Anna Adams

Posted By admin on May 18, 2012

Not so great today. I only wrote 8 pages. It makes me sad, but I realized my conflict wasn’t strong enough, so I’m digging deeper.

Fortunately, I’m 15 pages ahead of my overall goal, but I was sort of hoping never to have to use them as banked pages. So–I’m going to try adding to get tomorrow and Saturday to replace those banked pages!

Tomorrow is another day!  :-)  You know I never liked that Scarlett looked at the world that way instead of acting to make whatever she was putting off better. I am acting, but I’m so tired, I’m afraid I’ll delete half my ms.

Category: Fast Draft | No Comments »
Tags: Fast Draft

Posted By admin on May 17, 2012

Mountains, from Girl's Week. This is the wallpaper on my phone right now. It inspires me!

And still learning.

Day three, and I’ve written 20 new pages. I like this Fast Drafting. Especially tonight. I stopped mid-sentence in the middle of a scene which I know is more than talking heads. Occasionally, as I’ve been moving forward, resisting my absolute compulsion to edit, I’ve known I needed desperately to get to the point of the scene instead of dancing all around it.

Not tonight. I’ll have to cull, but this information is there in a form I think is almost right, and it’s a huge deal to the heroine. She’s revealing a secret she’s kept for too long. Not because she trusts the hero, but because she has no choice. He has a need to know. I like that motivation to do something that stretches her character.

Can’t wait to see what happens on Day 4!

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Tags: Fast Draft

Posted By admin on May 16, 2012

For the second day, I’ve made my goal of 20 pages in Candace Havens’ Fast Draft class. Yay! that’s 8,768 words I didn’t have before I started this slightly crazy experiment.

Thing is, I don’t think it will be an experiment after this for me. I don’t know that I’ll write every book at 20 pages/day for the rest of my life, but I’ve learned some things.

First:  I am one scared writer. Seriously. Monday, the first day of class, I stared at quite a bit of blank screen, for long periods of time, and I was baffled.

I thought I was baffled.

I was just really scared. I want to succeed with this new book. I want it to be emotional and engaging. I want readers to love the characters as much as I do, and I want that all important sigh at the end, because Keir and Elle have reached their happily ever after, but also because it’s over. Those are the best romances. Those are the ones I love to read most, and they’re definitely the ones I strive to write.

It’s hard to write engaging, emotional, ahhhhh when you’re scared. But fortunately, it’s hard to be poleaxed by terror when you’ve committed to producing 20 pages in a day. Mind you, we’re supposed to assume that some of those 20 pages are crap, but I don’t want to write crap, so I’m trying to do my best work even as I fly through the words. It’s a conundrum.

Second discovery: This one comes to you courtesy of my beloved CP and bestie, Karen Whiddon. (Oh, wait. She also talked me off the ledge of terror, too.) We were talking about wasting time. I agreed that email, Twitter, and games can be a waste of time, but tonight, when I was adding my totals, I really saw–I waste a lot of time. There oughta be a law! I hope I’m learning something from all this. (I have a hard head. Sometimes it takes an anvil!)

Third discovery: This one’s huge. Massive. Life-freaking-changing. I’m serious.

Today, some of the writers were talking about feeling exactly the way I did yesterday, and Candy offered us advice. Not to think, but to write. We’ll put in the turning points naturally if we just let go of all the obstacles and write. Again, I nodded to myself.

Again, as I was counting totals, I realized I’m almost finished with Chapter Four.

I hate Chapter Fours. They’re almost worse than beginnings for me because they’re a whole new beginning. They require a sea change in the characters’ plans. They start the real crisis (vs. what the characters think they need) that is going to divide my hero and heroine, and they foreshadow the changes the hero and heroine are going to face if they want to be together. (Happily ever after. Sigh. I want that sigh.)

I have been felled by Chapter Fours, as if I were running straight into a titanium wall.

Today, I wrote right through Chapter Four, and the changes are there. They’re better and stronger and fresher than I thought they’d be. I didn’t plan to change my plan. I was a little sorry it was changing on me, and then I realized, the change was more fun to read.

If I end up editing 14 days’ worth of drivel in 20-page increments, this discovery alone makes it all worth while.

I once worked for a corporation that required us to post our “key learnings” after we completed each project.

Key Learning: Stop over-thinking. Write.

Category: Fast Draft, Key Learnings, Writing | 2 Comments »
Tags: Fast Draft

Posted By admin on May 15, 2012

Cabinets w/ Granite. Still can't get that paint true to life!

I made it! 20 pages for the first day of Candace Havens’ Fast Draft class. Five more than my goal, but I always intended to try for 20. The last four were torture. Well–torture getting started, because I took a break that stretched into hours. But after I started them, they flew by, thanks to #1k1hr on Twitter.

