Archive for previous entries this month
January 1, 2007
Furry Friends
That's Zaphod in amongst the bears. Cute guys, all of them.
So, welcome to 2007. I'm already behind, but I still have hope. Vision is about to go up, I'm happy to say. I have only one more small bit to work on and then it's done. I've already updated the Storybook pages:
I haven't set up the 2007 progress page for this journal yet. I'll try to get to that tomorrow, or maybe later tonight after I get vision done. I'm determined to get it finished and posted.
And I started out the day with some nice writing, too. It's on an untitled piece, set in the years just prior to World War II. It's going to take a lot more work to get the background right, but I'm having fun with it. And it's the first thing I've written without an outline in a long time. That was purposeful. I thought it would make a nice change from my usual work, and so far I'm right. It's been odd, but kind of fun.
That's my plan for this year. Odd but fun.
So far it's working fine.
January 2, 2007
Daz/Bryce/Painter/Paint Shop Pro picture
You know, you get enough graphics programs, and you can just about do anything.
I'm getting good work done these last couple days. The new story is about 6000 words already. I have no clue where it's going, but it had better start getting there soon. I had originally meant for this to be no more than 20,000 words. At this point, my two main characters have only just gotten together.
I've started getting the 2YN class stuff put together. It should be up and going tomorrow or the next day. Yay! Another thing off the list.
Beyond that, it's going well enough. I'm enjoying the story so far, and that's a good first step for the year. I need to spend a little more time working on the house again, but I'll get there as soon as I get caught up on the 2YN stuff. It has to all be done by this weekend, so there's no time to play around with it any longer.
And I'm trying to decide if I want to go back to my office again. It seems like the wise thing to do, I think. I'll have to go to my old desk for now, but that might be all right until we can get the old one out and the new one in.
We'll see. Right now I'm going to go do a little more writing before bed, though.
January 3, 2007
Monterey Bay
Work is going well enough, really. The book with no name is still moving along, almost up to 8k already. I've gotten nearly everything ready for the new 2YN class. I still have lists of things to do, but oddly, I'm actually getting through them for a change.
You'd almost think I'm on top of things this year. That won't last for long, of course.
But I'm enjoying it while I can.
The snow is mostly melted here again. We might have a little on Friday. Good for picture taking, at least. But the weather is warmer again, and there's nothing wrong with that.
And that's it for me tonight. I need to get some other work done.
January 4, 2007
Edmond Face
Four days in a row of 3k. I don't know if I should trust this or not, but it's been fun. My characters are finally doing something, I'm glad to say. And I chanced upon the key to the plot and a symbol for it last night, as well as a title -- The Lost Child. Only I might play with that title a bit later.
Anyway, it's going well. And I got virtually everything done for the 2YN class and with a day or two to spare, too. Yay!
It's time I start getting to work on some other things, though, too. It's been a nice, relatively calm couple of days to start the year, though. It's helped.
Not much else going on tonight, though. I'm playing a bit with Daz Studio, but nothing serious. Lots of things to get done soon, but still... time to be calm and relaxed for a bit.
January 5, 2007
Foggy Lake
Another 3k day for the new book. 60 pages so far, which is not bad at all!
I'm dead tired tonight, though. I stayed up till past the dawn reading Fortress of Ice by Cherryh. I thought it started out a bit slow... but once I caught on to what was happening, I couldn't put it down.
I'm paying it for it tonight, though. Not as bad as Russ, who didn't get any sleep at all last night. He'll be heading for bed soon, too. I don't know if I can hold out until he gets here. It's pitiful. (It's also pills, so I don't feel like too much of a wuss.)
Off to bed, I think. I'll get more done tomorrow after a good sleep than I'd get done tonight falling asleep at the keyboard.
January 6, 2007
Edmond in bed
Over 18k words on the new story. Yay!
Got a lot of other things done today too, though nothing much to talk about. Posted the two 2YN classes. Did a bit of cleaning. Fought off a horrid headache that is trying to win out over me.
It's late, so I win the battle, actually. I got through the day and got things done. I even finally got a chance to see Dead Man's Chest, which I enjoyed. It was a good way to spend a couple hours this afternoon.
And that's about it for my day. Not all that exciting, but nothing bad! And now, I'm going to head off to bed and sleep for a few hours.
January 7, 2007
Winter Sky
Russ is in Omaha tonight. He'll be back sometime tomorrow. I haven't done a whole lot tonight, either. I have gotten my writing done, and worked on a new Daz picture, but the program froze so I'm not sure how much is saved. (it froze during the last save, so it may have wiped out everything.)
