Hello again. Whoa, two posts in a month, and within 8 days of each other--must be a record for me, I say with tongue firmly planted in side of cheek.
The title of this blog has very little to do with anything, except that lilac, orchid, and deep violet are my favorite colors. They've always been my colors. I notice that this spring, our lilacs have been in blossom going on 3 weeks--that's a record, as far as I've ever made notice--and believe me, I watch nature. Usually, rain comes and rusts them out, and they die. I've been able to have several bouquets of them in the house, my office, brighten it up (of course, the walls are painted my favorite color, as well), and give off it's perfume--one you can't find in any bottle.
I have been busy, as I've last reported, editing for the last time, my book Spell of the Black Unicorn for Infinity. The book is essentially done. I merely need to make sure what I send them is absolutely as unblemished as my eyes can distinguish. I've gone through Black Unicorn several times in this last draft. Correcting, or changing it to my liking. The editing is a slow process. You can't just read it over once, and be done with it, once you think you have your final draft. You go through it as many times as you can, until you can find no more mistakes--you hope. And for me, I have to mess with lines, or take out commas I feel aren't needed. Maybe rearrange a line, here or there. I'm a writer, I guess that's my problem. I need to just edit this thing, but I want to mess with it. Sort of like a scab, I can't leave it be.
Besides editing, I've been writing another book--I've renamed it, but I'm not going to reveal it here. It's in it's very first draft. And I'm just half way through it. Still working on the plotting. Plotting a novel is about the most difficult thing you can do in the writing process. But plot you must. You also have to have a sense of your characters. Until you do, and know why they do the things they do (motives), you can't really move on.
Speaking of plotting, I've recently been able to view an excellent show which aired in the early '90's called "Forever Knight"(thanks to a friend who let me borrow the disks). Premise: Nicholas Knight is a vampire who wants to redeem himself, pay his debt to society--as the opening lines go. He plays a vampire who lives in the human world as a homicide detective in Toronto. This idea, in the 90's, was rather fresh. New. But a lot of people may come away from seeing a few of these shows and say, well, someone did this again, called it Angel. Well, my friends, you're right in that respect. Writer of Angel, Joss Whedon probably did see Forever Knight and was inspired to do his own version. Whatever. But if you watch both shows, you'll see that although Angel was very inventive, and entertaining, as was his Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Forever Knight is much more sophisticated, plot-wise. I think the writers of Forever Knight was able to put together some excellent shows, at the same time, create realistic, characters that you watch interact with each other. The actors, Geraint Wyn Davies (Knight), Nigel Bennett (LaCroix), Deborah Duchene, and John Kapelos, all do excellent jobs pulling off their characters. Nigel Bennett plays the most evil LaCroix, who sired Knight 800 years ago, and will not let him forget it, no matter how much Nick tries to separate himself from LaCroix, he never is able to. Deborah Duchene, who plays the very sexy, and sometimes dark, Janette, seems to have been born for her part. Not to forget Catherine Disher who plays Natalie, the coroner, and the only living human in Toronto who knows what Knight is (and is trying to help him turn human/get back his soul), does an excellent job in her roll, as does John Kapelos as Knight's partner, Schanke--who hates when Knight takes off in a split second, and doesn't know he's a vampire--gives his roll 110%.
Aside from enjoying the actors as they do their rolls, the plotting is tight, somehow you are pulled in by Knight's plight, and his ever persistent battle over his demons, those inside and outside--namely LaCroix.
To date, I've viewed all of first season, and part of second. The second season sees LaCroix come back as a night-time radio talk host. He's just as fiendish as always, but the writer has been able to throw some interesting twists in. I absolutely loved "Stranger Than Fiction" in which Knight becomes romantically involved--one of the few shows that has him become romantically involved with a character--with a novelist who writes vampire fiction, and she's way too close to the truth about them. This one ends to my satisfaction, and I won't give it away, but writers, Phil Bedard & Larry Lalonde don't take the easy route, which one expects. The ending is simple, yet moving. LaCroix couldn't be more disappointed in the outcome. Other episodes have been just as well done, in every respect. (My friend, John, tells me the third season "smokes".)
