Thursday Delight!

ROTFLMFAO!
I just love it! Two of my favorite guys singing the GROWING PAINS theme song?
How does this EVEN HAPPEN?!
LOL!!

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Pix and Music

Soooo....it's a Jake day. Deep into Chapter 3 on my way to 4 and this intense male is all over my head with a nice dose of Daughtry's, You Don't Belong on my player right this moment.

It's a dark and twisty scene with Jake and my MFC, Sophie. I find that music is a main source of the emotions that come through the scene for me. The driving beat and the confusion is necc to keep the scene moving--even if I listen to the song 18 times before the scene's done.

Anyone else feel the same when they're writing a particularly draining scene?

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Crazy World

Pfft. I'm so sick of stuff going on in my life. LOL I'd like to just curl up in Tahiti and write. Think that can be arranged?

What?

Life gets in the way you say? Dammmmmmmmit.
Pfft.
LOL

Seriously.

So, working diligently--FINALLY. This weekend was a bit hairy. Holiday weekend, Grams in the hospital, Tara over medicating herself on Sunday. Yeah--thought it was the flu. NOPE. Double dosed up on PMS drugs and fried my own circuits.

SOFT SERVE.

Yep.

That's me.

It took nearly 7 hrs for the double dose to back off and for me to feel normal again. I took the first one in the morning and went back to bed. Took another dose 2hrs later, not paying attention to the clock.

Nauseous, head tilt-a-whirl reaction. Every time I sat up, stood up...the world went right into black dots. GOD, how freakin' soft serve can I be? But hell, those girl drugs are powerful stuff. I'll NEVER do that again.

Can I just rip out my uterus and be done with it?

TMI?
LOL

Okay--back to work. 1300 new words today so far. Edited 3 chapters with another 1500 words peppered in there. Pretty good stats for the day--even by Taskmaster's standards.

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Introducing Me

LOL - Damn doesn't that sound pretentious!

No, seriously--my deliciously talented critique partner decided she wanted to interview me about Fanfic and the joys of writing.

FF is an intriguing twist in the writing world. Some people don't think it's a viable style of writing and some, like Cari, believe that quality writing is writing--period. That's why I love her, btw.

And as a special incentive to come on over, there's a $10 gift certificate for Books on Board to a random comment post on Cari's blog. If you have to reply anon, make sure you put your email on there.

So stop on by and have a quick read.

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Goals thru 5/15

Well, Cari, Kiwi and I started a new daily goal.
If you saw our outline you'd just die. LOL!

2hrs writing a day - 1k wordcount at least. It sounds easy, doesn't it?
Hmm.
Well, guess what?

LOL SOmetimes it's NOT. But we're bound and determined to get some work done in the next few weeks.

So determined we brought Summer into the fold to whip us into shape. And I think she likes her damn job! We all need a taskmaster and boy does she fit the bill!

My wordcount today...1382.
pfft.

Could be better, but we'll see if tomorrow's better!

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Goals ending 5/10

Oh man.
Didn't think I'd ever actually post this. I'm finishing Home this week!
Gah!!

4 chapters to end this sucker. Sweet Baby Jesus!

So I'm giving myself a little extra time---all the way to Sunday. 3 chapters and an Epilogue. I know, I know...epi's. *sigh* Unnecc. Pfffft. I want my happy ending and that's where the Epi goes, dammit. LOL

I'll also be cleaning up the blog to make sure that the songs are in the correct chapters and the downloads are available in the Live acct. Whew!

Then onto SIN. WOOT!!

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Daily 4.20.09 - 2k down! WOOT!

Oh hi...I missed you muse.

I'm so glad to see you again.

I FINALLY finished a chapter of HOME tonight and even posted it! Helloo...2K words in a few hours. I didn't think I'd ever spit out that chapter. (I'm pretty sure my readers didn't think I would either. *sigh*)

It was nice to put the tunes on and just go at it. Hmm. I think I might want to go at something else with my tunes--but that's a whole different kind of blog post.

;)


I liked the song for the chapter though and figured I'd share it with you tonight.

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Goals Ending 4.24.09 - Slacker OFF

Ooooh it's been awhile since I updated. *wince* I was a slack ass all this week and that's officially over. Blah.

I hate when I get into those modes. pffft. So, back on the wagon again. 1k a day with a goal of 2k a day...but 1k is the min. I'd like to get 3 chapters of HOME finished by Friday--it's stretching me a little thin, but I gotta make up for no updates this past week.

I want to finish up Home and get on with my ZOE GROUP series. But I don't want to cheat Tessa either--so, nose to the grind, girls and boys. Let's see if I can finish this badboy.

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3.31.09 - The Spree

Well--I've been on a bit of a spree. I wanted to do 1k a day since I hadn't quite met my goals last week and now I'm writing like a maniac.

