Trip to the Fair

The New York State Fair started this week, and yesterday we made our yearly trek to the event.  On a record breaking attendance day, no less. 

We had a very good time wandering around the exhibits.  We spent some time listening to Adam Richmond, of the Travel Channel's Man vs Food (unfortunately there were microphone issues-- seriously, you couldn't see a stand mic wouldn't work for doing a cooking demonstration???), so we left before his demonstration was finished.

We had great food.  A garbage plate for lunch, and German meal for dinner, as well as a healthy sampling of the maple foods booth (coffee, donut, slushie, sno-cone, and ice cream between the three of us!)

The cap of the day, for me at least, was seeing Styx in concert (a free concert, no less!)  It was wonderful! (Except for the rude people who kept shoving their way around us, trying to break through the barrier to a walk way we were standing next to. ) It was great to hear the songs I love-- and to hear the crowd sing along with the band!!!! It was the largest crowd I have ever seen at the free concert area in all the years we have been attending.

On the way out, I was reminded of how disgustingly rude people are becoming as we walked through discarded cups, bottles, and other trash people had dropped on the ground where they stood, instead of walking just a few feet to a garbage/recycling can.  This lack of respect still amazes me.

Still, a wonderful time was had!

What I'm Working On:

- Putting the finishing touches on Quest of the Hart and hope to be sending out queries this week.
- Finished up a query letter to send out (with lots of comments to work at improving it from the Query Critique page at Writer's Digest)
- Finished chapter 2 of The Lost Princess and sent that off to Katie for comments.

Upcoming Posts:

-Writing with a plot summary
-Trying a new writing process-one chapter at a time

Where I write, What I listen to and other fun facts!

I often find myself sitting on the couch with my netbook (just like I am now) when I write.  I have a office area I made upstairs in our second story, but with the summer heat, I find myself staying out of there more often than not.

I mostly work on my netbook, although I do sometimes use the desktop--usually so I can see multiple pages at a time on the large monitor.  I also hand write some of my scenes and transcribe them.  This is usually a result of ideas that came while I was sleeping, or not near the computer.

While I am writing, I find I enjoy listening to instrumental music.  I can, and do, write with the TV on, the family chatting all around me, or in the sounds of nature (when I am camping with family and friends).  With Quest of the Hart I used my Zune and listened mostly to Dark Passion Play (Instrumental) by Nightwish, some Harry Potter soundtracks, some Lord of the Rings soundtracks, the soundtrack from The Mummy, and the soundtrack from Highlander.  And on days when I didn't turn on the Zune, I would put on the Silver Screen channel on DirecTV.

I shouldn't be surprised by how well the music helps me to focus, but I often am.  Many times, I don't even realize I am listening to anything as the words just pour out as the scene unfolds before my eyes.

If you're having problems trying to get your scene to go, try listening to a movie soundtrack or writing on paper instead of the computer, or writing in a different place-- to see if it gets your muse started.

So, where do you write?  Do you listen to anything?  I know Katie, my critique partner answered these questions the other day on her blog.

What I'm Working On:
This week I am working on Chapter 1 of what I am tentatively calling The Lost Princess.  It follows Prince Trevor, brother to Kaylee (Quest of the Hart) as he searches to find out what happened eight years ago when his betrothed disappeared.

What I am Reading:
I started Fast Track by Fern Michaels, but haven't gotten very far with it.

Upcoming Posts:
Alice in Wonderland pictures of my Gryphon (AKA- Dear Son!)
(Camping) Recipe exchange

Camping and Show Week

Last weekend I split my time between camping with friends and ferrying Dear Son to practice and fittings for his show.  While it made for a busy weekend, it was great seeing everyone who we haven't seen in so long.

I know several of you asked for me to post some recipes here and do a recipe type exchange of things we cook for camping.  I will try and make a post for that next week.

This week went from busy to insane, but somehow we made it through!  Brett's show is this weekend, then, other than work next week, things should slow down just in time for school to start :)

Brett has the part of the Gryphon in the musical Alice in Wonderland.  It is his first show, and he is very excited about it.  I will post up pictures for you all of him in his costume.

What I'm Working On:
This week I've been working on a new story.  It is the tale of Trevor and Sabrina (two characters from Quest of the Hart.  I wrote the prologue and have a draft for the beginnings of the first chapter.  Katie will be getting the prologue this weekend.  I am using the working title of The Lost Princess for now.  I am excited to work on this story with someone editing as I write-- it will be a new experience for me, and I am hoping it will improve my writing.

I am also fine tuning my query letter so it is ready to go after I get my feedback from Katie.

What I'm Reading:
Hunted by Katie Taylor- I am finishing up my read through on it from start to finish

On the Prowl by Patricia Briggs and others- I read Patricia's story so far- the introduction to her Alpha and Omega series.  It was great.  I have now read three of the books (in complete reverse order- which, turned out OK- I kept wanting to find out what had happened before and an interested in seeing where they go next.)

