only then will I allow myself the reward of reading.

I just wish I'd had this talk with myself yesterday morning.  Feh.

What do you do to keep yourself on track with your writing when the books you love to read beckon?

She's Going to Hate Me For This

I'm nearing the end of this WIP and I've been having trouble seeing the end.  Sure, I'm a plansterer and I hardly ever have everything mapped out ahead of time.  Still, I like at least knowing a little about how the book is going to end.  With this WIP, I had no clue. 

Until yesterday.

I was standing outside, thinking and smoking - trying to figure out where exactly I was going to go from here.  To a certain extent, I painted myself into a corner.  Which isn't necessarily bad, since it always gives me a chance to be creative with how I'm going to crawl out.  However, this time the blinding flash of insight that came led to a path I did not want to follow. 

Sure, the readers totally won't see it coming.  It'll be awesome dipped in awesomeness covered in awesomesauce.  And Jo's going to hate me for this.  I will effectively be both saving her and screwing her over.

Sort of like with that climber a few years back who got trapped when a boulder rolled onto his arm.  His choices were die or cut his arm off.  He cut his arm off, but despite the fact that he lived, he can't be happy with the choice left to him.  (And no, Jo the genie won't be losing any body parts.  Since djinn are pretty much self-healing, she'd just grow it back anyway.)

Yesterday I didn't write the scene.  Looking back at it now, yesterday was sort of like a moment of silence.  (And a little bit hiding from what I have to do.)  I'll get to the scene today.  And deal with Jo afterwards.

Ever have a plot point come to you that's both wonderful and horrible?  Ever worry whether your characters are going to hate you?

For the record, I know my characters aren't real people with real emotions.  I just feel like I'm betraying Jo to save the story, and it's making me squirmy.

Wicked Awesome Author Wednesday

In an effort to, once again, have a regular event on The Writing Spectacle, I've decided to make Wednesdays a day to celebrate a particular author I know, I love or both.

This week's WAA (Wicked Awesome Author) is my friend JB Lynn. 

JB hit the ground running yesterday with the ebook release of Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman.  (Paperback due out next month.)  So, what better person to start off the WAAW with...

First off, I have to admit I haven't read her latest release yet.  I bought the e-version for Kindle (I don't own a Kindle, but I have the nifty 'puter program Kindle for PC.) yesterday, and it's set to be my next read.  I did read the first chapter - which she posted on Scribd - last week and then spent the days between then and now twisting in the wind to see what happens next.  (I just have to finish what I'm reading right now first.) 

From that preview and the snippets I've read - as well as knowing JB is an incredibly talented person - I know this book is going to rock.  After all, it's got a gal - Maggie - who gets squeezed into the job of hitwoman by circumstance.  It's got a less-than-shining knight in the form of a cop who helps her learn the ropes.  And, of course, it's got a snarky talking lizard who's kid named him Godzilla, but he prefers the nickname God.  Yeah, I'm so there.

Look for more about JB as she stops by here for a guest post sometime next week.  Until then, get your questions ready for her and for petesakes, go get a copy of her book.  It's only $3.99.  And if you enjoy that, go back and pick up a copy of her first book - The First Victim (which I reviewed here).  It's a great introduction to this Wicked Awesome Author.

Oh, and if you like fun and snarky tweets, go follow @NeuroticTweets - where JB posts thoughts from Maggie and God.

Now, enough gushing.  Go buy her stuff and enjoy yourselves.  It'll totally be worth it.

Writing The End - A Crass Analogy

I spent some time this morning thinking of an analogy for writing the end of this damn book.

First I thought it might be like that super-annoying Barney ditty - The Song That Never Ends.  Or maybe it's like the snake eating it's own tail... Nah, that's not it.  This isn't circular.  Which means it's also not like the Barney song - that's circular, too.  Still, this is like the book that never ends. 

Then I tried to relate it to climbing.  I've read that sometimes when you're climbing, you think you've reached the top only to find you ended up on some kind of faux-summit and you still have some major climbing to do.  It's kinda like that.

But really I came to the conclusion that it's more like totally unsatisfying sex. 

You know, the kind where you're building toward a climax but never reach it.  You thought you might be close once, but then it all fell apart and you missed it, but he's still up there grunting away...  Nothing is quite getting you where you need to be, but something (or someone as the case may be) is getting in the way of reaching a really explosive climax.

Yeah, that's it exactly.  Finishing this book reminds me of sex with this guy I knew about fifteen years ago.  A really long time spent sweating and grunting, trying new things to get where you need to be and just when you think you've almost got the big payoff, you realize in the end, there really wasn't an end. 

Crass analogy, I know, but it works.  Sad, but true.  Maybe he was trying too hard.  Maybe I was.  Unfortunately what it all boiled down to was a whole lot of work and nothing to show for it but a new appreciation for what gymnasts have to endure.

Lucky for me, I can still get to the climax of this book, and if I'm not satisfied, I can do the whole thing over again.    One thing I know for sure is I can't be like that guy and leave my readers with an unsatisfying end to show for all their hard work.  Because they sure as hell aren't willing to fake it just to save my feelings.

Okay, time to write this.  If I'm lucky, I'll reach the real climax sometime today.  And then all there is to write is the afterglow.

Picture Pause - Artsy Shots

I keep talking about my photography, so I thought I'd share a few artsy shots I took yesterday.

All of these were taken within walking distance of my place.  There were others, but I haven't had the time to play with the cropping, resizing and other adjustments.

Hope you enjoyed.  Have a great Friday night and if I don't see you before Monday, have an awesome weekend.  =o)

Randomosity - College Edition

I looked at my To-Do list this morning and wondered what in the hell KiTam meant.  Then I realized it was a note to remind me to call my daughter at 7am.  (I didn't need to, btw.  She was already on Facebook, so she's up to make her early Geology class.)

She totally didn't appreciate my geology puns first thing this morning.  I mean, come on.  Rock on! was funny.

When you talk to people at a college billing office, you need to realize they have no clue what it means to pay for college out of pocket.  So when I called to bitch about the huge difference from one bill to the next - caused by taking an online course vs a go-to course - and she told me there really wasn't a difference, she didn't realize $600 was a big difference to me.  (I made the kid drop the damn course and take something else... which is why she now has an 8am Geology class.)

I still can't wrap my brain around why an online course would be $600 more than a go-to course.  I mean, there's no overhead.  It ought to be cheaper, right?

I so totally want to take my daughter's classes this semester.  Well, except for Econ.  But I would rock Geology.  I already took Public Speaking, so that would be a breeze.  Business Computing?  Fuggetabowit.  Business Communications?  Puleeze.  Okay, so I wouldn't want Algebra either, but I'm seriously jealous of the rest.

Her RA (resident advisor) is a Monty Python fan.  I want her for a friend.  My own first RA was the one who introduced me to Monty Python back in 1988.  I will forever love that woman.  Chris Anderson?  Wherever you are, you have my undying gratitude.

I went to Northern Michigan University.  On the sunny shores of Lake Superior.  Yes, it was cold.  Yes, it was snowy.  But I got used to it.  Could I do it now?  Oh hell no.  I got used to it then, but that was 20 years ago. 

Got anything random to add this morning?