Poking a Jellyfish with a Stick... And Hoping not to Get Stung

It seems I'm having a few problems this week getting the process going. I'm currently editing two stories concurrently (try saying that three times fast....), mostly because I figure that when I hit a roadblock on one, I can do something with the other.

This is, of course not always the case, but it does seem to be working for now.

The problem is that I'm finding myself leaning more towards the one that reads more easily than the other that needs more work. The one that needs more work needs almost a full re-write. The story just doesn't work as is. The characters are flat, the story comes to it's conclusion far too quickly, and like Pandora's Box, having unlocked the endgame, it's proving hard to stuff the crap back in there to make the darn thing work. The easy one, I'm finding I'm just skimming along. Occasionally, I hit some little thing, make a note about it and move on. Easy as pie. I can almost see the end from here (although I know I'll be telling myself to "work on this").

I just end up feeling guilty because, like last week, I spend the larger part of my time reading the good one -- ten, twenty pages at a time --, while I'm doing maybe a page a week for rewrites of the other. But, at the same time, it's hard for me to balance that out more. I just don't know, right now, how to fix the story that needs work.

Ugh. Well, I'll take the blessings with the burdens. Hopefully, by the time I've sorted the edits on the easier story, I can come back to the harder one with renewed purpose.

But, does anyone have any advice?

Butt-in-chair method has gotten all of the stories I've written thus far (4!) together, and while editing is always slow, I've been pretty fortunate that the one that's got me stumped has been the only one with the problems I'm having. Along with everything else -- shaky plot, faded characters, hard-to-work with character with perhaps too unique a problem for my writing ability -- I'm also having Pre-mature Ending Syndrome. I feel like I've stumbled over this ending and found "Surprise! You've got nothing else here!"

And it's got me scratching my head, looking at a re-write. Maybe the sea monsters came in over night and stole the rest of the book. Things go missing, perhaps it was the kelpie. Who knows?

So, come on people. The floor is yours. What should I do? Keep on keeping on with the one that works and set this aside? Or should I set aside the easy path? Is there a real compromise between the two that can be had? I'd appreciate any and all feedback.

Undercover Writers

Do you know any undercover writers? I'm going to bet you do. You're probably one of them yourself. Someone who, like me, not only has a day job, but a day job that has very little to do with writing or the genres they love. People who write over their lunch or late at night, people guiltily scribbling away during meetings and never taking "notes."

Have you ever noticed that when you catch some one (or are caught yourself) just how many other people out themselves around you as someone who does the same?

It's funny, really.

And encouraging.

Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum

On topic with a post I wrote for Not So Solitary, a trip to the bookstore a few weeks ago provided me with a myriad of new reading options playing off of the world, characters, and life of Jane Austen, up to and including a book where Jane is residing in modern times -- as a vampire. We'll see how that one turns out.

I am currently about half way through the madness and mayhem of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. And I'm enjoying the trip.

I picked it up after having enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

And Zombies??? You ask. Yes, and Zombies. And Ninjas, too.

I enjoyed it so much that when Quirk Books released Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I figured, Heck, why not.

They aren't written by the same author, but both are irreverent takes on classic books, which, in my mind really only heightens the enjoyment. I love recognizing things you liked about the original story combined with something completely different.

Makes me wish I'd thought of it first.

Books I should not be allowed to read on the Tube...

I read about a book a week on my daily commute to/from work in London. My commute isn't that long (about 45 minutes), but it gives me some vital time to just relax and read a book. I am thankfully not blessed with a Blackberry, laptop or any other electronic shackles. I'm able to just be in my own world for 45 minutes (each way) everyday. Lovely.

As a result, I get through a fair few books.

Generally, I read across varied genres (mostly fiction) and lately I've been on a YA kick. I just finished the fabulous Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (more on this in another post, I suspect) and picked up Gayle Forman's If I Stay. I'm only about one hundred and fifty pages into this book, but already I can tell this is really not a book suitable for commuting. The book is about a teenage girl and her family who go off one snowy morning to visit friends. Along the way, their car is hit by a truck. Most of the family is killed instantly, but the girl lingers on in a coma and she has to make the choice do I join my family? Or Do I stay? What is there to stay for? The book is brilliantly written and moving, but I can constantly feel the threat of tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. I've sobbed over a fair few NFC (Not for Commuting) books before like The Book Thief (I cried and sniffled to the point of embarassment). I love books that make me feel deeply-- but I also know that they are not the best ways to begin my day (or end it). While I only have around 100 pages of If I Stay left, I'm hoping to finish it this weekend-- because I'm pretty sure starting my Monday morning sobbing is not the best omen for this week.

What about you? Have you read any books that have made you cry while commuting, on a plane, train or bus?

The Drama of Masterpiece Classic....

I just want to share, this amused the hell out of me:

So for the last many months, I've been recording Masterpiece Theater for my Saturday and Sunday morning watching. And this is the second time I've captured 39 Steps.

This is also the second time I've captured the public television telethon. And even though the lady says: "It's so rare that we do this. We're interrupting Masterpiece Classic this one time...," this is the second time I've seen this movie with the telethon interruptions and the only two times I've seen the telethon in the last while (it's been some years now... I suppose I just keep missing it). I had to watch the end last time on the internet because my recording was only for the usual length of the program time (and this time too) and telethons double it.

I know I should just delete it but it's a good movie... so I'm watching it again....

Silly woman....

53 Stitches at a Time

One of my (many) hobbies is knitting. Right now, it's the only one other than writing that I'm consistent about (with the possible exception of singing, although I don't think I can count "in the shower" or "with the radio" as practice, even if those are the only places I perform in these days). And that's because I can do it on my commute to my day job.

The project I'm working on right now, I'm getting in about 53 stitches at a time when I sit down. Which would be great, except that for what I'm working on each row is 103 stitches. And the pattern involves 7 repeats of 72 rows, two sets of 12 rows, and one set of 41 rows. Before placing it into this context, I thought that I was doing pretty good.

At this rate, I'll be lucky to have it done for Christmas, let alone Mother's Day (sorry, Mom!)....

I need a little more time and a few less hobbies (don't get me started about the list of "hobbies" I fuss with)... ;)

But really, it is the story of my life. In the last few years I've gotten a lot better about my writing my putting it into a "small, regular goals reap large, long-term rewards" format. But, it can be a little disheartening to see a couple hundred words, knowing that to get to a full novel you need to get near 50,000 words.

But, everyone needs to start somewhere. And every project needs to start somewhere. Who knows, I've picked up the pace writing before, maybe I'll get faster with the fine yarn and tiny needles.

I'm sure as heck not giving up yet. (This pattern is way too pretty to give up on!)

*Pattern is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders.

Don't ask me. I'm new here...

I'm relatively new to the blogging game. I really don't have anything I can teach or preach about. I'm just me: Angel. And, I'm still too new at this. I like to write -- fiction. But, I'm not a professional writer. And, right now, I'm not likely to be one. I write because I enjoy it. Not because it's going to make me rich or famous.

I'm not particularly literary. In fact, I've had a teacher despair that I'm “too clinical” for fiction writing, while a professor of biology claimed I was “too emotional” for science.

Well, that's fine. Because I'm not here as a professional. I'm here because I'm looking to share: Anecdotes, random stories. Thoughts on a book I've read. Really, that's all I've got. And that's not a voice of a teacher. That's the voice of a friend, talking to you about what she's got going on. And hopefully, it's enough. Because that's what I have for you. My unprofessional, random thoughts.

I just hope you don't mind hanging around and letting me know a little about you and your random-and-professional-or-unprofessional thoughts. Talk with us. We'd be happy to hear from you.