Research

I spent two hours today researching butterflies and dragonflies. It's only going to amount to three sentences in the manuscript but trust me, it was necessary.

I know you're all tired of hearing me whine about my daily time crunch but two hours for three sentences is hard for me to justify. This is going to continue(the whining and the research). I stuck a lot of asterisks in the body of my wip. In order for me to continue editing and rewriting, I have to figure out what those asterisks represent. They are more than just research points. They're clues to further behavior and plot points.

The word count may suffer while I clear through this process but the story will sharpen as a result.

How do you handle research?

Parfait

I write in layers. Not onions like an ogre but more like Donkey's parfait. Dialogue comes first, the nuts and protein of the parfait. Then I drizzle on some tag lines with a dash of stage direction. One scoop of plot action. Another scoop of emotional reaction. A sprinkle of more dialogue followed by a smattering of description. A dollop of the five senses and then it's topped off with a kiss.

Alex wants more emotion, Nea wants more plot and I can see that the whole thing needs a heck of a lot more description. Not to mention the need for stage direction that helps the plot move along. And the lips line up.

I always knew I wrote this way but trying to keep track of my word count for the 70 Days of Sweat challenge has made it interesting. I was trying to change the way I work to accommodate Sven. In the end I decided to stick with my parfait. It's effective, and tastes good.

Oh yeah, I wrote a plot outline yesterday for Bracken and Kellie. There's one element about which I am uncertain but I'll deal with that when I start writing.

Progress so far

One of those good news/bad news posts. The good news is that I'm writing. Every day. I'm thinking about writing even when I'm no where near pen and paper/computer(that may classify as bad news for my bosses). I'm only on page sixteen of rewrites for Alex but that's because I've had to do some research for some of his scenes. That's page sixteen, single spaced, eleven point font.

Bracken and Kelly are being a bit more difficult so I've decided to let them drift to the back of my mind while they figure out what's keeping them apart. Besides the external conflict and her need to fit in and be normal. I need something bigger, something over-the-top, something on par with saving the world or a soul. How do you follow up those kind of story lines?

While I figure that out, I'm going to continue to focus on Alex and Nea and the pretty little soul turning black in the corner of the room. And increasing my word count every day.

Pseudonyms

I've had a multitude of nicknames over the years. All of them have great stories behind them. Only one of them was to protect my identity. I wasn't doing anything to be ashamed of or embarrassed by, but not everyone shared my views so it was wise to have a separate identity. I've relaxed those restrictions considerably over the years, torn between the ideas of safety and that if I believe it, I should stand behind it.

My friend Elen Grey and I spent a delightful afternoon sitting on the patio of Zooma Zooma discussing this very topic. Certain genres demand pen names. Erotica is the obvious choice but it's not the only one. I wonder if it's not just good business practice as well. There are some people who have trouble differentiating between fiction and real life. The Internet has made anonymity much more difficult.

The conversation with Elen about writing pseudonym led to a google search on my birth name. I already knew from an incident with border guards that there was another woman in my town with the same name as me. The identity mix-ups have caused a few hiccups over the years. According to google, there are plenty of us throughout the United States and Canada, serving life in many different capacities.

When I google Keziah Fenton, the only reference is my own. From 70 Days of Sweat. When I sent the email asking to have my blog linked to Sven's, I used the email account with that name. It's fitting. I'm about as serious and dedicated about a writing career as I have ever been. It's time to start as I mean to go.

Keziah was a ghost who led me to many adventures in other realms. I write paranormal. Fenton was the surname of my great-grandfather. I sat at his knee, enthralled by his gentle burr relating tales of his Scottish homeland. He was a grand storyteller, was Alec Fenton. I hope I do him justice.

On another note, I've edited/revised/rewritten 12 pages of Alex and Nea's story and plotted three pages of Bracken's since I started sweating with Sven on Wednesday. I haven't done anything yet today. But I have a Write off the Deep End meeting this afternoon. I'll likely surpass my daily word count after that.

70 Days of Sweat

I signed up to do 70 days of sweat. Louisa and Mary were doing it and my good friend helenb suggested I look into the seventy day challenge some time ago.

Yep, my life is still busy. Yep, that's a lot of writing. Yep, 750 words a day isn't a lot. Yep, the math adds up. If I use enough yeps, I won't have to think of many real words.

I'm finishing Alex's story and starting Bracken's. So my goal is actually dual. When I'm near the computer, I'm going to work on Alex and Nea. We're in the homestretch. The story is told. Now I need to pretty it up a bit.

