Well, at least for this section. I'm worried about the last chapter. I was worried about it before the cuts, I'm actually even more worried about now. Not sure the cuts I put in are working, I'm sure I'll hear about it when I get it out to betas though.


To do today....

» start A.C. chapters 21-30, v6 crit pass
» 1 DII crit
» journals: journeys, booklog
» daily reading: The Bell At Sealy Head
» pick up youngest from school
» continue cleaning/unpacking: books, blankets


And to start, need to get out of here and pick up youngest!


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whysper not over yet :: journeys Not As Busy, Still Going :: booklog Heat Wave

Section 2 of A.C. done! Managed to cut just over 2500 words. So, it's looking like I might not manage to get 3k per section cut, but I'll be close enough, I think. I still worry about cutting necessary characterization and such stuff, but we'll see what the betas have to say about it when it's done.

Left on my to do list today are a crit and starting section 3 (chapters 21-30).

Not doing NaNo, in case anyone was curious. I did it one year, before I figure out my novel plot building method. Computer died and ate my progress, and I'm never in quite the right place in my process to do it, and I'm just not a pantser when it comes to novel writing. If I ever get to the right place in the process, and am not distracted by another novel's end of the road revisions, I might do NaNo, but I doubt that will happen very often.

So, going to get to work on that crit while I wait for the dishwasher, the shower, then tackle the next section of A.C. Feeling pretty good today, actually. Pretty good, indeed. :)


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most recent

whysper breaking the silence :: journeys Crazy Busy :: booklog Small Favor

All in edits, but I'll take that word count. Catches me up and takes me past where I should be for the year. If I get the rest of A.C. in shape, I should more than meet my goal for the year.

Unfortunately I'll be going on without one of my sharp-eyed critters. She's only on chapter 11 and it would take her 4 months to finish of the rest of the next section at the pace she's able to crit right now. As much as I appreciate her input (and need that extra eye for technical stuff), I'm not waiting. I need to stay on top of this while the desire and motivation are there. Plus it's a good distraction from the house mess when I'm not running around trying to get stuff done to appease the house mess. lol

And if the house falls through, which it may well do because of the timing of the money we're waiting on, all desire and motivation to do anything might evaporate. So I really need to stay on top of this.

The good in all this: the critters aren't giving me a whole lot to fix while pointing out places that can take cuts without too much damage, AND I'm liking how it's going. If my pace continues uninterrupted, I should have this ready for betas in about 6 weeks.

The one bad point: didn't quite make as much in cuts as I was aiming for. total right now is about 1700, which is 1300 short for the section. I'm going to keep going forward and see what the final manuscript count is before I go back through and make any additional cuts. Right now the process is going well. Not going to second guess myself and make it any harder on me yet. Besides, cuts in the other sections might help make up for it. Not really likely to happen, but it could happen. Or at least get the total word count down to something reasonable enough that the extra cuts won't be necessary.

Anyway, really pleased with my progress at this point. This is also good since just about everything else going on is a mess of stress.

Except for one thing: the husband starts culinary school tomorrow and the job has actually agreed to let him off work in time to do it. I'm so happy for him! And he's so excited! lol

Okay, off to finish dishes and work on goals for next week.


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whysper breaking the silence :: journeys Crazy Busy :: booklog Small Favor

House: We have everything except the money. And a low enough insurance policy. They want $1000 or less, preferably less. So far the cheapest is Nationwide at $1019. All State and State Farm came in at nearly $1100 and Progressive (who insures our car) was around $1800. I have no idea where else to look.

Okay, with that out of the way, cuts are going to be harder than I anticipated. Still, nearly 1k on just a read through? I'll take that.

