Oh God, my head hurts.

*whines* Pain killers have been taken but argh. I hate hiccups, especially when they last half an hour or more and I hold my breath and nothing stops them and I KNOW they’ll come back later and agh. Headache from all the fighting with hiccups.

But writing has happened. The first chapter of Artifacts of Awareness is now two chapters, both completed. Chapter 2 has been split in half as well (and all the rest of the chapters will probably go the same way) so that’s good. Haven’t done much with it but, well, hiccups and headaches.

*grumbles*

The hubby is sick so I’m expecting no writing time or private time, really, when I get home. Thus the early post wrapping up today. *shrugs*

*goes back to moping about the headache / hiccups in the last few minutes before going home*

:D

I just finished the edits to Chapters 11-20 of Secrets of the Artificer Mages! *cheers*

I have to say I really like my new editor a lot. She has a much lighter hand and she’s much more encouraging than my last one. It’s nice to have someone read my stuff and make constructive suggestions instead of just tearing it apart.

This means I’m nearly halfway done. Chapters 21-44 are left to go. Hopefully I’ll get them soon. I’d love to have this thing published before June. :|

Now it’s time to go get lunch, start a pot of spaghetti sauce and contemplate finishing off the next Muirin short story.

Whoo!

Nerves about a book being approved for POD apparently is good for my writing.

I got three chapters done on Fitting In today, including one that was almost entirely new.

I’m really happy with the progress so far but I do think that I’ve got a ways to go before I’m where I want to be on the story. I really, really, really hope I can get it done in time for my planned release date at the end of March. January went much faster than expected. :|

It looks like February is going to be equally busy, too. I’ve got a major (4-day) audit at work next week plus a class to teach one day the next week plus another audit that week, plus I should be getting  more edits on Secrets of the Artificer Mages this weekend.

It never rains but it pours, I swear.

Anyway, I’m off to make dinner. May get back on tonight or may not. I don’t know.

*waves and scampers off*

Done. Finally.

The edits to Chapters 6-10 of Secrets of the Artificer Mages are done. I have informed my new editor that I’m ready for more. (Ready being a relative term given them I’m exhausted right now.)

My new kneeling chair is awesome and my legs, backs and shoulders hate it. HAAAAAAATE it! They have to work instead of just slouching and lying there passively. It’s good for me but boy oh boy am I looking forward to a hot bath later tonight.

For now I’m off to make dinner and listen to The Dark Knight rises in the living room (as the hubby’s watching it).

See you guys later!

Yay!

My new editor seems quite nice. :D

I haven’t gotten her edits on Chapter 11 yet but she actually replies to emails and gives concrete things she wants done!

This is golden compared to how I interacted with my last editor. He frustrated me so darn bad sometimes with the lack of communication.

Granted, I still have five chapters of edits to complete before I’m ready for her edits but I’m hopeful that things will finally get going again.

Secrets of the Artificer Mages may yet be published (before I’m old and gray)!

…now if I can just get its sequel finished. *sigh!*

:D

Progress is being made! *cheers*

I’m up to Chapter 15 on Fitting In.  Mind, I only had 16 chapters in the second draft so just to give perspective I’m about halfway through the story now.

*laughs ruefully*

I’m going to add two completely new chapters because my beta (very, very rightfully) pointed out in a very clear fashion that I ah, shortchanged the romance in my romance novel. #^^#

So there’s going to be flirting between Ynes and Cadfael while Anwyn plays with the kids and then Ynes tries to step aside so that Cadfael and Macario can get together.

And then there’s going to be a second brand-new chapter where Macario tries to do the same thing. *grin* Because neither of them have heard of the concept “threesome”, sadly. Which doesn’t mean that I’m not heading that direction, thank you.

Haven’t heard back from my editor on Secrets with more line edits but hopefully soon. *sighs*

AND! The first box of two (don’t ask—ordering the books got complicated) with the books for the Special Edition of The City of the Ladies should (UPS willing) be here tomorrow. *kermit flailing and cheering*

Other than that, life is boring and I wish this week was over so that I could get to my week and a half off work. *pines*

Goodnight everyone!