Hit another 1900 words tonight.

This was a write for pure pleasure--not for my book though. Had a birthday promise for a certain Brit in my life that has been an immense help getting my book plotted and on its way.

So here's to you, Summer---I'm a little early--it's not until April 2, but I actually worked on her story early for once. If you can call 2 days early. ;)

Just in the editing stages now.

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Goals Ending 4.3.09

Okay, so I'm late. LOL
It's been a bit of a blah weekend. Oh the joys of being a woman. NOT!

Anyway--goals are simple yet complex this month. 1k words a day - shooting for 2. Cari's been kind enough to understand that the Home project is a force that I can't quite put down so she's letting me ( like the poor girl has a choice. LOL ) work on what I want as long as I write this week!

LOL

So...That's what I'm doing. WORKING. LOL

Last night I did about 2k workds! YAY! And I'm heading for at least 1500 tonight. So there we go.

In non-writing news. Cari and I have bought our first round of ticktets for our summer of concerts. LOL WE plan on 3 so far. LOL

Matt Nathanson and O.A.R. are coming around me in Saratoga at SPAC and we got 10th row seats!!!! GAH!! SO FUCKING EXCITED! LOL I went and joined O.A.R's website/fansite and low and behold they are presale tix available.
WOOT!
Holy! I can't wait to see my OTHER BF!

Matt's become quite the driving force in my league of obsessions.

And...I'm okay with that. ;)

Check out the Vid of the Day--He stars today!

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3.25.09 - The Writing Wall

Soo..almost met my goal tonight---did about 1300 ish words, maybe a little more, but damn.
I'm not sure they were worth the type.
Ugh.
LOL
I'm always psyching myself out when an important scene is coming up. *sigh*
The pivotal scenes in my LONGSTANDING story, Home are coming up. I'm determined not to cheat them, but at the same time, I don't want to stifle the characters either.

It's a different sort of balance when you're posting chapter by chapter--than when you're working on a novel. That bad boy can be changed later. The posted chapter.

Oy--it's posted.

*sigh*

RANT OFF.

I'm going to bed.
PFFT.


Okay--Vid of the day is Matt Nathanson since he got spread around through Twitter today. How could I not? ;)

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3.22.09 - Shameless Crit Partner Promotion

Hey guys!

Do me a favor and go over to my crit partner, Cari Quinn's blog and read her interview with Michelle Rowan. She's a GREAT author and she's even giving away a copy of her book, Stakes and Stilettos as a little incentive if you comment.

Wasn't as productive as I'd hoped to be last night. I've got some serious catching up to do for my 14K limit for the week. Ugh. Work tonight after I get out of the RL job. NO distractions.

Even put Home on the memory stick for work. Hopefully I can get some work done on my lunch hour. *sigh*

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3.21.09 - Dads and uh...other stuff.

It's all Cari's fault. I swear it!
*swoon*

Now that JT and Eduardo have sufficiently caused some heart failure...I'll tell you about my day. LOL!

Today was Dad's Birthday...he would have been 65 today. Wow, can you believe it? I'm officially old enough to have a geriatric parent. Jeeeeeze, that hurts. LOL

We hung out as a family today in honor of him--even watched Babylon AD--totally a movie my Dad would have loved--and went out to dinner. It was a REALLY nice day to remember him.

Even my mom had an adult bevvy when we went out in honor of him. ;)

Working on my 2k goal today---made it to....300. Pfft. But I'll sacrifice my daily goal for a little family time. It doesn't happen every day.

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Goals Ending 3/27

Well....it's been quite the week.

First full week of work--and seriously, it was only training and an hour less than my normal work week at that! And...I'm dead. LOL I've never been so scattered and sleep deprived. I don't know how new mothers deal--Good GOD.

Soo...we shall endeavor to try harder this week. New goals: 2K words a day.

Not sure when, what, how much will be SIN or Home--but 2K a day is the goal. Period.


Now in fun news...I'm a little obsessed with a new band. LOL
Me? Noooooo.

The Script

It's a band that started in Ireland and seriously--Danny O'Donaghue is a great singer with that delicious black Irish look that can kill a woman at 10 paces. But it's the ecclectic flavor of their songs and music that keeps me hooked.

A pretty face is one thing.



A pretty voice---oh yeah, that's another.

Have a listen, and a look. You won't regret it.

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Daily 3.17.09 - The Shredder!

So....You just gotta love TWITTER. LOL! This was on the #queryfail pile for today. God, does it get any sweeter? LOL!

It's been something that's been taking over Twitter for the last few weeks, maybe? Not much more than 2 weeks. A few random editors are doing a best of the worst sort of thing. Infinitely amusing and highly educational in a slap you in the face kind of way. LOL

So--Work kinda sucks. LOL I'm getting used to the whole schedule of things. MERCY--talk about adjustment. I think I wrote 4 sentences last night before I gave up. So, tonight's much better--worked on HOME--got the first half of the chapter finished.