It's all right. I can redo it, but it took me hours to get that far, and I just don't have the energy to go back at it tonight. I'll get back to it tomorrow.
I found a novel on my hard drive that I wrote in 2005, and you know, I can't remember what it is about. Oh. Just opened it. It's a renamed older novel. Fine. I can deal with that at least.
What I can't deal with is having to hunt down a novel I need edited and returned to the publisher. For some reason, it's not anywhere I keep expecting it to be.
Ah. Probably because it didn't have the right title. What is it with titles tonight?
But there. I have the book I need. Now I need to find others and double check a few things, and then start editing. It shouldn't be too hard.
Well, anyway. That's it for me for tonight. My eyes are crossing. I'm tired.
January 8, 2006
Cold Coots
Long day. Moved my computer back to my office where it's brighter and warmer. It took a lot of work to get the computer up and running again, but here I am. I still need to do a bit of work on the novel to make my 3k for the day, so I won't be here for long.
It's odd being back here, though. Different feel. I am also back to my old desk, which is way too small. Zaphod and Edmond are not very happy just now.
So... back to writing. Back to work.
Oh, and Russ came home much earlier than expected, so that's good, too!
January 9, 2007
Geese
Mostly, I like being back in my office. It's nice here. Warmer. But it is smaller and a mess, and my desk is just covered with things, since it's much smaller than the desk in the living room. I'm finding it hard to deal with it.
I'm also learning to deal with the new version of IE. Russ really likes it. I'm not quite as certain about it, but I'm getting used to it.
I'm also still doing well on the new novel. It looks like a novel to me... it just went over 100 pages. And I see an ending somewhere in the mists of time. I know where it's going to go. We'll see what it takes to get there.
It might be a short novel, now that I think about it. There's really not that much more I have to do to get to the ending. Hmmmm....
Well, at any rate, it's going better than I thought it would!
January 10, 2007
Lady Jane Pudge'ums
Lady Jane, at 15, is now our oldest cat. She's not really happy these days. All of her life-long companions are gone -- her sister Cricket, her mother Zelda, and her uncle Kwi. She wants a lot more attention than she used to, and she only barely tolerates the new boys. But she purrs like mad if you pick her up or even talk to her.
I've just managed to go over 30k on the new novel.
And Edmond just reached over the side of my desk, bit at a cord, and I now have no Internet Connection.
Cats....
So, I best go get that fixed.
There are days.
January 11, 2007
Play Time
That's Edmond at the top and Zaphod at the bottom. Cute guys.
I'm just over 33,000 on the story and closing in on the final scenes. It's longer than I wanted, a shorter than a book, so who knows what will come of it. But it's been fun to write!
And I needed that kind of fun after last year and the few problems that have swept over to 2007. But still... I'm fighting to keep things up and going. Playing with Daz, Painter and Paint Shop Pro has been great, in fact. I need to write about 300 more words tonight and I get to play with it again. Good to have these little things that I can hold out there as a reward, isn't it?
I'm also editing the 7th Dark Staff novel and that's going VERY well. The book after it will be a problem, though, because it needs a complete rewrite. Well, I can do that, can't I? It's not like I haven't done a great deal of it lately anyway.
We're having a cold night. 7f right now. There might be snow this weekend, though. That would be nice. It doesn't have to be much, but I am tired of looking at dead, brown ground.
Okay, about 100 words left to go for the story. So... time to post this, get those words written, and see what fun I can have with pictures for a while.
January 12, 2007
Pretty bird
I really like this picture. Nice look to it.
We are having cold weather. Very cold weather. The kind that makes me brain freeze, which it obviously has done because I can't remember my user name to a site I update several times a month. I know the password. Can't remember the user name for anything.
My head hurts.
I wrote my 3000 words today, but I'm not particularly happy with them. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Tonight nothing look quite right to me.
So, I'm just going to upload this and move on. I think I'll be in bed early!
January 13, 2007
Playing with Bryce
A bit more work done here and there today. Second 2YN class up for the year. Some Vision stuff handled. Playing with Daz and Bryce.
Trying to fight off a bad case of restlessness. I just want out for a while, I think, and it's not possible right now.
Gah. But I'm getting things done. The new story is very close to 40k. And nearly done as well. Odd length, but I like it anyway.
I have no clue what I'll work on next.
