What am I up to?
Jul. 16th, 2008 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eimarraI'm neck deep in paying work, but I decided to stop and take stock of where I am with writing projects at the moment. This run-down does not include any that are currently out to market.
Short stories currently working on:
* Monday's Angel -- Children's story, from a plot bunny Val gave me
* BEM story -- Pulp, complete with femmes fatales (yes, two). Just for fun, may sub to Spacesuits and Sixguns when it's done.
* graybots story -- started for an anthology now closed. May finish it up and look for an appropriate market.
Short stories that I need to examine and edit before sending them out again:
* Matchmaker -- see below
* Soulfire -- Both of these I started serious edits on last year, and I can't remember whether I finished them. (Yes, pregnancy really will do that to your brain.) So I need to check.
* Fade Far Away -- George Scithers pointed out a bad case of time traveler paradox. Well, no, she doesn't travel through time, but she does wipe her grandfather from existence, so it's the same problem.
* Song of the Peri -- I have the feedback from the PARSEC contest. I need to think through how to implement it.
* Blood Brother -- Maybe. I have a query out to a possible market, but if they're not interested, I may examine the romance elements and see if I can pitch it to Samhain.)
* Ophid Dei -- This one, I have a plan for. I know what it needs, and my goal is to double it in length and get it sent out by the end of August.
Short stories that are in the planning phase (anywhere from glimmer of idea to just need the time to write) and are likely to be started soon:
* Mae Nak adaptation -- If I don't get this done in the next two weeks, there's really no point in writing it at all.
* novelette for Nocturne Bites line -- Sure, Harlequin calls them novellas, but by Nebula rules, 10-15k is a novelette (as if I have to worry about that!). I've got the characters for this and their ties to the paranormal, but I still need a story. Also, waiting a response to my e-mail to them asking for details on rights, payment, and any option clauses.
* second novelette idea -- Only one character and her paranormal ability. No alpha male as yet. Some inherent conflict, but not a story.
* Witch's Cat -- probably related to Witchy Woman. If not hers, one of her friends'. Because George Scithers said to send him my next feline-oriented story, so how could I not plan one?
Short stories begun a while back that could or should become active again this year:
* Waiting for Gilgamesh -- for the interstitial anthology
* Man hunting season -- started this last fall. It was a good idea; I'm not certain about the execution.
* a Dom short story -- Dom being a paranormal MC. He's not a were-anything or a vamp or an angel or . . . well, any of the usual suspects.
Novels in the revision pile:
* Sabra (NaNo 2006) -- Redlined a hard copy. Need to enter the edits into the file *and* fix the glaring White Room Syndrome.
* Witchy Woman (NaNo 2007) -- First draft is short. Need to add in a subthread, at least one red herring, a lot more specific description of people and places. Also, research. And her name is changing, but I'm not sure to what yet. So developmental edit before redlining.
* Christmas Tree Farm (NaNo 2004) -- My cozy murder mystery. Need to redline this.
* Changeling (NaNo 2003) -- Don't know if I'll ever get around to this. The second half needs to be done over from scratch, replotting and everything. Then I'll have to rewrite the first half to make it the level I'm currently writing at. Then edit the whole thing through to make it even. I don't know that the premise is worth the effort.
Novels in progress:
* Blood Brother -- Isn't this in the short stories category? Yes and no. As it stands, it is 13,500 words. But there are a couple subthreads I chopped out, and more depth could easily be added. I've been hoping to expand this to a full-length novel for a couple of years, but I've never sat down and said, "I'm going to do this now."
* Four Lakes -- Crackle and company. I may get more inspiration on my pet kraken when we head up to Madison at the end of the month. I think a large part of the problem here is that I had someone else as the main character, so I need to rethink and start more or less from scratch.
* Ivory & Bone -- Urban fantasy set in Berkeley. He gets visions; she gets memories of past lives. Both![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bonniers and marfisk want me to finish this one up.
* Shadowed Sight -- Set in the same world (same city, even) as Blood Brother, but hundreds of years later. Woman from a noble family masquerades as common mercenary.
* Rob & Jeanie -- Almost a superhero book, but more like "the gods walk among us." Well, no, there are heroes, too. Heroes and god-touched and god-kin. In our world. Which is where I ran into trouble because if these people were here all along (and they're not secret about their presence), why would history have developed even remotely as it has?
* Phoenix Anderson -- Middle grade SF because my kids need something to read, too.
Novels begging me to outline them and start writing:
* Mapless country -- MC travels to a country that really doesn't like outsiders. Their control is expressed by the outlawing of maps, restricting outsiders to where the authorities say they can be. But his grandfather arranged a marriage for him here, so the MC goes.
