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Saturday, November 16, 2013

November 16th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

First things first, I want to wish my wonderful sister-in-law a very happy birthday! Love you Cindy, hope you have a great day!!

It’s cold and rainy here today, but since we desperately need the rain and I really don’t have to go anywhere until tonight, I’m not going to let it bother me. I just read yesterday’s blog and it made me laugh and shake my head – it is really difficult to edit your own work. In one place I wrote “added” instead of “add”. Oh well, I never intended my blog to be a literary master piece. J

Well I did it. As of noon yesterday, I am officially back on track for NaNoWriMo. I hit 25,046 words. YEAH! Now, with the holiday coming up, the trick is going to be staying on track.

When I started Faerie Tale Queen, I was worried about how Kieren was going to experience the strange happenings which made her wonder if her grandfather’s tales were more than bedtime stories, but as usual, my characters are showing me the way. I know people think I’m crazy, but I swear, it is my characters’ stories and I’m simply here to write them down. When I start a book, I really don’t have a clue where the story is going to go, how the characters are going to get there or what conflicts they will face along the way. I literally have images flash before my eyes and hear conversations in my head. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit that… the men in the white coats with the butterfly nets may be reading this…

Later today, on Facebook, I will be posting chapter seven of Faerie Tale Queen. If you choose to read, I would really appreciate it if you would leave a comment(s). Unlike the daily writing challenges, I am giving you free reign to criticize. I want to, no, I need to hear what you think; especially if there are areas which don’t work. If you are not comfortable posting a comment directly on the page, feel free to message me.

Tonight I will be doing something strange and totally out of character. I am going to a girls’ night at my friend Kelly’s house. The last time I did a girls’ night was for my friend Rebecca’s 30th birthday seventeen years ago.

My husband is such a homebody, he rarely goes out with his friends, so I felt guilty going out with mine and elected to stay home with him instead. Eventually my friends stopped asking me to go, which is sad and nobody’s fault but my own. But now, I am giving myself permission not to feel guilty. I love my friends and they love me, and we deserve to be able to spend some quality time together. So tonight, I will leave my husband plopped in front of his tv, with his beer, probably watching college football, and I am going to Kelly’s to be silly with my girlfriends. I can’t wait!

Okay, it’s getting late and I need to get some work done on Faerie Tale Queen before the house wakes up and I won’t be able to write. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!



Your Last Challenge:


 

Rewrites, I hate rewrites. By the time the editor gets the first draft back to me, I’m already neck deep in another story, fleshing out other characters’ lives, worrying about them, fighting beside them, crying with them. At this point, I don’t even remember what the last story was about let alone how I’m going to “beef up the conversation in chapter thirteen” or “the museum needs a better description”. Museum? They were in a museum? Really? When?

Now, I can’t even tackle the rewrite when I’m finished with the current story because I’m trying to remember what conversation was going on in chapter thirteen. I knew I shouldn’t have opened the envelope. I knew what was in it. I knew this would happen. It happens every time. I manage to resist when the envelope comes from the publisher. He’s commenting on three books ago, so I really have no clue and I know I need my plate completely clear when I open the package from him.

I can’t seem to do it though when the package arrives from my editor. I greatly value his opinion, and I’m eager to know his thoughts, to see if he liked my story. I love reading his comments, his lessons and his words of encouragement.

Unfortunately my child on Christmas morning mentality repeatedly gets me into this predicament. I can no longer focus on my current story until I rewrite the last one. Okay, think. Where did you put the folder with your notes from the last story? It’s got to be in this mess somewhere…

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

There may not be an “I” in team, but there is certainly one in HISTORY. Take any historical event and recount it as if you were actually there.

 

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

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