Hope everyone had a great St. Pats!

I have a half day for work tomorrow so I'm hoping to use the afternoon to write.
Yay!

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3.14.09 - RWA & The Review of All Reviews

DA REVIEW: Knight Moves


Um...I had to start off my daily with this. Because #1--it was mentioned at my RWA meeting today by KA Mitchell and seriously...I was already half laughing at it, but then I tripped over it in another blog post from Toni Andrews. So it was fate--I had to read it.

Seriously.

SERIOUSLY! *insert Grey's Anatomy's Meridith voice*

I think I might have hurt a kidney or popped a rib from laughing.

Holy Freakin' AWFULNESS. It's like a train wreck, plane crash and a scene from the movie Dodgeball all in one. You can't stop reading, you can't stop laughing and at the same time you're just horrified that it's now forever a part of your life.

As a writer, it pains me to have this level of response to an author that didn't intend on having this be a satire on erotica. If it was meant to be a comedy--then Bravo! BUT--I honestly think this was supposed to be her version of great writing.

Therein lies the horror.

In other news....I had a RWA meeting today. We played a round of 'speed dating' where you talk to someone for 3mins and move on. Talk about twittering! LOL It was fun, but man 3mins goes by SUPER fast! Talked to a good 25+ authors. What a great meeting.


And--in between TWITTERING - EVIL, I'm convinced of it. LOL I managed to get a little writing done on HOME. I'm doing some writing tonight as well.

I think the review was enough comedy tonight. LOL I put up a new Video of the Day below. A little 3dd. *sigh* LOVE this song--Landing in London. I used it in the HOME soundtrack.

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Goals Ending 3/20

Well--because I'm starting my first week back as a working stiff, I've kept the goals light. If I do more, good deal--but if work kicks my ass?

Well.
LOL
Better safe than failure.

Okay--so it's a 1 and 1 week. 1 Home and 1 SIN.

I've got a RWA meeting on Saturday - Not sure on the topic, but I'll post about that in my daily tomorrow and then of course my SWAG meeting. I'm officially on the chopping block.

I'm interested to see what a group of mostly SiFi/Fantasy writers thinks about my Jake and Sophie. Hmm. I'll let you know on Sunday. ;)

I've relocated my VID of the Day to the bottom of the blog so I can have a nice big video. But I might do extras in my dailies. YT is evil.


Okay--so I'm now follwing Dane Cook on Twitter and I fell back into watching his comedy. Here's some old ADD--God he's a maniac--stuff.

Oh yeah...hello hilarious. And watch 'til the end...I promise it's worth it. *snort*

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Daily 3.13.09

Daily update: GOALS MET! YAY! Finished chapter 2's rough for SIN and even sent it over to Cari to have a look at. Imagine that?!

Playlist at the moment.


Meeting with Cari tonight to discuss goals for the week. I start working IRL on Monday for the first time in...oh...11 freakin' MONTHS. *sigh* So, I'll have to put that into consideration for future goals. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum even with RL sucking at me.




Now...for the Daily video.

*sigh* Okay, so this is a mix of one of my favorite shows and a REALLY great song that I'm trying to uh...procure. LOL Ahem. Scars on 45 - Beauty's Running Wild.

Danny and Lindsay are two of my favorite characters on the show. They've come through a lot of crap in the last few seasons and it was nice to see a little personal happiness in the show.

One of the best things about CSI:NY is the characters--and while I know the focus on the show is the procedural details, a little romance is good for the soul, dammit. ;)

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Daily 3.12.09

Progress: Working on Sin--surrounded in index cards again.
I finished Home chapter last night--so I made the 2 chapter goal WOOT!
Working on SIN---but more of a character chart for the new Jake.



Video of the day!
Stupid freakin' email--I get these email things from TVGuide and this one was actually pretty fuckin' funny. Enjoy!

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Daily 3.11.09

Progress---pretty good.
Worked on Home today--SIN tomorrow--I'm in the Jon zone right now, so I didn't want to move away from it. Hoping to have the chapter done by tonight.

Right now, I'm at 4 pages.

YAY!

Video of the day...A new addition to my Daily Blog.



Gee...I know a few of you won't be surprised to see this one. LOL
But another one, she might just oooh and ahh into a puddle. Enjoy, Kiwi. ;)

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My Bald Boyfriend + A YT Frenzy

Yeah, yeah--It's a writing blog most of the time, but man....my other guy put up a video blog and I'm soooo excited!!

Daughtry new record coming soon! WOOT! Summer record and then a tour so I can hopefully go see them again! Yay!
He wrote a song with Chad Kroeger and...wait for it.
Waaaait for it.
RICHARD MARX! LOL
God, I just love a rocker that can own up to a love for Pop Icons like RM.
Also worked with Pat from Train as well as Jason from Lifehouse.
It gives me a real kick to hear stuff like this because I'm such a music whore.




