Devon
This evening I spent quite a while cruising blogs. I looked at well-known author blogs and little known author blogs, as well as a few group and agent and editor blogs. The one thing I found they all have in common is they contain a lot of information or they're clever and entertaining. New book releases, sharing research, writing tips, you name it. There's a wealth of information out there. I also saw a lot of authors having other authors as guest bloggers. (Doesn't everyone on the planet have their own blog these days?) After looking at a couple dozen of these, I began to feel like I've somehow missed the blog boat. No one told me these posts were supposed to have a point and actually be useful in some capacity. And everyone is so busy, busy, busy, I don't see how they ever get any writing done. Okay. Moving right along. A funny thing happened the other day. Hubby and I were at Wal-mart, like together, at the same time, in the store, which almost never happens because we rarely go anywhere together. Anyway, we were inside the store talking to a friend who works there when this nice looking middle-aged couple walked up to us and asked where they could find the beer. The three of us stood there, stunned, and stared at these people for at least 30 seconds before someone blurted out, "There isn't any alcohol here. It's a dry county." Then it was the couple's turn to look stunned. They said they'd heard of such things, but didn't realize there were still places like that. We asked where they were from. They said they were on vacation, just passing through, and stopped in to get a few supplies. We told them to get on the freeway and head north, or south to Tennessee. When they got to Richmond, or Jellico, (depending on which direction they chose) then they could buy beer because it was wet from that point forward. It just struck me odd that someone asking a simple question like, "Where's the beer?" had the power to stop three grown people in their tracks.
On a related note... I've thought about changing the title of my blog to The Hoot From the Holler, but I doubt anyone who doesn't live here in the sticks where there are still dry counties and bootleggers would get it.
Devon
I love reading everyone's blogs because you all are always "doing," and I get to read about the things that happen in your lives. I enjoy doing my blog but often have a hard time finding anything to write about. Who wants to read about me taking a turn around the yard. Yes, my lilies are coming up very nicely since I moved them. -or- Oops. Molly had an accident with her potty training last night. Not exactly what I call riveting prose. Not much goes on around here with me except the normal, daily routine of house and family and the writing process. Not that I'm complaining. These days, I thrive on routine and any deviation upsets my applecart. But, recently, I've discovered something about myself. If I'm not writing some kind of big physical action, I'm bored silly. So, yes, of course I'm living vicariously through my characters and their stories. I freely admit it. Writing is my Calgon that takes me away. I noticed this since I've been rewriting the beginning of the manuscript I'm working on. On the advice of an agent who gave me a critique, I took out the big action scene at the very beginning of the story. Without it, I'm finding that my heroine has become the proactive, reactive character and my hero has kinda faded to the background. Furthermore, it's boring me silly. And it shouldn't. I read books all the time that have far less going on action-wise. Books that are nothing but the emotional struggle between the two main protagonists. The reality is, this manuscript is turning out to be a different kind of story than I intended. In later chapters, the action-adventure type stuff does kick in, but it's not happening soon enough for me. And when I say action, I'm talking about the faced-with-danger-or-death and very physical situation kinds of action. Still, I keep plowing onward because in the back of my mind, I know there's enough there to carry the story forward. I hope.
I suspect I'm scared of writing a snoozer, afraid I'll never match what I did with my first book. One of the most common comments about my debut novel is that it's a page-turner. That's because nearly every chapter has some kind of big action going on that ends on a hook. The hero is a larger-than-life type, but how many stories lend themselves to that kind of character? In the story I'm currently writing, the hero is more of an average man (or cowboy) type who resorts to desperate measures when faced with desperate times.
So, in view of the fact that I have a dearth of topics to blog about, it looks like I'm doomed to keep pouring out my writing insecurities for all of blogdom to read. Maybe I should just practice sitting on my hands. Or, maybe I should just turn this energy toward finishing the manuscript and see what happens. At any rate, I hope you all have a pleasant, productive day.
Devon
Yesterday, while most people were visiting with family, hunting Easter eggs, or whatever they decided to do to celebrate the holiday, hubby worked most of the day so, left to my own devices, I got in a good deal of writing time. Since the subject of speedy writing, of just pouring the words onto the page, has become an issue lately, I've been keeping track. No matter how I try, a good writing day for me is around 1,ooo new words on the page. I've found I spend about half my writing time producing new words. The other half, I spend going over the material I wrote the previous day or two and tweaking, layering in, etc. Most people tell me not to do this, but I have to. First of all, it brings me up to speed with where I left off in the story. Second, it brings the writing I have produced one step closer to being a finished product. Sorry all you prolific speed writers out there, but I just can't bring myself to let it all rip and end up with a first draft that will require intensive editing afterwards. I'd end up with a mess. I'm slow, but sure, and I've decided I'm comfortable with that. If I can consistently produce 1,000 words a day, that will give me a finished manuscript in 3 months time. That's plenty fast enough for me. I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. I made the Pockets of Lemon cake yesterday. That thing is rich! I mean, sickeningly rich. One serving and I'm good in the sweet department for the rest of the week. Hubby liked it. He had a slice this morning with his coffee before going to work.
Another brewhaha in romanceland came to light over the weekend. Amazon has deranked most of the GLBT and erotic books listed on its site. Which means, they don't come up on the home page search engine. Since this caused such an uproar, Amazon is now trying to claim it was a glitch in the system. But there's documented evidence that someone made a conscious decision about this new policy. If you're interested, you can read all about it over at Dear Author. All of yesterday's posts (3 total) were dedicated to the controversy. Never a dull day in Romanceland.
Okay. I'm off to tweak another chapter and fill in a couple of missing scenes. Hope you all have a pleasant, productive day.
Devon
