YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL- Minami Shineyo

My amazing critique partners sent back their edit notes for Quest, and I’ve been busy with revisions. I haven’t had as much time to devote to my K-dramas, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given them up completely. Kiwi and I found a new show to watch together. It’s called YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL (aka YOU ARE HANDSOME).

It’s quite funny and we’re enjoying it.

Here is the synopsis:

When the lead vocal of the pop idol group A.N. JELL, Hwang Tae Kyung (Jang Geun Suk) injures his voice, the management company insists on adding a new singer to the group. Unfortunately, the new member, Mi Nam’s (Park Shin Hye plays both the male and female roles) botched plastic surgery won’t allow him to close his eyes, and he has to go to the States to repair the damage just before signing the contract.

His agent comes up with the idea of having his twin sister, Mi Nyu, pretend to be him since they’re identical in appearance. Mi Nyu, who was planning to go to Rome to be a nun, has to man-up and convince everyone she is worthy of being in a boy band without getting caught and spoiling her brother’s chance of fame.

Other members of A.N. Jell are Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo and Lee Hong Ki as Kang On Yu / Jeremy. 

HIBERNATION COMA, WAKE ME WHEN IT'S WARM

I'm sorry to say I don't have a Sharing Our Voices Post today. I love learning about what inspires my fellow writers. If anyone would like to volunteer and share, please email me.

I've been hibernating. For some reason, March puts me in a foul mood. I always catch some nasty virus. Right now, I'm fighting off a sinus infection. Hopefully, it won't be a repeat of last March when I was down with bronchitis for a week and had crazy fever dreams featuring the cast of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake novels. Wicked crazy.

I haven't felt inclined to start a new writing project. I still need to finish editing the three wips, DJINNI, HOUND OF ANNWYN, and QUEST lounging about in my computer. I rotate my efforts between them, because I'm always thinking of new ways to improve upon the existing storylines. A story isn't done until the ideas dry up, right? Or until it's published.

I've been critiquing for my partners, and they're reciprocating by reading my latest wip, QUEST. I still love this story, and I’m learning more about the elements needed to make it middle grade. I'm still trying to convince my daughter to draw character sketches. She started one last week, but got distracted by Naruto (she's totally addicted now). Maybe I should just do it myself. Sigh.

So, how’s everyone doing? Any new projects?

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

I have to admit, I've missed posting and my responses from my readers. Thank ya’ll very much for supporting me.

I spent the holidays in Virginia and Washington DC. If I ever find my camera, I'll post pictures. I had a wonderful time and the weather was beautiful. After we returned, I spent the rest of my blog hiatus editing.

Yeah, typically I’d say I’d rather be doing anything but editing. I include poop scooping during my dog’s evening walk in this list. However, do you know what I’ve noticed during this last round of editing—I love it.

How the world did this happen?  

I’d like to think it’s because I’m better at self-editing while writing the story. I tend to catch my tense slips, run-on sentences, and lapses into telling not showing. I’ve also learned a ton from my critique partners. They tend to catch the invisible words in the ms. You know, the words my brain tells me are there, but not. See, I forgot—they’re—in that sentence. I’m still sketchy on comma placement, but I’m learning.

I finished editing Djinni. It’s ready for my critique partners, but I’m holding off sending it to them for the simple fact that I’d prefer for them to read Quest for the Golden Apple first. I so totally love this story.

Yes, I’m biased. A bad mommy to play favorites, but this story has wiggled its way into my heart, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Still, I have a wee bit of a problem. I think subconsiously, or rather consciously now I've figured out my issue, I love Quest so much that I can't bear to finish it. I still have one last chapter to write. I've put it off for two months. It's outlined in my head. I know exactly what needs to happen, but I haven't put The End down on paper.

It's purely a matter of not wanting to abandon my characters. How can I say goodbye?

I guess I'll have to come up with a sequel.

