always

Fittingly, this blog ends with a Patsy Cline song piping through the speakers.  "Always" is the last song I used for The War On Emily Dickinson, it's my favorite Patsy tune.  It's how I'll be with writing; always.

I might take a bit of a break in 2012, concentrating on the editing and publishing, but if not for all the writing I've managed in 2011 (and 2010 and 2009), revising and formatting won't occur.  Writing spurs me, always (ha ha) some plot in my head.  Music is so intrinsic with the words, so as long as I'm living, breathing, there will be tunes and words.  I can't stop them.

What were the most memorable moments of 2011?  Definitely publishing Emily Dickinson and the rest head the list.  Yet, I wrote nine manuscripts in a year that flew past, full of so many unexpected occurrences!  Indie publishing was one, but how about my eldest getting engaged, my two youngest living at home, that horrible goiter, trips to Washington DC (that one spurred a novel plot) and Southern California (that one spurred a phobia about crawling motorway traffic).  All this interspersed with writing; most months saw me at the desktop spilling yet another tale; I loved writing In The Blue, mostly as it was an idea a few years old that I wasn't sure would ever see the light of day.  Beautiful Animals was terrific, also a test, finishing a novel with so many interruptions.  That prepared me for NaNo a few months later, when Penny Angel and For God And Country were shoved around while life took first dibs.  Some Happy Endings came out of the blue, a short but poignant tale of old flames and bright sparks.  Captured Words And Deeds may carry over to a sequel, but Phil and Julia were a twosome I just had to explore.  A Normal Life was bound in my desire to visit Alabama, noting racism amid an unusual relationship.  A Crack In The Wall was my first foray into fan fiction, a swipe at Doctor Who, also an unintended homage to the film Alien.  And that leaves South Downs.

South Downs was another sudden yarn, initially inspired by the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.  But it owns deeper implications, the loss of a spouse set where no argument is made over whom to love.  The title comes from a Roxy Music tune, see how the music matters!  At times social issues emerge in my writing, but I try to weave them seamlessly; the story, usually concerning love and death, matters most.  But in those words, paragraphs and scenes, I want to share my personal mantra, which centers not on violence, greed, corruption.  On love and sacrifice, honor and justice, right over wrong.  Writing is a powerful tool, and shouldn't be used for nefarious purposes.  It is of course, every day, but not by me.

Then I giggle; I have some pretty strong opinions, so those with opposing views might think me subversive.  Dangerous, maybe a little.  Writing about love and death, disabilities and sexuality, religion and baseball (don't forget the baseball!) sets me apart; no zombies, no vampires, no spells.  But plenty of angst, loads of drama!  That's my stock-in-trade, wrapped in a wide variety of characters and situations, genders and sensibilities.  And hummingbirds; for goodness sakes, don't forget the hummingbirds!

I need to feed them today, the few that buzz around in the middle of winter.  They made their way into A Slider, Tumbling, will probably muscle their tiny little selves into other books too.  I'm distracted by their minute frames, elegant and swift, constantly moving.  A writer needs to remain that vigilant, either in observation, or the scribbling of the days.  Creating worlds and persons, moments and eons, as large as the state in which I live or as small and fragile as a hummingbird.  What we write is the same; it might be loud, voracious, needy.  Or soft and whispery, here then gone.  Just like we are, here then gone.

Make your moment count, be it of hummingbird or politician proportions.  You have this one shot; don't waste it!

forty and holding

No, not my age.  I'm proud to be forty-five, but as of today I've written forty novels.  And it's going to be that way for a while.  The next several months will consist of editing, formatting, publishing.  Probably a novel or two, hard to keep a dedicated (or cracked) writer still.  But the last book of 2011 is done, and I feel so good!

