Finishing Bright Angel

Yesterday was a tough day. I wrote with Gwen in the morning and as I had done the last touch-ups on Bright Angel I looked forward to it being pretty straight-forward. Except that I wasn't happy with my last chapter. I struggled and struggled - tried changing a rather mega event (the climax) changed it back. It was the denouement that just wasn't working. The climax was too stunning (if I do say so myself) and the denouement was a lunch-box let down.

Also, and this is understandable but still ... even though I thought I'd thoroughly examined my readiness for a pup, I had forgotten the entire life-changing fact of it. Like having a toddler for the first time (and the second ...etc...) I felt like going out on the back deck and having a smoke and I don't smoke!

In the afternoon after she'd already had three walks (!!) I put her firmly in her crate and went downstairs to tackle the last chapter. It arose perfectly - I changed the time and voila! It is done and I am very happy.
Today, I'm going to send it out to a couple of beta readers (the Tartlette has offered) and see what they say.

In the meantime I'm taking the princess for her second walk of the day (it is 8 AM). Ah well - it is only about six more months. And she is VERY good.

It is cold and damp here and my tomatoes are wondering why I took them out of the nice window and put them in the cold cold ground.

But all must grow and spread and make their own way, n'est pa?

Victoria Day and my dear son Cal's birthday!

Yep, my youngest is 41 today. Hmmm... ah well. Cal is a wonderful quirky individual - in fact, he is the most individual individual that I know! I wish he was here so we could go out for a big feed but alas alack he is in Ottawa where he lives with his lovely gal, Grazie. I hope they are having a swell day and how nice that it is also a holiday! I kind of wish they'd keep Victoria Day to the day which is the 24th but then we wouldn't get long weekends so ...
Just reading that Lincoln (in the fabulous book A Team of Rivals - that the movie Lincoln derived from) was the one who instigated American Thanksgiving. Originally it was up to the governor of each state. So there! Who knows how it got going here in Canada but late November would be far too late for us northerners to have a harvest feast!
When I grew up Victoria Day was also Firecracker Day. Now every day is firecracker day - too bad - things are less fun when relegated to the every day.

Now - what's up with me and writing as this is my Crazy Writing Life? I am nearly finished the latest revision of Bright Angel. As stated, I did it in twenty page heats - which was perfect. I'm on the last thirty pages so a heat and a half. Figure it might be a longer time than the first part as the end is the most ... um ... untogether. Yes. Then I'll figure out where I'm sending it.

June will soon be upon us and that is the month that we Burrowers do our writing marathons.  I have no desire to begin another one - Bright Angel was done in last years  event of BuNoWriMo. So I think I will use the time and help of the others in order to finalize my revision of The Rock Walker - my first mystery. If I get it done to my satisfaction - which would be ready to send out - I'll finish Earth Bound - the second of my Kitty McDonald mysteries and one I wrote the bulk of in my first NaNoWriMo. It is still a dog's dinner and I thought I should never do a fifty tho in thirty day venture again as I cannot seem to PLAN AHEAD but I broke that hex with Bright Angel. I now know the secret - simplify simplify simplify!

And what are your goals for the coming days, weeks, months?

Here's a gratuitous pic of my man and my dog!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reporting in!

Dear Readers,
I feel, finally, like my life has settled down a titch! We have Ms. Bella on a pretty good routine - which starts a little after 5 in the morning and carries on until dark. She spends some chunks of time in her crate which she likes and she has a tonne of lovely chew toys etc ... She gets walked often and has only made a few mistakes in the house (which we must own as she was letting us know!)

The play is done and dusted - the set taken apart and returned to its aggregate parts, the props absorbed back into the homes they arose from - the actors tired and happy - the audience with the briefest memory of a dream in their minds.

And yesterday, dear readers, I entered the SouthWest Writers Contest with a synopsis and my first twenty pages of Bright Angel. I chose to enter it in the YA part although I am still ambivalent about the genre thingy! I'm so glad to have had a reason to do this and as I said the other day, I'm DELIGHTED to have done my synopsis!

As an outcome of this I also had a brilliant flash of insight. I am going to revise twenty pages of Bright Angel at a time - thinking that they will be LOOKED AT and then I'll be done done done. And ready to start submitting to agents and or publishers. Wowza!