Besides, I get one hell of a word count for this week. *grin*


Assassin's Choice v6, pass 1, prologue-chapter 10
starting count: 42,050
ending count: 41,194
gain/loss: -856
Actual (processed) word count: 42,050

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
World Building Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
Total for the Day: 42,050
Total for the Week: 42,050

starting line:
From the depths of secret fears the nightmare wells up, binding the dreamer in a familiar darkness that expands until there is nothing but unrelieved, inky shadow.

ending line:
They returned nearly a half turn later with Strycker carrying Ashyra, limp and barely conscious, in his arms.

So that 42k isn't just for today—I've been working on it for almost a week, but I also went through the whole section today as I made the changes I noted on the hard copy plus a few others, so I've gone ahead and counted it as all processed today, and note I'm not counting it twice because going through today wasn't so much as reading/processing as it was a skimming that just managed to catch a few extra cuts.

Next: using crits to do more cleanup, then on to the next section of 10 chapters. Once all 4 sections are gone through and put back together, I'll make a third pass to remove any remaining words left in my cut goal of 10-12k. I figure this will take into account that 2 of the sections actually need some additions as well as some cuts, and this one was one of them. The remaining two sections might help make up for the additions and get me closer to the total cuts I need to make, so trying to make deeper cuts in the two with the additions without seeing the overall seems like it would be making the work harder than it needs to be.

And it already looks like it's going to be pretty hard. lol


Now to go add a new member to DII and I will have accomplished everything I had planned to do today.


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most recent

whysper breaking the silence :: journeys Crazy Busy :: booklog Small Favor

Assassin's Choice 37.4
starting count: 1233
ending count: 2286
gain/loss: +1053
Actual (processed) word count: 2286

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
World Building Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
Total for the Day: 2286
Total for the Week: 2286

starting line:
A howl echoed through her and brought her up from the peace of the anduiuar, scattering her meditations on the winds that caressed the forest clearing that was created from her essence.

ending line:
It was time to return home.

darling:
He turned his head and glanced at Sylondra, but no recognition flickered in his inflamed eyes. Though locked behind bars, chains held him to the wall, though they had enough length for him to reach the food that would be given to him through a small opening near the floor at the front of the cell. Backing away from the door, he threw himself at the bars with such force that they shook and the lock creaked. He shook them, pulled on them, attempted to use his claws on them. The cut she had made on his hand had opened and dripped blood, staining the bars where he touched them. He strained against the chains and clawed at the manacles around his wrists and ankles. Unable to free himself, he howled once more, his anguish shivering the air, and rushed the bars again.


Not totally happy with my last paragraph and it needs some language work, but I think it generally closes the book nicely. I'm not totally happy with my last paragraph, but hopefully the next revision will take care of that.

And at least I got some writing work in today. *grin* AND am closer to being done. Yes, two more go throughs are expected, but I'm hoping both will deal with minor issues.


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whysper reclaiming myself...again :: journeys Almost There :: booklog Small Favor

Oh God did this feel good...and does writing this update feel good! :D


Assassin's Choice 36.4 (b)
starting count: 3073
ending count: 3360
gain/loss: +287
Actual (processed) word count: 3360

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
World Building Words (Day/Week): 0 / 0
Total for the Day: 3360
Total for the Week: 3360

starting line:
The shadows swallowed the shapes in the room, and heavy drapes concealed any moonlight that might have slipped in through the windows.

ending line:
The knight didn't move to go inside until the priest gently nudged him forward.

darling:
Sharmalan studied the cloak Simar wore, his gaze lingering on the scorpion-spider. With a curt nod, he lifted his hands and chanted, the soft words sounding very much like the ancient tongue the company heard in Kalantish. Ashyra stared at the sage, one brow lifted in surprise. The circlet began to glow, and Jerusha stepped back, dragging Dimas with her. The guards stepped as far away from the manwolf as their hold on him would allow. Silver mist formed around the band, dimming the light radiating from it, but it continued to brighten until even the mist was lost within it, and those around it had to shield their eyes.

