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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

What's Up Wednesday



Every Wednesday, Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk sponsor this weekly hop, so that us writerly folks can touch base with each other. (You know how us writers are - always hiding with our head in some story cave).

It's easy to join. Just hop on over to Jaime's or Erin's blogs and sign up on the linky.

(Jaime and Erin have give What's Up Wednesday a little make-over (which I noticed just now), but still, I wanted to give this little robot one last day in the sun before grabbing a new button. He was so cute!)


So, this is what I've been up to:


1) What I've Been Reading:

I finished up the second book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meier, Scarlett. Yes, it was even better than Cinder, which is saying a lot. I'm totally blown over every time a series gets better with each book. Doesn't happen very often.

So now, I'm in the middle of book 3, Cress, and am really enjoying it.


2) What I've Been Writing:

I've finally found my groove. YAY! Last week, I wrote a chapter a day, and when I got stuck on my one WIP, I simply switched over to the other and kept writing. This weekend, I was hit by that little idea lightening bolt (no, it didn't hurt), which brought the first WIP back into full swing. My character had a sex change (gasp!) - girl to boy - and that seems to have added the missing touch at the moment. Now, I just need a new name!


3) What Has Been Working For Me:

When I get stuck or the words suddenly don't want to flow like they should, I grab a notepad and pencil, head out the door and take a walk. When I find a nice sitting spot, I stare at the world around me for about 10 seconds (no, I'm not a patient person), and then hit the scene again. So far it flows. Every time.
Oh, I should add that I only sit there for about 20 minutes. Then my idea breeze has ended and I head home to type up the new tidbits.
As I said, I'm not a patient person.


4) What Else I've Been Up To:

*takes deep breath* This week has been all over the place. Not sure where exactly, but it's been everywhere.
- We visited a church with my neighbors on Sunday, and then went out to a lunch buffet (Yummy!)
- I've been battling goats and worms. I now know why I prefer cattle. Those goats are a pain in the neck in SO many ways.
- One of our chickens has laid two eggs - our first eggs. Hope there's more to come soon.
- One of our cars broke down, so my hubs has been taking our 2nd to work. That leaves me stuck on the farm all day long. (Great for writing!) So my neighbor let me accompany her to the grocery store yesterday.

I guess, I could sum up this week with -

Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold.




And what about you? What have you been up to this week? Have you been sweating, sunning or enjoying the cooler weather? Any good eggs lately?












28 comments:

  1. I seem to be one of the few that didn't like Scarlet nearly so much as I enjoyed Cinder, but with that said I think Cress has been my favourite of the series so far! Great stories all around, though.

    Good to hear you've got great neighbours to help out when things go wonky, =)

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    1. Cinder was awesome. I'll let you know what I thought of Cress :)

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  2. I'm glad you are loving the lunar chronicles! I still need to read Cress.

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    1. When I saw both on the shelf at the library, I figured I better snatch both of them before they disappear again.

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  3. There is something about using actual paper that sparks my brain. Good neighbors are wonderful. I have some of the best.

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  4. That's a lot of bang for 10 seconds! ^_^ I'm so glad you have something that works for you! I'm not very patient either. Lol!

    Yay for eggs! And many more! My dad has eggs and they are the best. Good neighbors are also the best. :)

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    1. The kids were so excited when they found the first egg. They did a festive march through the entire house.

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  5. I loved SCARLET so much! That whole series is just fantastic, in my opinion. Can't wait for the next books! That's so awesome that things have really been flowing on the writing front lately. You're kicking your WiPs' butts! Hope you have a wonderful worm-free, breakdown-free, words flowing kinda week! :D

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    1. *hahaha* I'll really try to avoid the breakdown ;)

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  6. I agree with Mere above. Scarlet was my least favorite of the three so far.

    I just finished reading Lockwood & Co. and I am anxiously waiting for the sequel to release next week. I have also been bouncing back and forth between two WIPs.

    What else is new in my house? A little black kitten who causes mischief quite disproportionate to her size ...

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    1. Oh, I haven't read that one yet. Thanks for the heads up.
      So you got the kitten :) YAY!

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  7. Sorry about your car.
    Wish I could work on more than one manuscript at a time, but I'd become so confused.
    Your dudette is now a dude? Alex is always a great name...

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    1. Lol! Yeah, she needed to man-up a little. ;)
      Why am I not surprised that you'd suggest that name?

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  8. That sounds like such a brilliant writing block buster! :D

    I need to check out Cinder when I manage to reduce my TBR pile a bit more...

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    1. Now, if the writing can only continue at that speed.

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  9. Yay, glad to hear you enjoyed SCARLET! CRESS is fabulous, too. Amazing series! Glad to hear you're back into writing. I find taking time away to make notes helps if I'm stuck, too. Have a great week! :)

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    1. :) I was reading Cress way too much today - should have done more writing!

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  10. The Lunar chronicles are definitely one of the best series I've watched lately.
    I'm currently NOT enjoying the ridiculous amounts of snow we've gotten since Monday. :(

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    1. I was kind of sceptical to start them at first, but I'm glad I did.

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  11. Sorry about your car :(
    I haven't read the Lunar chronicles yet but I really need to get on that. Lots of people have enjoyed it.

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    1. They weren't what I expected. . .not that I know what I expected.

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  12. I completely agree with you about the Lunar Chronicles! They really do get even better with each book. That's so refreshing because I've felt kind of let down by several series in recent months. I can't wait for the next book!

    I'm envious that you can slip out to the woods to write when you're in need of inspiration. That would be amazing! No such luck on the prairies where I live. Sounds like that must really be working because a chapter a day is incredible! Hope that awesome pace keeps up! :)

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    1. There's going to be more??? Yay!
      The prairie is pretty too :)

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  13. Wow--so glad you hit your writing groove! And I love your method: "Inspiration Through Impatience." ;-)

    Sorry you had so many other troubles, but at least you have nice neighbors. Just be careful when battling goats. They have horns, you know.

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    1. Ugh! I noticed the horns. One got me in the back of the legs this last week. It doesn't really hurt, but there are more pleasant things in life. Like writing ;)

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  14. I'm kind of jealous that you can switch between WIPs like that. O_o I can't even write more than one at once, though I'm okay with plotting several at a time. But that's interesting that changing a character's gender helped so much - I've considered how plots would be different if I did the same, and it's bizarre the different directions that can go.

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  15. The flow of your writing seems amazing. I go on walks, write in different spots, and switch manuscripts to get it all done. I've done a genre and tense changes, but haven't tried a sex change yet.

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