What an annoyance!  I opened up Broken Trails today only to discover the two scenes I’d edited weren’t saved properly.  I think they might have gone into the back up file, which I overrode with the current version of my project file upon opening.  * head palm *

Ah, well. I’d made the mistake last time of editing the wrong scene, but decided to go with it since I didn’t want to change the entire thing back again.  Now I was able to do the scene I’d wanted to do in the first place, and finish the other three.  (I also made absolutely sure that the project was saved in both the desktop project folder and the backup project folder in my documents.)

Watched the latest Stargate – Universe this morning.  Can I just say that Lou Diamond Phillips’ character is a BASTEHD!  He’s playing it well, lemme tell ya!  LOL!  I wanted to smack him on that last scene.

I think I’ll spend the next hour or so pulling data and stories from all over the place to compile in my Cyberpunk project.  After I message the twisted-sister-in-law on Facebook.  Then it’s World of Warcraft time!  WOOT!

Last week left a lot to be desired, let me tell you.  Work was weird with two crazy ladies on separate days to be evicted. My schedule was wonky due to a training meeting at the buttcrack of dawn.  All in all, this arthritic old woman has spent most of her time resting on her laurels rather than working.

That changed (for today.) I got two of the four scenes in Broken Trail altered from Lainey’s POV to Scotch’s.  I have two more to go.  Then seven more scenes to write to complete the novel.  I’m hoping to finish it by the end of this month.

I’ve also started plugging in my Cyberpunk projects into Scrivener. There are three—the CyberEpic one I wish to revise, the Japanese one I got stuck on years ago, and a Hawaiian one I started with a friend a couple of years back. That doesn’t count the two or three other plots I have in mind for my version of the genre.

Finally caught up on my television last night.  Stargate Universe and Heroes.  Saw V on Wednesday (rare that I have a Wednesday off!) and enjoyed it.  I’d hoped for a more drawn out premiere—a two hour one—but wasn’t disappointed with the flow or the characters.  This means it probably won’t last long as a series… LOL!

Received a DVD from my father yesterday. He found some old 8mm film he’d taken (and his father had taken before that,) which he’d converted.  I was able to convert it to a format I could see…  Good gods!  I wore a frilly, pink dress that Christmas? And the living room!  It wasn’t THAT small, was it? It was fun to see my dapper young grandfather and his two little boys, too.  Thanks, Dad!

Finished The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz.  Three thousand miles on foot, through Siberia, the Gobi Desert, and the Himalayas?  Whoa!  The afterword states that he never saw the men who survived the trek with him again.  I simply can’t imagine…

My next book is A. Lincoln by Ronald C. White, Jr.

I’ve finished entering the plot of Broken Trails into Scrivener, and have realized I’m not as close to completion as I’d hoped.  Instead of a couple more scenes to write, I’ve now got seven… and an additional four that can be swapped to Scotch’s POV rather than Lainey’s in order to even it out a bit.

This program is really Da Bomb!  By editing the labels for each scene, I can color code the corkboard view to show which scenes are concept (the race,) or specifically Lainey’s or Scotch’s POV.  There was a definite dearth of Scotch throughout the race itself, so I’ve done what I can to change that (hence the four changing POV scenes.)  Overseeing the entire manuscript as a set of index cards has been quite helpful on other books, too.  I’m glad I invested in the program!

Not much else going on.  Cool and rainy in these parts. Picked up my wife’s Yule gift yesterday (she’ll love it!) I think I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon plugging my Iditarod research into the Broken Trails project.

Spent today plugging Broken Trails into Scrivener, and can already see a problem.  While I wanted a lot of the focus to be on Lainey’s POV (she’s the vehicle through which the reader learns about the Iditarod,) I’ve completely skipped the majority of the race from Scotch’s POV.  Rather than expand the novel even farther than it’s already going to be, I think I’ll pick and choose the various scenes that I can, and take it from Scotch’s POV.  I’ll have to move them around some, since Scotch is ahead of Lainey in the race…

Had a blast last night on World of Warcraft (Steamwheedle Cartel.) Someone picked up an epic/elite dragon from a dungeon and somehow ported it to Ogrimmar.  While the tanks kept it occupied, about a hundred of us wailed on the thing for well over an hour.  Raised my dagger scores up almost to my max cap!  WOOT! A lot of people were able to get their unarmed combat achievement.

I think I’m going to start The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz today.  It’s about a group of prisoners escaping a Soviet labor camp in 1941.  They end up traveling hundreds of miles through Siberia, China, the Gobi Desert, and Tibet to find freedom.

Happy Birthday, Raven WOOT!

Cold’s still dragging me down.  Still not able to concentrate worth a damn.  Instead, I used today’s work time to transfer documents and research into Scrivener projects.  Wrapped up all the short stories, Slow Movin’ series, and fodder/character sketches.  Also built the technical tables for my future Freya’s Tears space adventure, and transferred what little I already have there.

