10K Day!

I'm participating in the Saturday 10K today, but we're going grocery shopping first. I'm setting a goal of 5K, just like last time, but if I get more, I'll be extremely happy. :)

I have to hurry up and get ready, so I'm keeping this very brief.

Needless to say, I don't feel lousy like I did yesterday. I plan to work on my short story today, now that I'm feeling a lot better.

Wish me luck!

Lois

Blah!

I'm not feeling very good today, so I'm going to get off the computer and use good old fashioned pen and paper while I curl up with a quilt on the loveseat. I wish I had peppermint tea. It sure would help my tummy!

I have to babysit this afternoon into tonight. I hope I'm feeling better by then. We also have to go grocery shopping. :/

Jeff was happy to see that La Femme Nikita isn't over with (although he really wanted her to be able to go free). Mission accomplished. *g*

Tomorrow night, we'll watch one of the other DVDs. That's after 10K Day, of course. ;)

Well, I need to check in over at the writing forum, then get off here.

Have a good day,

Lois

Writing Is Love! :)

Just thought I would post an excerpt from my short story. I've been working on it, but it still seems far from finished. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a novella instead of a short story!

Fox and Amabil (his niece by marriage) live a short distance from a Cheyenne village. The Cheyenne recently returned from their winter camp and Broken Wing, Fox's Cheyenne friend, took them to spend some time with his people during a celebration of spring. In this excerpt, they're on their way back to the peaceful valley, where Fox and Amabil live in a hogan Fox built by a lake surrounded by mountains and hills.

Fox and Amabil stayed with their Cheyenne neighbors for several days. Fox took every chance he could get to spend time with Olivia. He respected their customs and never tried to see her secretly. They always remained in the open where others could see them. He never touched her or kissed her, though he wanted to, and when he and Amabil finally began their journey back to their hogan in the valley, it was with sad hearts that they departed.

Broken Wing traveled with them and he saw the sadness in Fox's eyes as they talked.

“You miss my sister?”

“Yeah, I do,” Fox sighed.

“My father likes you. I think you have won him over,” Broken Wing grinned.

“What do I do now?” Fox asked.

“How many horses do you have?”

“What?” Fox asked in surprise.

“How many horses do you have?” Broken Wing repeated.

“Twelve,” Fox answered.

“Hmmm,” Broken Wing murmured. “You could offer ten of them. That might convince him.”

“What are you talkin' 'bout?” Fox asked, frustrated.

“It is customary among my people to offer horses to the family of the girl you wish to marry.”

“You're serious?” Fox asked.

Broken Wing nodded. “My opinion will carry much weight, but since I no longer live in my father's house, and there are no more brothers, the final word will be my father's.”

“So, what do I do?”

“You and Amabil should gather ten of your horses and ready them for the trip. Once you arrive in our village, Amabil will lead the horses to my father's tipi and leave them there. By the following day, if the horses are gone, you will know he has accepted.”

“And what do I do while I'm waitin'?”

“You will stay with me, of course!” Broken Wing grinned.

Fox looked at his friend, studying him. “You're not pullin' my leg, are you?”

“Pulling your leg?” Broken Wing asked, a puzzled expression on his handsome face.

“You know, jokin'.”

“Oh, no, I am not pulling your leg. This is the way it is done among my people. The Lakota and other tribes have similar traditions.”

2,474 words written so far today!

Now I'm off to work on some feedback, then I'll start on the outline. :)

Have a great afternoon!

Lois

I Now Have Something To Work With for Nano!

So far, I have no feedback to do. I'm expecting to have some tomorrow or Saturday, but for now, I'm free to work on my own writing.

