writing

Making plans

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

So after some conversations with friends and family and the (far) looming date of Nanowrimo, I’ve made some decisions and deadlines.

First I need to finish the current story I’m working on (and not get immediately distracted by another). I’ve no idea how long that’s going to take, but hopefully not all summer 🙂

After I finish that story, I’m going to work on CL, because it’s long overdue. My plan is to get it finished before November. Finished enough to be submitted somewhere, now that I know more about the major works that need to be done to it.

And that’ll leave November open to writing 50,000 words on a new story.

So…that’s that.

Good luck!

ETA: I forgot to mention that I’m going to take a month–at some point–to only read non-romance novels. Depending on how it goes will determine if I continue it (and slowly re-include romance novels) or just admit to myself that I’ll be reading fluff for the rest of my days :). I’m compiling a list, so we’ll see how that goes.

Is it any good?

/ Alex Whitehall / 4 Comments

As you may know, I tend to have difficulties focusing on one story that I’m writing, which is fine, as it lets me jump heads from my insecure, modern-day PR person to my apocalyptic, self-secure wizard. (Those being my two main stories at the moment. The trans-man story may not go anywhere, as ze is being very difficult.) This is, of course, because I get inspired by something, bored by what I’m writing, etcetera. My muses are fairly active, even if they do tend to only do half their job (“OH, HEY, LOOK, AN IDEA. Plot? You’re on your own sweetheart.”) I have a notebook of jotted down ideas that will one day, hopefully, be written.

But are they any good?

I try not to think of my books in any particular genre, because I think good books transcend genres and should be judged as just being good books. However, my books would most likely be tagged as M/M romance (and that’s who I’ll sell to, when I get there). The romance genre never had a great rep, and the same holds true for its gay brethren. However, the romance (M/M in particular) doesn’t have to be what a romance is. If that made any sense. Ignoring the influx of bad writing that e-books permits, there is a wide range of M/M romance, some of which probably shouldn’t be considered romance. If you consider something like Aleksandr Voinov’s Scorpion to ZA Maxfield’s All Stirred Up, the only thing they have in common is that they have two men as the leads and sex happens between those two men. All Stirred Up is a more traditional romance or chicklit, while Scorpion reads more like a military fantasy novel. And yet they are both “M/M Romance” and sold by companies that sell M/M romances. But Scorpion would probably never (currently) be sold as a fantasy novel, because it contains *gasp* gay sex. Yet there are plenty of other fantasy novels that contain sex, a romance thread, and are not shelved as a romance.

I apologize, I’ve gotten terribly off topic. That was a rant about how because there are gay characters, the books tend to be lumped together as M/M romance because currently there are no other outlets for gay fantasy novels.

My real reason for writing is that I’m currently reading Scorpion with its deep plot and dark environment and all I can think is, “My stuff seems so trite next to this.” This happens often when I read an M/M romance book that is more than its genre. Books like Amy Lane’s Truth in the Dark, Aleksandr Voinov’s Scorpion, and Tamara Allen’s Whistling in the Dark. Yes, some of these books have strong romantic plot lines, but they are so much more than just a beach read that is the stigma of romance novels. Anyways, I read these and then I look at my own pitiful attempts and I go “why bother?”

Of course, the reason I bother (and rip my hair out, and exhaust myself and schedule time to write) is because I enjoy it. And it shuts the voices up (at least a little). But part of me still wonders why I can’t write books that transcend the genre. Do I write romance books because of my own unfulfilled romantic life? Do I not have deeper and darker books in me because I have such a happy life and am incapable of dreaming of darker things? Am I just meant to be a hack writer, putting out tawdry (or not so tawdry) romances?

Does it matter?

I write because stories I like writing and I have ideas. I can’t imagine not writing, although plenty of people don’t write ever. Of course part of me would love for my writing to be recognized by the outside world and published and maybe even, you know, read by an audience. So it shouldn’t matter what I write, as long as I am happy and my audience is happy. But that doesn’t make the yearning to write a darker piece any less irritating.

But maybe I’ll write a deeper piece without meaning to, and someone else will write a blog entry just like this using my story as an example.

I can only hope 🙂

Monday after Easter

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

Last week was exceptionally stressful, so I took today off, because yesterday, despite feeling miserable, I went with my family to visit my Grandmother. While I know my mother appreciated my efforts, I don’t think she understands how wretched I felt the whole time and I will never feel guilted into going again. Or at least not for a while.