There were only three seasons. You wonder why they take shows like this off and put idiotic-non-written shows like Idol, or Dancing with the Stars on. I call it the I-don't-want-to-use-my-brain syndrome. Well, I guess it's a sign of our times. No one wants to think any more, producers don't want to pay writers to actually write something brilliant, interesting, intriguing, or have any emotional outcomes any more. However, I haven't been watching much TV anymore, since Buffy was taken off. Maybe I'm missing something? I have to check out Moonlight, as yet. I didn't even know it was on, since it's on a channel I don't regularly view, as I can't get it in. (Yeah, I'm still using an antenna--don't get me started on that!)
Well, the sun is out, today. But it's cold in my northern part of Illinois. Perhaps in June things will begin to heat up, but I'm hoping for a coolish summer. People will complain. But I'm not going to. I don't like living in air conditioning. People who like it hot are kidding themselves. They jump in and out of air conditioned cars, offices and houses. If they actually had to deal with the heat and humidity, they wouldn't really like it all that much.
And don't get me started on global warming. You don't think something is happening to our atmosphere? Glaciers and polar ice caps are melting as I write this. I'm just glad I won't be around when they all do, and everything is under the ocean again--at least I hope I'm not, since I'm not a vampire.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Living in the World of "Yourself"
Hello, it's me, Lorelei, writer, and bus driver.
I realize I've been neglecting my blog, but that's life.
I've finally got some time to myself, to write as I need to, take walks, etc. This I've needed for a while. We tend to get caught up in the world at large. Work, and daily things that need to get done. I've opted to work only 2 days, and be freed up to work on getting the book published. Yes. Self-published.
Yesterday I was glad to go for a walk in the park (which we manage, and is next to us), and found that my knees held up pretty good. I walked through the fluff of dandelions, took in Spring, the way it used to be--although it has been rather cooler than normal, but I say, if I can wear jeans and be comfortable, then I don't care.
I've worked so very hard on writing, reading everything I could to help me, all forms of writing, and even the writer's magazines (which go along with all the silly notions that writing has rules to follow, and every published author I've ever read ignores said rules. I won't go into them here). I do not have 20 more years to wait for someone to discover me. I may not even have 10. I'm tired of waiting to hold a book with a title, and my name on it. My dreams of publishing has gone through its phases after three decades, with only very little to show. I've always wanted to be a novelist. Why this is such a difficult aspiration, I don't understand.
It no longer matters. With P.O.D. anyone can publish their book--whether it's terrible, or good, or great. All you need is the good old dollar--lots of them--and go on line, and you can find dozens of them. You just have to be careful, look around to see if anyone has complaints about ones you're interested in, and if you feel safe to go with them, go for it.
Since we were getting this so called "stimulus package" and my husband and I came to the conclusion that this was the only way we would see something I wrote in print, we just decided to set aside a good portion of it to go toward it. Hey, it's money from the government. Why not look at it like winnings in a lottery, or something?
And today I went out and spent $100, on shopping, food and such. I figured it was my duty to stimulate the local economy, and so Barns & Nobel got some, Borders got a little, Wal-Mart, of course got some, as did a number of other places I visited. It was fun, I'll admit. I don't get to blow money like that on a daily, or even a monthly basis. I did shop until I was bored, tired and just wanted to get the hell out of the noise and traffic and come home to peace and quiet of the country.
I read something just yesterday, I think. I get this newsletter from a pair of writers. It's called Write Free--if you're a writer and are interested in getting your mind cleared, it's a nice place to check out. It helped me just sort of relax and let go when I read this piece by Jordan Rosenfeld basically said that if we can let go our urgency, desperation, and longing when going after what we want--I think that goes for anything, including writing. Doing so will help to open us up to attracting what we want in life. This is actually something I'd learned a long time ago. It's considered "white magic". You think about those things you need and want. But the hard part is letting go of those emotions that say "I've got to have this or that".
I'd always had the longing, desire, and yes, even feelings of urgency drowning out everything else, including life itself. Just living. I think--no, I know--it's because having a book published has been a life-long pursuit. I thought it would have been gained more easily, and sooner than this.
I'm turning 54 this year. The waiting is about over. Yes, this is a self-publishing venture. Yes, I will pay to have my book printed/published--something I'd said many years ago I would not do. But the idea that no one besides myself and maybe a hand full of people would ever get to read my book Spell of the Black Unicorn just hung around my neck like a noose. I felt it tighten with every year that went by, and each and ever rejection I got. Why don't they like it? Are they stupid?
Well, I'm going to be busy this summer getting Black Unicorn ready for Infinity. I even have my own drawing for the front cover they will use--at no extra charge--and, yes, I can draw, after all I majored in art. Art was my first love. But now it's writing.