When I'm relying on a notebook or sheets of scrap paper, I'm going to sketch out Bracken's story. I've got his conflict,and his heroine. What I don't have is her internal stuff. But then, I'm not worried too much about that story right now. It's just in the pre-writing stage.

I signed up yesterday. I went through Alex's story and pulled out all those symbols that needed more research. The two hours online resulted in less than a dozen words, but led to another layer in several scenes. I made the 750 word goal through that exercise alone.

Today was a busy work day, both jobs for a total of 13 hours out of the house. The good news is I named Bracken's heroine, got a sense of her personality and one of her quirks. A paragraph during one break, half a page on another one. I'm not sure of the actual word count today because I wrote a page of dialogue with Alex and Pzuzu. That bar scene sure is fun.

I'm not going to be near a computer again until Sunday. A minimum of 750 words a day for 70 days. It's going to be a challenge. I'll keep you posted.

What I learned in New Jersey

Romance writers are very creative people, but can take a lesson from bartenders(Kiss on the lips).
High fantasy is the next big wave in romance.
Some agents like gimmicks and many don't.
Blogs aren't that big a marketing tool, unless you count your readership in the thousands instead of hundreds.
Alcohol is not required in order to have a good time, but the hotel bar makes the best margaritas I've ever had.
No matter how many times you pitch your book, it's always unnerving.
Great love scenes get their heat from deep emotional connections. Lots of touching doesn't hurt.
Persistence is essential. You can't get published if you're not sending anything out.


I likely learned a lot more than that but I'm still digesting. I have two packages to get out; one to an editor, another to an agent. I'm pretty psyched about both. I attended the agent panel in order to get a feel for the different personalities. This is a crucial business partnership. It's essential we're of like mind about managing my career. She was very warm, professional and knowledgeable. I have hope.

In other news, I'm in the homestretch with Alex and Nea. Once I input the notes and scenes scrawled across all over the place, I should have only have one more edit. Then it will be time to send it to my readers.

Bracken awaits.

I'm off to a writer's conference in three days. Yeah, I'm not ready. Clothes aren't washed, bags not packed, book not written. But I have a plan. There's another draft after this one. It will be written when I input the current draft into the computer. I'm not as far behind as I feared. I'd be further along if I didn't have this Mike Rowe obsession. If only he would kayak down the Sibun River and I'd be able to call it research. :sigh:

Back to planning for NJRW. I've got two books done, one two-thirds of the way and another one in planning stages. I had a friend here on the weekend who suggested I use the blog as a marketing tool. Yeah, when I stopped laughing, I listened to her. She made a good point about established readership, hooked me up with sitemeter so I could compile statistics. She's a smart woman, this friend of mine and knows what she's doing when it comes to business and technology. I have no idea who's reading this in Calgary or South Africa but hi (enthusiastic wave). You look great in the reader report. I have an international readership (more waves to Theresa and Christina) as well as a core group of loyal people from writer's groups and other blogs.

Who knew blogs were such a great tool for writers? Actually, I did. They have led me to a number of fantastic authors I may have taken a lot longer to find, if ever. Many well-known authors use their blogs to build, encourage and entertain their audience. It's an effective way to communicate with readers.

Armed with blog statistics, three manuscripts and some experience at selling myself(the writing people, the writing), my plan for the writer's conference is to pitch a career rather than an individual project.

Wish me luck. And thanks for reading.

Priorities

Every body wants to have that one person they mean the world to. The person who puts you ahead of everyone and everything else in their lives. When you're a kid, it's usually a parent but as you grow, friends, then lovers fill that void. Sometimes, a furry/feathered/finned/scaly creature is the one that lives and breathes for your existence.

It was the scaly thought that brought me to Nea. Not all demons have scales but plenty of them do. Nea has turned her back on scaly creatures, has blocked herself from love, acceptance and dependence. Not as much as she thinks though because Clio is not only her conscience but that one creature in all existence who puts Nea first. The little weevil has an attachment to the demon/nymph that supersedes all else. Nea is her priority.

As all others have dropped out of her life, Nea has become more emotionally dependent on the weevil. But she is oblivious until something threatens Clio's existence.

I thought I wasn't writing because I've been so exhausted. That's definitely part of it. I didn't feel stuck or stressed because my deadline had whooshed by so colourfully. There are so many hours in a day and I have to make the paying jobs the priority.