The sage held his hands to either side of Simar's head and, without touching the band of gold, lifted them in a slow, steady motion. As his hands rose, so did the circlet, the metal twisting in protest. Steam rose, then smoke, and the edges blackened. Sparkling strands of magic streamed from the band, unraveling and fading back into the world. Simar whined and howled, but his struggles were weak, and the guards held him with little effort. As Sharmalan let the circlet drop to the ground, a black twisted hunk of metal, the manwolf fell silent, panting, eyes glazed over.


Supposed to get some other writing in tonight as well, but we'll see. Have to pick up oldest in about 45 and have to be in bed at a decent hour to go back up to the school with youngest. I might be able to get at least my 300 in world building done...and maybe my booklog entry. Would like to get some of that backlog off my plate.

But posting this tonight just felt so exciting!

Silly, huh? I'll take silliness over the last few weeks. ;)


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most recent

whysper so many changes :: journeys Almost There :: booklog Small Favor

Assassin's Choice 35.5
starting count: 3066
ending count: 2997
gain/loss: -69
Actual (processed) word count: 3066

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 1084
World Building Words (Day/Week): 0 / 559
Total for the Day: 3066
Total for the Week: 4150

starting line:
Roqué followed a servant to his place at the lord's table, searching for Ashyra and Jerusha among the lyanthry faces already gathered the dining hall.

ending line:
Turning away from the door, she opened her eyes and faced two glowing red coals hovering inches from her face.

darling:
"You have everything to offer me, my lady. Where you see death, I will bring you life. Where you feel weak, I will bring you strength. Let me give you hope. Let me help you carry this burden."


As I suspected, I didn't do much but tweak the chapter. Going to post it to DII then finish making dinner. TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! Later tonight: writing.

Tomorrow: editing begins. ;)


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most recent

whysper lots of news :: journeys Almost There :: booklog Small Favor

Assassin's Choice 35.4 (b)
starting count: 3063
ending count: 3066
gain/loss: +3
Actual (processed) word count: 3066

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 10,513
World Building Words (Day/Week): 0 / 2605
Total for the Day: 3066
Total for the Week: 13,579

starting line:
Roqué followed a servant to his place at the lord's table, searching for Ashyra and Jerusha among the lyanthry faces that filled the dining hall.

ending line:
Turning away from the door, she opened her eyes and faced two glowing red coals hovering in midair.

darling:
She studied him again, truly seeing him for the first time. He was quietly serious in his attentions towards her while still trying to honor her desire for distance. There was an ambition about him -- he wanted to be more than a Kurianth knight, but the knight's code helped temper that desire. If he had any doubts about her identify before tonight, they'd been laid to rest when he met her at the door for dinner. He had even dressed to honor Ehlarayn in deep blue pants and a loose, blue-green tunic with its neckline and long sleeves cut in a way to remind one of water. Water crystals adorned the sleeves and the deep blue tie that held back his silver-blonde hair. No one would have thought much of it until she appeared so similarly dressed. It had either been a calculated risk on his part or his way of showing respect, but it revealed a political astuteness she lacked and would need.


Still have some rough edges to sort out. The word count was close because of some cuts I did more than anything—phrases and sentences that didn't flow so well when looked at again. What did surprise me was how well the new writing fit in with the old stuff. Maybe I am getting better at having a stronger first draft, so to speak. Or maybe the working in pieces around the old words help me bring the new stuff up to that level. Who knows.

I did add 'cut about 10k' (which amounts to about 250-350 words/chapter) to the next to do round, but I'm hitting that point where all I'm doing is fixing world building changes and not really making many changes in the actual writing. Tells me it's about as done as I can get it, so pretty sure when I make the fixes I have listed for next round, it'll be done and ready for betas.

I'm going to go try to get at least one booklog entry done before I get too far into Firebird and have trouble posting a decent review. After that, I think I'm done for the night. Need to set up for next week, and I don't need to be online for that. :)

Besides, I have an early morning. Oh, and oooo, weigh in is tomorrow. Yikes!


