IY: So… I Did A Thing ^_^

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Ileandra Young

It’s been a long time since I did any sort of performance. You may remember a few years back I did some work with Carol Leeming? And then I did some reading at a convention at The Phoenix (Gosh, that was so long ago, I was pregnant at the time!). Well Saturday was my latest performance.

Adele Wearing of Fox Spirit arranged a lovely little gathering in a café not far from all my favourite haunts. An hour of readings from six local authors. Well…

Reading at Fox Bites

It’s me! ^_^

 

I had a lovely time and got to read a little edited snippet of ‘Silk Over Razor Blades.’ I even got myself all organised and bought some pretty shinies before hand including posters of the cover art. ^_^

So I’m sorry that those people attending have been able to see the cover before you guys, but you will soon. Pinkie swear.

I wasn’t quite organised enough to get the names of everybody performed, but there were others from my critique including Wayne Kelly (DSB‘s partner in crime over at the Joined Up Writing Podcast) and Maya Chowdhury (also writing for Fab Fables). There were some lovely readings too, including a reading from the ghost story anthology that Boo Book produced last year. Do you recall the one I wasn’t quite successful in joining?

Best part is, there were recordings too, meaning that I should be able to post a video of the reading reasonably soon. Watch this space: I’m slowly gathering more and more media like that and looking forward to getting it up where you can see it.

How was your weekend? As fun filled and exciting as mine, I hope? 🙂

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RS: I Haz Planz 19/02

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Raven ShadowHawk

Days like this I really want to jab Ileandra in the eye. -_- Yes it’s (probably) funny, but she’s drafting, which is so much simpler than editing. Not more fun, not necessarily, but editing takes just that little bit of extra brain power. *grumble grumble piss’n’moan*

Okay. Done with that. Let’s get on with it.

Actions Last Weekblank calendar from OpenClipArt

~Check new front and back data information for ‘Meeting Each Other: Full Story’, ensure it’s ready for formatting
Done. It’s just a word from me nattering about what’s gone on and what’s next. I also have a foreword in there, very kindly written by the lovely Lucy Felthouse, so I had to make sure that was input correctly.

~Transfer half of the ‘Second Base’ Deep Edits back to Scrivener
Half point reached earlier today. Ugh, that was hard! I’m getting a crick-neck from the constant down-up-down-up motion and I’m not to sure how to arrange my desk to deal with it. As a result, I’m going slower than I’d like. Hopefully I can keep it up and finish it up over next week.

~Complete Deep Edits on ‘When Vicki Met Malcolm’ following feedback from Phoenix Writers
Nope. I didn’t get to read last week so rather than agonising over the piece I just put it to one side. A concious decision which I think has done me favours. It meant I could focus on ‘Second Base’ properly.

~Send this month’s newsletter
Yep. That went out on Sunday. All up to date. 🙂

Activities For This Week

  1. Finish transferring ‘Second Base’ Deep Edits back to Scrivener
  2. Complete Deep Edits on ‘When Vicki Met Malcolm’ following feedback from Phoenix Writers (and reconsider the title)

Thoughts…

goal shooting goals from open clip art

This week (or at least the later half of it) is going to be rough. Ileandra is doing a reading on Saturday and this is the last week before The Funk Master’s big project. We’ll also be hanging at DSB‘s mother’s place with The Sprogs while he’s at the funeral. 😦

I really don’t know how this is going to go. I can’t call this one, but let’s just see shall we…?

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RS: Smexxy Music

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Raven ShadowHawk

‘Play That Sexy Music…’

Something light hearted today. Something that makes me giggle.

I’ve been asked this before and I think it’s about time I answered (so I can enjoy your reactions). What music do I use to get me in the mood for writing what I write? Is there anything in particular? A specific type or artist?

Well… yes, there is.

But it changes a lot based on my mood for the rest of the day. Lately I’ve been listening to this:

Not sexy, no (unless you like big billowy dresses and animals) but very calm and unobtrusive. I find it helps if I’m not distracted by the music, particularly with editing, because I need to have my mind on brushing up the tale.

However… there are other days when I put this on a continuous loop:

I know, right. Does that make sense? NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY but for some reason I find it very easy to work with this guy yakking in my ear. Guess it helps that I totally fancy him. o.O Hmm.

But that’s not as weird as it gets. Sometimes I just hit the playlist for this guy and all hell breaks loose:

Yes. No word of a lie.