And I finally used a Christmas gift card I had to Dover Saddlery to buy breeches, gloves and a fly mask. Sure it was a late Christmas present 😀

Quick update on new year’s resolutions: I meditate every week still, but my slouching efforts have been slightly forgotten. I’m doing good on the reading, for the most part, though my reading amounts have plummeted. Partly due to riding starting up again and partly due to my Netflix account.

In the writing arena, I’ve stopped making huge progress on my current WIP, which makes me sad and I wonder the reality of writing 5,000 words a week still for it, because I’d like to get it done. For CL, I did some clock research, because I’d like to work some more technical aspects in while I make changes to other elements of the story. But that’s been put to the side for the most part too, and I’m guessing I’m going to have to give myself deadlines again in order to get my butt in gear.

In two unrelated notes, I’ve been working out more recently and I’m contemplating getting a hysterectomy. That’s still just in the brain-considering phase though, since it’s obviously something I wouldn’t want to rush into. I just see no need for that particular organ as it causes me nothing but distress.

Now to spend my day off going for a run, writing, and reading. And if I want a downer, my current Netflix movie is Angels in America @.@.

Looking to the future…and the past

/ Alex Whitehall / 4 Comments

Every time I’ve been asked, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I just stare at the asker, sort of stumped. It’s not that I’m a forward thinker, but I’m content with where I am. With what I’m doing. Thinking so far ahead makes me feel like I’m unhappy with where I am, which in turn normally makes me unhappy. I have long-term goals, but nothing concrete. They’ll come when I am ready for them to come.

Well, I’m ready, I guess 🙂

I have a two-year plan that by the time I’m 30 I’ll have at least one book published (not self published). Maybe not a big deal since I already have some books done, but then I read blogs from authors and I figure giving some flex might be nice. It’s going along with the overall plan of writing more.

Unrelated:

This weekend was an anime convention, which was fun, but had been sucking up all my time getting a costume ready for it. Today I rested, finished reading The Cat in the Cradle by Jay Bell, and slept a lot, plus worked hard to get stuff done around my apartment that had been pushed to the back burner. Breathing was nice.

I look forward to returning to the writing regime now that cosplay stuff is done. It also got me thinking about convention stuff and putting my money into it and everything. I don’t think I can actually stop going, because it’d be kind of antisocial of me, but I’m rethinking cosplay. It’s costly, stresses me out, and distracts me from other things I could be doing. Like writing.

It’s just hard, because I can talk to my friends about cosplay progression, but often talking about writing, when it happens, doesn’t provoke much discussion. While my friends support me, they aren’t really interested in it. Sometimes I feel my group of friends (myself included) are very self-focused people. We talk and have fun, but we never really listen to what the others are saying. It’s not bad and rude or anything, but sometimes it’s tiring. And it’s hard having different interests than them sometimes. I’m not a big talker to begin with. Thankfully my brother is a surprisingly awesome listener!

Have I mentioned that I have a tumblr account that posts creative jumping off points?

Snow up to Here

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Here in PA we’re getting the largest storm of the season so far, at least it looks to turn out that way if the snow we’re expected to get tonight amounts closer to the 8 inch mark. So my normal Wednesday activities are canceled (aside from work, of course), leaving me two extra hours to “get stuff done.” On schedule? My computer, editing CL, and washing my dishes (does it ever end?). The exciting life.

My computer (aka, the desktop) was very sick. So I reinstalled Vista (business) from my friend’s disk, but because it just “wrote over” what was already there, saved some old files, and didn’t remove my partition, the virus (who is a sneaky duck) remained. Yesterday my friend came over to remove the partition (thus wiping the harddrive) and installed Vista (home premium) for me (legit version, since I’ve got a product key). She seems better now, and I’ve begun re-installing all those lovely programs I had before. I get to re-install more tonight. It doesn’t even bother me, as long as everything is virus-free.

Editing is going well for CL! I’m up to page 113 of 158, and I don’t think it sucks. It might not be brilliant, but I think I’ll be okay with handing it off to my three betas for whatever horrors they’d like to report back. I plan to get it to them at the end of the month. They’ll get it back to me when they do (hopefully no later than March 15, but I’m not putting time limits on them). I’ve begun compiling lists of publishers (do they take simultaneous submissions? do they list standard contract rates? do they give time lines?) and it gives me squirmies in my stomach. Thankfully once I send CL off, I’ll have to wait a minimum of 2-4 weeks (more likely a minimum of 4) before I hear anything. That’s a month of freedom. (Well, sorta freedom since I have stories waiting to be written, glaring at me from my flash drives.)