It looks like an interesting year, doesn't it?
January 14, 2007
Silly Zaphod
He's attached to the back of my chair. Silly cat. The snow today startled him. And we had a good amount, too. About time, though, alas, it is not any warmer for it. I know that sounds odd to those of you who live in non-snow areas, but it generally warms up to snow. In fact, when I started seeing the temps going up after ten last night, I knew were were finally going to get a storm. Unfortunately, they never went above 15f, and it's going to be colder tomorrow.
Ah well. It's January. By March it will be warm again. Or warmer, at least.
I've gotten another 3k done today. I'm really amazed at how nicely that's been going. And I'm getting lots of other things done as well, though there are still a number of them on my never ending list.
All in all, though, I'm doing all right.
And there's snow!
January 15, 2007
Snow and cats
And Cold. It's VERY cold here.
And the car is dead.
The snow is pretty, though. And we had a fun day here at the house. I also got another 3k written, and handle a few things for FM and DTF. But I'm about ready to call it a night so I can go climb into a nice warm bed. I know it's nice and warm because Russ went to bed about an hour ago. (grin)
I already have a cold, and I'm not really happy about that, either. I just hope to make it through the next few days without any real problems. Unfortunately, it's not going to warm up any time soon!
January 16, 2007
Elk Painting
I am very nearly done with the book, which is almost up to 50k. I am going to have to name it at some point. It's been fun to write, and I wonder what I'm going to do next!
It's still too cold here. You know it's too cold when you look at the next day's weather report and get excited because it's going to get all the way up to 25f. Yay! It will be so much better.
Tonight I want to work on some pictures. I'm happy to have my writing done, and I got some work done on the site and a little bit done for DTF... and I need a fun break. Picture stuff is my choice. I'm not sure which of the graphic programs I want to work with, though. (grin)
And I really have to start thinking about the next story I want to write. I have a few floating around in my head. I'm sure I can find one that calls to me.
January 17, 2007
Edmond the Cute
I finished the first draft of the novel today. Still not real title to it, and only 50k words... but done! I'm happy about it!
I also started a short story -- also with no real title. I seem to be having a title problem this year. The story is okay so far. I don't expect it to go more than three or four thousand words. And then? Who knows.
It warmed up a bit today, which is good. Not quite as frozen as it has been.
Gah. Boring day. Nothing more to write.
January 18, 2007
Cute Guy
Today is the one year anniversary of having bought the camera. I fretted over it when we did it because money was already short. But Russ pointed out that if we didn't do it then, we wouldn't have a chance for a long time. He was right. And my beloved CD1000 did not last through the month, even with the little Russ used it for. I would have been without a camera. I can't imagine it.
So, today I didn't do a lot of pictures -- though I did take the one above, and the really lovely picture of Wind in my Picture A Day Blog. Instead, I worked at FM and wrote. Wrote a lot, actually. I finished a short story today and managed to have another 3k day. So that's a short novel and a short story so far this year. I plan to write a few more short stories, too. Write. I must write more.
But not tonight. Right now, I think I'm going to go play with graphic programs for a while and relax. The last story really took a lot out of me. Work on a picture is just what I need right now.
January 19, 2007
Snowy Street
I wrote a story today that went absolutely nowhere. Took forever to write, too. Odd, how that can happen. I'm letting it sit for the night, and tomorrow I'll take a look and see if I can salvage it at all. There has to be something that can be done with it. Maybe.
Besides that, nothing else going on. Finished some art work today that I really like, at least. Wish we could go out to some place for a few hours, do pictures, talk stories... get me back in the mood of work.
We might have some snow tomorrow night and Sunday. Not that we actually need it this time, because we have lots of snow already. Pretty snow, really.
Okay, it's late. This cold his really wearing me down. Time to go to bed.
January 20, 2007
Snowing again!
Looks as though we'll have a couple more inches of snow tonight. It's really coming down!
I finished my second short story and decided, after spending most of the day prowling around, to start a rewrite of an older novel. I started this project last year, and I've liked the results. So, today I started rewriting The Medusan Mutation, which is the second Devlin novel I wrote, and the third in the series. The second one, which was added much later, never worked all that well, and I'm going to set it aside again.
But the Medusan Mutation had some really great ideas, and I enjoyed writing the story. I am still tripping over the opening, though. I've written three versions today, and finally just forced myself to keep going and get the feel of the story again. I'll go back and fix it later.