Now, for the renovation progress. I was going to add a photo of the shower, but for some reason it loads on its side, even after I turned it. I’m too tired to figure out the whys and wherefores. (Writing this the night before in the wee hours!) But honestly, I wouldn’t mind it on its side.

This happened while I was gone last week.

The room is so light and comfy I’m thinking of moving in there, lock, stock, and laptop.

I just need to learn about waterproofing.

For now, I’ll ignore every learning opportunity that doesn’t have to do with my new chapters. I’ll report tomorrow! (And maybe figure out that shower pic!)

Category: Bathroom Renovation | No Comments »
Tags: Bathroom, First Draft, renovation

Posted By admin on May 14, 2012

Hiking to a waterfall, my aunt said, "Look through those trees." Let's all thank her, because that is beauty.

I’m home from Girls’ Week (and lonely for my aunties and cousin), and I’m starting Candace Havens’ Fast Draft class today. That means I’m committed to write 20 pages every day for two weeks, and then I have two weeks to revise it all. I’ve actually stated a goal of 15 pages, because that’s my minimum need, but I want to do the full 20. I’ve never done this before. I’ve written 30 pages or so per day on deadline, and once, I wrote 50 pages in one day just because those 50 pages rolled out as if they were dying to be written. I’ve never done 20 pages every day for 2 weeks, and I’m a little wary.

I’ve warned the family that I’m not giving up work time. I’ve worked on character sketches and a synopsis that’s really a thorn under my skin. If I don’t figure out what’s bothering me about the beginning of the story, I’m going to have to skip on to the parts I know, and hope something brilliant strikes me for those first scenes. (Because Candace allows no whining and no excuses.)

I might be scarce on the blog for the next few weeks, but I’d like to keep all my commitments and show up here. I may just be posting some of the hundreds of photos I took during Girl’s Week. Also, we’re almost finished with the bathroom renovation, and I’d like to post final photos of that. The lights are here, and we need to hang the mirrors. The day I left, the door was going up, and just before I came home, the granite was installed. The beloved and I argued about what we wanted for a cabinet between the cabinets because the world would literally reverse its spin if we ever agreed on anything, but we seem to have compromised now. Ordering that is my one non-work commitment this week.

Unless my hands refuse to type any more after I do my pages, I’ll post my counts here each day.

Category: Fast Draft | 2 Comments »
Tags: Just Living, Writer's Prep

Posted By admin on May 3, 2012

I’m abandoning hearth and home tomorrow for Girls’ Week with my family. I cannot wait. We talk and laugh and eat too much (although my sister/cousin and I have made a pact for this year about that), and watch movies and old TV shows.

Seven days will not be enough.

I’ve made another pact with myself, that I’ll at least write something each day, even if that something is a few lines. I’ve done enough planning that I need to get words on the page, rather than having them all stuck in my head. The story is starting to circle in on itself, so that the hero and heroine are providing a nice push me-pull you effect. The initial events may actually be foreshadowing what needs to happen in the dark moment/resolution. (Let me be honest. I write the dark moment/resolution many times before I settle on the right one.)

Anyway, instead of talking about writing, today would be a good day to cram in some amazing word count so I don’t feel quite so bad about not making huge totals while I’m gone!

And also, I have to pick up Kitty’s “special” food, or he’ll come looking for me at our Girls’ Week destination!

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

Posted By admin on May 2, 2012

Sometimes you just need a big desk!

I love random days!

First off, the shower door didn’t arrive yesterday. We have a friend who says that home renovations have a rule of 2: Twice as expensive, twice as much work, and twice as long as you expect when you start the project. We actually estimated cost pretty well, but definitely twice as long and twice as much work! Someday…

I’ve been working on characterization and story points. I love Carolyn Greene’s workbook, Prescription for Plotting. I wanted to add a link, but her website seems to be down. Anyway, when I know I’m in trouble, I do her character profile sheets. She asks exactly the right questions for me.

Finally, a friend has a new release. Kimberly Dean’s Blade of Moonlight released yesterday. It’s such an intriguing idea I had to download it right away. It’s going to be my treat when I finish my snopes for this new book. Take a look at her description of the story, and see if you don’t need to read it, too!

And have a wonderful, random Wednesday!

Category: Kimberly Dean, Random | No Comments »
Tags: Blade of Moonlight, Kimberly Dean, Random

Posted By admin on May 1, 2012

Ready to Swim

Already here and already destructive. This is a photo of our pool before the summer came, when the weather was kind of coolish. So–you know–around early February. Not perfect, but I kind of thought the one good thing about all this unseasonable heat would be early swimming. We began to treat the water, and things were looking fine. Then the heat poured on.

And created a green pool of horror. I’m pretty sure the Loch Ness Monster is vacationing with us. Who knows what’s under there? The beloved took a water sample to our trusty pool supply store, and they’ve given us a cocktail to return the pool to fitness. I can’t wait.

Little sad the paint color isn't showing well.

