Idk

I’m having a problem with follow through on my stories right now. Writing them, that is

And a little bit on reading new books. I’ve thrown a bunch onto my DNF shelf. One of which I dnf’d so hard I mentally started rewriting it in my imagination then flipping it over to a story I had started once upon a time.

So much so that I started looking for the file. But my cloud storage is a confusing batch of storms, none of which I found it in. Which means I should look for it on my laptop. But my desk is full with my work computer and stuff for work and I don’t want to cross that boundary.

Which I get it. I have a whole a$$ house to set up in. And I have too much crap and I get it under control and then it slips the leash and goes out of control and yada yada yada. Just put the work in, and I can have a working solution. I could have the home I want.

And yet something almost always stops me. And that something is me.

I know how I became my own worst enemy in this. Anyone have any suggestions? Because I don’t know how to fix this.

Your first…

Do you remember your first library? Mine was in a strip mall, had paperback racks filled with stories. Bean bag chairs to slip into and read to my hearts content.

Then I started going into different areas of the library. Formula racing, I remember pulling those and checking them out. Dreaming of driving fast fast fast. Then it was rally car racing, spurred on by a movie my sister took me to see.

Ohhh, but in fourth or fifth grade the librarian called my mom on me. I was going for “adult” fiction– romances and Sci-Fi and Fantasy. That poor librarian thought when my mom said she’d be right there, I’d be getting a tongue lashing.

Well, someone got chewed out.

It wasn’t me.

When Mom was younger, she was with foster families. She wasn’t allowed anything of her own, and was not allowed to read what she wanted. She told me of taking a copy of an approved book (hardback), and cutting out enough pages that the real book she was reading could slip in. Those idiots probably thought she was a slow reader.

I don’t remember Mom ever going into the library to check out books. Which is odd because she was a voracious reader.  She had floor to ceiling bookcases in the house, my dad built them on the wall just for her. But library books? Not so much.

The library is about more than books now. Maybe it always has been, but I didn’t see it because I wasn’t looking for it when I was younger.  When my son was super small and I was unemployed, I took him for storytime. It was so needed for me, got me out of the house to a place where he would be entertained and it was free. And there were other grownups there going through the same thing.

As he’s grown, he’s gone to the library for crafts and classes on coding and just to look for books. For people without wifi there is access to computers– and for people who need help with them, there are classes. The local library in California had several classes, for adults, teens and kids. Gardening. Taking care of elderly parents. Diabetes control. Coding. So many classes.

The library has become a true community center and it makes my heart hurt that so many are fighting to stay open. And I think of myself, that little library kid loving all the books.

And I’m thankful.

I think I might need to go to my new library tomorrow.  Find out about my new community. I’ve only been once (twice if you count the returning of books lol). Hope you visit yours as well.

Have you ever met the book

That you wish you’d written, but you’re so grateful someone else did… You’re also so scared the ending won’t live up to it, to the homage? The call back?

I just did.

I make no bones of being inspired by Willie Wonka and his Chocolate Factory. Specifically, Gene Wilder’s version of the candy man. It caught my imagination, burrowed in and still can be found there to this day.

I had no idea what was in store for me when I picked up “The Wishing Game” by Meg Shaffer. Should have maybe inferred it, but there’s nothing blatant about the homage on the OUTSIDE of the book. On that fateful bookstore birthday shopping spree I didn’t check the inside. I never do, unless I’m checking out the writing style. If I had read the praise, or even the dedication, well…

I would have squealed, loudly and proudly.

This book has taken me a few days to read, not because it was slow, or dense or anything else. But because I was scared. Even though I had already flipped to the back of the book. And yes, I’m also the person who cringes hard and looks away (or pauses) when watching TV or a movie when the characters were being cringey, or being embarrassed by others.

I had a lot emotionally invested in this book, even with never having read a lick of it. I hoped for the characters. I wished upon stars with them. And I celebrated with them too.

It does not contain a candy garden, or a chocolate factory. Sorry. No Oompa Loompas, either. But there is a family found and bound with love, and forgiveness and understanding and hope.

It was unexpectedly the book I really needed right at that moment.

Oh! And it contains the poem– the one Gene Wilder says in the boat. Or at least the first stanza. But Shaffer also gives credit (cites the sources as Jack would say): ODE, BY ARTHUR O’SHAUGHNESSY.

How wondrous to buy a book and have it echo so many of your own imagination’s quirkiness.

Goals check up

Well, apparently I had no need to worry about the blip of only a few books in January that were read. Because I read an obscene amount in March. Ripped through several author’s entire back list too!

I’ve been blogging more regularly this year, too. Looks like I’m hitting 3 times per month every month. Not great, but so much better than the years previously that I’ll take it.