So, as I sit here tapping this out for whoever reads this, I bid you good tidings.
By the way, while at the bookstore, drinking down the very strong mocha latte, I found myself a new author. Keri Arthur of Melbourne, Australia. She's won lots of awards. Full Moon Rising about a half vampire, half werewolf, looks promising.
I also picked up Karen Chance's Touch the Dark, and that looks pretty good too--I read a portion of it on line. Her web-site is awesome!
Well, I hope you all get your stimulus packages, and go stimulate something.
Ta.
I realize I've been neglecting my blog, but that's life.
I've finally got some time to myself, to write as I need to, take walks, etc. This I've needed for a while. We tend to get caught up in the world at large. Work, and daily things that need to get done. I've opted to work only 2 days, and be freed up to work on getting the book published. Yes. Self-published.
Yesterday I was glad to go for a walk in the park (which we manage, and is next to us), and found that my knees held up pretty good. I walked through the fluff of dandelions, took in Spring, the way it used to be--although it has been rather cooler than normal, but I say, if I can wear jeans and be comfortable, then I don't care.
I've worked so very hard on writing, reading everything I could to help me, all forms of writing, and even the writer's magazines (which go along with all the silly notions that writing has rules to follow, and every published author I've ever read ignores said rules. I won't go into them here). I do not have 20 more years to wait for someone to discover me. I may not even have 10. I'm tired of waiting to hold a book with a title, and my name on it. My dreams of publishing has gone through its phases after three decades, with only very little to show. I've always wanted to be a novelist. Why this is such a difficult aspiration, I don't understand.
It no longer matters. With P.O.D. anyone can publish their book--whether it's terrible, or good, or great. All you need is the good old dollar--lots of them--and go on line, and you can find dozens of them. You just have to be careful, look around to see if anyone has complaints about ones you're interested in, and if you feel safe to go with them, go for it.
Since we were getting this so called "stimulus package" and my husband and I came to the conclusion that this was the only way we would see something I wrote in print, we just decided to set aside a good portion of it to go toward it. Hey, it's money from the government. Why not look at it like winnings in a lottery, or something?
And today I went out and spent $100, on shopping, food and such. I figured it was my duty to stimulate the local economy, and so Barns & Nobel got some, Borders got a little, Wal-Mart, of course got some, as did a number of other places I visited. It was fun, I'll admit. I don't get to blow money like that on a daily, or even a monthly basis. I did shop until I was bored, tired and just wanted to get the hell out of the noise and traffic and come home to peace and quiet of the country.
I read something just yesterday, I think. I get this newsletter from a pair of writers. It's called Write Free--if you're a writer and are interested in getting your mind cleared, it's a nice place to check out. It helped me just sort of relax and let go when I read this piece by Jordan Rosenfeld basically said that if we can let go our urgency, desperation, and longing when going after what we want--I think that goes for anything, including writing. Doing so will help to open us up to attracting what we want in life. This is actually something I'd learned a long time ago. It's considered "white magic". You think about those things you need and want. But the hard part is letting go of those emotions that say "I've got to have this or that".
I'd always had the longing, desire, and yes, even feelings of urgency drowning out everything else, including life itself. Just living. I think--no, I know--it's because having a book published has been a life-long pursuit. I thought it would have been gained more easily, and sooner than this.
I'm turning 54 this year. The waiting is about over. Yes, this is a self-publishing venture. Yes, I will pay to have my book printed/published--something I'd said many years ago I would not do. But the idea that no one besides myself and maybe a hand full of people would ever get to read my book Spell of the Black Unicorn just hung around my neck like a noose. I felt it tighten with every year that went by, and each and ever rejection I got. Why don't they like it? Are they stupid?
Well, I'm going to be busy this summer getting Black Unicorn ready for Infinity. I even have my own drawing for the front cover they will use--at no extra charge--and, yes, I can draw, after all I majored in art. Art was my first love. But now it's writing.
So, as I sit here tapping this out for whoever reads this, I bid you good tidings.
By the way, while at the bookstore, drinking down the very strong mocha latte, I found myself a new author. Keri Arthur of Melbourne, Australia. She's won lots of awards. Full Moon Rising about a half vampire, half werewolf, looks promising.
I also picked up Karen Chance's Touch the Dark, and that looks pretty good too--I read a portion of it on line. Her web-site is awesome!
Well, I hope you all get your stimulus packages, and go stimulate something.
Ta.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