Upcoming Posts:
What I listen to while writing
Where I write
(Camping) Recipe exchange

Photos, Updates, and How I Write

Photos:
I have given up trying to post pictures into here from our trip to New Jersey, but, you can go here to see the album.  (Please let me know if you have problems with the link-- it links to my husbands account- which is why I couldn't post the pictures into here myself!)

Updates:
I have finished my edits (so far) for Quest of the Hart.  (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is the title I want to use).  I need to read through it (especially the last few chapters) then send it off to Katie for her read-through.

Quest of the Hart is a fantasy story about a princess who wants to marry for love, but has an arranged marriage.  After spending time with her prince, she finds herself falling in love with him.  A former friend competes with the princess for the prince, eventually casting a spell on him that can only be broken by his true love.  The princess must undergo a quest, learning about friendship, love, and courage, if she is to wake her prince in time for their wedding.

How I Write:
The sarcastic answer to this is: one letter at a time, forming one word at a time, until I have a book.  Ha. Ha.

OK- all kidding aside.  I write on my netbook, or occasionally on our desktop.  I have a tendency to think about what I write for awhile before I even start to type.  I like to envision a scene --start to finish-- as if it were a movie playing out on the screen, then put it down on the paper.  These scene don't always come in order, but I write them down anyway.

Ever since I was a child, I have told myself stories to fall asleep at night.  Now I do the same thing, only now I think about my characters and the plot I have in mind.  This means, there are times I am almost asleep and I am sitting up, grabbing pen and paper, turning the light on and writing down the scene that just unfolded in my mind.  (fortunately my husband stays up much later than I do, so I am not usually disturbing him).

With Quest of the Hart I re-wrote this story line at least 2-3 times.  I had the basic idea, but it took me a long time to understand my characters.  This last time around, I really focused on listening to my characters and letting them show me how they would react in the situations they found themselves in.  I think it made a large improvement in the story.

I have always had a couple of people who I have asked to read over what I have written (for grammar errors and to show me areas I need to improve.)  I find that I get so close to what I am writing that I could read over a section and not see what is missing because I know what it is supposed to say there.  (That's the problem when you can see the scene in your head!)  A couple of months ago, I became a member of a critique group at Writer's Digest.  There, I met Katie, my critique partner.  We exchange our work on a weekly basis.  I have found this to be a wonderful help to me.  Not only have I really enjoyed reading Katie's manuscript (especially when I have to look up words I don't know-- she is great with vocabulary!!!), but I have found I am improving what I write.  I can see where my story is weak and try to fix it before I send it off to her.

If you are a writer and are looking for a place to help you grow-- I can recommend this site and board.

Upcoming Posts:
What I listen to when I write
Where I write

Busy, Busy, Busy

What a weekend we had!!! We joined up with some friends of ours from Maryland and went camping in Pennsylvania.  Saturday, we took the kids to Knoebel's Amusement Park.   We had a blast!!! It was quite hot, and I found the best ride to be the Skloosh!-- a single drop log flume type ride.  When you hit the bottom, the water suspends above you, then drops onto you (it also sprays out in a wall of water to those standing on the overpass, and standing nearby on the overlook).  Soaking wet, we cooled off quickly (and dried quickly, too!)

Sunday, we hung out at the campground, where I read Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs.  It is book two of the Alpha and Omega series (a spin off of the Mercy Thompson series).  It took me a bit to get into the story, not having read book one, but I really enjoyed it.

I also finished reading Hunted, the book I am critiquing for Katie.  All I can say is WOW!!!!  She did a great job with the storyline-- tied up all the loose ends, but left it open for a sequel.  The growth her characters underwent was great to see.  I am anxious to see what she decides to do with my comments and then read the story from start to finish.

As for me, I got back Katie's comments on my new chapters, and was pleased with her reaction.  A friend of mine, who has a young daughter, is also taking a read through for me.  Like Katie,  she began with my rough 2nd draft and has moved on to my more polished version.  It was interesting seeing her comments, compared to Katie's.  I have made  a few minor adjustments, based on her observations, and am now reworking the next section.  Due to some plot changes I made in the two chapters I  added, I needed to make some adjustments going forward.  This has allowed me to develop a few scenes more fully, showing more than telling, as any story should do :)   (Thanks, Katie, for reminding me to do that!!!)

What I'm Reading:

When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs (actually, I realized after I got it out of the library that I had read it before, but I enjoyed re-reading it!)


What I'm Working On:
Corrections to Chapter 8.  Splitting off the last section of Chapter 8 to create Chapter 9 (with a much more detailed telling of the betrothal announcement and ball that follows).

Upcoming Posts:
Beach Photos (I really didn't forget)
How I write
What I listen to when writing
Where I write