You don’t need to hear about my dishes.

Also, on one of my various other communications, you may have heard I’m having stomach troubles. It’s been going on for the last week and is a serious annoyance. I can eat, but some things set it off, but not every day. Monday I felt back to normal, but then halfway through Tuesday, my stomach did it’s rumbling and my throat clenched up and UHG, it was back. Again, this is just a minor inconvenience (and I think I had similar problems in high school). But I’m pretty certain it’s not contagious, so no worries.

Finally, I’m thinking of signing up for some writing classes at the local community college, if they offer them next semester. I think it’d be a good idea to get more consistent feedback and forced to write outside my comfort zone a bit. Or maybe see if there is a “writing circle” in the area (very much doubt it). I don’t want my skills to become stagnant! (ETA: When I got home there was information on the next semester and there is a “Creative Writing Sampler,” which is $99. My only fear is that it’s going to be too remedial, but how pompous is that?)

…and really finally, this time: Patric Michael, an M/M romance author, recently fought off cancer, a really rare lymphatic type. Wishing on a Blue Star was going to be a memorial book for him, but is now a celebration of him and his strength. You can find it for free at Dreamspinner Press. I’ve just started reading it and will post a review when I’m finished.

Noveling update

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

Update on my novel:

As you may recall, the end of February is supposed to mark the completion of my edits and the beginning of preparations to send it off for publication. While I am sticking to this, I am also warning that I’m permitting slight flexibility because of my recent computer problems. I still hope to finish by the end of February, but I’ll be giving myself a day or two flex because of January’s unforeseen events.

I’m currently on page 20 of 158. Some days get more editing done than others, and some days I’m tempted to trash the whole thing. It’s very frustrating at the moment. In addition, I’ll be rebuilding my desktop computer from the ground up, which is loads of fun. So looking forward to it.

Also, I’d love to have people who’d be willing to read through it and tell me (mostly plot wise) if things are good (or should I just give up [not that I’ll listen to that, necessarily]). Drop me a message if you’re interested. I won’t be upset if you start reading and don’t finish, especially if it’s that bad, or in revenge for me doing something similar to you (just tell me which).

On Reading

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A recent author inquired (I can’t find the post) if we (as readers) are annoyed when a writer (like she does) jumps around in sub-genre. Do we want an author who writes consistently or who writes whatever he/she wants? (Not that these can’t be one and the same.)

Personally, I like both and said as much, but I thought I’d explore that a little more in depth.

When I’m in the mood for a certain type of book, I rarely start a new one because I don’t know what that book will give me, in most cases. In some instances (such as with Andrew Grey), I can be fairly certain I know what I’m getting, especially if it’s his Farm series. But for the most part, I prefer to go into a book only knowing the barest of details and with minimal expectations.

This usually works. Assuming my expectations are always set at 3 (for acceptable writing, plot, characters), most books meet it, some go above it, a few go below it. My only real requirement is I’m a huge fan of happy ever after (HEA), or potential happy endings. (Life sucks enough, I don’t need to be heart broken after reading.) If a book is good enough (as judged via reviews on GoodReads), I’ll risk the non-HEA. (Side note, I recently got the two books in the Infected series by Andrea Speed. I’ve heard the ending is not so HEA, which worries me, but I’ve otherwise heard good things.)

So I start new books without needing anything from them except basic good book protocols. If I need something, I go to something I’ve already read, because I know the emotions it evokes (or the events that occur to satisfy that need). I don’t want the author to feel trapped in a writing style, and I think I’d become bored if I kept reading the same book over and over again in slightly different plots. And yet…

And yet I read every book of Grey’s Farm series and am chomping to read the next one. Why?

Aside from my insane need to buy books (I just picked up Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, first of the series [and I think what the show is based on] at Good Will for $.25), I’m attached to the characters we’ve been introduced to and look forward to hearing more about them. In addition, Grey is very good at giving exactly what he gave in the previous four books in a way that’s just different enough (for me, at least). Okay, when I read three of them in a row, it probably wasn’t a good idea (I get a little sour on things), but I still read and enjoyed them. It’s like eating chicken every Monday. Sounds boring, right? But it isn’t just plain chicken. It could be chicken parm, chicken in white sauce on shells, chicken sandwiches…you get the idea. That’s how Grey’s Farm series feels to me.

So why am I chomping at the bit to read the next of Grey’s books (Love Means … No Fear, fyi) and not just reading it?

