Writers My Life, My Inspiration

I think almost everyone knows a writer of some kind nowadays. With blogs being so prevalent and independent writers publishing all kinds of content on their own websites and different odd ball news and info sites it's really not that surprising.

I happen to know several writers but there's one that really inspired me when I was younger and still does. My father had a rather unusual medical life and ended up documenting it in a manuscript. Sadly by the time
the manuscript was finished his medical history was getting to be rather more commonplace and the manuscript was rejected by publishers. At least that's the story my mother told me with some details added in from my dad. My father has since passed away and the manuscript was written before the computer age so there are no backups. I wish I could have found his manuscript but my father was a very practical person. He kept anything I gave him but a manuscript that was rejected was probably tossed somewhere during one of our many moves. It's unfortunate. I really wish I could have read it and seen my father's writing style. Fortunately I have many letters that my father sent to me but I know that they just aren't the same, you know?

My parents have always encouraged me in my writing and praised my early efforts. It was my father's history though and his particular encouragement I think that really gave me that "oomph" to write.

Anticipation for 2013 - Projects Ahead

Every year it comes down to it...my least favorite question: "So what are your writing goals/projects for the year?" I hate that question with an undying passion. Mostly I hate it so because it reminds me that another year has gone by with what I feel is little to no progress on any of my projects.

In reality I do get quite a bit done and as my DH is so anxious to point out I do have a whole house, family and two jobs to maintain as well. I remind myself that I've done at least fifty thousand words for NaNoWriMo. I try for another 50K during one of the NaNo Camps as well. I'm not so hot at editing but I'm getting better. I've also logged on to Scribophile to get some feedback since I've moved away from my previous writing group. I miss the camaraderie of that group and it certainly helped me get my word count in once a week. Anyways...I suppose I should actually think about my goals now for the year. I'll set them below.

1. Complete Summer of the Sword. 
Yes this was my NaNo project two years in a row but I'm still not content with it. Not to mention I'll lose a bunch in editing, I'm sure. I'm still not sure how it's going to end.

2. Post one chapter of above work on Scribophile for critiques per month.
The intent is that after being on for one month I'll have at least 3 good critiques and can get to editing while the next is getting looked at.

3. Rework my ideas for Nighttime Reading and make a functioning outline.
Another project that I started and still not completely satisfied with it. I'm doing a class and possibly will use that for my work there.

No, I don't have publishing in there but I'm still working at making myself a good, habitual writer and editor. Writing once a day is fine and all but that's not all there is to it. I'm hoping that this year, by throwing some editing in I'll be making myself a better over all writer and more prepared to publish, eventually.

My Dream Space

Someone challenged me today to write about my dream writing space. So I'll attempt to do this without too much gushing and without too many pictures.

I suppose my ideal writing space would be a tree house with an interior decorated in a rich library-esqe feel. Rich cherry or mahogany paneling with forest green paint, filled with built in bookshelves stocked to the brim with books and nick-knacks. There would be Tiffany style lamps, a large roll top desk with room for my laptop a cork board/white board for my ideas and notes. There would have to be a small kitchenette for beverages and snacks. As well as a small turret with a futon and three hundred and sixty degree views for an alternate writing space and a place to crash in case I get carried away. The exterior would look like one of the places below. Think I've thought about this much??

 

Another Favorite

Every good writer has a favorite book or three. I think that the favorite books of authors says a lot about them. Sometimes they are completely opposite of what they write and other times their favorites run in the same gene.

I tend to fall in the latter category. All of my favorite books and series fall in the fantasy/sci-fi genres. There's a good reason for what I write. I write what I know, it's that simple. My favorites tend to be wide ranging within the genre. My true favorites I tend to re-read at the very least once a year. These are ones that I've listed below. I don't really have an all time favorite but there would a close tie among the first three.  

Polgara: The Sorceress by Daivd & Leigh Eddings

It's a book that is added in to a series but I first read it as a stand alone. It's really great and I love the strong sarcastic heroine. Well written with just enough humor and a good pace, it's one of my top three. 

To Say Nothing About the Dog by Connie Willis

A great time travel read, the first I think, by Connie Willis. Dry British humor with great imagery and well researched historical details really makes this an easy read for me.

Dragon Singer Trilogy by Anne McCaffery This trilogy I could read over and over. A plucky female heroine, dragons, and music. They are short reads but I always pick up something new when reading.

Other Favorites:

Tiger and Del Series by Jennifer Roberson
I loved these books and will still read them time to time.

The Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara
A still running series with a bit of mystery, magic, and romance woven in. Super great and I watch like a hawk for the next release.

“So what? All writers are lunatics!”

Every now and again I come across something that tickles my literary funny bone. Sometimes it's a simple passage in a book and upon occasion it's something that someone says that is worthy to quote. I ran across the title quote some time ago that I thought summed up my writing life rather well.It was written by Cornelia Funke in her book Inkspell. The quote is, at least for myself, rather fitting.

My writing life is rather chaotic. I try to write with some regularity but it doesn't always work out that way. Between my three blogs, several half completed writing projects, and life in general my writing does suffer some. In my opinion all writers are lunatics. The better the writer the more the lunatic. How else can you explain whole worlds, lives, and pages and pages of witty, plot driving dialogue? Writers with multiple worlds? They're the craziest of us all. Sure, all those ideas are now kept tidily in notebooks, word documents, and sometimes on the back of napkins stained with coffee rings but all of those ideas have to start somewhere. You can't be all grounded to come up with some of the more popular books on the sci-fi/fantasy bookshelf at your local book store. 

I suppose that's why I like the quote so much. It gives me a bit of an excuse for the crazy bit in me!

Writing For January

There's a lot going on in my household for the month of January. The basement is on it's way to being finished, they started working this past Tuesday on it. A lot of progress over the box cluttered basement. There are actual things that look like walls now! Almost more exciting is the fact that the DRIcore flooring system is going to go in today. All very exciting stuff!

Even more exciting is the amount of work I've put in on my blogs over the past week. I am more than just a little pleased with myself. I've gotten no less than two posts for this blog done to be posted in the future. I've also completed a monster post for my website with another one in the works that I hope to finish today. I'm trying to get ahead, can you tell? I've added a goal to my sheet this year and that is to post weekly on each blog at least! I have three so that's at least three articles that I should be writing a week. Or something equivalent to that. That being said I've been rather naughty and haven't been writing much in any of my novel writing projects. This isn't anything new really. After NaNoWriMo in November I tend to short out. Then you pile on Thanksgiving and Christmas and it's like running a race, finding out you have to jump hurdles at the end and once you've finished you realized that you didn't eat anything for breakfast. I guess writing my blogs uses a different part of my creative writing node in my brain. It's all good though. I usually break out of my funk sometime in February. It takes time to write blog posts and such. Especially those for my site. Those usually take a bit of research as well. During the month of November I don't think I posted anything at all, choosing instead to focus on my novel. I suppose this is payback.

It's probably just as well that both of my "regular"jobs (both of which are seasonal) have no need for me at the moment. While this does hurt my wallet it gives me time to really tackle my writing and other projects around the house. Like keeping track of the basement finishing and taking care of appointments for my son and pets.

So just a little update this time around. Look forward to some fascinating posts on this blog soon!