Anna Adams

Posted By admin on February 28, 2010

The house is so silent, except for the ceiling fan humming a soft, still-mostly-night song. I don’t really care that it’s below freezing outside. I like to burrow deep beneath the blankets to sleep.

Do you lie awake in the morning, trying to keep quiet so no one else will know you’re awake and think you’re a slacker because you’re not up and at ‘em? (That’s how my parents used to wake us–a cheery “Up and at ‘em!”)

I’m holding really still, thinking about everyone else in the world, doing their stuff–cooking, working, talking to a beloved, being annoyed with the guy next door, who suddenly needs to mow his lawn in the pre-dawn, sniffing that excellent coffee-bacon configuration of bliss. What are you planning to do today?

I’m just going to read.

And maybe watch a DVR of the gold medal curling game. Trying to hold off on the latter because curling will be over for four years after I watch it.  No curling = Sad

This turned into randomness.

Wishing you a happy, peaceful Sunday, filled with contentment–the best kind of any day!

Category: Just Living | No Comments »
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Posted By admin on February 23, 2010

My proposal was rejected yesterday. I thought I’d be heartbroken if it happened, and it does sting a bit. Who would not have wished to write the most perfect proposal that ever crossed an editor’s desk? I would, I would!  But the editor who wrote my exceedingly kind rejection asked for ideas for other stories, and that was more than plenty. I’m in this for the long haul, and once she addressed her concerns with my submission, I thought–”Why didn’t I see that?”

So, I’m hard at the brainstorming grindstone, and I have three ideas, but ideas are hard to summarize without naming the characters. So, here I am, with far more pressing issues–conflict? Plot? Characterization? But I’m whirring around, trying to settle on six different characters’ names. And names matter to me. I can’t seem to write the story without the character name that makes me feel all at home with this story person.

Solution? I must choose names and pretend they’re right because getting conflict, plot, and characterization correct is actually more important than soothing my finicky feeling of–”How can I write a story for this name?”

Hello? Write a plot with these characters undergoing this conflict! (I get a little frustrated with myself when I waste time on the great name hunt. I can’t even imagine how silly this must seem to non-writers.)

Category: Character Names, Proposal, Writing | 2 Comments »
Tags: Character Names, new ideas, Proposals, rejection

Posted By admin on February 20, 2010

Daughter’s sick. Had to buy groceries. Had to get breakfast. (Yum! My affection for grits knows no bounds!) Do laundry. Exercise. Finally, into the laptop for some actual work!

Hope you’re having a slow Saturday, with a good book and something you’ve been dying to do!

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Posted By admin on February 19, 2010

Today, I’ll have the house to myself for a few hours. The beloved is off on a ride. The girl is at work. Must turn on DVRs (that Olympic addiction) and turn off everything else except for the flow (however herky-jerky–positive that’s not spelled correctly, but you get the idea) of words into the book.

But first, a friend, Kate Walker, is celebrating her 25th year in publishing, and I was able to share my five (all right–so I couldn’t keep it to five) favorites of her books. Visit her blog to read the post, but stick around for all sorts of information about her books and her busy schedule (and a contest or two).

Now, for the random…

Why do we need a public apology from Tiger Woods? I mean, I’m disappointed that his persona was fiction, but that story is between him and his wife. I don’t get why the news outlets are so wound up about whether he should speak or not.

Is that Libby, from Lost, in a commercial involving washing machines? (I never actually know what commercials are advertising these days. No attention span for them?)

Why are so many men slicking back their hair a la the 1950s? Is it time to invest in Vitalis?

Now, with the hope that I’ve sloughed my ruminations, all my run-on sentences, and my apparent passion for parentheses here, I’m off to work. Hope you’re enjoying a fab Friday! Go see Kate!  :-)

Category: Kate Walker, Random, Writing | No Comments »
Tags: Kate Walker, Random

Posted By admin on February 18, 2010

This hasn’t happened in a while. Lots going on. Curling, snowboarding, skiing–in short–what Olympic even to watch next?  I’ve also downloaded a couple of books that appear to be taunting me from the Kindle.  Shhh–did you hear that?  ”Come read, come read….”

First, gotta get back to editing. And maybe some chocolate covered cherries. Don’t you find they make everything work more smoothly?

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Posted By admin on February 17, 2010

We had weather that took out the satellite. I had revisions–which I’m gleeful to say–make the book better, and now it’s on the editor’s desk in England. I’m so happy about that. Now to run the revision through the next 55 unedited pages or so that I’ve already written, assuming I can keep some of them. (I have been culling like crazy!)

And then, I just have just under 100 pages more to write. I need to update that counter, too. Sadly, the number will be smaller.

Hmmm. After such a long absence, you’d think I’d have more to say, but this is writing about writing, and I’d better put my energy into the actual–writing. (Have I fallen in love with repetition?)

Category: Revision, Writing | No Comments »
Tags: Writing

Posted By admin on January 26, 2010

I’m a little startled to be awake as I nodded off over the laptop–finally–at sometime after 6:27 this morning. I was supposed to meet friends today for lunch, but that didn’t work out so I’m back at the coffee shop, laptop in front of me, beloved dose o’caffeine at my side.

I’ve been reading a lot of the line I’m targeting, and can I say–if I don’t get some words down, I just might not. I’ve been pretty good all of my career at not comparing my books or my progress to anyone else. I get the apples and oranges aspect of doing that, but after a steady diet, I’m hoping I write that well. It’s a good thing because it means I’m reading good books, but a bad thing because I don’t need to lose confidence now!