Such accomplishment follows a wrapped-up manuscript, pleasure and totality and a lot of WHEW!  Not that this one was particularly grueling, but the time, time slipped through my fingers, time that went to my husband's care, to holiday planning, to time off, which is good, but I don't like feeling a novel lingering.  For God And Country hung out there a long dang time.  Now it's safely tucked into my hard drive, onto a flash drive.  I need to slot it a few more spaces, make sure it's well backed-up.  But it's been noted in all the usual places, well, except for here.  So here it goes; another novel under the hammer, whoop there it is!

More in a day or two, wrapping up this rather wordy year, including ebooks, a print novel and, well, who knows what else!

Today's word count - 4,239
Total word count - 84,000

nearly over

Well, that was a long break!  A few days before Christmas I came down with a nasty head cold, throwing all work right off the rails.  I did some writing today, the first real work in over a week.  Plotting new ideas doesn't really count.

That's like play time, but the nitty gritty takes place with my butt in the chair; around 9 a.m. I got around to opening the document, reading a few pages, then laying my fingers on the keyboard.  Type type type...  With only two chapters left, I'm at the end of the story, and one of those was completed today.  One remains; maybe tomorrow, maybe Friday.  Definitely before Sunday, as that's the beginning of a new year, and this blog will be kaput!

Not that I need to finish For God And Country before I stop adding to this blog; more that I need to complete that novel before 2012.  But that's just me, sort of squirrelly like that.  This year has been full of words, maybe it's quite appropriate to end the year with a few.  At any rate, I'll hit this blog at least once more, with that last chapter's word count.  Then perhaps an end-of-year post, those are always nice.  I love wrapping things up, whether it's a novel or blog or whatever needs ends tied.  As for next year...

Next year will be full of publishing.  Check here for those details!

Today's word count - 4,327

today was better

Today was like usual; today will be the last until sometime after Christmas.  Today I wrote as if nothing else was happening.

Yet plenty more occurred; Christmas shopping mostly.  December is a strange month in which to write, so many other tasks waiting.  But it felt good, getting back in that groove.  That is what I've missed with this novel; there never was a groove.

So be it, que sera sera and all that.  At least the writing happened, and now it's nearly football time!  Go 49ers...

Today's word count - 4,400

blah blah blah

I wrote today, not that it felt great, but I did it.  Sometimes it's pedantic, in that I love writing, but some books are just more bothersome than others.

Also I'm weary of how long this novel is taking to finish.  Patience, I'm learning bucketloads of patience.  One day, it will be done.

I'll write again tomorrow, then nothing until after Christmas.  I'll have two chapters left for next week, and then this year of writing will conclude.  And I'm ready for that too.  The last two-plus years I have written like my life depended on it, and while I am very thankful for all those words, I'm also ready for something different.  Soon this blog will end, but another has already begun; A Year Of Publishing, Independently.  Looking forward to focusing on something new.  I love writing, I truly do.  I'm finding the fruits of all those labors are quite thrilling too.

Today's word count - 3,800

dipping toes

So I did some writing today; when I go back to revise this book someday, I wonder if I'll notice the fits and starts in which it was written.  Or maybe I won't.  All I know is I have four chapters left, and today is the fifteenth of December.  Excluding Christmas Day, that leaves me fifteen days to finish this novel.  For God And Country will be completed by the end of 2011.

I also did some editing, a chapter of September Story, then two of The Thorn And The Rose.  Editing is so different from writing; more easily interrupted, at least for me.  But not simple, like another part of my brain is engaged.  Initial creativity isn't as prevalent in revising, which calls for a more precise manner of thought.  Writing is broader, wider brushes on the canvas.  Editing is fine tuning, and I love them both.  Which is good; you can't just write a novel, unless just writing a novel is all you want to do.

Which is fine; sometimes I just write a novel.  I won't be publishing every manuscript I've penned.  But many of them, perhaps, over the years, most of them.  Maybe For God And Country; definitely September Story and The Thorn And The Rose.  I have so enjoyed indie publishing; I can't imagine still querying, hoping someone would give me a shot.  Life is for living, and not being beholden to an agent and publisher offers incredible freedom, also empowerment.  I hope that any writer contemplating an indie career understands that while hard work is required, amazing treasures result.  Like many endeavors, writing is what you make of it.  Options abound, just what best fits that writer's needs.