So… next time you’re wondering if I’m jamming to Barry White, Stevie Wonder or Justin Timerlake… no. It’s Weird Al, Bo Burnham and, on very weird days even a bit of this:

Hey… nobody said I was a traditional erotic author. 🙂

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IY: Mah Plans 16/02

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Ileandra Young

goal shooting goals from open clip artI AM A MACHIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!! ^_^

Scratch the preamble, let me just tell you why. 🙂

Actions Last Week

Write 10k of the new novella ‘Dead or Alive’
14k. Again. I’ve finished it. The draft is done as of 9.30pm last night! It’s now 36.5k rather than 34k, but even that is amazing. I thought it would have to go waaaaay over, but by the time I got to the last few chapters there was just no need. The story was told with a little overrun of 2.5k. I feel like I should… I don’t know. I need to do something big to celebrate this because it isn’t a small thing I’ve managed to do. ^_^ Then again, I did buy myself a little present…

Buffy and Angel DVD sets

Well… Buffy is a loan, but Angel is aaaaaaaaaaaaaall miiiiiiiiiine! ^_^

Send this month’s newsletter to subscribers
Done. Went out last night at 6:30pm with all the latest goss. 😉 If you want in, you know what to do, right?

Contact Karen regarding ‘Silk Over Razor Blades’ formatting
Sorted. No response yet, but not everyone is mad like me; most folk don’t work Sundays and she’s away until Feb 23 anyway. I’ll give her a chance to have a look and see if she can slot me in at all. If not, I’ll have to do the formatting myself. Then again, with the base that she’s already done for me that shouldn’t be too tricky *fingers crossed*.

Meet with Dave about ‘Silk Over Razor Blades’ cover art
Done. Met with him on Thursday. Seriously, if you’re looking for original art work you need to contact this man. He’s so talented and just so… nice. A real, genuine pleasure to work with and I will certainly be stalking him for other projects.

Activities For The Week

Well. Given that ‘Dead or Alive’ is done and that most of this month’s activities are now secure, all I need do is get to work on ‘On A Knife Point’ (third in the ‘Saar’s Legacy’ trilogy).

Phew!

My target word count for this first draft is 100k, so to keep on my schedule written up at the start of the year, I need to write 12.5k words a week.

Ha… after ‘Dead or Alive’ this should be a piece of pie (ultimate jinx!).

  • Write 12.5k words of ‘On A Knife Point’

What I do need to consider, however, is edits for ‘Silk Over Razor Blades‘, as highlighted by Angry Robot. So… I need to add something else to this list.

  • Read half of ‘Silk Over Razor Blades’ to highlight ‘underwritten’ passages

Thoughts…

That’s plenty to be getting on with. I’m still a bit frail and Dave has tonnes of work to do meaning it’s all hands on deck regards the Sprogs. It’s like that normally, but I’m not going to be able to lean on him for support the way I usually do. He has to finish this project and next week is going to be a complete write-off as he has a funeral to attend and I want to be there for him in whatever capacity he needs me. 😦

I want to support him AND look after my kids AND work on my career (and be healthy and not ill all the time, I suppose). Some days it feels like it just can’t be done. Others, I look back at my goals and know it can.

Let’s just see what this week brings.new ileandra signature,

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IY: First Draft Magic

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Ileandra Young

You write, right? I imagine most of you followers pen something, from short stories, to novels, to poetry? That’s the sort of readership this blog attracts. So you’ll understand what I’m talking about when I say ‘first draft’. The rest of you… no story you see on a book shelf is the first version of that tale. There is a first draft, then a second (and often a third, fourth and fifth!). Multiple edits happen on a manuscript to turn out the story you eventually pay for, read and enjoy.

magician with a wand and cards

This is how I feel every time I write a first draft!

I want to talk about drafting since that’s what I’ve been doing most of the month and that’s what the rest of February is dedicated to.

At my critique group, I’ve been calling these drafts ‘brain vomit.’ Sounds gross, but that’s exactly what it is. I come up with an idea, sit down at my desktop (or laptop) and just write. I don’t think (much), I don’t analyse, I certainly don’t edit. I just let the words flow out of my mind in a near constant stream, knowing I can come back later and make them better.

DSB is part of a group for the Breathless Press writers following Raven’s Sugar Dust release. A group of the authors were talking about first drafts and one of the most interest descriptions to come up was something along the lines of ‘I just watch the DVD of my story in my head and write it all down, rushing to keep up!‘

Isn’t that exactly it? We all have this incredible, cinematic vision of what we want and do our best to get that down on the page. Because isn’t that what good storytelling (through a book) is about? Allowing people to follow your vision by giving them the words to spark their own imagination? That, my friends, is magic. ^_^

open clip art, sick smilieI love writing first drafts. It’s my absolute favourite part of the process, which is probably why I find them so easy. I know other folk don’t have this luxury, but I’m curious as to how many of you do? How many of you suffer from brain vomit? Or do words have to be pulled out of you, like yanking errant hairs from a plug hole? Which part of the writing process DO you prefer if not the first draft?

Hit me up, I’d love to know.

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