I have another confession, and this may be sacrilege. It’s likely to sound arrogant, but I don’t mean it that way. (A sure sign arrogance is to follow? Oh, dear!) I loved Twitter when it first started. Not saying I love the “I’m eating an egg” posts, but really, the egg-ridden posts were few and far between. However, lately, when I’m out in a place that includes access, I log on to my Twitter account, and I’m smothered in self-promo. I get that people think that’s its best use, but I’m not sure I’ve ever bought anything from anyone doing a hard sell. I’ve bought plenty of books from writers whose voices came through in their Tweets, but I can’t find those kind of posts any more. It makes me sad.

So–confessions over–back to work before I get too scared to work that keyboard!

Category: Writing | No Comments »
Tags: Writing

Posted By admin on January 25, 2010

Because my house is so crowded and distracting. I’m still working on the new book. I love this story–and I hope readers will see it one day. However, I definitely need a native Italian speaker. For now, the one thing that really worries me is staying in because I need it as is, and I’ve verified it with more than three online sources. I’d totally forgotten I have a friend whose in-laws speak Italian. I’ll have to quiz her closely.

I read a post somewhere recently that advised finishing a book without ever looking back. I’d love to edit-as-I-go a little less than I do. Okay–a lot less than I do! But I couldn’t not look back. Last night, in the wee hours, I suddenly woke, realizing I’d formed myself a sweet pothole of unmotivated character fun. So–first thing today, I had to go motivate. (Not so much unmotivated as not drawn together for the reader.)

What’s the world like out your way today? We have sunshine and 52 degrees. And wind. I love wind. My mother-in-law used to say that the wind in the high desert of Washington state almost drove her crazy. I could never understand that. Wind is comforting to me, holding the house in its arms, rocking it–I love that–as long as we’re not talking funnel clouds!

Anyway, just a quick post because I can!  Ahhhhhh–Internet access! And now, back to work!

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Tags: Writing

Posted By admin on January 20, 2010

Not sure how that happened. We have new light fixtures that make me go awwww. Especially in the dining room. I love our dining room. The experts (all right, my mentor group–HGTV) tell you to go with neutrals, but we went with a deep shade of blue that makes me smile every time I get near that room. It’s shaded because of the porch, but I love the way light filters through the blind slats. And now we have this lovely Victorian looking fixture over the table. I have serious affection for this room. I may have to start working at the table because of my serious affection for it.

What have you been doing this week? I’ve been coughing a lot (stinking cold–release me!)–and editing. And adding new pages. (Note to self: Must update the word counter. But I’ve been looking for new counters to count all my open projects.) And–I’ve been supply shopping. It’s a writer thing to love pens and paper. I was out yesterday when I had some ideas for this new proposal I mentioned a few posts ago. Oddly, I had no pen or paper, so it seemed like Fate, beckoning her wee finger from the door of the office supply store. Two different kinds of black pens for my daughter, one set of the most beautiful blue-colored gel ink pens, and a most attractive white legal pad (with beautiful blue lined pages–come on–you know that matters!) later, I had tools to work with. (The daughter is not a writer, but she got the fascination-for-pens gene.)

But then I ran into a friend at the coffee shop where I was working and I chatted instead of working. That’s not good. Infused some words last night, but must keep my nose firmly to the grindstone today. For so many months, I worked and worked and was unable to keep anything I wrote–because it stank and stank deeply. I don’t want to taunt whatever amount of confidence has returned by not taking this job seriously and getting the word count in.

So–off to produce.

Category: Just Living, Writing | No Comments »
Tags: Writing

Posted By admin on January 16, 2010

Morning! I’m totally shocked to have Internet access. Trying to keep quiet so as not to alert the satellite dish, but I thought I’d attempt a quick post.

I’m up at an unfortunate hour, huddled in the dark over my laptop with a blanket over my shoulders. I feel a bit like Scrooge over his soup because I have a cold and can’t breathe in a horizontal position, so I’m writing instead. Make that editing. I love editing, massaging words until I get the feeling I ought to keep my mitts off, but the changes don’t move the progress meter very impressively.

Mind you, yesterday, writing took a back seat. When the builder put our house together, he used the cheapest possible finishes. The $4 shower head that made us long for a hotel shower. The laminate floor that began to peel after a month. The crazy laminate counters that were supposed to look like granite, but truly reminded me of snake skin.

We took care of laminate wood and faux snake granite early on. Now, we’re slowly going after the lighting. Not that Boy’s Bathroom, Circa 1950 isn’t a delightful vision, but we shopped like crazy in the lighting department yesterday. Well–a fixture for the foyer and the same point on the landing upstairs, and the lights over the dining room and kitchen tables. I can’t wait to see them installed. (Shhh–don’t want to frighten the handy husband–he’s like a small, wild animal, easing out of the woods.)

Each time I’ve passed the treasure trove of boxes stacked near the kitchen door, I pause to stroke them. They’re so beautiful! This house will be a home yet. Next up, the bathrooms! I think we finally agree on tile!  But that won’t be today.

Today–I’m editing again, but soon–new words. I see the promise of new words, hanging out there in the future, a treat for the hard work of reaching them.

Happy weekend to all!

Category: Just Living, Writing | 2 Comments »
Tags: Writing