Time to get off the computer.

Later than normal due to the hubby hogging the bathtub (and totally falling asleep while in the bath—I heard that snoring!) but hey, that’s life.

Managed to get another chapter of Fitting In done, bringing it up to 71,000 words. The next few chapters should be critical. I need to expand dramatically and slow down a lot because I sort of skipped all the relationship development that are the point of the story. Still, I’m happy with the changes so far. It’s going to be much more solid.

I never thought that I’d have this much fun editing a story. Frankly, all the fun previously to selling Secrets was in the first draft. Now I’m learning just how much fun it is fleshing out that first draft into something better and it’s a blast. :D

Anyway!

I also emailed my editor to let him know that I finished the chapters I’d gotten so far. Hopefully he’ll get more a few more chapters of Secrets so we can keep the momentum going, even if I will flail and scream at some of his comments. Can’t be helped. That’s just how I react, I think.

On the Special Edition: The books have yet to be produced so they obviously haven’t shipped. :| You would not believe how twitchy I am to send them out to everyone! But I do have the padded envelopes so progress is still being made as I wait. *sighs and taps fingers* Want to finish the special edition….!

*wry smile*

Still, it’s time to get off the computer for me. Goodnight everyone!

Getting off the computer for the night

I’m pretty satisfied with my writing progress for the day. I mean, I really would have liked to get another chapter of Fitting In done but hey, I got one. That’s good. (Still wanted to get a second one done).

I finished all five chapters of Secrets of the Artificer Mage that I’ve gotten so far. Screamed a little at some of the comments my editor made (seriously, you ASKED for this bit of background! Why are you objecting to it now that it’s there? *flail*) but I got it done and I’m happy with the final version of those chapters.

Is it perfect? Certainly not!

Is it worth putting even more time and effort into the polishing? No. No, it’s not.

I think Secrets is hitting that point at which I have to say ‘this is good enough, it’s as good as I can make it at this point in time even if I will cringe over it in a year or two or even six months from now’.

So be it.

That said, I am still learning things about my writing style as I do the edits so it’s all good. I have a bad tendency towards what I call weasel words (nearly, almost, maybe, a little bit, stuff like that peppered through the text). I didn’t realize that I also have the tendency to bury the emotional impact of a paragraph in the middle instead of having it at the beginning or end of the chunk of text.

Enlightening, to say the least.

Tomorrow won’t be a good writing day, sadly. It’s Winter Ceremony at the Shinto Shrine that my hubby and I go to (and we’ve not been since… Summer Ceremony? I think? #^^# Months, anyway) so we’re going to that. Afterwards I’ve got grocery shopping, always fun. Not.

But he does have Kendo and Iaido class tomorrow evening so hopefully my brain will be functioning well enough for me to get some writing done after he leaves.

I’d really like to finish the latest draft of Fitting In this month so that I can have another beta read, fix the finds there and then have someone proofread it early in 2013. The sooner its out the happier I will be.

So! That was a ramble. *laughs*

Off to bath and then bed for me—Goodnight everyone!

*cheers… very tiredly*

The editing is done!

For now, anyway.

Chapters 1-5 of Secrets of the Artificer Mages have been edited and are ready to go to the proof reading stage. Not that I’m going to send them right away because its supposed to go as one complete documents, but hey.

Five chapters done! :D

Now I get to go make chicken soup with tons of chicken for chicken and dumplings tonight.

And then I’ll go do more writing on Fitting In. Or more IDIAFY. Or just veg for a bit or something.

Editing really is hard work, especially when you know its for someone else. :|

Yes, I’m back.

Because I swear, the fucking comments are going to kill me.

*Screams for a little while*

*breathes*

Okay, back to work. Just needed a sanity break there. Three chapters down, two to go.

*gets back off Tumblr*

I’m shutting Tumblr off.

I need to get to work on line edits on Secrets of the Artificer Mages and Tumblr is being too enticing.

*pets Tumblr*

So I’m shutting it off and getting to work.

I hope to finish line edits on the first five chapters today, tomorrow at the latest, but we’ll see.

*whines*

Rather stay….. *wibble*

Nope, off I go!

