Happy Solstice!
I watched Hogfather last night - a tradition in my household. Back when my daughter was in high school, over winter break we'd read the book Hogfather (by Terry Pratchett) out loud to each other, doing voices for the characters. She does a fantastic Death!
This afternoon I'm going to make clam chowder. And poke at the synopsis for Rising Tide.
I may Read A Book! Haven't done that in far too long.
And that's the summary of my oh-so-glamorous life at the moment.
21 December 2014
07 December 2014
Change at Kat's Rambles
Hi to all my followers,
There's a tab here for The Inkwell, a story I co-wrote with someone. That someone recently requested all sections of the story under her name be removed.
As doing so would gut the story such that what remained made no sense, I opted to take The Inkwell private.
My apologies to anyone in the midst of reading it.
There's a tab here for The Inkwell, a story I co-wrote with someone. That someone recently requested all sections of the story under her name be removed.
As doing so would gut the story such that what remained made no sense, I opted to take The Inkwell private.
My apologies to anyone in the midst of reading it.
30 November 2014
29 November 2014
NaNoWriMo is still going
My word count is just a tad north of 45K. Finishing today will be a challenge. I'll try, but no guarantees.
I'm attempting a space opera this year. I went into it with a ludicrously abysmal level of world building. Which means basically there wasn't any. This type of story requires the creation of planets and cultures and non-human sentient species and technology and ... and ... and thinking the story would happen without all those things was, in hindsight, just the kind of craziness NaNo is all about.
This story has more [bracket info needed] than anything I've ever written before. I've even given up on naming characters! [person name] [character name needed] [somebody] are far too common in this document!
I suspect my future self will have some succinct, unprintable-type words for my present self.
BUT
Cover! That's a first for me, having a cover. Over Thanksgiving dinner, my daughter, her roommate and I were discussing the story and came up with a pulp science fiction magazine type cover idea. One of those with Strong Man Holding Weapon in one hand with other arm wrapped around Woman With Arms Raised and Mouth Open to Scream and an especially Menacing Tentacle wrapping both of them.
I really liked it.
And whileprocrastinating thinking about the story, I googled pulp SF covers and discovered this AMAZING website where you can make your own cover! Of course, that image already in my head wasn't available. C'est la vie, n'est pas?
There then passed a mumbly mumbly amount of time. But I has cover! (Several actually, but I think this one is the best.)
I'm attempting a space opera this year. I went into it with a ludicrously abysmal level of world building. Which means basically there wasn't any. This type of story requires the creation of planets and cultures and non-human sentient species and technology and ... and ... and thinking the story would happen without all those things was, in hindsight, just the kind of craziness NaNo is all about.
This story has more [bracket info needed] than anything I've ever written before. I've even given up on naming characters! [person name] [character name needed] [somebody] are far too common in this document!
I suspect my future self will have some succinct, unprintable-type words for my present self.
BUT
Cover! That's a first for me, having a cover. Over Thanksgiving dinner, my daughter, her roommate and I were discussing the story and came up with a pulp science fiction magazine type cover idea. One of those with Strong Man Holding Weapon in one hand with other arm wrapped around Woman With Arms Raised and Mouth Open to Scream and an especially Menacing Tentacle wrapping both of them.
I really liked it.
And while
There then passed a mumbly mumbly amount of time. But I has cover! (Several actually, but I think this one is the best.)
So now I must finish writing the story.
(The phrase "unrealistically sexy" is homage to Shadow Unit and its unrealistically sexy FBI agents.)
30 October 2014
NaNoWriMo 2014
Yep, I'm doing it again.
They say you don't learn to write novels, you learn to write this novel. They say every novel comes to the writer in a somewhat different way.
In my limited experience, this is true.
My last novel had strong characters that were easy for me to write, but there were times I couldn't see what happened beyond the scene I was working on.
This novel I'll be starting in two days? I have a strong sense of the over-arching plot, large vistas, the big picture stuff. What I don't have is characters! This is scary for me. You can't tell a story without characters.
First drafts suck. This is another thing they say that is true. They also say a first draft is the writer telling herself a story. Subsequent drafts are the writer telling others the story. What that means is I can start with a major info dump of all these big vistas, describe the plot as I currently see it. Start with the panorama view, then zoom in.
And that's when those characters better start waving at me to tell their stories!
Got my fingers crossed and my stash of coffee.
They say you don't learn to write novels, you learn to write this novel. They say every novel comes to the writer in a somewhat different way.
In my limited experience, this is true.
My last novel had strong characters that were easy for me to write, but there were times I couldn't see what happened beyond the scene I was working on.
This novel I'll be starting in two days? I have a strong sense of the over-arching plot, large vistas, the big picture stuff. What I don't have is characters! This is scary for me. You can't tell a story without characters.
First drafts suck. This is another thing they say that is true. They also say a first draft is the writer telling herself a story. Subsequent drafts are the writer telling others the story. What that means is I can start with a major info dump of all these big vistas, describe the plot as I currently see it. Start with the panorama view, then zoom in.
And that's when those characters better start waving at me to tell their stories!
Got my fingers crossed and my stash of coffee.
02 October 2014
Portland!
I finished the story I mentioned in my last post. By the deadline!
The reason for that deadline: I was flying to Portland, Oregon to meet up with my on-line writing group. We were each to bring a story to share. It was our first time being all in the same place.
The visit was amazingly fun. Lots of talking. Many photos were taken. Here's just a sampling.
Cannon Beach on a glorious cloud-free day. I bought All the Earrings.
Flying into Portland, I saw Mount St Helens and friends out one side, followed by Mt Hood on the other side. I was in an aisle seat so didn't get pictures. Flying out of Portland I had a window. Here's Mt Hood.
It was a marvelous trip. We discussed so many things, including our plans (or lack thereof in my case) for NaNo in November. Maybe we can make our getting together an annual thing.
The reason for that deadline: I was flying to Portland, Oregon to meet up with my on-line writing group. We were each to bring a story to share. It was our first time being all in the same place.
The visit was amazingly fun. Lots of talking. Many photos were taken. Here's just a sampling.
Cannon Beach on a glorious cloud-free day. I bought All the Earrings.
The following day: Multomah Falls
A tree near Horsetail Falls. This one could be a prompt for a story!
In our search for lunch we crossed Bridge of the Gods to Washington state. So I've been in Washington. For maybe a half hour. The photo was taken in Oregon, looking across the Columbia River to Washington.
The next day was an inside day. First stop was Voodoo Doughnuts. The filling on this one was raspberry. The sugar rush lasted several hours.
We had to go to Powell's Books. This is the entrance. Enticing, isn't it? And the store delivers on that promise. So. Many. Books!
It was a marvelous trip. We discussed so many things, including our plans (or lack thereof in my case) for NaNo in November. Maybe we can make our getting together an annual thing.
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