Yeah. I've got it. But you'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands....
Just a Little Update: Fangs, Fur, and Fey
So in a feeble attempt to put the world on pause, I made a last minute decision to attend the Fangs, Fur and Fey Mini-Conference that is being held in tandem with Conestoga. The con is in Tulsa, Oklahoma and I know you are all scratching your head asking why. Why! Why! Why!
I'll tell you why...
I like Oklahoma. I have great friends there women who inspire me and encourage me. I have an opportunity to attend a lifechurch.tv campus instead of watching it online. Then their is networking galore! There are at least four key authors, fantastic women who are somewhat new to the scene that I really admire and would love to get the chance to chat with them. I have a ton of question for them about breaking into the industry and building a fan base. Plus, it would be nice to build some more connections with serious writers that don't have avoidance issues. This will be a real test for me...because I tend to sit back and take it all in. This time I am going to have to get my hands dirty.
I do have my pitch pretty much down.
Woohoo.
M.
I'll tell you why...
I like Oklahoma. I have great friends there women who inspire me and encourage me. I have an opportunity to attend a lifechurch.tv campus instead of watching it online. Then their is networking galore! There are at least four key authors, fantastic women who are somewhat new to the scene that I really admire and would love to get the chance to chat with them. I have a ton of question for them about breaking into the industry and building a fan base. Plus, it would be nice to build some more connections with serious writers that don't have avoidance issues. This will be a real test for me...because I tend to sit back and take it all in. This time I am going to have to get my hands dirty.
I do have my pitch pretty much down.
Woohoo.
M.
Is it spring yet?
Hi Everyone. It's been a while since I have posted anything. Just over a month to be exact. Is that a coincidence--I think not. I hate February. It's crappy and gray and cold and lonely. When I haven't been traveling I've been holed up in my apartment reading 2 or 3 books a week. Normally I wouldn't have the time for this, but with the writer's strike there is nothing on TV...well there is not much to do in Ohio on the weekends.
So, you would think I made significant progress on my writing, since I didn't leave mi casa. Wrong again. My progress consisted of printing out two chapters (that I actually had forgotten I had written!) and tweaking a left over scene from draft zero. What is draft zero? Well when I finished the first draft of my novel the beginning and ending didn't align. I had to rewrite several chapters to get everything in sync. Ultimately, what happened was that I ended up with two different beginnings that I had to merge cohesively together to fit the rest of the book. I don't think I like this phase. It's not as creative as the writing part, or the plotting part. It's not as business focused like the marketing and publicity. It's just the painstaking revision part.
So I am in a bookstore, that is pretending to be a campus books store but is really a Barnes and Noble ( I can tell by the branding). I'm in Philly. Last Week it was San Fran. Two weeks before, NY. How can I hate February in Ohio when I spent most of it in other states? I don't know--I just do. The only thing the travel did was make me forget it was February, so that for a few moments, I thought I was just plain old loosing my mind. I couldn't figure out why I was being such a loner. Was it some weird depression? Did I have an anxiety issue? Nope. Just that time of year.
Now that it is March, I don't know if I am going to abandon my reading who-ha. I've still got a ton of books to get through. But I am excited to get back on the writing. I have a pitch set up with an editor in the Fall. I'd like to be ready by then. World Con is coming to Columbus in 2010. I'd like to have a book out by then to sign LOL.
Well see.
So, you would think I made significant progress on my writing, since I didn't leave mi casa. Wrong again. My progress consisted of printing out two chapters (that I actually had forgotten I had written!) and tweaking a left over scene from draft zero. What is draft zero? Well when I finished the first draft of my novel the beginning and ending didn't align. I had to rewrite several chapters to get everything in sync. Ultimately, what happened was that I ended up with two different beginnings that I had to merge cohesively together to fit the rest of the book. I don't think I like this phase. It's not as creative as the writing part, or the plotting part. It's not as business focused like the marketing and publicity. It's just the painstaking revision part.
So I am in a bookstore, that is pretending to be a campus books store but is really a Barnes and Noble ( I can tell by the branding). I'm in Philly. Last Week it was San Fran. Two weeks before, NY. How can I hate February in Ohio when I spent most of it in other states? I don't know--I just do. The only thing the travel did was make me forget it was February, so that for a few moments, I thought I was just plain old loosing my mind. I couldn't figure out why I was being such a loner. Was it some weird depression? Did I have an anxiety issue? Nope. Just that time of year.
