Finished

The WIP(work in progress)is finished. One of the best parts of being a writer is typing "the end." Now I'm giving myself a week before starting revisions, but I love revising. The book needs fleshing out and reduction in some areas and reworking in others. I have to make sure the details are right, the logic isn't ignored, and that it reads well.

There's something so satisfying about finishing a novel. I mean the writing aspect. Yes, finishing one that you've read can be satisfactory as well, but the sense of accomplishment after writing is a magical feeling. You've really done something. Whether or not it ever gets published. You've written a book.

So I'm off now to revising. And believe it or not, I've already started a new novel. I have only three pages, but it's a start.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In Defense of Elitism by William A Henry
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Things that Go Bump in the Night

No, I'm not talking about ghosts. I'm talking about real night terrors. For the past two nights, I've had nightmares. Two different ones each night for a total of four different nightmares that wake me up from a good sleep. And I remember waking up from one about three days ago as well, but I don't remember the details.

They all have different story lines (if dreams can have story lines) and they aren't hard to interpret. One had to do with driving my twins off to work beside a swollen river (the tragic flooding in the Midwest) and then a tsunami wipes out their place of employment. (Yes, I know river don't have tsunamis, but it's a dream--cut me some slack.) You don't have to be Freud to figure out I'm beginning to have issues with letting them go to college where I won't have control over their every day lives (not that I do now-- I don't know whom my subconscious thinks she's fooling). The other four were as bizarre or more so, but I don't need to go into details about them. They make about as much sense as, well, dreams.

In any case, I'm having nightmares, and believe it or not, I'm actually happy about it. Why? I read a study in which the authors said adults tend to have nightmares once a month if that. I've always had nightmares at least once a week. Except this past year. For whatever reason, I haven't had any. Maybe because I wasn't sleeping too well, but I think because my creativity shut down while I was teaching. Yes, you have to be creative to be a teacher, but not with the creativity I use in being a writer. And now the nightmares are back, and I am flying with the writing. I am having such fun finishing up this WIP.

So I'm taking my nightmares as a good thing.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
My Favorite Thief by Karyn Monk
The Price of Indescrestion by Cathy Maxwell
In Defense of Elitism by William A Henry
The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler

Ack!!

I didn't mean to have such a break between blogs. I try to get one up a week (OK, every week and a half), but May came and went (like a hurricane) with end of school, husband's birthday, twins' birthday, twins' graduation, mother visit, Father-in-law-visit, ARC re-read, and I fell ill.

But no excuses. It's summertime and I am a writer again. Almost done with the WIP, ready and eager to start revisions, and the next book in the queue (in my head) is stomping to get out as well.

What a difference a few weeks makes. My mind set is completely uncluttered (except for plots) and my creativity has returned. I guess not having essays to correct DOES make a difference.
So I'm off to the writing computer again. I will be better blogging this summer.

Books I'm reading now (and have read these past few weeks)
You've got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly
Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Lost Wyndham Duke by Julia Quinn
Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Hollow by Nora Roberts
The River Knows by Amanda Quick
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey
Twisted Creek by Jodi Thomas
(I probably missed a couple)