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most recent

whysper lots of news :: journeys Almost There :: booklog Small Favor

Assassin's Choice 35.4(a)
starting count: 1914
ending count: 3063
gain/loss: +1149
Actual (processed) word count: 3063

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 7272
Total for the Day: 3063
Total for the Week: 10,335

starting line:
Roqué followed a page to his place at the lord's table, searching for Ashyra and Jerusha among the lyanthry faces.

ending line:
Turning away from the door, she opened her eyes and faced two glowing red coals hovering in midair.

darling:
The sound of her birth name, soft and affectionate, the name she hadn't carried since her father's death, broke her heart. Grief welled, old grief, old pain, held onto for so long it had carved grooves into her. The loss that inspired it had been her one companion from the first day she had given up her name and gone into hiding.

It is time to accept. Relief flowed through her, washing the old pain away, giving way to a new, gentler grief, one that didn't cut so deeply.



There were two surprises on this tonight: 1) from about mid-chapter on ended up being something of a rewrite, and 2) a revelation that the main female character needed to let go of her father's death. I find it amazing that a story can still surprise the writer so much even when in later revisions. It was a nice surprise, a light bulb revelation.

And now I have to somehow turn my brain to my advent story. Have an excellent idea, now I just have to turn the idea into a plot. I think I have my ending figured out (which is kinda odd, actually), but not much else, not even a title. Here's hoping I manage a few more words before the night is through.


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most recent

whysper upside down :: journeys Almost There :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Assassin's Choice 35.4 (1)
starting count: 2289
ending count: 1914
gain/loss: -375
Actual (processed) word count: 2289

Total New Words (Day/Week): 1195 / 5596
Total for the Day: 3484
Total for the Week: 14,541

starting line:
Roqué followed a page to his place at the lord's table and searched for Ashyra and Jerusha.

ending line:
Turning away from the door, she opened her eyes and saw two glowing red coals at eye level.

darling:
Jerusha slipped out into the western-most garden patio, shivering in the cold but preferring it to the crowded, stuffy ballroom. Even the most gentle strains of music hurt now, her body thrumming in its own song of pain with every chord. She needed to go home, to make peace with the past, to accept what was required of her. She leaned on a railing and stared at the stars. How she wished her father was staring at those same stars tonight.


So, a couple of things. For one, the cuts I made were a lot less than expected. If I can bump the count back up around 600, it should be fine without needing to combine it with the next chapter. My only concern now is how the last two chapters are going to pan out and if having them combine would make the ending seem rushed, but I'll worry about it when I get there and if that happens. Second, with stage one of the v4 pass done, I'm holding off on the actual rewriting and revision work until next week. I need the space from it so I can work it fresh. As much as the last chapters are making me a bit crazy, I'm pretty content with where it's going.

Which brings me to something else I realized tonight. As I was going through this chapter, I realized that my writing HAS gotten better, much better than I thought. There's a big difference in the words I choose now—they're...richer now, if that makes sense. I still need to work on creating unique imagery with my words, but the words I use are no longer the easiest choice. The simplest example is 'Maria sat down across from him.' That's how I used to write. Now I would try to make that more...visual: 'Maria slouched in the red velvet chair and glared at him over his desk.' Or something. Maybe that seems overdone to some folks. To me it's a wonderful step forward in the way I use words and express my stories. It's an accomplishment and I'm celebrating it.