NaNoWriMo ALMOST DROVE ME INSANE, Kidding.

Or am I?

Dramatic wiggle of the eyebrows.

Would I even know if I’m cuckoo-ca-choo…huh, huh?

Surely, someone would tell me if I’ve lost it. It’s not like walking around for hours with a price tag on your shirt that everyone sees, but nobody bothers to point out…‘cause you know…hmm, bad analogy. Maybe it’s just my friends who can be so oblivious.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved participating in NaNo. I experimented writing within a new genre, new tense and duel POV’s. I love how Quest for the Golden Apple came out. Actually, I just plain adore everything about this story. I had no problems with writers block, and two weeks in, I was on track to finish early.

So why is it that on November 29^th, I was at
36k. 

A few things.

The most significant and heartbreaking was that my uncle, Charles Baldon, passed away the week before Thanksgiving. He and his family live across the country, so I wasn't able to attend his funeral. I found out he wasn't doing well the day before he passed. I called too late to say goodbye.

Charles Baldon 1930-2011

My motivation waned.
The following week, Thanksgiving. I'll admit being in a turkey coma added to my lethargy. Add a Vampire Diaries marathon into the mix, and I sat on the couch with my sister and daughter for two days eating leftovers and working through season one instead of working on the NaNo project.

I really wanted to reach my goal. So bring on the insanity. I wrote 10k in two days—a fairly decent 10k, because I can’t write without editing for some reason. I threw in the towel and crashed on the 30^th at ten pm. My brain felt mushy. I was afraid if I shook my head to hard, brain matter would pour out my ears and damage my keyboard.

My final NaNo word count was 46,148.

This puts my actual word court (I had to deduct 10k because I started early) at 56,148. I’m four chapters from writing the END-Hallelujah.

It’s been five days since NaNo ended, and I’ve spent my time recuperating. I’ve enjoyed recuperating, which basically means I’ve finished up the second season in Vampire Diaries and have started on the third.

However, playtime is over. It’s time to get back to work. My goal is to finish Quest for the Golden Apple by this weekend, and then I’ll put it aside to simmer. Djinni should be nicely cooked by now, so I’ll start on my edits. I’d like to have ready for my critique partners before Christmas. That way I can start editing Quest in January.

How did ya’ll do with NaNo, if you participated? Are you editing right now or letting the story simmer for a while before diving in?

NaNoWriMo UPDATE

I’m still working on my NaNo project, which is why I haven't had any new posts. I'm totally enjoying this story. The best validation I've received for it is from my whip cracking daughter who doesn’t let me slack off.

She eagerly awaits each chapter, to the point where I have to fend her off so I can edit it before she reads it. It’s a wonderful feeling since I decided to have some fun with it by playing around with a different style, genre, tense, and pov’s.

In case anyone missed the earlier post, this is Middle Grade, and is written in present tense with dual points of views. Not a very popular style and difficult to pull off, I hear. I can't deny it's been a challenge.

I think it’s finally becoming second nature to write in the present tense without constantly slipping into past. The POV's are male and female. They are very different kids. Malik is rough and tumble, but emotionally needy and selfish at the moment. Nevan is sweet and shy, but also has a core of steel underneath her frills. They're view of the adventure they're on is completely different, yet also the same.

Now, for my project goal.

I started the project a week early. On November 1st I had 9781 words written, so I'm deducting those from my total. So while the word count is now at 35,286, I'm only at 25505 for NaNo. I hope to be able to make this up over the holidays, except Black Friday when I'll be shopping, ha ha!

So that's where I am at the halfway point.

Please, wish me luck.

FRAK, STOP PUTTERING AROUND

For the last few weeks, I’ve done a lot of puttering around.

I like the way that sounds, puttering…

It’s not as controversial as the actual word I’m thinking and using it won’t make my kids banish me to the time-out chair for using inappropriate language. Always a plus in my book. Being a good role model means remember to use words like puttering or sugar, hot dog, holy cow, Dude…or my favorite, frak (the kids say they know what the BSG translation for that one means…bad Mommy).