Man, I love this guy.
So, I just had to blog about it.

A few favorites from those artists listed...

Lifehouse - Storm




Richard Marx - Right Here Waiting



Nickelback - Someday (an oldie of theirs, but I bumped into in freakin' soulsucking YT and here it is. LOL)

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Daily 3.9.09

Blah--not much happened last night, so I didn't bother blogging. Buuuut. Today was a different matter on the all around.

Even with the blue screen of death heart attack, I managed to get a chapter of Home finished. Of course I had to take a break in the middle of the chapter and back up my entire life. Hell no, I'm not losing all my shit again--that's for friggin' sure.

So--with a bit of a break, I went back to writing and finished about 9 pages/3100 words.

The above pix were my inspiration for the chapter--He's an unhappy bunny in the story right now.

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Daily 3.7.09

Hmmm. I wish today was as productive as yesterday, but sadly it was not.
I did do a little writing, but nothing like yesterday. Like MAYBE a page.
*sigh*
LOL

Tomorrow is another day....and there won't be a PARTY in my house tomorrow. LOL
Beeeeerfest.
Oy!
LOL

Even had the Das Boooot!

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Daily 3.6.09

Had a VERY productive day!
I finished redoing Ch1 of SIN and started in on the RADICAL changes of Ch2.

Boy...redefining Jake is going to require a lot of work! But I'm up for it. Jake's talking...LOUDLY.

Soo...edited 12 pages in all. WOOT!

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Goals ending 3.13

Ahhhhhhh back to the grindstone.
Met with Cari earlier than normal this week so she can go play with a RL friend. *sniff*

LOL--no j/k. Have a blast Cari. Make sure to have an adult bevvy for me. ;)

So...good talk last night. We covered my trip. heeheh. *sigh*

Yeah...he is a distraction and I'm putting him in my goals post so pfffttt. LOL To remind me that I got to play last week so now I HAVE to work. (stares longingly at hot man) No! I must work. I had my fun with him at the show, then my girls on Long Beach Island for 5 days so I'm rejuvenated!

So rejuvenated that I totally went nuts with my goals.

2 Chapters of HOME and 2 Chapters of SIN to be completed this week. Time to work, work, work! (stares longingly at my pretend BF) Work!
I'm off and running.

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Dear Author

So....I love me some Dear Author, but this post had me ROLLING.

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/03/05/thursday-afternoon-haiku-moment-passion-by-lisa-valdez/

The review is to be done in a Haiku style and seriously.

It just caused a laugh out loud, startle your neighbor kind of laugh. It really has to be read.

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VAAAACATION!

Bon Jovi is taking over my life this week, so no writing for me.

It may happen that I doooo some writing while I'm out and about, but I kinda doubt it. LOL So--you can follow my nutty antics on Twitter along the side there. I can't guarantee anything will make sense as there will be drunk texting involved I can safely say.

LOL

So--be forewarned! LOL


I'll be back March 1st to start work again.

Hopefully I'll get to see this one LIVE on Monday night!

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Progress 2.18.09

Thought of the day!

Is it Male or Female?

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.




*sigh* It's a writing night.

It's about freakin' TIME!!
Seriously--I feel like this week is flying by. I'm working tonight on HOME. I've been in and out all night with car issues, family issues and dinner with a GF. So--the night is mine.
LOL

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Progress 2.17.09

Ahhh the editing cap.
I love it so.

NOT.
That was my sole job today.
*sigh* part of my day was interrupted with the whole family thing too. *sigh* Gram's back in the hospital again. *sigh*

Throw a prayer up for her--she's a feisty 88 year old--but she's still 88.

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Progress 2.16.09

Diligently working this evening on edits/restructuring for SIN.
I'm about 6 pages in.

I also have to do some edits on some of my 'fun' projects to keep up. Totally been slacking there. *blush*

Family/Friends kept me busy most of today, but tomorrow hopefully I can have a full day of writing. *Fingers crossed*

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Progress 2.15.09

Well---I was a bit of a slacker today.
Couldn't seem to get my head in the game as the day cleared out.

I found my nesting gene instead. PFffffft.
I cleaned all damn day.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

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Progress 2.14.09

Ahhhhhh Valentine's day.
This one's been making the rounds, but it suits my feelings on the subject. ;)


I didn't get enough accomplished to satisfy myself today--but I did open up SIN and rework about 4 pages. So--not a total loss.

Otherwise I spent the day with family. Seems they were missing me. Awwwwww.

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Goals Ending 2.20.09

Ahhhh it's that time again!

Started finalizing the outline of The Zoe Group series. Getting closer to that BIG BAD that I need to make the whole book. Not to mention the leagues of supporting staff that will be important to the series. Whew! WORK!