I’ve been writing more, too. Sometimes I’ll start and stop. Or play here and there. Flash and poetry are what I’m currently completing on a regular basis. But I am writing. And submitting.

One of the best things for my writing was showing up  for a writing date with Rie. It isn’t about being held accountable. It’s about having someone you can shoot a text to really quick– hey, a short female name that doesn’t start with an M or is Lily?? And get a response. It’s not being or feeling so alone in the process. Forwarding opportunities that might fit the other one’s story, feedback, heck just being “there.” We are states away, but technology is a wonderful thing. Just knowing someone is there for an hour a day, Monday through Friday with me… It’s a beautiful thing.

Now, I’m off to go write more in my silly little story. I’m calling it that because right now I’m writing it just for me. It makes me happy to write it. 

And that is enough.

For today, making myself giggle is enough.

Cheers!

Musing on Genre

So no surprises here: I like the genres I like. Everyone has a personal favorite. Or favoriteS. I have several that I love– Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and a dash of Literary. Every once in a while throw in a dash of Cozy Mystery.

Most of those genres have sub-genres from within. Some stories smash things together, some subsets are directly related to tone. You wouldn’t want to confuse a Dark Romance with a Rom-Com for instance. Two VERY different types of stories.

I’ve talked about being on a reading tear. It has almost all been romance. Personally, for me as a writer, I normally read in a different genre than I am currently writing. Or trying to write. 

Right now I’m writing dark and twisty fantasy right now and that’s ok.

I’m reading romance. A lot of romance

And I just found an author (Pippa Grant if you’re curious) who has nailed the Rom-Com. We are talking howling. Laughing so hard I had to put the phone down because I was crying. We had 2 painful crotch shots, a scene that made me think the hero had eaten some special brownies, him getting puked on, falling in deer poop… And reminding me that Rom-Com is specifically supposed to be funny.

That’s not always the case. Some Romances are light, but not necessarily funny yet they are called Rom-Com for want of a better name. Chick-Lit sounds bad, like an insult. That’s a te.fr way back yonder, and I probably used it too.

It’s not that the books are bad at the comedy aspect, it’s that the comedy isn’t part of the DNA of the book.

It’s probably just me. But I really wish there was a team to come up with names for these sub-genres that were a little bit better at hitting what it really is.

Because if it says Rom-Com I should at least giggle

Right?

Ta, my Lovelies. I’m off to write something dark and twisty before I go back to reading the real funny shit

The DNF Dance

At what point do you put a book down and not finish it because of poor editing? I’m not talking about a story that doesn’t click for you, is outside your realm of interest or anything to do with taste

I’m speaking of straight up poor editing. Even down to the sentence level.

I believe I mentioned I’ve been on a reading tear. For this month I am at 15 books completed, not counting the 3 books I reread. (All by Zapata, I really really like her books!) Not all the authors I like are on KU which is where I’m getting most of the books I’m reading. And with 35 books under my belt for February and March, I had to branch out. Found some thru TikTok, and some through recommendations on Amazon.

I’m going to put a few caveats here. 1. I know, I KNOW my writing here could use a good editing or even proofreading. I come here to get things off my chest. When I send things out for “Submission” it has been proofread & sent to my writing partner (Hi Sis!) for editing help. 2. I will not name this author here. She has done something not everyone can do– completed and published not one but 3 books (in the series). 3. To whomever left the Amazon review of how she could get her money back from her editor… I howled. Also felt bad, but snickered too. BUT there is a possibility she didn’t have the funds for an editor, or resources. However, some of the problems could have been spotted with a set of beta readers.

The first hiccup I encountered was the tense. Writing in present tense is hard on the reader, but I could roll with it. Not my first rodeo lol. I don’t generally like the pacing, but the book was under 300 pages so thought I could handle it.

Then there was the missing word. It bothered me enough that I  went back a few times just to see that Yup ! Really missing a word there.

Chapter four rolls around. We, the reader, are still with the couple on the first meeting. It’s been going back and forth between male and female character for point of view, but I’m chapter four we get.. Past tense.

No. Just no.

I know that fore personally, if I continue reading it I will be doing so in order to find more hiccups. But there’s no reason for me to do this. I am not in a class, needing to give feedback. I am not her editor. I am not a beta reader.

And at 15% in, I’m not that invested in the characters. Which wouldn’t be a problem (taste) but I figured it was short. I could rip through it. Maybe it gets better. But when that chapter bounced the tenses, I hard bounced out.

So my lovelies, at what point do you DNF a book due to technical errors?

If you write and self publish, please know that there are people rooting for you and willing to be beta readers for you.

Update on goals

So February was a good month for my goals. I posted more here, wrote more words and read a heck of a lot more than I did in January.

