Avon FanLit update 1

Well the Avon FanLit Project is well underway. On last Friday the winner of the first chapter was announced. Anyone who wanted to participate could submit a chapter and anyone who wanted could read these chapters, over 5oo chapters were submitted, and vote on them. The top ten made the final where another round of voting and the judges chose the winner. Now writing and submitting for Chapter two is underway.

Check it out if you are an aspiring romance writer-


http://avon.fanlit.com/home.htm

The chapters I enjoyed the most were the slighty different ones. Since I don't read Regencies I think I seeking something more than the typical set up to rate the story 5 stars. There were a few stories that piqued my interest. One where the hero was a vampire I found intriging. One where the heroine was a spy seemed like it could be fun to expand on. There was one that had a murder in it. I would have loved to write for that storyline since I do like suspense.

The chapter that won was a fun read though not my first choice.

If I can get into the story enough I may even submit a chapter. But I have to study up on the era because I am not going to do it if my facts are half assed.

Anyway, it's been fun to read the blog and follow the progress so far.

I hope all my writing friends are having a productive writing weekend. Things are still going well for me. Here is a prompt I used recently

My family was great at

If you feel like playing along add a few sentences of your own after the prompt and post your version in my comments section.

My off the top of my head paragragh was

My family was great at not seeing things. No, that's lie. We were damn geniuses at it. We didn't see father lying. We didn't see mother's mind decomposing. No one saw my sister shrinking away. 78 pounds the death certificate said. And no one saw a thing.



Song Lyrics of the Day

Now if we had the power
to bring our neighbors home from war

They would have never missed a Christmas
no more ribbons on their door

and when you trust your television
what you get is what you got
cause when they own the information,
oh they can bend it all they want

that's why we're waiting
waiting on the world to change!
we keep on waiting
waiting on the world to change!

it's not that we don't care, we just know that the fight ain't fair

John Mayer Lyrics

Smooth Sailing

Right now things are going well in my writing world. I am happily lost in some short stories I am working on. I hope to finish them soon so I can get back to working on my novel. But I think these stories are helping me to learn to craft a complete story arc.

Because I have never finished a novel I am much more adept at crafting beginnings and less so at middles and ends. But now these short stories are allowing me to work on constructing conflict to fuel the middle of the story and bringing all the ends together for a satisfying conclusion.

My writing is taking its own sweet time to grow into itself, to become something I can rely on to produce when I start working with publishers. Each day I learn a little more how to navigate this mysterious craft.

Nine Eleven

This blog usually exclusively discusses my creative writing pursuits. But I would like to take one post and dedicate it to something else.

September, 11 2006 will mark the five year anniversary of the terrorist attack on America.

That day was an earth shifting focus rearranging moment for me. The shape of the world around me and my viewpoint on it was forever changed. But nothing I felt or feel to this day is unique to me. It's a feeling that runs through millions of hearts. I don't even feel worthy to write about such a momentous event.


Beyond the national and global ramifications of that day was the individual
earthquakes felt in all the lives of anyone who knew someone lost. And that is where the heart of the story lays, with the families and friends who waited for someone to come home who never made it back.

I have no doubt that each person lost was someone's whole world. So to all those who left us that day I wanted to use my little piece of the net to say

I still remember your sacrifice.

Nine Eleven

An echo lingers in this land
and in every heart.

A screaming, bleeding oneness that
made us all a part of
each other,
countymen turned to sisters,
found brothers.

And down to the last
of us
left
we vow to never forget.

Every moment stained in time .

Every loss one
on our minds,
still.


And this knowlegde of who they were
we shall carry forever.


We shall remember.
we shall remember.

Song Lyrics of the Day


Free

Only want to be free

We huddle close, hang on to a dream...


In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm

Home,
to a new and a shiny place


Make our bed, and we'll say our grace

Freedom's light burning warm
Freedom's light burning warm

Some lines from the song America by Neil Daimond

Fighting back the negative thoughts

I stare at a page in my latest WIP, the one about the writer's conference. I am only a few chapters in and I am already hitting the rough spot in this would-be novel. It is threatening to become another one of the many I start and don't finish. But I love this idea too much to walk away now.

The other stories were affiars. This is a marriage. This is the one I really want to take all the way. Still it will be written in its own time. I can not force it.

So the negative thoughts begin

"Why is writing so hard?" the inner suffering writer whines.

"Because it is," says my logical side.

"Why does it feel like I'll never finish my first novel?"

"You'll finish one when you finish one."

The inner suffering writer moans. "This is painful."

"Yes, but you love it."

Oh yeah, I do. Guess I better get back to it and bleed out a few more words toward THE END.

This cracks me up

I saw this on another blog months ago and saved it to my computer. If I can remember where I saw it I will link to it. If not, thanks to whoever made it. It really made me laugh the first time I saw it.

Some advice to check out

Any writer who loves to hear hints from published writers should check this blog entry outhttp://avonforum.fanlit.com/blogs/the_fanlit_blog/articles/3302.aspx

at the AvonFanLit blog.