Anyway, for tonight I still have my 1k plus dishes. I'm thinking next week, it's time to bump the goals back up a little, maybe even take the word count goal to 1250/day, but we'll see on that. This has been a very good week. Here's hoping the next crazy slump is a long time away. lol

In the meantime, tonight I watch the CSI Miami marathon and write! ;)


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most recent

whysper upside down :: journeys Almost There :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Assassin's Choice 34.5
starting count: 2959
ending count: 3130
gain/loss: +171
Actual (processed) word count: 3130

prologue - ch.30: 110,498
ch.31+: 12,863
total: 123,361

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 3315
Total for the Day: 3130
Total for the Week: 9971

starting line:
Three days later, the company staggered into Windhome, exhausted from the pace and beaten by the weather.

ending line:
Quietly pleased, Kalenthiyas left the hall by Moragan's side.

darling:
Before the knight could say more, Dimas gave Roqué a gentle push after the servant still heading down the wide hall towards their rooms. They did not go far, only a few doors away. Just before closing the door, the priest winked at her. She smiled, glad that Dimas had returned to his amiable self with the absence of Talerys. She had found the majh arrogant, and he heightened her concerns for Jerusha's safety, but she never could understand why his presence crawled under the priest's skin.


Strangely, I never found whatever it was that bothered me when I last went through it. Guess that's one reason why stepping back even for a day or two helps.

If the last 3 chapters maintain the average word count of most the chapters so far, I'm looking at around 132-133k. Will I need to trim out 8k and bring it down to 125k to make publishable, or am I okay with where it is?

Mind you, I have another round and hope to make a few trims after I fix a few things, but it might end up adding to it all too. Since this is my first novel, I have no idea how badly I'm shooting myself in the foot with the length. My understanding is that genre fiction can be 125-150k, but I've also heard the acceptable length for new authors is shrinking.

At any rate, might move on and start processing chapter 35 this week. Only a couple more to go, as few as two if I decide some major cutting is in order.

And might get more than 1k done today since I have plenty of time and not a whole lot on the to do list. This is good. Shows I'm picking back up after a few rocky weeks. Let's hope it stays picked up for awhile. I'd like to catch up on my yearly word count goal (currently about 18.5k behind).

Dinner's not ready yet, so I'm not quite sure what to do at the moment. Need to post the chapter to DII but after that...? Maybe it's time to finally do a journeys entry. It's been awhile. Or I could go ahead and start notes for the next chapter while I'm thinking about it. Choices, choices.


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most recent

whysper upside down :: journey New Focus: Writing :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Assassin's Choice 34.4
starting count: 2364
ending count: 2959
gain/loss: +595
Actual (processed) word count: 2959

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 3482
Total for the Day: 2959
Total for the Week: 6441

starting line:
Three days later, the company staggered into Windhome, exhausted from the pace and beaten by the weather.

ending line:
Quietly pleased, Kalenthiyas left the hall by Moragan's side.

darling:
Grateful to be free of the snow and cold, Jerusha thanked the servant when they reached the door to her suite then slipped inside. As she shut the door, Ashyra reached the top of the stairs and prevented the servant from leaving. The two lyanthry looked at each other, blue eyes meeting topaz, for several long heartbeats, then Jerusha closed and locked the door. She could not give the soltyan the comfort she sought. The truce she had with the Saroinaiehl was precarious at best, and one it chose to remind her of with every breath.


Still not happy with the chapter, but I'll be doing my v5 next week and hopefully I can sort out the things that are making me unhappy. If not, I guess I'll keep revising until I am happy? lol

Really, I know a lot of the unhappiness is just me. Working on my attitude towards my writing, among other things. For now, I'm going to work some more on a synopsis for shade53 and then see how much of my 1600 that I'm short for the week I can get done. At least v4 of this chapter is finally done. Took long enough!


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most recent

whysper back again :: journey New Focus: Writing :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Assassin's Choice 34.4
starting count: 2364
ending count: 2700
gain/loss: +336
Actual (processed) word count: 2700

Total New Words (Day/Week): 1402 / 3884
Total for the Day: 4102
Total for the Week: 6584

starting line:
Three days later, the company staggered into Windhome, exhausted from the pace and beaten by the weather.

ending line:
Quietly pleased, Kalenthiyas left the hall by Moragan's side.

darling:
She let the thought fade. Ehlarayn was gone. There was a rumor of a heir hiding from the drethyir Blood that had brought the lyanthry nation to its ruin, but she had made no sign that she was ready to reclaim what had been lost. Sherethanai's eyes strayed to the banners that framed Moragan's standard. From ceiling to a foot above the floor they flowed, one with the circle, tower, and pike of the Kurianth, the ancient city's three towers inside a broken circle woven into the other. If they abandoned the city, both would be removed, leaving Moragan's banner alone.