Today's word count - 3.525

itchy so itchy

So today, several days after last writing, I pulled out For God And Country.  I read the last three or four pages, then took some breaths.  Then I sat down and started to write.  It wasn't easy, but after a few hours I had a chapter completed.  Man, taking that many days off was a bear!

But now with the work all sorted for the day, I'm feeling good, looking forward to getting back to it, hopefully Thursday.  Five chapters remain, and I really want to finish is before the end of the year.  Christmas is coming, the husband is healing, the car needs an oil change.  But the words are waiting, waiting for me to get back to them.

Soon my pretties.  Oh so soon!

Today's word count- 4,301

all's well...

The husband is home sleeping, that goiter history.  Ahh...

Time to eat some lunch!

more important things

Taking a break this week, my husband's surgery is tomorrow.  But I managed a good bit of writing today, and since For God And Country has gone off the outline rails, well, every day I do write, it's something new.  Sort of exciting, and I have a few days to figure out what occurs next.

Today's word count - 4,529

getting distracted

This has two meanings; I haven't written in a week, consumed with getting Alvin's Farm ready to go.  So today I pulled out my writing hat, blew off the dust, set in on my head.  Then I wrote a bit.  Then a surfed a bit.  Then I skated a bit.  No, I really didn't skate, that's a family joke based on a Camper Van Beethoven song, "Hippy Chix" from their New Roman Times CD.   The narrator is meeting with the leader of the CVB, Field Marshall Nine Mile Beach, wearing a skater's knitted cap.  He's just a holograph, alien technology you know.  But the narrator has other things in his head.

We might stop and surf a bit
But we would fight for hippy chix
We might stop and skate a bit
But we would die for hippy chix.

If any of the guys in Camper Van Beethoven get irritated that I quoted lyrics without permission, well, I'll haul out my T-shirt from when this album was released, and bring up seeing most of them at the Mountain View, California Tower Records (when there used to be Tower Records) in 2004.  My husband had a business trip and I tagged along and Camper was putting on a little show and there were about eight of us there, watching from ten feet away as the guys acoustically performed their biggest hits.  Then I bought a T-shirt, and was on top of the world for several days afterwards.

Okay, so that aside, I was surfin' a bit, skating a bit, writing a little bit more.  Being away from the writing for a week is unusual, something I haven't done since 2008 when we moved into this house.  I took a sabbatical, during NaNo no less, then jumped right back into The Road Home.  I'll publish that novel one of these days, but since then I've been pretty determined to miss as few days as possible.  But this year...

This year, since August really, it's been different.  I took off days when writing Beautiful Animals due to illness and helping my daughter move to SoCal.  And for NaNo 2011...  Well, all sorts of distractions emerged.  No surfing or skating, no hippy chicks either.  A goiter and publishing and life.  So after several days off, I started writing, but found myself checking mail, checking how the new book is doing (nicely, which is pleasing).  I checked to see if Herman Cain dropped out of the Republican race, been checking to see if Rod Blagojevich was sentenced yet.  Faffing, totally faffing about, what I NEVER do when I write!

Probably better if I was surfing or skating, real surfing, not messing around on the internet.  I can't skate to save my life, I'd just slip off those blades or rollers and get my butt back in the chair.  But it's done, another chapter of For God And Country in the tank.  I'll write tomorrow, then take more days off, my husband finally getting that goiter sorted.  Life's been in the way with this novel, or maybe I'm learning a new way to pen a manuscript   With surfing and skating and a whole lotta patience.  Actually, I'll skip the sport, go heavy on the virtue.  Until I finish this novel, I'm going to need all the forbearance I can muster.

Today's word count - 4,335

PS...  I've started a new Year Of blog, all about independent publishing.  Seeing I just released a novel a few days ago, this Year Of is getting an early start.  Enjoy!