READING: Read 20 books (oh my gosh!!!) and DNF’d 16. I am really enjoying what I’m reading, even if I’m picking up tics in the writers. I’m ripping through different authors on KU, which makes those things jump out. Some things I love, like the no 3rd Act Breakup and others, like popping shoulders and using husked instead of…. Said. Whisper. Rasped. Anything other than husk lol. But I’m also learning to jump over those bits. Not having to wait for titles means that I can read an authors backlist or a whole series in one go. If I had to wait a year for the book to come out it probably wouldn’t even be a blip.

WRITING: I’m writing more, and coming to terms with the fact that longer forms aren’t for me right now. Poetry, prose poetry and flash fiction are what I’m able to sustain and that’s ok. Also, I submitted something in February. Maybe a little too honest, too raw in my cover letter but it happens. I have another story I’m getting ready to sub, one that’s more of a humorous story.

I’m hanging out here more too, keeping up with the blog. I’ve dropped off of scrolling aimlessly for hours on the clock app, and I gave up the book face a long time ago– it wasn’t good for my mental health. Instead of social media I have been turning to reading and writing.

So. As check-ins go, February was a good month. Here’s to hoping March is even better!

Ta, my lovelies! Hope you find great books to read and if you’re of a writerly bent may the muse bless you.

Writerly Musing: Cover Letter

So, I probably just bombed my chances by writing the most honest cover letter of my life.

It’s for a weird, disturbing story I wrote that also happens to be beautiful. I mentioned in the letter that if I am to kill my darlings the whole story would be gone and I can’t do that.

It’s a story that means something to me. Because stories matter, we know they do. And this story is like a prayer, a hymn for a life gone too soon. I get emotional about the story and I slipped the leash and let it out in the cover letter.

Stories matter.

I’m having a hard time finding a home for this one. That’s ok. It just hasn’t found a home yet. I have faith that it will, tho.

Stories matter. Dark and twisty, light and fluffy. All ends of the spectrum. Stories matter. If I feel anything down deep to my bones it is that.

Stories matter.

Writerly Wonderings

So I’ve started reading voraciously lately and with that comes grooving on an author’s work. KU makes it nice because you can rip through a series without the financial impact.

But today I want to talk about writing tics. That word or phrase a writer uses, or something that they do repeatedly. Some people hate it when the author does not use the word “said”. Some writers over-use ellipsis.. And that writer is me, in case you were wondering.

I was involved (according to Kindle about 30% worth) in the second book of the series when I started to wonder: What would a shoulder pop look like? It bounced me a bit out of the story as I tried different variations of the motions.

But then it kept happening. These shoulders were popping so much I started to wonder how no one dislocated a shoulder. It also bounced me out of the story, just a bit.

As writers, it’s imperative that we have readers. Beta readers are such a needed resource. Other writers can help as well if you can get over the nerves. Nerves about how another writer will treat your writing, treat you as the author. Some are worried that others will steal their words. Their ideas. Their heart and soul.

I’ve been lucky in the people I’ve met along the way. I dip in and out of Writers Village University (not an accredited school, but more of an online resource for writers to learn and make connections). I don’t go on there often, but I’ve met some great writers there.

And one of those people I met so very long ago. She has edited my work. Cheered me on. And currently we write together every day from miles away (thanks to technology. You should go check out her work– Rie Sheridan Rose.

She has called me out on my ellipsis and the lack of the word said in a story. I hope I’ve helped her as well. And when you find the right writing partner/ beta reader, sharing your story doesn’t send you into a panic attack.

Promise.

Now onto book 3 to see if all these characters are still popping their shoulders!

Ta my Lovelies!

Bookish Thoughts: The Secret Sharer

First I want to thank Net Galley and Subterranean Press for the copy of Robert Silverberg’s “The Secret Sharer” in return for an honest review.

Two things to note right off the bat:
1. This is a SF retelling of a Joseph Conrad story by the same name
2. This is an illustrated edition.

I received an ebook of the title, and the artwork is beautiful even on my android phone. So much so that I’m debating getting a physical copy.

I’ve never read Silverberg that I can remember. I’ve read all around him, having grown up reading speculative Fiction since the 1980s when I first stumbled upon stories that make my heart sing. That opened my eyes to the magic that words can transport you into another world.

I can see why Silverberg is considered a Classic. His writing is beautiful, but has a different flow to it than current pieces. Gorgeous, just different. The artwork added to the story, and as I said above is stunning.

Link provided below for info on this edition.

Hope you guys have a brilliant week, with lots of good books in it!

https://subterraneanpress.com/newsthe-secret-sharer-by-robert-silverberg-shipping/