Now that it is March, I don't know if I am going to abandon my reading who-ha. I've still got a ton of books to get through. But I am excited to get back on the writing. I have a pitch set up with an editor in the Fall. I'd like to be ready by then. World Con is coming to Columbus in 2010. I'd like to have a book out by then to sign LOL.
Well see.
Cassie Edwards a Ferret Stealing Thief?
Please, please, please take a look at the following two articles. The first is a NY times article on the latest plagiarism scandal. The second is a first-hand account from one of the victims.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/94543/page/1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/books/12roma.html?ref=arts
I think the whole thing is absolutely stupid. I'm not saying plagiarism doesn't exist, or that it is not unethical. I just think this...is stupid and now we are wasting good time and money thinking about it, talking about it, writing about it and investigating it.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/94543/page/1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/books/12roma.html?ref=arts
I think the whole thing is absolutely stupid. I'm not saying plagiarism doesn't exist, or that it is not unethical. I just think this...is stupid and now we are wasting good time and money thinking about it, talking about it, writing about it and investigating it.
I mean, really? I can't believe people have the time to Google sections of dialogue from a novel. Even more annoying, I feel like plagiarism is the new hot thing. Everyone is quick to cry wolf. Call me when something more important than ferrets is at stake. Really, Paul, you're admitting you wrote this crap? Cassie...you thought it was so good you had to reuse it? And Nora! Heaven forbid this country worry about a recession, health care and basic human needs when we have a case of intellectual ferret theft on the loose. Come on people get real. This said from an actual writer. PS-I'd also like you to know that I am going to Google everything in this post to make certain I did not have the audacity to commit plagiarism while restating common fact and/or opinion.
Strange Cable Service
I'm not sure if this is normal, but every single cable man that has come to my house has tried to hit on me. It has also happened twice at other people's homes. I don't get it. Do they hit on every woman they see? Do they think they can grunt and point and the poor helpless, technology challenged woman will not be able to resist them? Do they actually get dates out of their service calls?
For the record, I usually know more about fixing my cable than they do.
For the record, I usually know more about fixing my cable than they do.
Book Update: New novels for a new year
Okay, so it's a new year and at the beginning of the new year I like to create a completely unrealistic schedule for my writing which I will abandon somewhere around February. If you don't know me personally, I should explain to you why I continue to do this, even when I know I won't complete everything.
First, I am a Virgo and I like control. I love schedules. I love planning things out. It provides a sense of comfort. I am not, however, anal retentive. Thus when I veer from my schedule it is okay. The whole purpose of the plan is to help me get back on track after I get bored with my shiny new toy. It keeps me focused.
Second, at the end of the year, no matter how far away from my plan I veered, I always have something to celebrate and cross off my list. There is nothing better than looking back and realizing how far you have come. I tend to overlook those kinds of things if it isn't written out in front of me because I get so caught up in the day to day, and what I don't have that I forget to stop and look at all the things I do have going for me.
So what is my unrealistic 2008 writing plan?
I haven't gotten everything broken down yet, but I can give you a super huge clue.
The love of my life novel has in a sense been knocked up. Out of no where it is one very large story in four books. What do you call that? A Trilogy plus one? A quadrilogy? As of last week I only had two books. It was like expecting to give birth to one more child and finding out you're having triplets.
I am a writer though, so it is inevitable that I will have to write more than two novels. I guess having titles and plot lines for all of the books with a definite end for the series....that scares me a little bit. It has become this grand, epic tale that I never envisioned from the beginning. I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels right. Now, I can't imagine the series ending any other way. I also think it might make it easier to sell, being able to know what comes next. Having a clear vision for all of the books. I guess we will see. I am going to have to kick things up a notch if I am going to have any of these books published before 2010! I'd like to have two or three completed and sell them as a three book contract. I like the idea of being able to release two or three in the same year--to be able to build off of the momentum and grow a reader base. Who knows...maybe I can make it a bestseller! I'll keep praying for that one. :)
First, I am a Virgo and I like control. I love schedules. I love planning things out. It provides a sense of comfort. I am not, however, anal retentive. Thus when I veer from my schedule it is okay. The whole purpose of the plan is to help me get back on track after I get bored with my shiny new toy. It keeps me focused.
Second, at the end of the year, no matter how far away from my plan I veered, I always have something to celebrate and cross off my list. There is nothing better than looking back and realizing how far you have come. I tend to overlook those kinds of things if it isn't written out in front of me because I get so caught up in the day to day, and what I don't have that I forget to stop and look at all the things I do have going for me.