I also can’t wait for the shower door to arrive today. I imagine we won’t be able to use it until tomorrow-ish, but oh, the joy of a functioning bathroom. I may have taken the convenience of such a thing for granted–before. Never again. Because I’m pretty disappointed when I head to the sink to wash my hands. Only to discover a still topless cabinet!

It’s cleaner in the room now. The cabinets aren’t covered in paper. The floor’s clean. We’ve put the paint cans away. If we ever sell this place, people will stroll in, stampede through, and then get to the bathroom and want to move in. Seriously, the nicest room in the house. I’m a little sad for the other bathrooms.

Gonna shake off the yoke of irrational melancholy and get to work. I wrote 2036 words yesterday, and I need at least that many today! Happy Tuesday to you!

Category: Just Living, Word Count | No Comments »
Tags: Just Living, Word Count

Posted By admin on April 30, 2012

What a lovely weekend. We’ve done all we can do on the renovation so I didn’t feel guilty about not working on it. I read a book for a friend on Friday and Saturday. Also on Saturday, another friend called with this question. “I have tickets for the matinee of Les Mis tomorrow. Do you want to go?”

Heck, yeah! It was so kind of her to offer. As a rather meager thank you, I took her to brunch. Can I just say–grilled scallops and shrimp in cheese grits with a side of home fries? I have been making such healthy choices (and somehow not losing an ounce). This was not in any way the healthiest choice on the oh-so-tempting menu, but it was worth every ambrosial calorie. My friend had crab cakes benedict, which looked lovely, but I was extremely pleased with my choice.

And then, off to the play. I’m not a big fan of musicals as a rule. I mean, I do burst into song in everyday life, but that usually results in a cleared room. It’s just not natural to greet tragedy and triumph with a song….

Or so I thought until today. I’d never seen Les Mis before, but I read the book way back in the dim days of my youth so I knew Jean Valjean was going to have a tricky moment or two. But the moment the actor moved into his falsetto for the prayer on the barricades, I was crying, and I could not stop. I don’t even care if I sound cheesy when I tell you that man’s voice moved me. If my friend reads this, thank you again. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to hear him sing.

The song is in my head, and I’m feeling a little tearful again.

In more mundane matters… Would you believe the bathroom is not up and running yet? Parts of it are, and it’s painted. The shower door arrives on Tuesday, but the granite does not go on until next week. Oddly, when the whole country is suffering a decline, the granite company we’ve used on this house is thriving. They do excellent work, and maybe people who would normally be buying a new house are going the less expensive route and redoing the home they have loved. I’m happy for them, seriously. So many businesses in our town have gone under. But I’d love to wash my hands in my own sink again. And I’m almost positive the girl would prefer I make the trek downstairs, instead of in to her sink.

After the door and the granite, we only have the lights to install and the trim for the floor. The beloved and I, who lived with only bedroom furniture and a rocking chair for the first several months of our marriage because we can’t agree on anything–ever–could not agree on trim. I wanted taller because everything in the room is tall. He wanted shorter because he just doesn’t like taller. I don’t like cordaround. Is that how it’s spelled?

We’ve come to a compromise with chair rail. We won’t need cordaround because chair rail flairs a bit at the bottom, and I can live without the height if I don’t have to have the cordaround. And–it’s a beautiful pattern. I’m really pretty excited, and I think we’re brilliant for coming up with this compromise.

I’ll burden the blog with photos when at last the room is finished.

Anyway, I’ve also been working. Two stories, and I have an excellent revision plan for the one that was just rejected.

I’m looking forward to a busy week. Hope you are, too!

Category: Just Living, Renovation | 2 Comments »
Tags: Just Living, renovation

Posted By admin on April 20, 2012

Ignore scary wall!

Hello, Friday! I’m happy to see you. You could have neglected to bring the heat, but I’m already enjoying your cloudy garb!

Update on reno–we have one of the basic pieces of equipment for a bathroom. Yay! Also, the tile is completed. Cabinets are in. The template for the granite countertops is under way. The shower door is on order. I’m shopping for mirrors, and the beloved is set to repair the wall where the massive mirror of old was fastened with no doubt toxic adhesive! (Okay, there’s some doubt, but it’s pretty hideous to look at–or repair.)

We still have to remove the builder’s fine, plastic $19 light fixture. (We saw it in the store where we were searching for replacements.) Then the beloved is going to place a set of lights over each cabinet, and we have to finish painting after the walls are all repaired.

On the writing front, I’ve had a painful rejection. I do not love rejection. I’m rethinking and making a plan. The good news is that I absolutely know how to revise the rejected ms. and try that baby elsewhere. I’m letting it rest so that time has a chance to tell me whether my plan remains brilliant, and I’m working on something new. Looking forward to making this weekend all about rebuilding my writing confidence, rather than my master bath!

Category: Friday!, Renovation | No Comments »
Tags: Friday!, renovation