Category Archives: Books

ESTC Update

Total word count, ESTC: 41,207
Total words today and yesterday: 1,172

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
41,207 / 50,000
(82.4%)

You know that whole dramatic “how will I ever fit all the info that has to go into Chapter Two into Chapter Two!” thing I’ve been wibbling and worrying about?

Short. Very, very short. Three pages of point form notes, which will probably expand to six once I write it out. Which leaves me lots of room for all the other stuff I want to write, like rituals in the final chapter and another three or so pages of meta stuff on rites of passage that belong in Chapter Two as well; all the things I wanted to include but was afraid wouldn’t fit. Yay me.

Oh, and I made pretzels this morning. Next time I’ll use one cup less flour and cut the sugar in the dough by maybe half. Very excellent nonetheless. But then, I’m a salt devotee, and I adore big dough pretzels.

And there’s nothing like the Colonial theme from the BSG season 2 soundtrack to get me motivated. Of course, it also has other associations for me, but damn, it’s a fine, fine piece of music.

Random Facts Meme

Once tagged by this entry, the assignment is to write a blog entry of some kind with six random facts about yourself. Then, pick six of your friends and tag them; no tag backs. This explanation should be included.

I don’t do a lot of memes, but when I read a version of this one on Meallanmouse‘s journal a couple of weeks ago I wondered what I’d write if I did it. So when Kino Kid mentioned that she’d be interested in what I’d come up with, since I’ve already done the work, so to speak, I thought that I may as well type it out.

1. I own five copies of Jane Eyre. Every single one of them is different, and I own each of them for a reason.
2. I have very sensitive ears. They itch a lot, which makes me rub them frequently. They get very achy when there’s a cool breeze out, too.
3. I am mildly obsessive about three-second stops at stopsigns. The rest of the world is not. I hate feeling rushed when I’m on the road, especially when what I’m doing is legal and theoretically what everyone else ought to be doing as well.
4. I am very stubborn when it comes to taking medication for just about anything, but once I do, I’m committed to doing it properly.
5. I can’t stand to break a book’s spine, not even crease it by accident. The way around this, I have discovered, is to buy more books secondhand, because they’re generally already broken. Or to read more hardcovers.
6. When one of my favourite books is rereleased with a new cover, I have to fight the impulse to buy it all over again. (Assuming the new illustration is attractive, that is.) This is particularly challenging when the redesign occurs in the middle of a series.

I won’t tag others. But, as Roo said, if you feel inspired, go forth, my lemmings, and share…

NaNo 2006 Musings

So last year, I simultaneously had a baby, a book to proof, and a book to finish writing for publication. (Which was not, of course, the plan, as regular readers know.) In defense of sanity, I regretfully declined to participate in the YUL 2005 NaNoWriMo challenge. And since then, I’ve kind of been assuming that of course I’d do it again in 2006. After all, I was previously a winner three years running, finishing on November 20 in two of those years.

At the beginning of this past September, I decided not to do NaNo again. It would just be too much. After all, I had one contracted book, another proposal in with the publisher, and was in negotiation to assume overseeing a series.

Then that proposal, what would have been my next project, was shelved for at least the rest of the year.

ESTC is due Nov 1. And for once, it’s not being rushed into production.

So around the second week of September I thought, well, I might be able to do it, you know?

And then the next morning I gave myself a good smack and said, “Wouldn’t it be nice to write WITH NO DEADLINE for once?”

NaNo did nice things for me in teaching me how I work. It taught me quotas, it taught me cycles, and rhythms. NaNo is fun, for the team aspect, for the satisfaction of watching my numbers climb, for the thrill and smug feeling of passing others and giving them a goal to chase, of finishing if not first then damn close to first among the city. It’s been very gratifying to know I can produce 50K of good fiction in 20 days. But I know now that I can write a full 80K non-fic book for publication in sixty-odd days. And it ends up being a good book, too.

So the nostalgia of it all attracts me.

But being realistic? The thought of physically forcing myself to write for NaNo isn’t fun, because I force myself to write to a deadline as a daily job. I don’t need that kind of shooting myself in the head. I can’t run the risk of making myself hate writing altogether; this is my bread and butter. No thanks.