I realize that this time away from the characters gave me a fresh perspective as my brain has slowly adjusted to less sleep. Interesting patterns and colors dance before my eyes. Creatively, this is a good thing.

Update - I still haven't found enough hours in the day, and I've added a library certificate course to the mix. But last week's meeting, and the advice to Me that every scene should serve at least dual, if not more, purpose helped me slowly navigate my way to another realizations for this scene. I'm going to take away from much-needed sleep to see if I can get the nebulous thoughts on to paper. I'm going to hard look at my schedule and see where I can drop in the occasional nap. That's the only way my brain is going to get back into the groove where connections are made. Auto-pilot is not the mode in which to write a book. Or work either. Thank Bob I'm not a brain surgeon.

NoNaAu

Well, it's two days to the end of the month and I will most definitely not finish writing my book by then. But I did get a fair amount accomplished. Both Bracken and Nyssa have names(thanks, GP and McB) as well as truly wicked reveals about Nea's parentage. That scene is a powerful turning point.

I've been going through scene-by-scene and expanding the notes and/or dialogue to actually flesh things out into a living entity of a manuscript. I'm pleased with my progress so far. Although the message I left on my own answering machine while I was walking to work needs some tweaking. It was a major breakthrough for Alex's motivation in the second half of the book. Yet another sagging plotline pulled taut by a long walk through town. Who knew I was exercising more than my legs?

Thanks to OH who started this whole NaAu writing challenge, I had a brilliant idea that played nicely off Arden's suggestion that I make each nymph's physical manifestation of meeting their soul mate as individual as they are. Again, it dovetails wonderfully with Bracken and Nyssa's personalities as well as revealing some more motivation, even if it is backstory.

I doubt these will be two-dimensional characters. But if they are, the fault lies with my ability to flesh them out, rather than the input I've received from all of you.

September doesn't involve as much craziness(that was a prayer, not a challenge to the gods) so I should be able to finish the last half of the book. I'm so excited about how it's coming along.

Wait 'til you read it.

PS Mary, Ky is much better now. He chased a raccoon over the back fence with his usual enthusiasm and energy. The raccoon is not as enthusiastic about Ky's return to health.

More characters

Help. I need the latin names of trees that grow around chestnuts. They will form the basis of several character names, both masculine and feminine, in sound as well as gender.

I had a male nymph step out of the shadows last night and whoa, is he hot! Phew! I think he's my next hero. He has plenty to say. Too bad I don't have time to listen to all of it. Man, does he have backstory. Unfortunately for the current story, he would like to kill my heroine. He's Nea's mother's current lover. Guardian. Protector. Nameless, as is the mother.

I'm going to have to dedicate this book to everyone who keeps doing my research for me. You all know who you are. I thank you sincerely. Getting up every night with a sick dog, repeatedly throughout the night, is killing more brain cells than I can spare. It's good to have people that fill in the gaps.

Whoosh

I'm a big fan of Douglas Adams, the brilliant author of the five part trilogy, The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He also wrote the Dirk Gently Holistic Detective Agency, the third installment on which he was working when he died.

I've never been as quirky or original, but I do share one of his most infamous traits - procrastination. While he had it down to a science, I merely get caught up in research or other creative endeavors and lose track of time.

I am blessed with the ability to write just about anywhere;on the hood of the car at the drive-in, in the hospital waiting room,even the dentist's chair. It makes it harder to blow off deadlines.

But this month is hectic and while there's still time, sand is racing through the hourglass and crashing to the dunes below. I'll be shocked if I can finish this book while creating bracelets and a sculpture that have their own deadlines.

Fortunately the words of the incomparable Douglas Adams sustain me, "Deadlines.I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by."

NaAu

Our darling CB, orangehands, has declared August a novel writing month all on her own(hence the NaAu but I think it should be NoAu but will go with her acronym). She's going to write 100,000 words or 5 pages a day.

I like a good challenge but I'm not up to one like that. I'm going to a NASCAR race with my brother and nephew next weekend at Watkins Glen. I've picked up an extra shift a week with Science Diet, and I'm going to Dayton, Ohio at the end of the month for the Agnes and the Hitman book signing for Bob and Jenny.

It's not exactly my slowest month.

Thanks to last weekend's meeting with my witty and talented critique partners, I finally have a great working order for the pile of scenes that are sketched out. I was shocked to discover that I've actually written more than two-thirds of the book.

