My current task this week when not editing for repeat words and phrases.  I’ve had a little help with it, namely an ebook called Create a Culture Clinic by Holly Lisle.  I’m only a quarter of the way through the questions, but it’s helped me firm up my ideas of the Sanguire lifestyle.  It’s also helped me go in different directions for the next sequel!  WOOT!

The book gives concrete organizational suggestions, and guides you through the necessary questions to be answered.  The longest section so far has been the life cycle section.  I’m nearly through the community questions.  Next up are the religion and government questions.

Yes.  Religion.  I don’t know that there’ll be much, but considering where the European Sanguire came from historically, there should be some sort of religious system in place.  (And I’m not talking the priest, Castillo.)

I also picked up a few other ebooks while I was there:  both the Create a Plot and Create a Language Clinics by Holly Lisle, and The Way of the Cheetah by Lynn Viehl.  I highly recommend that last!  Viehl writes five to nine books a year, and publishes them all.  When it comes to the necessary mindset for both quality and quantity of the written product, this lady has it down.

The ebooks are $9.95 each, and are downloadable in zip format or not, depending on your internet connection.  I’ve already found two of them well worth the money.

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I’ve also been going through Meditations on Violence by Sgt. Rory Miller.  Another good purchase!  He spoke at Orycon last month (the Oregon state SF/F convention,) and I was really impressed.  He does an excellent job explaining true violence—the way the mind changes when put in a violent situation, the processes by which men and women go through the adrenalin surge, and the aftermath of a violent altercation.  Quite educational for a couch potato like me.

I can count on one hand the number of fights I’ve witnessed or been involved in.  He explains what happens, step by step, in a volatile situaiton so that writers can portray violence in their fiction more realistically.

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Not a lot else going on.  I have to dig out the Yule decorations this week.  Mother’s Night is Saturday, and Sunday is the Yule feast.  Don’t know how many guests will show—it’s been snowing here today, may snow a day or two more, and a huge snowstorm may arrive on Sunday.  That might put a damper on things as far as guests go.  We’ll see what happens.

It’s been far too long since I’ve been here, but the absence was necessary.

To be honest, I hated to post another ‘haven’t-written-a-damned-thing-yet’ entry, so decided not to post anything at all.  It’s one thing to say you’re confident the writer’s block will move on.  I found it’s quite another to be it.  The more I said that I wasn’t concerned with the lack of motivation, the more worried I became.  What a vicious cycle!

I’m happy to report that in May of this year, I began the final rewrites of the first Sanguire novel.  They are now complete.  I finished the last of the major editing today, and plan to go through a concordance of the 90k words tomorrow in search of oft repeated phrases.

I nearly chickened out of my original intent to submit it to a major market.  Thanks to KG McGregor, Steph Solomon-Lopez, Medora MacDougal, and a host of others, my waning self-assurance was bolstered…  On the first business day of the new year, this manuscript goes off to Tor.

In the meantime, my next major project is to begin the Iditarod rewrites.  I don’t want to jinx myself by reporting my progress.  I’ve had far too many false starts over the years.  Not giving progress reports somehow kept me on track, and I’ll do the same here.  I will attempt to be a bit more communicative, however.  (Don’t quote me on that!)

Until next time!