I may just be dreaming!

A positive review of constructive criticisim? Whew. When I put those chapters up I knew they weren't publish-ready (not by a gorram mile) but that they were a good representation of the rough draft work in progress.

What was I expecting? Certianly not this. More laughed off the internet, perhaps. Politely asked never to submit again, maybe. A sarcastic flame, definitely.

This is actually something I can take and use to my advantage, something that may just solve the start and stop problems I have been facing with the flow.

Now I know, my dear invisible readers, that one review a successful plan does not make. But its a positive step in the right (write?) direction and I intend to take as much of the positive energy as I can get and use it to my advantage.

Stay tuned, lovlies, for this fantastic mood to be reversed at any moment!

Happy reading to you.

Changes? Shocking.

Another new year, another new project started? Nope, not this time! I can officially state to the delight of my awaiting fans, I've been sticking with the project I started a few months ago and am now about a quarter finished, despite taking a three week break from writing over the holidays. This is pretty unprecedented for me considering that on all other novel projects I have started I've sabotaged myself and subjected the material to rewrites that killed it before it even really began.

I have a whole different feeling about this one though and that's entirely a good thing. I can see the plot through to the end and feel good about it without trying to force new ideas in there.

Breath held, I'll get this finished before the world goes up in December. Cause even if it never sees the light of day beyond my own computer, it'll still be something I finished.

Also: registered for Book Country... let's see how that does for me, shall we?

For now, I am concentrating on getting this story out of my head so these characters can flourish.

Daily writing goal: 1000 words minimum
Current project: Young Adult Fantasy
Current total: 10,682

R

This is the anthology in which I am published, it is still available for sale on Amazon.com. If you're local and want a signed copy, contact me directly.

When Creativity Sparks......

The world should stop expecting me to do things. Like my day job. I'm currently trying to write while working and it is seriously impacting my flow. Things like emails, text messages, the urge to play Guild Wars and requests for posts on the RPG are things I can generally handle in groups of two or three as my writing flows but even I, the epic multi-tasker, am having issues with all of these things hit me at once. I don't want to work, I want to write. I want the freedom to let the words flow from my fingertips through the keyboard, to be edited later, and when I need to... stare blankly at my storyboard and wait for that moment of inspiration.

But alas, I do not have a choice. The day job must be done and I have to fit the real world somewhere in my writing. Problem is that the real world has been silencing the creativity and I can't allow that to continue... not if I want to see this project finished.

Between days like these and days where I have all the time in the world but no gumption to write at all, isn't there some sort of happy medium?

Totally Official

SO. I am now officially a published writer. With my words in a book and my name on the back cover. It's a short story in an anthology but everyone's got to start somewhere and it's not like I'm going to start out on the top, right? I'm pretty damn proud of myself and I'm trying my best not to feel guilty about it. I mean, I've worked hard and I deserve it... so why should I feel like bragging about it is a bad thing? Probably the same reason I don't like people reading what I write -- a fear of failing somehow.

But if I want to be an author, I have to get over it and get over myself. Either I'll do good or I won't. But in the meantime I'm going to write what I want and what's inside of me. So far it's done me pretty good.

I didn't win the writing contest -- the one that got me published. But I'm first in the Honorable Mention category which I figure is fourth place. I was told there were 30 to 40 entries in the contest and only six stories made it in the book... Not to bad, right?

My only problem now is marketing. I bought a bunch of copies but now I feel like a douche asking people to buy them.... There has got to be something wrong with me.

Jedi's Creed - Full Version

I believe in Vader, the former Anakin, creator of storm troopers and the Death Star, and in Luke Skywalker, his only Son, our hope, who was conceived with his twin sister Leia, born of the Princess Amidala, suffered under Emperor Palpatine, was beaten, lost a hand, and was rescused. He was picked up by the Millennium Falcon; the third movie he learns the truth; he ascended onto Endor and is seated at the right hand of the Master Yoda; from thence he shall return to play on syndicate television. I believe in the Force, the Wookiee, the Ewoks, the triumph of good over evil, the art of the Lightsaber, and Star Wars everlasting. Amen. May the 4th be with you all.