Well, for one I want to finish the book I’m reading (The Lexicographer’s Dilemma, the review should be up by end of the week), two I shouldn’t be buying more books (I have over 20 that I already own that should be read), and three, even if I’m really in the mood for one of his books (aka, something with emotional struggle that has a HEA), I can’t really excuse buying his new one when I have four others that would work, plus a kindle full of other stories that match that description. But damn you, Grey, I still want to buy it.

Okay, so this wasn’t really about reading, it was about me resisting the temptation that is an author who produces cookie cutter books (I mean this in a good way, not a bad way). But to make it less off topic, what do you do? Do you like your favorite authors to surprise you? Or do you want what they write to be what they always write?

Question:

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

Who do you write for?

I ask because authors always say to “write for yourself” and not your audience, which seems like sound advice. Lately, and this may be incited by my blues, I haven’t felt like I’m writing for myself. I’ve been writing more out of habit than passion. I’m not writing for an audience, since I don’t have one, but when I do write I can’t help but think “What will my audience think of this?” Is that wrong?

I also want to broaden my reading shelf. Lately all I’ve been reading is M/M romance, which is good and all, but I think it’s killed my creativity. Or at least tied it up and shoved pillows in its face. I used to write stories that didn’t involve romance at all, but now there is always at least a romantic plot line. What happened to me?

(I, of course, have theories on the matter: Because I’m single and rather happy with the rest of my life and romance is the one thing I’m missing, that is what I tend to focus on and want happy endings for. Also, I think I write what I read.)

What’s one book that you think is an absolute MUST read that doesn’t involve/focus on a romantic relationship? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I won’t be a downer, but…

/ Alex Whitehall / 5 Comments

This week has been difficult for me. I’m not sure if it’s the lessening sunlight hours, the cold, or what, but I’ve been very blue. When I’m focused on something (reading, exercising, putting up my Solstice tree), I’m okay, cheerful even. But if I sit and think, or sit to write, I become rather maudlin. I’m trying to ignore it (the whole logic of “If you smile, it makes you happy”), but sometimes it’s more difficult than others.

So, to say the least, my writing has been stilted. I get a few words out at work, but nothing much. Frustrating. In addition, I keep thinking over the novel I finished and I am terrified of going back to it in January. The more I think on it, the more I think it’s no good at all, and I question if I want it associated with my pen name. I’m hoping when I go back to read it, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. But I suppose my confidence in my writing is a little lacking.

On the other hand, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. Possibly too much. I have a document full of reviews to post, many of which are shorter than I normally would deem acceptable. But in a week and a half I read almost two complete series (I’m working on finishing the one, and the other I’m holding off, because I enjoy it and want to reward myself at some later date). Maybe if I post some of the reviews I’ll feel less overwhelmed.

My netbook is still broken and my monitor may or may not be glitching. It could just be my brain being tired. I’m not sure which, but if my monitor breaks, I may just throw a tantrum. I think it’d be good to relieve some of the pressure in my skull.

To keep from being too depressing, I’ll end on some of the more positive things in life.

I’ve been riding on weekends still, all bundled up. I really hate the cold, but its a little bearable on the back of a horse. There is Christmas Caroling on Horseback this Sunday, which is always fun and spirited.

I’m mostly done my holiday shopping. Technically I have some small things I should buy to even out the expenses, but I’m done all my major purchases. Which is good because my credit card is worn out. (Look a joke!) I really had fun doing my shopping this year, and I’m a little sad it’s done, because it was keeping me in the spirit of things.

I think that’s it. Unless something interesting happens, I probably won’t post again until after Christmas.

Oh! One last thing: I’m considering taking up the habits of a fellow blogger and doing a list of improvements to work on over the year. We’ll see how I feel about it in four weeks.

November Novel Update

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

You may have noticed my plan to post every week with updates on how I was doing fell through. You may be concerned, since it’s now the last day of November and that means my novel should be done. Is it?

Yes. Yes in the way that it is over 70,000 words and 35 chapters and isn’t missing any vital bits from A to Z except a few chapter titles. Of course now it requires editing with a sword (and then a butcher knife and then a paring knife). So YAY!!!

As you may recall, I’ll be taking December off to regroup (and give myself some distance) before beginning to edit in January. I figured December would be too busy anyway. Plus this will let me play with some of the ideas that thrust themselves upon me while I was diligently working on my Nano project.

I wish I could sit back and relax. But you know me.