No Use For A Name

I'm alive.

2007-06-02T15:57:39Z

Would you believe that I haven't been posting because my writer's block was full-force? Yes, I've been blocked for nearly a year due to personal life mostly, but I've been inspired lately. So, here I am. At it again. Signed up at WritersCafe.org, haven't posted anything as of yet, but it looks like a community I could benefit from. I suggest it to all my writer friends.

Done.

2006-08-10T03:48:41Z

The story is edited (after many delays), and I plan to send it off by Friday while I’m taking care of some other errands. Then, it’s time to get started on my next short story! I already have one in mind. ;)

See more progress on: publish an erotic story

For RnbwRvrGrl, cheer up, love!

2006-08-04T20:27:48Z

Beautiful girl spun
In blue and blonde; she’s dancing.
Baby, you’re a star.

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Lonely Train

2006-07-20T16:48:47Z

Drifting between two
Means, you can’t have it both ways.
Human paradox.

Had to get an early start. I’ll be busy all day tomorrow. Title from a Black Stone Cherry song of the same name, which inspired the Haiku.

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

I guess I've actually done this...

2006-07-18T05:27:47Z

...but it was for one of those poetry.com things some years back, which is pretty much a not-so-nice scam. I don’t write poetry as much as I do short stories, but it would be nice to see one of my stories published in something. I finished a poem last night that I’m fairly happy with. I’m going to let it sit for a couple of days; then, I’m going to revise it and get it out of here. Hopefully, it’ll find someone to love it.

See more progress on: Publish a poem

Upcoming week plans.

2006-07-15T05:15:05Z

This upcoming week, I am going to finish my first draft of my short story. Then, I’m going to print it out and self-edit it like a mofo. I’m going out of town again on the 22nd to visit my stepmother and my father, but I think I’ll still be able to self-edit my story and get it ready for submitting while away. I work best at night, so I know I’ll have time to do it. It’s just the point of doing it.

See more progress on: Prioritize, Focus & Follow-Through

The Kiss

2006-07-14T05:42:41Z

The graceful curve of
Lips as soft as hand-spun silk
Beckon me to kiss

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Signed up for another one.

2006-07-13T18:07:05Z

This time I signed up for “Writing for Quick Cash” since I actually have that book and the other book recommended for the course. This time around I’ll update this regularly with how the course is going. It doesn’t start until August 7th.

See more progress on: take a barnes and noble online course

Many, many ideas.

2006-07-12T10:09:17Z

I can't sleep for whatever reason. I am sleepy, but my body refuses to actually go to sleep. I have a ton of ideas running through my head right now.

It figures that I would be lucid when I really want to go to sleep. I always seem to hit my creative peak when I'm too tired to even move. Hopefully, this creativity will stay a while.

feb15th @ 2006-07-11T18:22:00

2006-07-11T19:23:37Z

Written to word #158 posted on the 15minuteficlets community. Not so good. I could've done better, but it's a start. I can always improve on it later.

_ _ _

It wasn’t so much a fight, as it was her continuously nagging. When Rafe didn’t want to talk about something, he didn’t talk about it—the end. But she could never let things go, something that he blamed on the “female mystique.” He believed nagging was programmed into the female DNA.

Right now, she wasn’t happy with him. He had too many secrets. He told too many lies. Where was he last night? Why didn’t he call? Didn’t he know she worried about him? Did he even care? He turned his back on her when she started to cry. Small, furious tears seeped like poison from her closed eyelids. He had never gotten along too well with tears.

Part of him wanted to reach out and hold her, to tell her everything would be okay, but another part of him refused. Who was she to demand anything of him? What right did she have to care about him?

He was the one who invited her into his life, however. An impromptu coffee date between two strangers sealed their fate. Now, he couldn’t get rid of her, even if he wanted to, even if she’d let him. Despite the secrets, the lies, the constant upheaval he caused in their relationship, she was always there.

Well, I'm about a third of the way done with the story.

2006-07-11T18:20:40Z

I did a little calculating about how long the story will be roughly. The editor wants 14-16 pages written in manuscript style (10 point Courier New, double spaced).

I wrote 5 pages last night—well, nearly 5 pages. On 4 pages (not counting the 5th yet since it’s not filled yet), I’ve written roughly 1,200 words. Doing a little basic math, I get a rough idea of how long my story will be—around 4,800 words give or take.

That doesn’t seem intimidating at all. 14-16 pages seemed a little mind-boggling at first, but when I actually broke it all down, that’s not so bad. If I push myself a little harder, I could be done with that by tomorrow night.

The only reason it’s not done is because I’m starting to get nervous. When I get nervous, my mind goes numb. It’s a self-induced writer’s block. All these little “what ifs?” are eating at the edges of my brain, things that make me want to stay in my safe little corner.

I sent what I’ve written so far to my friend Steph to get a little feedback on it. She’ll be honest with me about it. I will continue to push myself toward this goal, though. I won’t let fear stop me.

See more progress on: publish an erotic story

Last night...

2006-07-09T17:42:20Z

I finally stopped assing around on the story that I'm submitting for publication. Earlier this week, I did do a rough outline from beginning to end. That's a big accomplishment for me since I am bad at doing outlines.