Home was on afterburn this week. We'll try to keep that cranked since I'll be MIA at the end of the month.

Aaaaand--worked with Cari tonight on our weekly crit chat. Talked at length about music. LOL! Can't help ourselves there! LOL

We discovered that we BOTH love Bruce's Atlantic City--so that's a little extra for the blog this week.





Goals

Revamped Opening Chapter to SIN (including emailed version to CP)
1 Chapter of HOME
4000 word Short story rough for Writer's Digest
--that's Due Sat for my SWAG meeting MUST be completed!

Bonus: 1 Chapter of Home

Mini: Read thru CP's VT updates

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Progress 2.12.09

Whoops! I forgot to post last night.
*wince*
I finished my chapter of Home and posted it.

Today--working this evening. I wasn't home all damn day! Interview, dog on the loose!
LOL

My dog escaped, so mom had to chase him all over god's creation--then I had to clean him up. (I wasn't home at the time) I came home and he ran right to me. I think my mom had to restrain herself. LOL. She was soaked, chased him through the marsh and wet in the back brush near our house--followed him all over the neighborhood and finally through a huge melty area.
OMG.

HE STINKS! Off to the groomer tomorrow!

Then hair--just got home! LOL We spend way to much time at the hair salon! LOL But I have a lovely dark--cajun chili pepper red set of streaks in my copper red hair! Looks great! So, now I work!

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Progress 2.10.09

I was a good girl today! YAY!
I was in and out with my interview--went really well, btw--and didn't think I'd get anything done, but 1300 words spewed out!

YAY!

I'm going to play with Sophie and Jake tomorrow. I was on a bit of a roll for HOME so I let a bit more pour out of me today.

Turned off the internet for about 90mins today...but I wasn't here most of the day. LOL so, that was good enough for me. ;)

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Progress 2.9.09

It was a GOOD day!
I kept off the internet for a majority of the day today, actually. I got a lot of work done. Even finished a chapter of HOME.

WOOT!

2300 words. *ping* One goal down for the week already! YAY!

Job interview tomorrow! So I'll be in and out all day.

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Weekly Goals Ending 2/13

And here we go--it's that time again! WEEKLY GOALS WITH TARA.
Aren't you excited?

*snort*


Okay, so Cari and I have officially chosen a new night for Crit Night so I'll be doing my weekly goals through Friday now. We also discussed--at length, the choices we make as authors and our path to possible (probable dammit! shhhhhhhhhhhh voice in my head) publication.

While we want to do what's most prudent to get published, we also need to write what focuses on our true voice. Stifling ourselves into a market for the sake of the easy route into one of those pretty acceptance letters doesn't necessarily make it correct for a writer in the end. So, with that thought in mind, I've made the decision to shelve Nate and Miranda for now and focus on the Paranormal Nocturne (or even Samhain ePub) series The Zoe Group.

Nate and Miranda have a great story in my head, but I really want to make a go of the Paranormal field. It's what I read, what I enjoy and what interests me above all else at the moment. It will stretch my imagination, my writing skills and my craft. I might fail, but at least I believe in these characters with all my heart. And that's the important part. That's why I started writing in the first place.

Not to fit myself into a mold, but to let my voice speak for me. Para is where I am now and I rather like it, dammit.


GOALS:

10 pages of Jake and Sophie/Strength in Numbers aka SIN
2hrs daily--turn off internet and work on my writing.
1 Chapter of HOME

Extra: 1 Chapter of HOME

Bonus: work on WD project - need storyline argh!

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Progress 2.7.09

Progress = Minimal
AGAIN.

Stomach flu still kicked my arse today! I did manage to sit up and eat later in the day, but the ole brain wasn't quite with me. I managed about 200 words of gibarish before I gave up. LOL

Pffft.

Tomorrow will be better I hope.

*sigh*

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Progress 2.6.09

Progress = Minimal

FREAKIN' STOMACH VIRUS!!!
I was cross eyed with rumblings in my stomach, woozy headed from no eating and making far too many trips to the bathroom. Kill me now!

I made myself write 500 words today, just so I could keep my Consecutive Days of Writing.
Believe me--they probably don't make any sense. LOL
But I did something!

Barely.

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Progress 2.5.09

Ahhh another list from Cari. LOL Er...Helen. Hmm--I'm always wrapped into these things from SOMEONE! LOL

6 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Friends and Family (Lame, but true! LOL)
2. Bon Jovi (Yeah, pathetic, I know...but they reeeeally do!)
3. My Laptop w/Internet. (Honestly, I'm nearly dysfunctional without it! Proof this week!)
4. My Dog - Stu (Stupid puppy grin gets me every time!)
5. Creating a character. (I love to go online and find pix, figure out details and faults...well except with Nate. GRRRRR. LOL)
6. The Zone. - I love when it happens. That perfect place where the writing is just FLOWING like every clichéd liquid anything. LOL

Progress: Home's just about finished. I have the entire day to myself tomorrow so I'm going to play with Nate and Miranda and see what happens.