So what is my unrealistic 2008 writing plan?
I haven't gotten everything broken down yet, but I can give you a super huge clue.
The love of my life novel has in a sense been knocked up. Out of no where it is one very large story in four books. What do you call that? A Trilogy plus one? A quadrilogy? As of last week I only had two books. It was like expecting to give birth to one more child and finding out you're having triplets.
I am a writer though, so it is inevitable that I will have to write more than two novels. I guess having titles and plot lines for all of the books with a definite end for the series....that scares me a little bit. It has become this grand, epic tale that I never envisioned from the beginning. I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels right. Now, I can't imagine the series ending any other way. I also think it might make it easier to sell, being able to know what comes next. Having a clear vision for all of the books. I guess we will see. I am going to have to kick things up a notch if I am going to have any of these books published before 2010! I'd like to have two or three completed and sell them as a three book contract. I like the idea of being able to release two or three in the same year--to be able to build off of the momentum and grow a reader base. Who knows...maybe I can make it a bestseller! I'll keep praying for that one. :)
Happy New Year!!!
Happy, happy 2008 folks! Are you as psyched as I am about the new year? Today is kind of a special day for me, an anniversary of sorts because I made it through the year. I feel a renewed sense of hope for the future. A fresh start-clean slate. I wonder how long that will last?
Last night I went out. I was reminded why I can't stand drunk people. It really just isn't my thing. I like to have a few drinks, but I don't like to get wasted. And how much fun can you have if you don't remember it in the morning?
A fight broke out at the bar I went to because this total dick stood right in front of this guy in a wheel chair and refused to move. Okay, that's just being decent right there. But no. One guy trows ice at the other one and a fight breaks out. Bottles are flying. This jerk is kicking the guy in the wheelchair. His chair is broken, his shoes come off it was horrible to watch. I tried to see if he was okay, but he was very embarrassed and because I was standing right beside him I helped his friend collect pieces of his chair and wheel him outside the back door. The giant ass that was fighting him left quickly after that. But come on.
This was around 11. Still too early for shit like that.
Then, a bunch of drunk girls decided to get on stage and dance with the band. They were incredibly annoying. This one girl in particular kept grabbing the band members and rubbing her hands all over their head. I couldn't believe that that wasn't distracting, but they kept playing and never made her leave. She had to get up on stage for at least five songs. Like, every time she must have thought, I love this song. I am going to climb on stage now and flit around like a moron. By 1 she was flashing us. I was surprised that she wasn't wearing a bra, but she was so small I question whether she even needed one at all. I mean, if you are going to flash them at least have something for us to look at! Don't embarrass yourself.
We closed the place down last night. Yea for me. My ears are still ringing and somehow I hurt my ankle. I think I am going to have to wrap it up with ice. this is going to hurt my workout schedule.
Oh, did you want to know about books...maybe in another post.
Last night I went out. I was reminded why I can't stand drunk people. It really just isn't my thing. I like to have a few drinks, but I don't like to get wasted. And how much fun can you have if you don't remember it in the morning?
A fight broke out at the bar I went to because this total dick stood right in front of this guy in a wheel chair and refused to move. Okay, that's just being decent right there. But no. One guy trows ice at the other one and a fight breaks out. Bottles are flying. This jerk is kicking the guy in the wheelchair. His chair is broken, his shoes come off it was horrible to watch. I tried to see if he was okay, but he was very embarrassed and because I was standing right beside him I helped his friend collect pieces of his chair and wheel him outside the back door. The giant ass that was fighting him left quickly after that. But come on.
This was around 11. Still too early for shit like that.
Then, a bunch of drunk girls decided to get on stage and dance with the band. They were incredibly annoying. This one girl in particular kept grabbing the band members and rubbing her hands all over their head. I couldn't believe that that wasn't distracting, but they kept playing and never made her leave. She had to get up on stage for at least five songs. Like, every time she must have thought, I love this song. I am going to climb on stage now and flit around like a moron. By 1 she was flashing us. I was surprised that she wasn't wearing a bra, but she was so small I question whether she even needed one at all. I mean, if you are going to flash them at least have something for us to look at! Don't embarrass yourself.
We closed the place down last night. Yea for me. My ears are still ringing and somehow I hurt my ankle. I think I am going to have to wrap it up with ice. this is going to hurt my workout schedule.
Oh, did you want to know about books...maybe in another post.
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