I’ve still got cyberpunk, Sanguire, and fantasy novels to transfer.  In all three cases, there are multiple novels for each world.  I’m not sure if I should make each book its own project file, or put each manuscript into the world project (if you catch my drift.)  Example: I’d have one Cyberpunk project with CyberEpic, Kou Itten, and another novel I’ve played with over the years.  Or I’d have a CyberEpic project, a Kou Itten project, etc.

Found a new band—Alter Bridge.  Myles Kennedy is the lead singer (and sounds like Chris Connelly,) and the majority of the band are former Creed members.  Love ‘em!

Finished Duma Key by Stephen King.  Pretty good book.  Not sure what I’ll pick up next.  My To Be Read pile is double sized and fills up half a bookshelf…

This cold (?) is kicking my behind.  I can’t focus long enough to write; I just stare at the blank computer screen.  Nothing productive on that end.  Ugh!  Phlegm City.

Oi, what a week!  You know what’s worse than a garage band staying in your hotel?  THIRTY garage bands staying in your hotel!  UGH!  It was a freakin’ ZOO!

What with exhaustion, Poison Night, a six day stretch of Hel, and a mountain of unfinished chores, I haven’t actually written anything on Broken Trails.  I’ll work on it tomorrow before work.

Which is not to say I haven’t been productive in some manner.  I’ve recently discovered a new Mac program called Scrivener that’s an absolute wiz!  I’ve completed entering in data from my Orphan Maker project, and am now working on doing the same for Freya’s Tears (a space adventure.)  As I’ve mentioned on Facebook, I’ve been able to finally see the big picture of the novel’s plot, and have added some scenes to help flesh it out more.  The first draft is about three quarters finished, but has been sitting in limbo because that indefinable something was missing.

Caught the last episodes of Heroes and Stargate Universe last night.  I’m betting that on SGU, Destiny dipped into that gas giant to deploy its ramscoops—it was refueling.  Any takers?

Still reading Duma Key by Stephen King.  I only have time to read at work, and the last week hasn’t left me much opportunity.  I’m about a third of the way through it now.

Last Thursday I had a ton of errands, and the Safety Committee meeting at work, so didn’t get anything done.  Then Thursday night was poison night, so nothing on Friday.

Had a bit of a late start today. I must have been tired, cuz I slept in an hour and a half, so not as much writing done as I’d hoped.  Chapter Fifty-Six of Broken Trails is almost complete with the new scene – Lainey and Scotch bearing their souls.  Scotch’s secret is revealed, and Lainey confesses her alcoholism for the first time to anyone.  Oh, and lots of hot, monkey sex. While I didn’t actually get a whole lot written (654 words,) I’m working on a particularly emotional scene. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!

Work was a freakin’ zoo!  We have about thirty rock garage bands in house for a function today in Old Town. My only saving grace is that tonight they’ll be mostly at the venues rather than drinking it up in our hotel.  I swear, I busted a party in one room and THIRTY people came out. THIRTY  It was almost like watching one of those circus clown cars… where did they PUT them all??

Whew!  What a strange few days.  Work’s been kicking my butt with all sorts of unexpected things.  Then on Sunday, I’m kicking it at home in my pajamas.  Get a call at 3pm.  It’s my boss.  Where am I?  Home…  “Guess you read the schedule wrong then.”

YEEKS! I was dressed and out the door in ten minutes!

I spent Monday and Tuesday (my real days off) getting my chi and wa back together (and kicking ass on World of Warcraft.)  Got some chores done that I’d meant to start on Sunday, as well.

Today I finished editing chapters fifty-five and six of Broken Trails for a 4878 wordcount.  Man, I can see why everyone hated me at the end.  What a let down!  Major facetree!  Where’d the rest of the story go??  To that end, I’m expanding the final scene (not the epilogue,) and will definitely have an entire chapter devoted to the Iditarod banquet.  Maybe two chapters, because Lainey has to bare her soul to Scotch as well as Ben Strauss regarding her alcoholism.

Manuscript’s total count is 128,861 at this point.  Here’s hoping my publisher will still take it!

Caught up with Stargate Universe, Heroes, and Flash Forward this weekend, too. I’m still liking all of them.

Saw a movie called ‘Saving Face.’  It’s a cool lesbian flick about two Chinese Americans dealing with falling in love, and their strict traditional community.  Very fun.  Lots of humor.

Off to do catboxes, then work.  Aloha!

Another 6470 words edited on Broken Trail.  Lainey’s almost at the finish line.  Changes here include Scotch’s Iditarod placement—she doesn’t come in third at all, it seems…  At this point, I need to write at least two more scenes for certain, both from Scotch’s POV on the trail.  I wanted to spend most of the Iditarod from Lainey’s POV —fresh eyes that the reader can connect with to view the race.  But I think I’ll insert a scene while Scotch is writing one of her love notes on the trail, and where she comes in to Nome.  Maybe a third after they have their phone conversation while Lainey’s still in White Bird.