Consecutive Days of Writing = 2

Word Count = 1200 + (still working)

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Progress 2.4.09

I was THE BABYSITTER today.
Pffft. So I wasn't home to get much in the way of work done.
I'm working now--so, thru the evening I'll have 4+ pages of HOME done and hopefully that posted before I hit the sheets.

Also starting Consecutive Days of Writing today.
Have to at least write SOMETHING every day. See how long I can go.


Day 1

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Progress 2.3.09

Progress = Limited.

*pout*

I was in and out today and all my computer time was used for NON-writing. Pffft.

I did manage to write 2 pages of HOME. But man--not much done at ALL.

Tomorrow is day 2 of hell--err, 1hr of Internet. *eyes crossed*
Yeah, this is DEFINITELY going to be a once a week endeavor after this. I'm an addict.
I'm okay with being an addict.

I'm NOT okay without my internet!


Vent off!

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Progress 2.2.09

Sweet MARY!
That NO INTERNET thing?
Yeah.
I'm not sure about THAT one. I did it---well, mostly. I think I actually averaged more like 90mins today from 12am--to 11:59.

Gads, it HURT!!

Ahem...anyway. I did work today. Wrote about 3500 words today. So it was a good day.
I'm working on the next part of HOME. It should have been done yesterday, but I kinda had a bit of a blah day and Jon and Tessa weren't talking.

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Goal ending 2/8

SON OF A BITCH!!!

Can I tell you how much I hate being an ARIES sometimes?!

Yeah--today.
I hate it today.

Okay--Cari gave me a challenge and damn if I can say no to them. FUCKING HELL...excuse the swearing. It's helping me cope. LOL

2 days this week--Internet 1hr. OMG. IT HURT ME TO EVEN FREAKIN' TYPE IT! THE REAL DAY....Not the TARA DAY.

12am-11:59pm

Sweet Baby Jesus. I'm gonna die.



GOALS:

Monday and Wed this week 1hr of Internet. *hyperventilates*
15 pages of CP
1 Chapter of HOME.

Bonus: 1 Chapter of HOME
Mini: Idea for Writer's Digest Challenge 4K words.

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Progress 1.31.09

Finished HOME laaaaaate last night..er, this morning. LOL 2500 words in all.
So pretty good work there. Working on the next bonus chapter on Sunday before our chat.

Played around with Nate a bit again--but still--he alludes me. PFFFFFTT.

I'm completely stuttering stupid about this WD thing.

How the freakin' HELL am I going to write a story in 4000 wds?! I'm toooooo freakin' long winded!
PFFFT. That's going to be interesting. LOL

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Careless Whisper (Gah!)

Okay...color me surprised!
One of my FAVORITE Wham songs covered by one of my guilty pleasures, Seether.
OMG!
I actually like the song.
LOL
It's a really interesting cover.

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Progress 1.30.09

Another 2 pages of HOME were worked on and edits.

I'm currently covered in Index cards again. I'm still trying to figure out my THING with Nate. Grrrr. I don't know what I'm going to do for a fault. Everything I come up with is a Cliche. Pfffft.

Took a break to go watch a few comedians. LOL Man, I'm going to miss January for that reason alone. Comedy Central has a lot of funny talent when it's Stand Up Month.

One of my favorites is Steve Byrne. Man alive does he make me laugh.

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Progress 1.29.09

Ahh, woke up to MORE fucking shoveling.
GREEEEAT!

And just as I'm about to finish said shoveling...oh maybe 2 feet of driveway left. Who comes up the drive? Yeah, that's right. Brother dear. GREAT freakin' timing.
Pfffft.


Oy! Okay--got some more writing accomplished. Up to 6 pages for HOME...needs a little bit of tweaking and then it's post worthy. Tomorrow I'm playing with Nate.
hehehe.

That just sounds bad.
Just to remind you of what he looks like. ;)
In case you forgot. heheh

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Progress 1.28.09

So...I hate SNOW.
Truly hate it.
With like one of those long running feudal Hatfield and McCoy type hatreds.

Ugh.

I did get some writing done though. About 5 pages on the all together. It wasn't HOME. LOL But at least I got some writing done!

Instead me and the shovel got intimate.

We're breaking up.

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Progress 1.27.09

Did quite a bit of writing today actually. Started on HOME---need another few hours and that will be postible...postable? Whateva!
LOL


Working on a special project for a gf for her BDay...so that's some bonus work (non pointswise. LOL) And waiting on that same storm that Cari's waiting on. BLECH! 8-10 inches of the white stuff.