It's a good project for me right now, because this cold is really hitting hard, and that makes the idea of 'creation from scratch' kind of impossible. Medications just dull me down. But having the plot worked out, the characters in place, etc., is working fine. I've been printing off five pages of the original at a time, reading -- or at least glancing -- over them, and then writing the new version.
Except that I don't like the opening two pages yet, it seems to be working fine.
So off I go to do more of it!
January 21, 2007
Country Road
Medusan Mutation is going well. I'm happy with it.
I also have yet another graphic program to play with tonight. Daz had a special sale for the club members, and I picked up a normally $100 version of Carrara basics for $9. It's a very fancy program... and if this is the basics, I fear to find out what the big versions are like!
But I just rendered a picture:
Except that I don't have the rock background right yet... it looks pretty realistic to me. Amazing stuff you can do with this program. And I, of course, have barely started touching it.
Interesting stuff.
But it's late, and if I hope to get anything done tomorrow, I had better get things finished up here for tonight. Tomorrow, it's back tot he work stuff!
January 22, 2007
Edmond
Work is going well enough, really. I'm surprised, in fact. Now that I'm past the opening to Medusan Mutation, I really enjoy the work. I'm sure I'll fret over that opening for quite a while longer. What I've found between this version and the last is that I really had way too much exposition as my main character thought about... everything. I've cut a bit of that down. It means the word count is dropping from the original, but I think it will pick back up again when I start looking at details. There is a definite lack of detail in much of this novel.
But the story is good so far.
Nothing else, really, to talk about. I'm still playing with graphic programs. I'm still writing just over 3k a day. I am about as caught up on work as I can be, too.
I have, apparently, found some kind of balance between writing, work, and the art stuff. I'm sure it won't last for long, but it's interesting while it does!
January 23, 2007
Snowy Night
It snowed quite a bit this morning... and then warmed up enough to melt it and some more. I suspect we'll lose more when the sun comes up since it's still 30f and it won't take much to get the temp up over freezing.
So, that's the news for the day. Really. Nothing more going on. Still working at the 3k a day, though it was a close one today. Having fun with the pictures and graphics. And now I'm tired and want to sleep.
Russ teaches in Omaha tomorrow, but I'm not going to the zoo. Too cold to sit outside for an hour and a half before it opens. With any kind of luck, I'll still get there sometime this month. We'll see.
Gah. I forgot I was writing this and almost went off to bed without posting. Okay. Time to get this up and get some sleep! I've made out my list for things to do tomorrow, so I think it all looks good!
January 24, 2007
Winter Watercolor
Doing pretty well tonight! Which is good, because dinner last night did not agree with me, and I spent a good amount of time feeling miserable. I am only a couple hundred words from my 3k for the day, so I'll be getting back to that after I get this written and uploaded. I don't want to forget to do it again!
I think I'm getting organized this year. it's very odd, but step-by-step my somewhat chaotic life seems to be coming under control. I'm getting work done that needs done. I have a daily list that sits in front of me while I work, so I know what I need done. I have a cork board sitting by the desk (it probably should go on the wall), and I have begun pinning story notes to it as I write. I have things like 'people, equipment, places' listed out for the current book. They're written on the backs of old manuscript sheets, torn into quarters and stacked in a pile beside me. I jot something down and pin it in the appropriate place on the board. Eventually, I'll take them all and put them into an Access file, so that I can call it all up later for other books.
Anyway... it's working well and it's kind of fun.
And the art stuff is fun, too. I like the way this picture turned out.
That's it, really. I want to get the rest of the work done. Off to write!
January 25, 2007
Rime Ice
We had to run to the store, and this was one of the pictures I took while Russ was in getting milk and bread. (Neither of which, it turned out, we needed tonight after all, since I ended up making chili instead.)
It was lovely. I wish it had been lighter out, though. Some of the pictures aren't focused well. My fault -- in my haste to just get the pictures, I didn't think to turn on the focus light for night work.
Other than that... had connection problems for most of the day. I'm getting this posted while it's up. I didn't get much done on anything but writing today, but you know -- can't complain about that!
Medusan Mutation is up to 18k already. Good stuff. And I've edited 90 pages of Gathering.
Didn't do much in art today, though I did put together a Daz picture. It proved to be a difficult one, too!
But that's it. So, off I go!
January 26, 2007
The Lighted Cavern
Yes, I'm playing with yet another graphic program. This one is Apophysis. You can make some really interesting patterns with it. I'm having great fun.