I'm going to a conference in New Jersey in October to pitch this book. It should be written and polished by then, don't you think? With that in mind, my goal for August is to finish writing Hell to Pay. Completely. From beginning to end, take out all the little notes and show instead of telling.

September will be the polishing month.

I'll keep you posted.

Margaritaville

Alex and Nea's father are in a bar having a few drinks and discussing how the demon can make amends for all of the evil he's wrought over time. As the scene has some other duties to perform, I'm fairly certain they will be there for awhile. These two are going to get skunk dead drunk.

I know what Alex is drinking. I want Pzuzu to try every weird concoction he's ever heard of, based solely on their names. I've got a rusty nail, tequila sunrise, slippery nipple, erotic dream, sex on the beach, and screaming orgasm(thank you Mary for the last two, although I must say thanking you publicly for such sounds, um, decidedly more interesting than it actually was).

I need some more. Please. Drinks for girly girls and manly men. What are fun sounding alcoholic beverages?

Ticking Clock

I decided that I need a ticking clock in this story. It's set over a four week period, actually a moon cycle. The goddess Inanna set the timeline and the challenge at the beginning of the book. Then I dropped her completely.

Last evening, I was staring at the ceiling, thinking hard about how to utilize Inanna and heighten the tension as the story advances. I'd just finished reading the latest Artemmis Fowl - The Lost Colony, in which the intrepid hero attempted to dismantle a bomb while the space/time continuum collapsed around him. That's a bit extreme for my story (extreme says the woman whose hero is fighting a demon on almost every page). Sunlight refracted through the window to play in the corner of the room. It was very pretty. Somehow it made me think of Alex's soul (I blame Harry Potter for that one).

The more I thought of it, the stronger the image grew of Alex's soul trapped in a clear sphere by Inanna and suspended in the corner of the room where he could watch its transformation. Once it reachs a certain stage, the demon will own his soul. I've been playing with it and really like the possibilities.

Originally it was a golden bird whose colours would fade, feathers drop and body shrink to a dried-out shell. But Alex is a creature of the water. He's not really a fish, he glides along the top rather than beneath the surface. I thought of a sea mammal but have yet to find the right one. I'm thinking something with long, colourful, fancy fins.

What kind of fish should his soul look like? If not a fish, which mammal is more at home in the sea than on the water? Giant river otters, while playful, are not dynamic enough in appearance for the visual I intended. It's not aquatic enough. Hmmm, maybe TFFKP could stand-in as Alex's soul. Tropical frogs are eye-popping in colour, especially the poisonous ones.

Suggestions?

Creativity comes in many forms

I rescued a tadpole a couple of days before my Indiana company arrived. I asked Katie, "the little artist" as my five year old niece Sarah called her, to name the tadpole/frog. On the long drive, the three of them named him The Frog formerly known as Prince. Katie was going to draw his symbol for me but she was busy drawing other things while she was here(two of which are framed in Canada)

The Frog formerly known as Prince(FFKP)loved to sit inside the orange and yellow lily on top of the pad in his little tank but he looked so lonely on the buffet beside the wine. To his credit, and my surprise, Bryan didn't make a single comment about which wine went better with frog's legs. Now that FFKP has moved over to Grover's tank, he's not as comfortable as he was. There's a big fish poking at him, trying to get him to play. I thought perhaps if he knew his roots, he'd gain confidence. So I drew a prototype for his unpronounceable name. I'm hoping Katie will embellish and add colour to my creative endeavour.


The lily shaped crown rests on the lily pad while the root trails through the water in an "F" shape. He can always rappel down the side if Grover gets too inquisitive for him.













Cathy and I are having an unrelated-to-writing discussion over on her blog where she invited me to guest post. Most of the discussion is happening in the comments. It would be interesting to have another Canadian chime in as I feel incredibly weird speaking for an entire nation. Thank you and have a nice day :)

Alex's view

I was running around Niagara Falls this past weekend. I tried to park as close to Alex's home as I could so that I could refresh my memory about background elements he deals with every day. It's vastly different in the summer from the winter but I snapped this picture quickly. I think he might launch his kayak from this spot.

It's hard to tell but the lip of the falls is right below the mist. The speed at which the river races towards the crest might be too quick for what I have in mind but it's fiction. I can manipulate the distance. But really thirty-seven degrees celcius is a far cry from the hypothermic conditions in which Alex is barely functioning. How do you empathize?