Sorry, I’m rambling. I do that.

Back to my puttering, which included fiddling with my blog? Urgh. I think I've finally worked out the kinks—those hair pulling, hive inducing, screaming into my pillow, most frustrating idea ever issues.

Work has been super busy. It must be the crazy weather: hot, cold, sunny, pouring rain. It confuses the heck out of people, which means an increase in my workload. Once I get home the last thing I want to do is write so I've been avoiding my computer.

The new fall shows have started, and I’m all caught up on Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, and Secret Circle. I’m also addicted to a few more (The Walking Dead premiered on Sunday). I won’t waste space by detailing all my TV viewing vices. Thank goodness for DVR. I can watch my shows whenever I want and not take time away from writing.

This brings me back to my work-in-progress and the lack of effort I’ve put into finishing it. That’s actually where I am right now in the story. The last chapter. Or what I thought would be the last chapter when I started puttering around two weeks ago. I had the ending outlined in my head, but I couldn’t force myself write…The End. It didn’t feel right. I wasn’t completely invested in how the story would wrap up. So I procrastinated.

I thought about it. Daydreamed out multiple scenarios.

Luckily, I have a twenty minute commute home with nothing to worry about except whether the herd of buffalo broke through the fence and blocked the freeway again (I missed that major accident by an hour). This is the time of the day when my creativity flows without boundaries or the stressors of daily life. The idea for an alternate ending started to form, and I let it take its own shape and consistency.

Those of you who write know this feeling. The giddy relief when inspiration strikes. )

Whew.

The new ending is different from the one I had two weeks ago. It just goes to show how important it is to follow your instincts. I’d promised I’d finish by November 1st (#WIPFTW) and pushed myself toward that goal. But in trying to finish, I almost lost sight of where the story needed to go.

Live and learn, right.

So, I sat down to write it up and couldn’t do it. I waffled. I liked the idea of the new ending, but I couldn’t decide if I liked it better than the old one. So, I puttered around some more. Finally, I talked to my friend JAllen, and he suggested writing both endings. So, that’s what I’m doing. I’m hopeful that one will be more dynamic than the other and my decision on which one to use will be clear. If not, then I’ll let my critique partners take a vote and decide.

So I'm curious. How does inspiration strike you? Do you know how your book will end before you start writing, and then follow your strategically laid out plan all the way to the conclusion? Or does the story morph as you write? Do you ever dig yourself a plot hole then wonder how you will ever get out? And if you do, how do you find your answer?

Almost Dear John Letter To my Work-In-Progress

Dear W.I.P.,

I’m writing today to express my heartfelt apologies to you, my work-in-progress, Djinni. The beginning of our relationship started off rocky. I was at war with your protagonist. At the time, I feared we would never move past our differences to find a balance of mutual respect. However, with much effort we formed a bond, and we seemed to be heading into a mutually beneficial direction.

Now four months later, I realize that we haven’t been able to take our relationship to the next level. We have gotten stuck in the “friend zone” and have been unable to form a deeper union of—exclusivity.

While I feel you have many characters which I admire and respect. I feel our bond isn’t as strong as it should be given the amount of time we’ve spent together. This I fear is my fault. I know it is a cliché to say, “It’s not you, it’s me,” but it is the truth. You are wonderful, dynamic, and possibly one of the best stories I’ve ever written.

Yet for all your wonderful attributes, I find I am unable to commit my heart and soul to just one manuscript at this time. To quote Sookie Stackhouse in Trueblood, “I love you both.”

For now I must be selfish and share my thoughts between you and your sibling work-in- progress, Hound of Annwyn. Who is in need of tender loving revision. I’m sorry I’m taking time away from you when you need me most. Please forgive me.

Your loving author,

Angie Sandro