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Showing posts from January, 2014

Chapter One is Done

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Just over 2600 words, completed this morning. It's a good start and I liked where it ended. I personally prefer to hit the chapters at around 2500 words or less, but this is close enough. After rewrites it'll either be three chapters or it won't appear in the novel at all. So I've got that going for me. But Talise's life has definitely taken a turn, a heavy, terrifying turn. Although at this point neither she nor the reader - nor the author for that matter - know exactly how sharp that turn is going to be. It's kind of exciting. Thanks for reading. Off to do other stuff... then write. Casey Posted with Blogsy

Just for Me

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This post is just for me, to keep me accountable.   Managed to hit 300 words... barely. That amount seems to be trending towards my minimum. Of course if I do that every day, I'll have a completed novel in 10 months. I'll take that.   I got caught in what I not-so-affectionately call a decription vortex this time, started waxing poetic about Talise's scene. This is OK in a sense because it's part of my style and I feel I'm pretty good at it. But 300 words of it without a break for action and I start to get nervous that the reader will begin to fade. In a first draft it's OK. If nothing else it puts me in the proper mood to move forward. And I will certainly fall in love with a couple of nuggets within, that will make it to the final draft. Thanks for reading. Off to wax poetic... and then write.   Casey Posted with Blogsy

Tools

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I'm quite certain I've gone on and on about Scrivener, the queen mother of all writing programs. It's the only way to write a novel as far as I'm concerned. I've used it for years and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation. But... no app to go along with it. And I do a lot of writing on Padrick. They keep threatening to release one, but it always seems to be months away. So I use iA Writer to work on Twin Waters when I'm not at the Mac. It's a good app. Simple, but in the best way. Wrote 300+ words on it last night. Someday Scrivener will have an app for me and I'll be first in line. One has to dream. Thanks for reading, off to check for updates on the new Scrivener App... and then write. Casey   Posted with Blogsy

Everybody's Wri-ting' for the Wee-kend'

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Does that punctuation make it read like a Loverboy song?   Anyway, apparently I was writing for the weekend, because on the weekend, I did not write. Uh, oh. Yeah, two wasted days.   But that's in the past and regret will not write a book, so let's deal with what we can control... or mostly control.   Happy Monday!!   Thanks for reading. Off to do a bunch of other stuff so I can write tonight!   Casey   Posted with Blogsy

"Fifty Yaaaards." - Movie?

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  Cracked That 1,000 Word Ceiling   It doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme. But I did manage to cross the 1,000 word threshold on the third day.   Talise is already in trouble, although she has no idea how much at this point in the story. Poor girl. She has such a long road ahead, both literally and figuratively.   So do I.   Thanks for reading. Off to install a new dishwasher and then write.   Casey   P.S. - "Fifty Yaaaards." - Clark Griswold - N.L.'s Vacation   Posted with Blogsy

Dog Named Boo

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Me and You and a Dog Named Boo While writing last night I decided to play random music on my iPad and that's what I got. This is exceptional because I didn't know, or remember that I had that song, or even when I might have purchased, burned or lifted it... or why. It's not that I don't like the song. It's just that I can't imagine going out of my way to add it to my library. Then I remembered, which means I searched for the song in my library. About a year ago we received a CD in the mail as some sort of promotional prize or something from an insurance company or HVAC company or somebody else who wanted my money. Turned out to be titled 70's Pop Hits (Vol 2 [Disc 1]). I know what you're thinking... "Where's volume 1? Is there any way we can get our hands on disc 2?" I threw it on my iPad, as I tend to do, and immediately forgot about it. What does this have to do with writing? Easy. I decided Talise needs a dog. She spends a

Day Two

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Day Two (with ominous music playing... like Bram Stoker's Dracula) First impression was frankly this: Holy cow! I can't believe how much work I've already done. That was nice. Second: I've got a Facebook notification. Third: I need my glasses. Fourth: I need a little music to drown out Bridget Jones in the next room. See where I'm going here? I was listening to Writing Excuses (great Podcast) yesterday and they were talking about a ritual at the outset of writing. I think I need a ritual... a pre-shot routine as it were... to move me into the writing mode. All that said, I did open Scrivener, read through my notes, write about a page (very slowly), and set up the Dropbox so if something hits me during the day I can throw it in there. So I can safely say day one was a success. Tonight I try to write at least another page and decide what I should include in my pre shot routine. Thanks for reading. Off to (eventually) write. Casey Posted with Bl

31,536,000 Moments

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So I'm sitting here, January 1, 11:10 in the AM, kids mulling about (we have three extra this morning), drinking a Pepsi One (of course) and eating a salami, swiss and sliced green olive (yep) on sour dough, which is all left over from last night's Roman feast. My mind is foggy and angsty and very typical after an evening of self-abuse. And I'm thinking about writing. And I'm thinking about this blog. And I'm thinking about optimism and commitment and making the most of the 31,536,000 moments available to me this year. See, I posted this list on Facebook where I mentioned my top 10 best moments in 2013. The responses were so wonderful and so supportive. And focusing on those 10 events with that kind of reinforcement made them seem bigger somehow. But more importantly that focus also made all the difficult parts of the year smaller. There were so many. But I feel like I conquered them all. My family and I conquered them all. Those negative moments and awful