Gina Torres is on ‘Flash Forward’??  All the more reason to watch, man!  WOOT!  I find it interesting that despite the obvious opportunities to change what they’ve seen in the future, those people who witnessed something dramatic that they might alter … don’t.  I mean, busting that fellah for drug paraphenalia would change the future, guaranteed.  But Demetrius didn’t do so.  Weird.

Still reading S.M. Stirling’s Conquistador.  It’s a book that’s interesting in concept, enjoyable in character and plot, but still easy to put down.  I’m only reading it at work for the most part…  I picked up Stephen King’s Dumas Key yesterday.  The first few pages intrigued me.  That’s next of my list.

My weekend starts tomorrow!  YAY!

6748 more words of Broken Trails edited.  It won’t be much longer before Lainey’s in Nome, at this rate.

Being a complete World of Warcraft geek these days, I’ve been watching a web series called ‘The Guild.’  Hilarious!  Anybody who RPGs will get a lot of the jokes, and those who predominantly play online will love it!  Go.  Check it out!

Whoa!  A whopping 8276 words edited this time round on Broken Trail. WOOT!

Watched Children of Men last night.  Loved the way it was filmed.  Michael Caine’s character was a hoot!  The scene with the soldiers and the baby made me cry.  This is the second time I’ve read/seen something with this sort of premise—namely, the lack of ability for the Human race to procreate.  Childhood’s End by Sir Arthur C. Clarke has a similar bent, though not for the same reasons.  In both cases, the adults become depressed and violent. It’s difficult for me to wrap my head around the cause of their acting out, having never wanted to have children myself.

Got some new Vans!  WOOT!  No more sandals in fifty degree weather!  In a couple of months, I’ll look for a decent cold weather jacket, too.  Mine bit the dust last year.

No posting yesterday because I didn’t do any writing to note.  A friend I RPG with on a Star Trek ship moved here from California last summer.  We finally made arrangements to get together.  He now understands the Awe and Power of the Shrine, Powell’s.  (“And this,” waving to one half of a huge room, “is the science fiction section.”)  It was good to see him again, and reconnect face-to-face.  Now we need Shawn to move up here—we can get a real D&D game going!!

Broken Trails, chapters forty-one through forty-three completed today.  6151 word count.  The novel has broken the 102k mark.  Here’s hoping my publisher is willing to take it when it’s complete… With just the rest of the first draft added, it’ll top 125k.  And I’ve at least one or two more scenes to add later in the manuscript.

Got to see Stargate Universe last night.  SyFy (the idgits) won’t show a television show the night after its television airdate.  They want to wait a week and a day.  I was pretty bummed about that, but a friend (thank you, Stevie) found it on Hulu.com.  WOOT!  Anyway, I love it, of course.  Wasn’t too hot on SG:Atlantis, but SGU looks cool.  It helps that I like the actor playing Dr. Rush.  Hope he’s not a bad apple that’ll end up being killed off this season for whatever reason…

Still working on Conquistador by S.M. Stirling.  It’s good.  I especially like the fan-geek stuff he sprinkles throughout his manuscripts.  An Italian feudal style family with a priest called Father Sarducci.  LOLOL!  Is his first name Guido??

I’m off to Clackamas Towne Center and the Vans store.  I desperately need shoes now that the weather’s getting cooler!

Broken Trail, chapters thirty-eight through forty edited and tweaked for a total of 6701 words.  I’m about two thirds through the novel now.  WOOT! Total wordcount is over 95k.  It’ll break 100k, easy, with the additional chapters.

Watched the television show, Flash Forward, last night.  Still liking it.  “And then there were two…”

Finished The Lovely Bones Thursday night, and began S.M. Stirling’s Conquistador.  I’m liking it, too.

Today’s my Friday.  YAY!  I’ve got to bring our luggage back to the storage unit, buy some new shoes for the cold weather, and meet with Stevie at Powell’s!  Haven’t seen Steve since… hel, it’s been years!  He just moved up here from California last summer. I’m looking forward to the visit.

Happy October, everyone!

Three more chapters of Broken Trail edited. 6483 words. No significant changes to be had. I may read through those chapters on Saturday before the next round just to be sure I couldn’t have shoved some angst in there somewhere.

I finished the last of Tanya Huff’s Blood Books last night.  While I’d brought S.M. Stirling’s Conquistador to work to start, I found a book in the hotel gift shop I had to grab—The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. It starts off so:

My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.

How could I pass up a book like THAT? Apparently, it’s a motion picture, but I’ve never heard of it.  Doubt I’ll actually watch the movie, either, but who knows…

Tonight is Poison Night, making tomorrow my day off of writing. With nothing to update, I probably won’t post tomorrow.