-- Written by A. Maire Dinsmore

The Year Closes.... Yet Again

So I didn't finish the NaNoWriMo challenge. I didn't even get close. But I did, however, manage to not only start a plot that I actually like but I finished an entire synopsis (start to freaking finish, baby) that makes sense, has all the needed plot aspects and so far is well taken by the readers. Okay, change that to reader since only one person has actually read it... but they really liked it. I haven't really done much with it since then but I haven't started over yet, which is a big deal for me.

What I need to do is designate 'writing time' -- Time that I am devoting to writing and not messing around on Facebook or playing Guild Wars or Sims 3 or even working. All I am doing during this time is writing. I think the easiest time for me to do this is just after I get off of work, before everyone else gets home. This is the time I've lately been doing... well, nothing. Not having the kids around means that I am finding myself with a lot of free time. Which isn't at all a good thing in this case because it's more time I'm spending being depressed and drinking. Which if I started writing instead of going to bed to dwell on all the things wrong in my life, it might help that, right? I hope so.

I can't look for anyone else to motivate me to get this done. I have to want this, want to finish the damn story and turn it into an entertaining read.

Come April we have Norwescon, where I signed up for another Writer's Workshop. Between now and then I need to get as much of the story done as possible.

But for now, we're off to Leavenworth for the weekend. I'll be taking the laptop and will bring the story as well... who knows, maybe a cabin in the snow will be the muse I need.

NaNoWriMo

I found NaNoWriMo through a friend on an RPG site & decided to give it a try. I love writing but find myself unable to finish novel projects because of a fear within myself of people reading my work. I think it's rather stupid since I know I'm a talented writer (saying that makes me feel like I sound totally full of myself, I swear I'm not) but I just can't make that leap from knowing it and believing it. I am confident that some of you out there understand what I mean when I say that. I started writing on forum based RPG sites in various fandoms and fell in love with it. Took a few years to be able to balance that with my novel writing but I'm now able to split my proverbial creative juices between the two.

I am a resident of Lynnwood, wife and mother of three. I'm 30 years old but refuse to fully grow up. I've got a strong base of friends that I'm finally opening up to about my writing and I feel like I'm ready to take that next step. Doing NaNoWriMo is my way of pushing forward.

Now... I'm writing for real starting today (even though I signed up on the first, I'm done procrastinating) and am already an hour into writing and over a thousand words.

Here's to getting it finished & here's to you. Good luck to all of us!

The Future Unfolds

I've hit a moment in my life where I don't honestly know what's going to come next in several areas. And it's driving me crazy.

Homelife is weird, not technically living where we're staying but not technically staying where we live. It's all up in the air and I'm stressed out to the point of nervousness over it. I don't know how to explain it, can really do nothing to fix it and just have to simply wait and see what happens.

I cannot find within me the confidence to believe in myself. Not about anything. But it's not something I can show to people so I put on that mask and play the part. About almost everything. Except my writing. Since no one reads it, it's easier just to /not/ write than to battle myself over it. I try. I find some time to spend putting thought to paper and even during a quiet few hours while camping last weekend found myself actually writing out plot. But it felt so disconnected on the page and I soon felt like I was doing everything wrong. It was easier to find something else to do than to continue struggling with my own feelings of inadequacy.

Work is something else entirely. I'm being screwed over. I know that. But what else can I do at this point in time? I'm looking for a new job but with my condition it's going to be impossible to find something that replaces what I'm doing now, fits into my lifestyle, meets the demands of my illness and gives me the ability to support my family.

If I take a moment and be completely honest with myself, I know what I want to do. I want to get myself in gear and go to school. What a cliche, right? I don't even know if it's something I CAN accomplish. How much of a failure would I be in that scenerio. I haven't done any sort of schooling in 12 years. Is it selfish to force my family to live even more meagerly than we do now (which is possible, as hard as it seems) so that I can get a degree that I may never use?

I don't know what I'm doing. I feel lost and confused.

Hopefully, I'll figure this out. But advice would be welcomed. I just don't know who to ask.

Focus now, it's getting harder

I found my timeline! Or at least, the rough-rough draft of it, lol. I had almost thrown it away and when I realized what I was holding I nearly shrieked. Joy of finding it or the horror of holding it over the trash, whichever, both would apply in this situation.

Four pages, minimum, is my new daily goal. I think having a small goal set each day will help keep me from looking at the entire project and getting discouraged.

Chapter one: I have about two pages completed. I must rewrite them immediately for I hate them.