Long Time, No See

I took a break from my writing break and have been working on a couple of stories that have been running through my head. The first is a sequel to "Birds of a Feather." I had another sequel written, but was very unhappy with it. We'll see if try number two is any better, or if seconds in a series are doomed to be the poorest.

The second is also a sequel, but due to where it falls in the timeline, it reads as a stand alone. I think I mentioned it before--Part Deux of the Nanowrimo story I did last November, only rather than taking place in Victorian England, this one is set in 1925 in New York. I suppose it's not so much a sequel as a book set in the same world, but about 30 years later.

This story has got all kinds of fun stuff going on in my brain, so I declare next week to be 1920s week! If you want to join me, feel free to blog about all things 1920s related. Yes, I'll be throwing in a typewriter or three, but I'm saving those for Friday. Fashion, movies, music, art--whatever inspires you, feel free to post about it.

I'm still focusing on my designing--more on that coming soon--but sometimes it's good to take a break. Keeps the creative juices flowing.

NaNo-Not-So-Much

A few weeks ago, I earmarked this post to be all about NaNoWriMo, and the elaborate training schedule of progressive difficulty I'd set up for myself to prep for this upcoming challenge.

And then it all fell apart.

As usual, I had the best intentions. I had a calender all laid out with daily word counts, starting at my usual 1100 word minimum working up to my roughly 1,700 word goal. I had outlines, and information about research. Character sketches, notes on the world.

Of course, I couldn't actually work on that story, since part of NaNo is that you have to start your writing on November 1. Outlines and research can be done in advance, but no actual writing. So I started practicing my word count on a few other stories. I say a few, because I kept hitting road blocks. Places where the story stalled or veered so far off course that I wasn't sure what to do with it. My characters stopped playing nice and decided to do their own things, mostly involving vodka or shotguns, and these out-of-character deviations left me scratching my head.

"No problem," I thought. "I'll just work on a different manuscript." Except then I'd discover that the manuscript in question was so outdated as to require staring from scratch, or very nearly so. Or it would hit a road bump. Or, dammit, I just didn't feel like working on it.

Sigh.

My process for all things seems to be that I go gung ho for a short period of time, and then I peter down to nothing. Right now all my energy is tangled up in yarn, and writing is not something my brain is amenable to concentrating on at the moment. I keep trying. It just isn't happening.

I did manage to put together the rough draft of novella, a sequel to Birds of a Feather. However, I'm not pleased with it and it may never see the light of day.

I also pulled out Threadbare, and decided the timeline wasn't jiving and the whole thing would have to be scrapped. The rewrite is not going as planned.

I found an anthology that Evie, my Threadbare MC, would fit perfectly in, but the theme is zombies which really aren't my thing. At all. I hate zombies. So that's not going well, either.

Then I had an idea for a steampunk story set during the American Civil War, but I'm having setting issues with that, and other than having my two main characters meet (which I'm not even sure is plausible at this point) I've got thing. Not plot.

I suppose you could call this "writing ennui."

The one thing I have been making progress on is the knitting book. The working title is [Censored], and it will contain about 7-8 illusion knitting patterns with a sense of humor. So far preliminary patterns for 4 of them are written, with 5 complete charts. I'm still waiting to hear back from my tech editor though, which is taking much longer than I'd originally expected.

Hopefully by the time November rolls around, I'll be back in writer mode and I'll be able to crank out at least 30K, which is my personal goal (yes, I know NaNo is supposed to be something like 50K, but I know that's a little out of reach for me right now. Especially since we're moving at the end of November. Where to, we don't know, but hopefully someplace that won't jack up our rent by $100 the way our current place is).

PSST!

Hey, you! Yeah, you with the computer.

Do you know what today is?

It's the day Birds of Feather comes out.

So come on, give it a look. Download, please?

*Fan art by the incomparable A.K. Alexander.

A Blog and a Book

I've been meaning to update this blog for the last three days, but I keep getting distracted, primarily by this: www.GirlonaShoestring.blogspot.com. That's right. I've got a new obsession--enough of an obsession that I started another blog about it.

GOAST is a blog about art nails and fashion, so if you want to see more of my funky manicures (like this one and this one) then head on over there. For writing, books, typewriters, and knitting, stay put.

In other announcements, I have a few more details about "Birds of a Feather:"

• While at first I thought it was going to be included in an anthology, it will not. It will be available as a single download (known as a "sip" on the Torquere website) for $1.99, if their current selection of standalone sips is any indicator.
• The release date is July 11.
• It will be available in electronic format only, but you can read it on your computer, Kindle, iPad, Nook, or whatever piece of kit floats your boat.

Once I hear back from marketing, I'll share the summary and blurb with you guys, and of course a link will be available in the sidebar once the story is released.

I do have more stuff I want to share with you, but that needs to wait until later in the week.