Thursday, September 20, 2007

Where's the Muse?

Okay, I'll start off by first saying mine's not missing. The truth is, for the past week I've sent her on vacation.

Since I turned in my revisions on Sept. 10, I haven't written a thing on my current work-in-progress. I had a conference call with my editor on Sept. 17 and I'm ready to work and I plan to start this weekend. I did shoot my editor a few ideas for what I'd like to do after this current book (and that next NASCAR book I have to write in between).

Different people write differently and we've had this discussion on our author loop before. I'm a writer who writes in spurts. I wrote 100 pages in one weekend once. There are weeks when I won't even look at what I'm writing, much less work on it. I'm not one of those people who sets a daily goal and gets in the chair daily. I'm one of those who needs large blocks of time to truly immerse myself in the story and focus only on it--so much that the rest of the world disappears. That means I do hours at a time. I also get most of it out, and then tweak it later in thirds.

So as I posted today--getting ready for a Saturday marathon, I wanted to remind you that there's no one way to write. It's whatever works best for you--and your relationship with your personal muse. I like to give mine time off so she's not so crabby when we do those 12 hour shifts.

So how do you write?

Michele

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

TWO Days Late...

Shhh! I'm slipping this post in while no one's looking!

(Look, Roxann, I'm DOUBLY late! LOL)

Wish I had a good excuse, but the truth is, I slept through my blog day. Or most of it, anyway. I work for a school, and the entire district seems to have gotten hit by an early bug. Mine's been beating me up for almost a month now, and let me tell you, it's got me worn out.

After a very restless weekend, I overslept on Monday morning, ran like a crazy woman to get ready for the day job (but arrived on time--whew!), then came home afterward and simply crashed. Yikes.

It was my anniversary, too!

My husband and I went out for a long, relaxing, romantic dinner, complete with roses and a box of chocolates and a sinfully delicious dessert.

Unfortunately, that happened in my dreams...because I fell asleep!

So I missed posting my blog for the day. But I'm here now.

Just don't tell anybody I'm late, okay?


All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com

A Day Late...

Technology is great...as long as it's working correctly.

Sometime on Monday, I lost my internet. Email was working, but surfing the net was impossible. By that night, everything was gone. Now and then, both would work for a minute or two, then vanish again. To my relief, it finally came back in the wee hours of the morning. I could start catching up. That lasted 30 minutes, leaving me no way to post here yesterday. It's been up and down so much since Monday, I can't remember when it did and didn't work, but the majority falls into the didn't.

I don't consider myself an Internet Junkie, but I do like to keep up with news, both national and local on the www. What books are out this month? It's just a click away. When does the new Fall Season start for the TV shows I watch? Another click. Weather? The temp is available 24/7. When the 'net is working, that is.

I use it even more for research. What kind of research? You name it, I'll research it. I'm currently working on a story with a rodeo background, so I need to know where rodeos will be held in the part of the country where the story is set. Do I need to name a fictional town? I'll want to make sure it isn't a real one in the state where I've set it, so I have a special website where I can check that out. Am I writing about an area of the country I'm not familiar with? Photos are abundant on the web. Careers, names, how long it takes to travel from one place to another, climate, population... The list is endless, and I could lose myself in research for weeks. Imagine what it would be if I wrote Historicals!

Today it appears that the Internet is once again at my fingertips. I'm not holding my breath though. But I am glad I was able to stop in here and say hello, even if I am a day late. Now, back to some research...

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Picking the Wrong Line


Normally I never do errands on Saturdays because the stores are crowded but I'd put off a few things that couldn't be put off any longer so yesterday I ventured out and wouldn’t you know it--I picked the WRONG line at every store!

Let's see…at Target, the woman in front of me needed a price check on a car seat which she assured the salesclerk was 20% off. Five minutes later the lady is told her car seat wasn't on sale but a different one was and would she like to run back and get that one? Well of course she did! Grrr...

Next up the gas station. All the pumps were full so I stopped behind a car and after the guy fills his tank he goes into the Quick Stop--not for a pack of smokes or a drink, but two grocery bags full of junk! Grrr…

Next on my list is the post office and guess what? The couple in front of me was sending a legal-size envelope half way around the world and took ten minutes to fill out forms for that! Grrr…

After crossing the post office off my list I went to Petsmart for dog food and doggie treats. I lug the twenty-pound bag to the counter and the young girl in front of me is chatting with the clerk about where they each bought their dresses for next week's homecoming dance! (Just between you and me, neither of their dresses sounded all that exciting) Grrr…

After dog food came Sam's--that's always an experience. By the time I loaded my cart down with water bottles, Gatorade, toilet paper, paper towels, bleach and detergents I could barely push the blasted thing. I resigned myself to waiting in a long line, but was encouraged by the fact that the woman in front of me has only a few clothing items. When it gets to that lady's turn she whips out one of those Nextel phones and squawks to her friend to get her cart up there ASAP. The friend magically appears five seconds later, her cart loaded down with stuff! Grrr…

After Sam's I had planned a grocery store run but was just too, too Grrr…so I headed home and decided everyone could have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper!

Marin
*Hearts of Appalachia*
For The Children
Oct 2007
www.marinthomas.com