Using the character chart I posted (as a friends only post), I developed a few characters that will appear in the story. Then, I wrote two paragraphs of the story and called it a night--since it was late.

I've decided that I'm going to work on submitting short stories to different publications while I figure out just where my novel ideas are going.

Friday again.

2006-07-07T05:10:07Z

It’s Friday again
Should be writing instead I
Watch Kung Fu Hustle.

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Rough outline done

2006-07-07T00:20:10Z

I’m away from home right now (which is why I haven’t been commenting or updating my goals as much). I’m at my grandmother’s house taking some needed time off. The good thing about coming home is that it gives me a chance to act like I’m 17 again. :) My aunt is keeping the baby for a few days, so I’ve found myself with more time than I know what to do with.

Today, I finished up Edo Van Belkom’s Writing Erotica. It came with the book I read by Susie Bright a couple of weeks back. I found myself more intrigued by his “insider secrets” of the business. He has very good tips that are good for writers no matter what their genre—replete with examples.

After I finished reading his book, I actually completed a rough outline. That’s a great achievement for me. I’m horrible at writing outlines and have only ever finished a few for stories that I’ve written. I’m sort of a scatterbrained writer who finds more organization in notes and things I’ve written on scraps of paper rather than an organized process.

Later (after So You Think You Can Dance), I’m going to polish it up even more since the inspiration is there. :)

See more progress on: publish an erotic story

The Promise

2006-06-30T06:49:12Z

Arms wrapped around me
A cocoon of warmth and love
Love you forever
Promise me nothing, I say
I’ll give you it all, he says

See more progress on: write waka weekly

NyQuil; Satan's other brew

2006-06-30T06:16:28Z

Foggy and distanced
Muddled thoughts swirling, no end
NyQuil is evil

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Side track

2006-06-24T06:50:15Z

My husband is truly the most supportive man that I’ve ever been with. Just the fact that he’s willing to stick by me—no matter where it leads—is amazing. I sit at home with the baby and write while he’s working, and he doesn’t complain. This past week he bought me the deluxe version of the 2006 Writer’s Market and Novel & Short Story Writers Market 2006. And he’s always stroking the ego, telling me how wonderful he thinks I am. Even if I don’t publish the finished project, it’ll be my present to him for sticking by me.

See more progress on: write a novel

Must finish.

2006-06-24T06:21:09Z

It seems that I can only handle this book in doses. I enjoy many of the things that the author points out, but I don’t really like her style. She’s trying to be engaging, and I know many readers will see her as that. To me, she’s trying too hard while managing to be verbose enough to bore me to tears. Yet at the same time, she’ll follow up one of her passages that left me yawning with something wonderful that I find myself nodding my head to. I think this is why I’ve never gotten through this book even once. I’m going to get through it this time, though.

See more progress on: read On Writer's Block

Falling a little behind

2006-06-24T05:53:35Z

Friday passed me by
Spent all day huddled over
The flipping keyboard.

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Broken Trust

2006-06-16T16:37:33Z

It’s always hard when
The people you trust the most
Break your heart in half

See more progress on: write haiku on fridays

Words are the enemy today.

2006-06-13T14:09:01Z

I find myself looking at a blank document, unsure of where to start. I’ve re-read what I’ve already written, looked at the notes that I’ve jotted down, nothing isn’t sparking at the moment. Perhaps, I should just step back for a couple of hours.

I do need to exercise, even if it’s for only thirty minutes (since I’ve been neglecting it, lately). Exercising usually helps clear my mind. I’ll even take my notebook along because chronic exercisers say the darndest things.

See more progress on: write a novel

Just a little note.

2006-06-13T13:31:05Z

I'm going to start posting the writing related entries I make at 43things.com here, as well. I made portions of this journal friends only, but general ramblings about writing I'm going to leave open to the public. I'll leave the little haikus I've been writing for Friday Haiku public, as well.

Found some incentive to work more on my original fiction--well, character development, at least. I signed up for one of those communities where you write a story based around a prompt.

I wish there were more for original fiction writers. There are so many for fanfiction. That's not a bad thing, but I don't need anything to lead me down that path any more because I'll neglect my original writings in favor of fanfiction.

Taking initiative

2006-06-04T15:09:05Z

Haven't been updating this journal as much as I should. I'm going to remedy that, though. I'm going to take initiative--instead of just talking about it. I need to get some things accomplished. I need to write something, complete something, instead of just writing down a snippet here and a snippet there. I can write 50,000 words of nothing for NaNoWriMo. Nothing that I could turn into something. What's stopping me? What's holding me back? Is there some writing fear that I have subconsciously that I need to conquer?

Writing Woes

2006-06-02T13:29:52Z

Dear Main Character
Arg! You suck! You suck! You suck!
Ad infinitum

Writer's block continues

2006-05-12T23:35:49Z

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many ideas running through my head for this story. They're causing a bit of writer's block in the sense that I know I can't use every idea that I have, but I can't seem to pick out the ones that I want to use. I think they're all good ideas, and I would like to write scenes exploring them all. As I was telling my friend, Jen, they might surprise me. I might find a way to combine some of them--or even all of them. Even if I don't, I can save the scenes. Never know what I might be inspired to do with the extra scenes later.

Update more later.