Current Project:HIS BABY
Status:page 100
Okay, technically I'm not on page 100, I'm more like at page 96, but I'm projecting forward to the end of today when I plan to be well past 100. It's funny how in a situation where every day counts, your body and mind can kind of zone. That's what I did this week. Twenty-five pages for a week isn't meeting my goals as stated last week, so I got me some catching up to do!
Meanwhile, how is everyone else coming with their plan?
Yesterday, while at Albertsons, I met a woman in the deli section who kept me waiting to place my order by attending to other concerns. When she apologized I told her it wasn't good enough, I'd need it in writing. She responded by saying maybe I needed it in blood. I told her that sounded good and look at all those handy saws back there. She faked hanging herself and we laughed at how clever we were. Anyway, as she sliced turkey for me, we kept talking and it turns out she's quite the reader and her favorite thing to read is romance. She loves Nora Roberts and Nora's alter ego, JD Robb. Her daughter reads Danielle Steel. I told her a woman in a Florida correctional institute had written to tell me I was better than Danielle Steel. (Or is it Steele?) Anyway, she wanted my name to look me up so I gave her a card and warned her that the word of a woman serving five to ten years for fraud might not be the best judge. I looked at her name tag so I could bring her a book the next time I'm in Albany. Her name was Flossie.
Flossie was the name of the fictional female girlfriend of our tabby cat, Mickey. That is, according to my father. The stories he wound about Flossie were a huge part of the manner in which my father and I communicated when I was a teenager. If he had some lesson to teach me, it always seemed Mickey or Flossie was the character he chose to illustrate his point.
I'd never met anyone named Flossie before. It seemed as though Dad was there for a second. Weird, but when someone says what's in a name? I now know how to answer -- lots.
Happy writing!
13 comments:
Fun story Alice! It is amazing what some names can conjure up in memories.
I wish I had something worthwhile to say about my writing this week- but alas, I didn't tweak a sentence or type a word. However, the company leaves today. So I'm hoping to make up for it next week! After we get back from setting up another wheel line in Princeton this weekend.
Have a safe Memorial weekend all!
Hi, Alice! I also enjoyed your story. How cool that your father made up stories for you!
Paty, sounds like you're feeling much better--hooray!
My 30,000-word novella is edited down to 36,000 words. Only another 6,000 words to cut. A couple more passes through to tighten and make sure everything fits together and no threads are dropped will take care of most of those words. :)
My plan for the weekend and next week includes more edits and more work on house/yard projects. But I'm seeing major progress in both areas and the finish lines are getting closer! Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!
Paty, by now you're dragging pipes around in Princeton. I hope next week gives you a lot of writing time, you've earned it!
Genene -- I made it to page 104, so I'm back pretty much back on schedule.
Good for you with the cutting. Isn't it amusing that I am frantically creating words while you are frantically cutting them?
Glad to hear your projects are coming along well and that you're pleased with your progress.
Greetings, lovely Valley girls. I'm not taking part in this challenge, at least not yet, since I'm not ready to start on Whiskers & Wine. I just completed all the revisions my agent asked me to make to Mystic Taxi. They were fun, and challenging. I'd hack off 4 pages and add 3, then hack a page, add a page... It was all about strengthening one pair of characters' relationship, uncomplicating a complication that was too complicated *snort*, clarifying some world building stuff, changing a plot point, removing a plot point, and adding a plot point. But I'm finis! And just sent the revised manuscript off to my agent, who's out of town until the 26th.
Alice, you always tell such great stories! I love the name Flossie. My first thought was of a waitress for some reason. Old fashioned names are cool, which is why I named one of my characters Eunice. It' sounds so proper. I'll have to keep the name Flossie in mind, too. :)
I hope everyone's having a great MemDay weekend.
I love your story, Alice.
I'm deep in synopsis suck. Can I just say how much I both loathe and love this process at the same time? I love it because I finally see hope for the WIP that I finished before Tavy was born. I see hope that I can take it off life support and let it out into the world. I hate it because, OMG, it is just so freaking hard. I spent a entire 3 hour nap (Tavy's not mine :)) working on the synopsis one.word.at.a.time. Needless to say much procrastination was occurring between sentences because my brain was hurting too much.
Okay, venting over. I'm going to finish this thing. And that's my goal for the week. I'm having my gallbladder out next Friday, so I'll probably keep my focus simple: I am going to have a synopsis that I would not be afraid to show Ms. Synopsis Goddess Alice :P
Karen, what I love about you is your enthusiasm for the process. So great that you love to make your book better than ever! I love that.
And Flossie is a totally kick ass name and this Flossie was a character and a half! I also love the name Eunice!
Good luck!
Wavy, good grief, you're having your gall bladder out! Lordy, you should have been whining about this forever!!!
You are so right. This is a very hard process! I would be much more sympathetic if you had not called me a synopsis goddess. Good grief, woman, I sold twenty books without ever writing a synopsis. This title is a misnomer!!!!
However, I bow to the logic that selling a book to a good publisher takes a good synopsis and I admire your fortitude. Send it this way if you want a second opinion (no goddess stuff involved...)
Alice, I didn't post last Saturday because I was on the road coming home from California. I said I'd do Eli's challenge, but after the last couple of weeks I realize I need to modify it if I'm going to be successful. So I'm cutting it in half -- 3500 words per week (averaging 500 words/day).
I've got my characters. I've got the skeleton of my story. Now I need to start fleshing it out.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
Debbie -- Welcome aboard the challenge wagon. I think your goal is very reasonable and judging how creative I am after a day filled with other stresses (can you say totally unproductive?) I am in awe of anyone who can work a job AND write a book, no matter what the pace.
Very exciting that you have characters and a skeleton plot. Let the fun begin!
Wow. Cool story, Alice!!
I was in Black Butte all weekend so I didn't do a whole lot of writing. Hoping to do some more this afternoon. I'm a bit behind this week so it looks like I *as well* have some catching up to do!
Wavy...will be thinking of you on Friday!!
This is so funny, but I was catching up on the past blogs (I've been really ill--2 hospitalizations since May), and I saw this one.
One of my two nicknames growing up was Flossie. Very old fashioned. Easier off the tongue than Florence, though, I guess, which was why it caught on.
The other comment was about giving cards out, which is great. I decided to start order really nice pens for each release about 8 months in advance, and I give them out when talking to people about my next release. Men, women, it doesn't matter--they all seem to love pens. (I avoid pink of course, when it comes to the male genre.) I put the name of the release, my pen name and my web site. I know it's more expensive than cards, but people I've seen later have commented on how well the pens worked and a few have hunted up my book.
Just thought I'd comment and say hi! too.
Flo
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