:D

Progress is being made on the writing front! *cheers*

I just finished editing chapter 11 of Fitting In (formerly the first half of Chapter 6). I am now up to 67,356 words. Given that I started with 16 chapters, I do think there’s a high likelihood that Fitting In will end up being about 100K words.

Not too shabby all things considered. The very first draft of it was under 3K words. XD

Tomorrow I start the line edits for Secrets of the Artificer Mages. I have my editor’s mark ups for chapter 1-5 and I hope to get more in the next day or two. If I’m good and don’t procrastinate, I should be able to get the line edits on the chapters I already have by Monday.

So, you know, if you see me all over Tumblr tomorrow and Sunday do poke me. This really needs to get done.

Better still, I got a bonus at work! *cheers and flails like Kermit* It was even a decent one, good enough that I can maybe buy a tiny doll body AND sign up for a writing class I wanted to take AND get my own ISBN numbers. Seriously, I was stunned at how good it was. 8D

Still need a fucking raise after a decade of not keeping up with inflation but hey, that’s part of why I’ve started self publishing my writing. My job’s going to be at truly unlivable wages in the next three years. I need SOMETHING else to support my ass. >:( Might as well be something I enjoy and writing is definitely that.

I’d really love to spend several hours writing tonight, doing new things and working on fanfic as well as original fic but I know I can’t. I’m freezing for one and desperately in need of a bath. Plus the hubby is totally exhausted (56 hour work week for him this week for the umpteenth time since September) so I can’t let him stay up late or he’ll be a zombie all weekend.

FINAL REMINDER FOR THE DAY!

The Special Edition of The City of the Ladies closes tomorrow at 5:00 pm PST! Get it while you can! (though I do have a question I’ll post separately in a moment)

And now I’m going to do one last thing and get off the internet.

Goodnight Everyone! *hugs everyone*

:)

Well, despite missing reviews (one I knew about and a second that Amazon never approved to show), this evening hasn’t been all that bad.

1) I heard back from my Editor at FFP and I have the first three chapters of Secrets of the Artificer Mages to edit out. \o/ We’re finally at the line edits, the sort of editing I’m used to! (took long enough)

2) Christmas presents for the family have been ordered over the internet (since they all live far away). We’re $200 more broke than we were but hey, it’s family.

3) I’ve finished Chapter 7 of Fitting In and overall I’ve added nearly 12,000 words now. Really happy with the changes so far! :D

4) I’ve got 10 Special Editions confirmed so far, with payment for all but two of them. *cheers and flails in delight* Do remember that the ordering period stays open until Saturday at 5:00pm Pacific Standard Time so if you’re working on scraping up funds there’s still time. I mean, selling 10 is incredible but I’d love to send them to everyone who wants them. :D

5)…Hmm, I really don’t have a five, other than I’m happy to be home and about to go have a nice hot bath. *laughs*

So goodnight everyone! Hope you all had good days and that tomorrow’s good to you! *hugs everyone everywhere*

\o/ \o/ \o/

I finished the third draft of Secrets of the Artificer Mages!

*throws confetti!*

With this draft I’ve taken it from 101,000 words up to 164,689 words.

There is SO MUCH NEW STUFF in this story now! I reworked the whole beginning of the story, added some magical rape themes that will probably upset some readers and which sort of squicked me out to write (that was deliberate), totally reworked the ending, added a new chapter full of world building for Takeo and just generally improved the heck out of the story.

Now it goes back to my editor for line edits to catch any mistakes I made, to improve the grammar and flow and it’ll be done-done.

I’m so looking forward to this thing being done!

Just had to share the glee. :D

Blarg!

I’ve been writing pretty much since I woke up and my brain is on the fritz.

I did RP replies, which consumed about an hour.

I finished the first Hurricane Sandy story and sent that off to the commissioner to review and approve. (If she approves, I’ll post it for everyone else to read.)

I’ve worked on the final confrontation in Secrets but my brain’s slowing down and I need a break.

Pumpkin pie is in order. Possibly hauling my hubby off to the bedroom, too. >:|

Brain fade is no good. I want to get this story done!

*munches on pie*