* Temple trilogy -- This has been around 2-1/2 years or so. Temples scattered around the world, major catastrophe occurring, different people have to work together to avert it. But religion has changed in each country since the temples were established, and, each MC sees the others as not just foreigners but also heretics.
Other writing-related projects on the horizon:
* FM workshop -- Grammar and sentence structure, taking place over October and November. Needs to be written by the end of September.
* Business Website revision -- Primarily because I want to add a blog, and the current site structure won't support it. I either need to learn some more CSS and redesign it *or* change the whole site over to something like WordPress. In either case, probably a week or so of concentrated effort.
* Business blog -- Will be an ongoing writing project once I start. Purposes: draw more traffic to my blog, thus pushing it up in search engine rankings; educate others about my form of freelancing; position myself as an expert (and thus able to command higher fees from clients).
* Small reports -- Related to that "educate others" goal. Reports will be combination of material from blog and new material, designed to help others in starting and running freelancing businesses.
It's a lot, and I know it's not all going to happen this year. (I hear one of the reasons for that crying right now.) It's amusing, looking back at the goals I set toward the beginning of the year--back when I thought I wasn't going to put much effort into short stories this year. However, I'm still not giving up on novel work. First, though, I need to get through the current round of paying work. Which is quite a bit.
Short stories currently working on:
* Monday's Angel -- Children's story, from a plot bunny Val gave me
* BEM story -- Pulp, complete with femmes fatales (yes, two). Just for fun, may sub to Spacesuits and Sixguns when it's done.
* graybots story -- started for an anthology now closed. May finish it up and look for an appropriate market.
Short stories that I need to examine and edit before sending them out again:
* Matchmaker -- see below
* Soulfire -- Both of these I started serious edits on last year, and I can't remember whether I finished them. (Yes, pregnancy really will do that to your brain.) So I need to check.
* Fade Far Away -- George Scithers pointed out a bad case of time traveler paradox. Well, no, she doesn't travel through time, but she does wipe her grandfather from existence, so it's the same problem.
* Song of the Peri -- I have the feedback from the PARSEC contest. I need to think through how to implement it.
* Blood Brother -- Maybe. I have a query out to a possible market, but if they're not interested, I may examine the romance elements and see if I can pitch it to Samhain.)
* Ophid Dei -- This one, I have a plan for. I know what it needs, and my goal is to double it in length and get it sent out by the end of August.
Short stories that are in the planning phase (anywhere from glimmer of idea to just need the time to write) and are likely to be started soon:
* Mae Nak adaptation -- If I don't get this done in the next two weeks, there's really no point in writing it at all.
* novelette for Nocturne Bites line -- Sure, Harlequin calls them novellas, but by Nebula rules, 10-15k is a novelette (as if I have to worry about that!). I've got the characters for this and their ties to the paranormal, but I still need a story. Also, waiting a response to my e-mail to them asking for details on rights, payment, and any option clauses.
* second novelette idea -- Only one character and her paranormal ability. No alpha male as yet. Some inherent conflict, but not a story.
* Witch's Cat -- probably related to Witchy Woman. If not hers, one of her friends'. Because George Scithers said to send him my next feline-oriented story, so how could I not plan one?
Short stories begun a while back that could or should become active again this year:
* Waiting for Gilgamesh -- for the interstitial anthology
* Man hunting season -- started this last fall. It was a good idea; I'm not certain about the execution.
* a Dom short story -- Dom being a paranormal MC. He's not a were-anything or a vamp or an angel or . . . well, any of the usual suspects.
Novels in the revision pile:
* Sabra (NaNo 2006) -- Redlined a hard copy. Need to enter the edits into the file *and* fix the glaring White Room Syndrome.
* Witchy Woman (NaNo 2007) -- First draft is short. Need to add in a subthread, at least one red herring, a lot more specific description of people and places. Also, research. And her name is changing, but I'm not sure to what yet. So developmental edit before redlining.
* Christmas Tree Farm (NaNo 2004) -- My cozy murder mystery. Need to redline this.
* Changeling (NaNo 2003) -- Don't know if I'll ever get around to this. The second half needs to be done over from scratch, replotting and everything. Then I'll have to rewrite the first half to make it the level I'm currently writing at. Then edit the whole thing through to make it even. I don't know that the premise is worth the effort.
Novels in progress:
* Blood Brother -- Isn't this in the short stories category? Yes and no. As it stands, it is 13,500 words. But there are a couple subthreads I chopped out, and more depth could easily be added. I've been hoping to expand this to a full-length novel for a couple of years, but I've never sat down and said, "I'm going to do this now."
