One down, one to go

One of the large editing jobs that has kept me from writing for more than a week is done and ready to go. The other still looms, with an early December deadline and a lot to do.

But between these two monsters, I'll be financially secure for the next few months. Yay!

NaNoWriMo

37,822 / 80,000 (47.3%)

Almost halfway there. Sadly, I don't think my plot's almost halfway here. And I'll have to write 3012 words a day (not counting Thanksgiving) to hit the word count by month's end. Doable in theory, at least if I have a couple of rocking days. Considering I did a thousand or so words on something else first, it's hardly impossible. But considering some of those days are office days and the days before and after Thanksgiving are going to be quite busy, it'll be a stretch. (But you know, if I stopped updating my damn blogs and used that time to write, it might help!)

Meanwhile, had a story accepted for the next Wicked Words anthology and another one provisionally accepted if we juice up the sex scene a bit, which seems doable. (One more thing to distract from finishing MMR, but worth it.)

Dreams

I dream frequently and often with great vividness. (One of my WIPs is inspired by a dream, although usually the dreams, though compelling, aren't coherent enough to leave me with anything but a few striking images.)

Recently I've had a few classic dreams that pertained specifically to writing. One was handing a manuscript to Ellora's Cave editor Heather Osborne (only she looked more like Shannon Doherty playing her Charmed character, right down to the provocative clothes. This is apparently what my subconscious thinks an erotic-romance editor should look like, although I'd rather deal with funny, intelligent, down-to-earth Heather than Shannon D. any day.) She said, "Oh, I don't need to read that. I already know we'll accept it. I was just about to send you the email accepting your first novella and offering a multi-book deal."

I wish my dreams were prophetic!

Or maybe not. Last night's dream involved someone--I can't remember who and that's probably good, but I don't think it was Heather (or Shannon Doherty) --simply savaging MMR.

Then there are dreams that one really wishes would come true, for reasons that have nothing to do with shiny contracts. Recently I dreamed I was my late 50s, early 60s, and being somewhere with G., his lover, and some of their friends, all comfortably aged as well. The dream was very involved and complex, but at some point he pulled out a book and said, "Look what I found the other day-your first published story!" It turned out to be a very kinky tale set in the kitchen of a top-notch French restaurant-or maybe a grand house--of the 19th century. (Nothing like my actual first published story, which had nothing to do with sex.)

Without some context, this is just an odd dream, a writer's mind at work. Here's some context: G and I traveled through Europe together as college students and speculated a lot about the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that must have gone on in the historical sites we visited. It was in G's library that I first encountered erotica--specifically of the kinky and M/M variety--but I think my first encounter with flat-out erotica, as opposed to spicy scenes in mainstream novels or Penthouse-type fun but plotless smut. G was a huge supporter of my writing, from the time we were both blundering freshmen.

And G died more than a decade ago.

The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get

Everything was looking good in Teresaland until Thursday. Thursday I got up, spent about half an hour on "writing-related work," mostly correspondence with Dayle and with various editor and half an hour on actual writing. Then I went off to my data-entry job.

Where I promptly realized I was sick, sick, sick.

I'll spare my gentle readers the details except that it was not a cold. The good side is once it was gone, by this morning, it was gone-daddy-gone, without lingering sneezles and wheezles.

So I get to spend a happy weekend playing catchup on everything. Taking a lunch break from the garden (which we determined had better get put to bed today, since tomorrow and the rest of this week look to be cold and rainy), then editing and writing...Luckily I love it all. But it does seem that just when I get a nice pattern down, something comes and derails me.

Perhaps I derail too easily.

No actual book progress yet today (I've been editing--one must get paid, after all, and I got off to rather a slow start on the day thanks to the remains of last night's Godawful Headache) but MMR continues to chug along. I'm relatively sure that a lot of what I'm writing will need to be moved around, changed drastically, or deleted altogether. But that's always the case, and at least Mr. Plot (or in the case of this book, Master Plot) is moving along nicely, far more nicely than it would have without the NaNoWriMo incentive.

To all of you doing NaNoWriMo--good luck and keep plodding, or plotting, along. I will be. Soon, I may even get a new progress graphic posted. Of course, that depends on the various editing projects. It's hard to say no to paying work, but having the other editing project (due 11/30) arrive in the midst of the current one and NaNoWriMo is creating havoc with my schedule. I'm still sorry I had to drop out of the dance performance on Dec. 3(for non-writing-related reasons) but I'm also relieved. One less thing to deal with.

Another 2,052 words today. Keeping up word count was easier in 2004, when I had no idea where I was going with the story, was perfectly willing to run off on tangents or insert descriptions just to get words out, and mostly cared about reminding myself I could still finish a novel-length manuscript that might be used as the basis for something. (Although let me tell you, I'm finding the complete-rewrite that Controlled Burn needs daunting. I told the story once. My muse thinks she's done with it, except for poking and polishing, and isn't taking kindly to the notion that parts of it...well, don't make sense because I didn't take the time to research, or in some cases even think through, whether Things Would Work That Way, while writing the first draft.)

I have plans for MMR, a shape and story arc firmly in mind, so my inner editor reminds me a lot more regularly when I'm going off on tangents. A certain amound of yesterday and today is clearly utter nonsense. But as the sign by my desk says: "You can't revise a blank page. But you can revise crap."

32,356 / 80,000 (37.0%)

MMR Progress

3069 new words, or thereabouts, yesterday. Today will be much slower, since it's Day Job Day and dance practice (in rehearsal for a performance, so I ought to go, although the temptation to blow it off is strong).

I'm trying to decide, since I'm more concerned with "a workable first draft" than "NaNoWriMo winner" whether I should start rearranging bits as I go, or just make notes to myself. (I think I have too much happening in the first weekend of the couple's relationship, that I'm rushing things, and that I can still keep the story flow and romantic/erotic tension if basically I say, "A week passed, filled with teasing phone calls and naughty text messages, but no actual time to see each other, and then, finally, it was Friday night." Only not in those words because, well, they suck.) Inclined to make the notes because otherwise I'll start fiddling and never get a draft done.

30,304 / 80,000 (37.0%)

NaNoWriMo, after a fashion

Technically, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, in case you've been hiding from the blogverse until today) is supposed to involve a BRAND-NEW PROJECT on which you write 50K words in the month of November. Well, the last thing I need to start another BRAND-NEW PROJECT with several novels and novellas already in the works.

This year, I will not be signed up for NaNoWriMo (since I don't have time to participate in all those blogs and communities anyway. I don't have time to do the ones I do, really. *slaps arm like addict readying self for fix*) but I will be finishing the draft of Making Master Right.

Got a few shorts I need to get done, but basically, this is MMR month here in Teresaland. Wish me luck!