GREAT!!!

Blah!

Oh--didn't open ZUMA today! WHOOOHOOO!! Good, Tara! LMAO!

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Progress 1.26.09

Damn--I gotta set an alarm or I'll never get these things up by midnight. LOL

Didn't get much work accomplished today. Went through my notes for CP and talked it out with a GF. Also gave a verbal barrage of info to her about The Zoe Group. LOL She was a little startled.

Ahhhhh World Building! LOL Scares the hell out of the mere mortals out there. hehehe

Oh...

And my new obsession?
EVIL obsession?
Zuma.
EVIL!!!

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Goals Ending 2/1

Another week down---another set of goals to achieve.
I think I had a case of overkill when it came to the whole goals last week. Even unemployed I couldn't fit all that in!

Spoke with Carolynn tonight and we agreed Cross Purposes needs a freakin' OVERHAUL. The NaNo was good to get the juices flowing--but now I have to rearrange the tide. Miranda is getting a repurposing. Nate is getting an ACTUAL story and there will be a plot! YAY!

God help me. LOL

Home is on it's final stretch--about 15 chapters to go to finish that badboy. So definitely 1 chapter this week and working HARD to get a 2nd done in the Bonus portion of my goals.

Writer's Digest is holding it's Annual contest due on May 15th. It's a 4 thousand word story in any genre I like. So, I'm going to figure that out and set myself up for an outline. So--brainstorming session for that one. It's hard to write anything THAT short for me these days. So it's going to be a challenge.

It's also my SWAG - Schenectady Writer's Assistance Group goal to finish the rough before my next meeting in February.

Soooo....the hard truth in regards to goals.

Outline of CP

1 chapter Home

Bonus---1 extra chapter of Home

Mini bonus--work up idea for the WD 4k story.

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Progress 1.25.09

Yeah...so here's Stu 'watching over' me as I work. LOL I'm deep in outline mode today. Edits for Cross Purposes are taking a turn for the better and outlining SIN/The Zoe Group.


A bit horrifying huh? LOL But there I am. Index cards, pens, postits notebooks and anything else you could think of. LOL

Goals up tonight after my meet with Carolynn.

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Progress 1.24.09

Nope--no work today.
LOL
It was MY movie day. I went to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D!!
How cool was THAT?! And then THAT!! Right there!!? Yeah...Uh...*sigh* Hello!

So double time working for me tomorrow. I have to show up a certain girl that's meeting her damn BONUS goals like crazy! LOL

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Progress 1.23.09

Shoot! I'm late!
I was so into my brainstorming that I totally forgot--then went to go watch a few eps of Numb3rs and Shit it's like 3am!!

I had a great day!
I outlined the BIG BAD for The Zoe Group thanks to some help from a few friends of the UK and Kiwi persuasion! Thanks girls! YOU ROCK!!

And I revised my outline for SIN = Strength In Numbers. WOOT!!
I think the name of this book fits even MORE now based on what I've got going on.

*excited jumps*

Whoooohooo!!!

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Progress 1.22.09 - Index Card Mania

So...I'm sitting here in the center of my bed with a notebook, two markers, a pen, scratch paper and a pile of index cards.

Purple = girls
Blue = Boys
White = things

I'm insane.

LOL
I love outlining a little too much. I think it's just an excuse to play with my Office Supply Freakdom issues.

But you know...whatever. So I'm hip deep in my outlines!

I should probably take a picture. LOL It's really a funny site to see. Maybe I will tomorrow when I drag all my shit out again.

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Progress 1.21.09

Kind of a slacker daytime for me today.
Well--not so much slacker, but not home.
LOL
I just got in a little while ago. I've got my WORD doc open for some work on a story I forgot alllllll about that is due in a few days, so I'm working on that as we speak.

Posted HOME yesterday so that's in the can for the week. Tomorrow is Outline for SIN.

I went to the stationary section. *sigh* Yes, I have a problem. LOL
I like to have all my stuff for outlining. LOL
So, new notebook and a brick of Index cards to get my characters all set up.

Oh and watched Oprah today before I went out. *sigh* Got to see my BF again! I'm going to be going through suuuuch withdrawal by next week when he's no longer in the public eye! ARGH!

Anyway---great stuff on Oprah today, here's Jon's little snippet about his family and the Inauguration.

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Progress 1.20.09

Well...It's one of those historic days. The Inauguration has taken over the TV. Not only in my home, but all over the world I think.

But even with all the craziness going on the TV. I did manage to finish the Chapter of HOME today. Well--just about. I'm in the middle of edits on the 9 pages I finished it up with. 1600 words today.

And back to watching Obama on a zillion different stations. LOL Pentagon channel and ABC.
I don't think I've ever been more involved in a Presidential election. I'm very excited to see if President Obama can do what he says he's going to do.