Also getting a good amount of writing done, which is always a good thing. I've hit the 20k mark on Medusan Mutation. I'm really pleased with the changes, too. Far too much of the previous version felt 'over the top' in some of the character reactions.
I almost got to go to the zoo today, but -- no big surprise -- a check didn't come in when it should have. I suspect this is going to be the first month I miss using the pass. I don't imagine that Russ will have the free time over the next few days.
I am, though, doing quite well with the writing. This, despite the fact that one of the cats knocked a speaker off my desk and hit my hand. I think I'll have a bruise tomorrow.
That's it. Really. It's boring here. (grin)
January 27, 2007
Orchids
With January nearly over, I'm looking at a few new ideas for getting organized. The writing side of things went very well this month. So did some of the photography. Other things... maybe not so well, but I'm getting them under control. I think.
I want more time to do art, in fact, which means I have to better utilize the time I spend on other things. I'm having way too much fun with some of the art stuff, and I tend to get annoyed when other things get in the way. (grin)
Medusan Mutation is up to 23k words already. It's shorter than the previous version, but not by enough that I need to worry yet. And I'm very happy with the new version.
Today we bought two important things -- groceries (it was getting low around here!) and a set of boxes so I can send out novel manuscript submissions. I have a couple ready to print out... and I even got the good laser printer to work again, so I think it's time.
That's one of my big jobs for next week. I think Paid in Gold and Blood will be the first one out the door.
Maybe I'll actually get this figured out this year.
But I don't think I'll count on it.
January 28, 2007
Tiger Cub painting
It looks as though I might go to the zoo on Tuesday! Yay! It's going to be cold... but Russ has something to go to that day, and I'll be able to head straight in, and not wait around.
Going to the zoo always cheers me up.
I have about 195 pages of Paid in Gold and Blood printed off. The printer is giving me problems and jams every few pages. The safest thing to do is print five pages at a time and pull them out as soon as they appear at the top. Even so, it still jams enough to get frustrating. I'll do more tomorrow. I have plenty of time to get it all done and ready to go out.
I have one other short story to go out, too. Just have to decide on a place to send it this time.
So, it's been a productive day. I've even got most of a Daz picture done that I've worked on for a few days. I like it!
I'm also at 3k for the day again. I'm going to work on tomorrow's writing. I really like Medusan Mutation. The story is exciting and the characters are sometimes even witty. You can't ask for much more than that!
January 29, 2007
Butterfly Painting
I am going to the zoo tomorrow. It's going to be a horribly cold day, but my plan is to run in and head for the nearest building. Russ has some stuff to do in Omaha tomorrow for a few hours, so I'll only be there for about four or five hours. But it means I won't miss my monthly trip to the zoo! Yay!
And with that in mind, I'm going to cut everything short today and head for bed early. I just need to get a little more writing done!
January 30, 2007
Serval
I went to the zoo today.
It was very cold when we left this morning, but a few degrees warmer in Omaha. I did what I planned...scurried from one building to the other, and only stayed for four hours. I spent almost all of those hours in the jungle and in the desert, and the floor beneath the desert (Kingdoms of the Night). Despite feeling as though I was totally out of practice, I still managed some good pictures.
Then I came home and did some work, so I feel wonderfully virtuous tonight. Unfortunately, the house was very cold when we got home, and it's taken a few hours for my office to warm up. I don't like being cold!
But... had a good day. Got things done, got to go have fun, and overall, can't even say I minded the cold so much!
However, I am looking forward to spring!
January 31, 2007
American Kestrel
End of the month! And I managed to write the steady 3k a day for the entire time, coming in at about 94k with all the extra words. It even got easy toward the end of the month, which is what I had hoped.
It's not that this is the best month of writing I've ever done, but it has been the most steady and satisfying one in a long time. I love the rush of NaNo, of course, but this is a good, wonderful way to get work done. I've written one 50k word novel (which is a bad length, of course, but a good start for a rewrite later), two short stories, and about 35k on another novel. I have two submissions out, and I did a good amount of editing.
And I got other work done, too. My daily list, while it never gets completely cleared, has better helped me get control of what absolutely has to be done. All in all, February was very nearly a stress-free month. I haven't had one of those in quite a while. I have felt like I've had something hanging over my head for so long, that I never had time to rest.
I've done art work this month. I've managed to do a picture a day on a blog.
And I've now headed into February without feeling as though I fell behind in the first month of the year.
Let's see if I can keep this up!