I gave up working on language while also trying to fill the holes created by the cuts I made. Result: the last 7 pages went much faster than the first 10. Right now it's in the hands of shade53 for a second look to make sure I did indeed fill the holes. When it comes back, I'll have to work on that language level and probably rewrite some of the povs to cut down the switches.

Which means as far as I'm concerned? She can hang onto it for a few days. Not looking forward to taking care of whatever else needs to be cleaned up in that mess. :P

(Well, okay, not quite since I do want this sucker done, but don't really need it back right away.)

Wonder if I can get started on my essay revisions? If I do that, tomorrow is free for Blood Charms after I get my 1200 in. :D


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most recent

whysper back again :: journey New Focus: Writing :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Since there's so much rewriting involved, I appear to have to do these last chapters in stages:

Stage 1: Make the cuts and a few minor tech fixes.
Stage 2: Rewrite new transitions to make up for the missing chunks
Stage 3: Do actual v4 revisions/rewrites.
Stage 4: Do v5 revisions.

Stage 1 allows me to go through the crits, make the major cuts I need to do, and breathe a bit when I'm done since I usually get panic attacks from the number of fixes suggested in the crits and the cuts required. Stage 2 let's me try to fix what I broke with the cuts. Stages 3 and 4 are what I was doing before the major fixes had to be made.

For chapter 34, I just finished stage 1:


Assassin's Choice 34.4
starting count: 2641
ending count: 2364
gain/loss: -277
Actual (processed) word count: 2641

Total New Words (Day/Week): 0 / 2497
Total for the Day: 2641
Total for the Week: 5633

starting line:
Two days later the company arrived in Windhome, exhausted from the pace and beaten by the weather.

ending line:
Quietly pleased, Kalenthiyas left the hall by Moragan's side.

darling:
none yet.


Hopefully I'll get the remaining stages done some time this upcoming week, but at least I finally got started on this. Was driving me crazy to have it sitting there with no progress. :P

And at least I have more than 3000 words for the week. That was a seriously sucky count for me. :P :P :P

Okay, on to some actual writing new words stuff. Blood Charms, I think.


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most recent

whysper some good things :: journey New Focus: Writing :: booklog With the Light...Vol. 3: Raising an Autistic Child

Assassin's Choice 33.5
starting count: 3837
ending count: 3851
gain/loss: +14
Actual (processed) word count: 3851

prologue - chapter 30: 110,498
chapter 31+: 9733
total: 120,231


Total New Words (Day/Week): 1412 / 3133
Total for the Day: 5263
Total for the Week: 6984

starting line:
Jerusha glanced sidelong through lowered lashes at Kalenthiyas.

ending line:
Not when she loved another.

darling:
Dimas knelt. "Jerusha."

The druidess slowly turned her head. It took several heartbeats for her eyes to focus on him. Something distracted her, something that took all her energy to hold at bay.

"Is this necessary?"

She dropped her eyes and whispered. "No."

"Then why must you hurt both yourself and those who care for you?" He raised a hand before she could respond. "Just something to think upon, my lady."



Have to admit, I'm getting a little worried about the word count. If averages hold, the last 4 chapters could add up to 14k, making the manuscript 134k. I hope that isn't pushing the count too far. 'Course, it might get trimmed after betas get to it.

Now to get the sucker posted to the group and go make bentos for tomorrow. Then I think it will be time to attempt to crash. Little one is being cantankerous with mama, so we'll see if sleep is something that can be managed.


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most recent

whysper thank god :: journey New Focus: Writing :: booklog The Queen's Bastard