I think I’m looking forward to November being a month of relaxing writing, for once.

But I reserve the right to change my mind, of course.

ESTC Update

Ugh. Have been having a Bad Week, and a Particularly Bad Day.

Nonetheless:

Total word count, ESTC: 30,687
Total words today: 1,684

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
30,687 / 50,000
(61.4%)

This is completely and totally due to Ceri taking Liam duty for three hours this afternoon. Well, that and the research I did at 4.30 this morning. (The Particularly Bad Day began then, and I had to do something other than lie awake and stare at the ceiling, wishing I was asleep.) I have absolutely no idea how over sixteen hundred words appeared in my manuscript — it occured to me that I may have copied three pages into another chapter instead of cutting and pasting, but I can’t seem to find it — but I’m not going to turn them away. I’m at that point in the book where I’m adding little things all over because the bulk of each chapter is done, and that never feels like I’m writing a large amount.

Orchestra tonight. I’m so tired that I can’t even remember what we’re playing.

The Weekend

The signing was uneventful; not bad but not really classifiable as good, either. There was going to be mead served by the store to celebrate, which was a lovely idea, but when the bottles were opened the contents unfortunately proved to be undrinkable. I appreciated the thought, though.

There were about a dozen people who stopped by so that I could finally sign their books, and/or to congratulate me. I’m told the books sold lots during the day, but by the time of the signing the crowds had vanished, leaving the store remarkably empty. Thanks go out to Sandman7 and Talyesin, who were waiting for me when I got there and whose moral support was invaluable, otherwise I probably just would have turned around and gone home. Which would have been a pity, really, because Jteethy and Pasley and t! and Jan and Mousme all showed up later too, and of course HRH and Liam made an appearance. As the only one I was expecting was HRH, the presence of friends made me feel nice and warm inside. The staff were wonderful and supportive, too.

There’s something about the month of September that I simply love. Maybe it’s that particular quality of golden light. Maybe it’s the crisper evenings, or the need for a light cardigan during the day. Whatever it is, I feel more relaxed and happy throughout this month than during any other month. We took the light coverlet off the bed yesterday and put on the fluffy, snuggly eiderdown quilt, buttoned into the denim duvet. And we did it just in time, too, because the temperature went down to a brisk eight degrees last night. We also took the air conditioner out of the kitchen window, so the kitchen has full light again, which really makes a difference in the morning.

Friday night Blade came downstairs, and spent more time unscrewing the dozen finicky little screws holding the two halves of the router together than unplugging the fan. We were so tired that the actual microsecond of unplugging it was remarkably funny in contrast to the lengthy lead-up, leading HRH to peek into the office because we were laughing so hard. It was a very small fan to be producing the huge threatening rattle that it had been. Now my router is silent and stealthy, because it has no moving parts. While Blade worked on that, I opened up the tower casing and turned it so I could see the motherboard. “See that?” said Blade, pointing to the RAM with the screwdriver. “Take it out.” I did. “Now plug the new one in.” I did. It was being a bit stubborn about snapping in, so Blade gave it a extra push, and there it was, installed. I closed up the case and started the computer, and I had a functional system that didn’t get nervous when I opened more than two programs simultaneously. I know more about the innards of computers than I give myself credit for knowing. “Next time you want a new computer,” said Blade, “I’m just going to throw a bunch of computer components and a screwdriver into a room with you, and close the door. When you come out with the computer, you’ll get a prize.” I just like having Blade around so that if I try to do the wrong thing, he’ll stop me.

Right. To work.

ESTC Update

My lower back is killing me, and I now have a sinus cold only days after I kicked the first cold. The only things that got me through today were chatting with t! over email, and a playlist of A-ha and live Metallica from the S&M album (which worked surprisingly well together).

Total word count, ESTC: 23,604
Total words today: 1,601

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
23,604 / 50,000
(47.2%)

Now Chapter Nine has stuff in it too. Both it and Chapter Eight need more, of course, but now they aren’t as lonely and jealous of the other chapters. And I’m nine hundred words away from next Friday’s goal.

I need to go take more sinus medication and lie down on the floor for a while to straighten out my back.