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Progress 1.19.09

Had a full day of crap today. LOL Err..I mean Job Fair.

Does working on my resume for 90mins count as writing? There was a fair amount of fiction in there.

Ahem...I worked on 4300 words early this morning...and started brainstorming for a 15K story for the Writer's Digest submission for May.

Currently working on HOME. That's my late night project today. I do all my work after midnight these days. LOL

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Kamikaze Mode!

Write or Die.
That's right folks! There's a little widget type thing created for the attention deprived writers out there like me that can't stay on their Word Doc Screen.
lol

Too brilliant NOT to share.
I got this from my SWAG writer's group here in Schenectady, NY. LOL Too funny for words!

Watch out for Kamikaze mode---you gotta try it.

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Change is Gonna Come

Jon Bon Jovi sings with Bettye LaVette at the Lincoln Memorial today.
It was on the We Are One celebration for President Elect, Barak Obama's Inauguration kick off.
*sigh*

What an AMAZING version of this song IMHO. It's been sung a million times at this point, but most notably by Sam Cooke. Jonny does loooooove Mr. Cooke. And man can he belt it out!

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Weekly Goals Thru Jan 24th

Well here we go. Cari and I had a pretty fierce Crit/Chat session on Sat night and decided that we're fucking around far too much. We need to get some decisive goals going on and stop with the excuses. We'll never go anywhere if we keep TALKING about our writing. We need to do it.

Finish and submit this year for sure.

So..decisive goals is the deal of the day.

Every Sunday we'll post our goals for the week. And a daily blog post about what we did or didn't do for the day when it comes to our craft.

I have a feeling if it's in black and white, why we're not working on our edits or actually writing our novels then we'll stay on track. Helps with the whole public humiliation angle, I think. LOL

Also, because at the end of the day, Cari and I loooove to be lazy, we'll work for it. We've got a separate bonus program going in the meter on the side panel there. Each week we have a BONUS option on our list.

First Bonus is worth 5 pts.

And one OPTIONAL Bonus that's worth an extra 2 pts.

First one to 30 gets a guilt free day of lounging, watching a movie, reading a whole book if we want. Nothing that has anything to do with our Word Docs, writing or plotting and most definitely editing. LOL

Just a TARA Day or a CARI Day.



So...here we go.



GOALS Week of Jan 24, 2009:

• 1 chapter HOME - 6+ pages
• 2 chapter edits for Cross Purposes
• Rough Outline of Strength In Numbers (working title)

BONUS - 2 extra chapters of Home
Opt Bonus - 1 extra chapter of edits for CP

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16 Things...

Cari Quinn (crit partner extraordinaire) put this up on her blog, so I'm just going to answer mine on my own blog. ;)



1) Favorite beverage? Mt. Dew--almost all varieties--except Code Red.

2) I started writing by entertaining a childhood friend with a story about our favorite rock stars. I was oh...about 14.

3) I used to be a storyteller--see #2. I used to tell them out loud first. Then changed to paper soon afterward.

4) I'm an epic JoviHead. Even have a bit of fanfic out there. My 'first' book isn't in a drawer. The good, the bad and the ugly is on the Internet for anyone to see.

5) I've been to 3 colleges and only have an AAS in Graphic Design.

6) I finished my first NaNoWriMo right out of the gate--first year I tried it, I finished it.

7) I'm an official member of the RWA!

8) Facebook is my current addiction, with a quickly mounting obsession with blog building.

9) I've seen Dirty Dancing, literally over 100 times. My Mom and I watched it twice every weekend for just about a year. It was also the first movie that I paid to see twice in the theater.

10) I have no sense of direction. It's comedy at its best when we do roadtrips! BUT, I always make it there! GPS does help, let me tell you!

11) I'm a self taught egghead. I love the computer. I should just officially call it my BF.

12) My favorite author is Nora Roberts/JD Robb. LaNora is my inspiration. I ran out of books from her (is that possible?! LOL Well, it was back in the late 80's, she wasn't as prolific yet.) and decided to give it a go. Oy! Talk about terrible. LOL But she's the reason I picked up the pen.

13) I'm a little addicted to TV. Yeah--it's a sickness. Sexual Tension and couples that just may never be are my favorites. LOL ie. Bones. *sigh* Hellooo DB!

14) Cari and I are Rhapsody addicts. Half of our crit night is passing songs back and forth.

15) I'm petrified of the R letter. I know I have to get at least one. LOL I just don't want to see that thin little letter in the enevelope with my name on it. Bills are bad enough, man!

16) Two things I really want? To make my living as a writer and to have an office that's shaped like a tower with a wrap around desk and me in the middle with walls of books and electronics.
LOL


Okey doke--there's me! Feel free to pass the 16 around.

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Now THAT's Safe Sex!

Clever and hilarious!
Can you get any BETTER!!

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