Yesterday, I wrote a 2,327 word summary of my Nano Novel...the final draft of the Zane Greywolf story. I've kept a few scenes, but most of it is brand new and very different from the original story. I've also lessened the importance of Zane's friends (Mattheu, Jason, Hawk and Christien) and made Xander's old friend (Lucas) a bit more important. I've given Zane a character flaw (he's a loner, afraid to get close to people for fear that they'll abandon him), enabling circumstances (he lives alone in a cabin on the mountain, and he works as a park ranger, which allows him a lot of time to be alone), an opponent (a Mexican gangster, Antonio Perez), an ally (Xander), a life-changing event (Xander returns, after years of Zane and his father believing him dead, and he wants to renew his relationship with his younger brother. He needs Zane's help in getting over everything he's been through) and jeopardy (the Mexican gangster, Antonio Perez, comes after Xander to get revenge for something he did years ago, and Zane has to choose between helping his brother or abandoning him, as Xander did to him years ago, when he joined the military). Something pretty bad happens near the end, adding to the jeopardy, but I don't want to say what it is. ;)

So, that's my Nano Novel in a nutshell. I'll be tweaking it some, I'm sure. I still have to write up the outline, too. There's a romance between Zane and the halfbreed woman living on the mountain (she lives with her white father, her mother is dead), but this isn't as major as it was in the first two versions. This version will dwell much more heavily on the relationship between Zane and Xander.

So, I'll be working on the outline today, but first I want to work on the Fox Redman short story.

We got some Netflix DVDs in. Jeff will be surprised tonight when I show him that La Femme Nikita isn't over, as he believes. ;) We also got the new Red Dwarf movie, Back to Earth, as well as the next Mutant X.

It's rainy here this morning. I'll be happy when this weather clears up! Looks like tomorrow will be cloudy, Saturday will be mostly sunny, then Sunday we have another chance of rain and storms, Monday and Tuesday should be partly cloudy, then Wednesday we have another chance of rain and storms. At least there should be some sun in there! :P

And on that note, I'd better go. I need to finish checking my email and the Int'l Scribe's Support Group. I also need to post my latest Xander Greywolf character journal entry to Native Heroes.

Have a great day!

Lois

Wednesday Writing Sprints

Today, I'll be working on my Zane Greywolf outline. If I have time after that, I'll work on my short story. I'm hoping to finish both of these before November 1, so I need to get busy!

Today is Wednesday Writing Sprints. As always, anyone working on their own writing today is welcome to join us. We set goals for ourselves, then update periodically throughout the day. It's fun and we get work done on our own projects. :)

I had a lot of fun at Sweet Bay last night. It's always good to get together with other writers. I didn't get any writing done, but I got to talk to some writing friends. That's always a bonus. Next week is the Nanowrimo Kick-Off party. I am so looking forward to that!

So far this morning, I've checked my email and sent out two e-mails to my Nano mentees. I'm about to catch up on the Int'l Scribe's Support Group, then I'll start work on the outline.

Have an awesome Wednesday!

Lois

Finally...Time To Myself!

Well, I've gotten feedback and e-mail out of the way...finally! Now I can get down to writing my own stuff! I plan to work on the short story and a new Xander Greywolf character journal entry, which I'll be sharing with one of the Nanowrimo newbies I'm mentoring. She actually just wrote her very first character journal entry and shared it with me. It was for her villain. I loved it! :D And the best part was the feeling that I inspired her to give character journaling a try. :)

I'll be going to Sweet Bay tonight. That'll be fun!

Today's a nice sunny day...at least for now. We're supposed to have some clouds today, and we do have some, but we've still got lots of blue sky and sunshine. It's warmer today, with a high expected of 75°. We've got more bad weather in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday, so I'll enjoy the sunshine while I can!

I'd better go. I'm itching to work on my writing, so that's what I'm going to do...just as soon as I finish posting this and catch up on the Writer's Forum.

Have a good one!

Lois

Another Manic Monday!

I've got two feedbacks from yesterday that I'll have to revise and two more to write first drafts of. Otherwise, I'm hoping to work on my short story and the outline for my Nano Novel.

Last night, Jeff and I watched The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Despite the title, it was actually a pretty serious movie. It was very good, too. It starred Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins).

I get today and tomorrow off from babysitting, but then I babysit on Wednesday. I'm not sure of the days and hours from then on.

I'm not sure if I'm going to Sweet Bay tomorrow night. Can any of you Yetis out there tell me if we're still going to be getting together at Sweet Bay after the Chinese Restaurant thing (I won't be going to that)?

The day is starting out nice and sunny. It's 51° right now. I'll take it while I can get it!

And now I've got to go. I have work to do.

Have a great day!

Lois