Inspiration

There are days when words rattle around in my brain. Great words, like lexicon and value, and zephyr, but they never connect into sentences. Or fit into the context of my story. My brain plays with those words, twists and distorts them beyond meaning and sound into a jumble.

Those are the days I play with the dog. I toss him a ball, sometimes a word, and he runs off to fetch it. He can play that game for hours. It frees me from the endless reptition of word-twisting.

Sometimes I play on other blogs. Dogs and Goddesses is my new favourite as it combines beloved authors with dogs, Mesopotamia and words. Jenny has spent an inordinate amount of time researching Mesopotamian dog art. Of course I had to go look for Ky after that. Sure enough, this is what I found.

My darling boy ready to pounce on all the recalcitrant words that I can't organize into any sensible order. Perhaps because the zephyr is actually a vortex.

Vortex

I was out with friends the other night, drinking beer by the pool and discussing the ill effects of overindulgence. Particularly "the spins". One of the girls wanted to know what caused the world to spin so dramatically, often violently. I tossed out the word vortex, not for any particularly scientific reason but because I liked its sound. Several were impressed with my word choice.

We decided it constituted my word count for the day. Not only did it have an x, one of the most difficult letters in the alphabet, but it also contained a z. It also conveys a maelstrom of activity that brilliantly sums up the last moments before one passes out.

The conversation continued to evolve about how many words vortex should count as in my writing journal. I was happy to let the silliness sweep us away from my genius. I didn't really have much to show lately for the time spent with my characters. One word was about the best I'd done in several days.

That one word swirled around in my head through the night.It churned through my dreams and woke me up to scribble down a scene. Not only that, the vortex sucked me deep into the perspective of our little weevil as well as Nea's father. It gave me a view I'd missed on different passes through some scenes.

It never ceases to amaze me the connections my brain can make, seemingly out of the blue, to writing. I have other words to toss onto the page. In the meantime, here's a photo that reminds me what winter feels like while I write in the summer. It was taken a few miles from Niagara Falls, and Alex's home base.

Right in Front of You

My friend and fellow CB, Jennifer Talty, is celebrating the release of her first book Right in Front of You. I had originally pledged to stand in Chapters and direct everyone over to Jen's book. Triskelion Publishing just recently reverted back to e-books only so I'm doing my bit to get the word out. Go. Download. Let Jen be your first (e-book that is)

Isn't that a gorgeous cover? I'm so thrilled for Jen.




Right In Front Of You:

Restless and bored, NYS Trooper Jared Blake accepts a transfer from his current position in Lake George. Jared lives on the edge and his present post just isn't cutting the mustard. Just when he thinks his life is as it should be, his long time friend is threatened by an unknown source. Jared has exactly two weeks to find out who is behind these threats. And in two weeks, he will lose his heart forever.

Ryan O'Connor has the world at her fingertips. She's strong, feisty and has everything she's ever wanted, except the right man. Jared represents everything Ryan doesn't want. He's controlling, overbearing and now he's moving. Having had a crush on him for years, Ryan decides to seduce Jared. What harm can it do? But when Ryan's life is on the line, she realizes Jared might not be perfect, but he's the perfect man for her.

Game Plan

I like to follow my muse and see where she leads me - to the statue of not-quite-Nea that I shared with you several moons ago, the article in the paper about the Toronto Power Generating Station, the trip to Clifton Hill and the weevils encased in acrylic - all the places that smite me with inspiration.

Planning things tends to interfere with that process. Or so I always thought. A few months ago, I wrote out a story outline. I broke the book down into four weeks and a list of elements that were going to change over that time period. Then I forgot about it and followed my muse around North America.

Now that summer and an extended work schedule are underway, I need to allot some dedicated writing time. It's too easy to just put that off like I do exercise(although, writing feeds my soul in a way nothing else does)when I'm exhausted.

I dug out the old outline and started to enter it into an Excel spreadsheet. (Thanks, Bryan for guiding me through that process so that I didn't lose another day)What did I discover? My muse and my outline have been working in tandem. The genesis of some things started with the chart, others with the muse but they've been helping me expand on all of it.

The blog has played a role as well. I've mentioned things here that are nowhere else in my documents, notes or charts. I've been able to come back and see what I can develop, what I can lose. Very good tool this blog. And I was worried it would steal valuable writing time.

Armed with all these tools,I'll be able to set reasonable deadlines - and more importantly - make them.

The book isn't done yet, thanks for asking, but it's much closer. I have a game plan.

Here's a photo for you to admire while I write. Alex can see this out his side window.