* Four Lakes -- Crackle and company. I may get more inspiration on my pet kraken when we head up to Madison at the end of the month. I think a large part of the problem here is that I had someone else as the main character, so I need to rethink and start more or less from scratch.
* Ivory & Bone -- Urban fantasy set in Berkeley. He gets visions; she gets memories of past lives. Both
bonniers and marfisk want me to finish this one up.* Shadowed Sight -- Set in the same world (same city, even) as Blood Brother, but hundreds of years later. Woman from a noble family masquerades as common mercenary.
* Rob & Jeanie -- Almost a superhero book, but more like "the gods walk among us." Well, no, there are heroes, too. Heroes and god-touched and god-kin. In our world. Which is where I ran into trouble because if these people were here all along (and they're not secret about their presence), why would history have developed even remotely as it has?
* Phoenix Anderson -- Middle grade SF because my kids need something to read, too.
Novels begging me to outline them and start writing:
* Mapless country -- MC travels to a country that really doesn't like outsiders. Their control is expressed by the outlawing of maps, restricting outsiders to where the authorities say they can be. But his grandfather arranged a marriage for him here, so the MC goes.
* Temple trilogy -- This has been around 2-1/2 years or so. Temples scattered around the world, major catastrophe occurring, different people have to work together to avert it. But religion has changed in each country since the temples were established, and, each MC sees the others as not just foreigners but also heretics.
Other writing-related projects on the horizon:
* FM workshop -- Grammar and sentence structure, taking place over October and November. Needs to be written by the end of September.
* Business Website revision -- Primarily because I want to add a blog, and the current site structure won't support it. I either need to learn some more CSS and redesign it *or* change the whole site over to something like WordPress. In either case, probably a week or so of concentrated effort.
* Business blog -- Will be an ongoing writing project once I start. Purposes: draw more traffic to my blog, thus pushing it up in search engine rankings; educate others about my form of freelancing; position myself as an expert (and thus able to command higher fees from clients).
* Small reports -- Related to that "educate others" goal. Reports will be combination of material from blog and new material, designed to help others in starting and running freelancing businesses.
It's a lot, and I know it's not all going to happen this year. (I hear one of the reasons for that crying right now.) It's amusing, looking back at the goals I set toward the beginning of the year--back when I thought I wasn't going to put much effort into short stories this year. However, I'm still not giving up on novel work. First, though, I need to get through the current round of paying work. Which is quite a bit.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:31 pm (UTC)I have to admit there are two short stories in the planning stage I forgot to include.
And now there's that new novel that ambushed me yesterday, as well.
But getting this all written down somewhere means I don't have to use my brain to keep track of it, and that means I can actually use the little grey cells to get some work done!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-17 01:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-17 02:10 pm (UTC)I am embarrassed to admit that my short story inventory is two pages long and isn't this detailed. Tells you how much submitting I have not been doing.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:29 pm (UTC)You do have an impressive short story inventory, 'tis true.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 08:16 pm (UTC)I go over mine a couple of times a year, usually. Sometimes three. I've been doing it more often recently while trying to get myself back in gear, but I don't want to make a habit of it -- it starts to feel like the pile is about to topple on me.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-17 02:48 pm (UTC)Suelder
no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:27 pm (UTC)The workshop's going to be done slightly differently than the ones that have been running--I'm going to encourage people to just drop in for the weeks they feel they need to work on. This will save people from being bored. (And incidentally save me from responding to a lot of people who don't really need my help, but that's coincidence. Pure coincidence, I tell you.)
I feel better
Date: 2008-07-17 03:44 pm (UTC)~ Dawn
Re: I feel better
Date: 2008-07-19 06:18 pm (UTC)Re: I feel better
Date: 2008-07-19 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-17 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-18 02:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-19 06:17 pm (UTC)Good luck on finishing up your novel!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-26 09:03 am (UTC)Just wanted to wave hi since I've surfaced from a couple years of under the great stone of life. It's kind of the size of one of the Stonehenge pillars. Lucky I was on smooshy ground when it fell on me. ;)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-28 02:51 pm (UTC)I'm not going to get Mae Nak done and sent. I've spent the last week having a break with my in-laws here, and we're leaving for Madison tomorrow, and the deadline is Thursday. It's a pity because I'd finally gotten it all worked out in my head, and now if I write it, there's no market for it (or no market that won't just see it as "Oh, this was written for the Datlow/Mamatas anthology and didn't make the cut"), so there's no point.
Hugs on the crappy DVD. That does sound annoying.
Extra hugs on the stone of life!