Twenty pages is so do-able. I think the thing is in pretty good shape  so it won't be onerous but thinking of it in small bites will make it even easier.

Okay then, how are ya'll?

Shshhhh ... new baby!

This is Bella Bellisimo - our new dear pup. She arrived Monday from Labrador and now she is part of the household. A crazed household - my play opens tomorrow night (one I am directing - I didn't write this one) and I have some sort of revolting cold but I don't give a care! Cuz Bella is here and she's here early - we thought we'd be getting one in June - and she needs our attention - right now!! She's in her little pup tent right now having a wee snooze as I write this. She's pretty easy - slept from 11 until 5:30 this morning - which is wonderful. I slept beside her, on the couch, as she's a bit too wee to be left all alone. We don't have a clue as to what she is - a bit of lab, maybe some collie or shepherd - she looks like all the Irish dogs I saw. Not sure how big she'll get but she is a total love.
Okay - gushing over.
My writing life? Ha!
I will be ready to send a synopsis and the first twenty pages of Bright Angel by the 14th though. The synopsis is done and I'm just pouring over the first twenty pages to make sure it is tight and bright. Then off it goes to the Southwestern Writers' Contest. Yay! I love it when they are old enough to look for work!
That's it for now. Talk to you later ...
Okay - one more photo and that is it!

Reflections on The A to Zed

Well now ... I'm going to be quite honest - I got exactly what I wanted out of the challenge. I got a very few new followers and heard from some folks I haven't before (or some that I heard from last year at this time) but I'm not after followers. I went to some sites that I haven't before and had a boo around and if they seemed like my kinda folk I commented on their posts. I tried to get back to everyone who commented on mine and as most days that was one to five - not an onerous job - but I found that I really wanted was just to visit my circle of pals that are tried and true - some of whom weren't doing the challenge and some who were.

history - I was a big time blogger when I started - posting lots of posts - getting out, entering contests or challenges and then that slowed down last year. I think in the summer of last year I started facebooking more and posting on my blog less. The folks on my fb page could comment easily or just like what I was up to and I could do the same back - it seemed easier and I slipped into it. I made fb my own thing - usually putting up a photo that I had taken and a poem that went with it. I got a terrific response to this and so kept it up. I wrote 60 poems in 60 days while at the same time I was writing the first draft of a novel on the BuNoWriMo. I was on the web everyday but not on this site or my other Living the Complicated Simple Life much.

life - We sold our house in August last year and between then and now I've moved three times. I've packed up, filled out postal forms, cleaned fridges and stoves, gotten rid of heaps of stuff and man oh man am I beat. My partner had to have an operation after our last move into this house (our old crapoid place) and our dear dear dog got sick and had to be euthanized. I got involved in the small village near this place and now I am part of the Sisters in Stitchery, directing a play at the church hall and sitting as vice-chair on the residents' association. We're fixing up this house as best we can as we want to sell it after a year and build a house on a property in the village we've bought. My practice (of psychotherapy) is still a going concern (good thing - it is my retirement plan) and I'm on one of my near last revisions of Bright Angel.  I did a course in poetry at the university and I now have nine poems out looking for homes and more to send. I have a garden to put in and a course to design. I have a step-dot who is finishing high school and a new dog on the horizon. I guess the only thing I don't have is chickens anymore and really they were easy to take care of!

wrap-up - I liked the A to Zed. It was my third year of doing it and while I don't seem to go after the same things as many folks (increased readership etc ...) I get something great out of it. And what is that? Help with my discipline. If I tell Alex and Lee and the gang that I'm going to write a post a day - I will do it. I'm like that. It is the   Daddio in me (when the going gets tough the tough get going AND Never be a quitter) . When I'm diving down into a word to write a small story or poem it is a refreshing break from revising. When I get a message from Margot (bless you bless you bless you) or hear that my sister has been reading every day (my dear dear lurking sis) it picks me up - I do like it - but the writing has to be sufficient onto itself.

So thanks all you tireless organizers of the A to Zed! I know how much work this must be and I am glad that I'm allowed to do it in my own fashion. I have the seeds of several stories sticking out little tendrils and I will see if they are ready for a bigger pot!