New Nanowrimo Summary Progress

Six pages and 3,298 words and my story has changed a lot! It's still a fantasy, and it's still modern, but now it's got some more traditional fantasy material in the way of backstory that's important to the current story.

There's also a new character who's added some romantic complication. What's a little conflict between friends, right? :D The new character is the main character's best friend. They're closer than brothers, having known each other for a very long time, and they're both interested in the same woman. Who will get the girl, I wonder? ;)

This summary is far from over, and I'll be working on it some more tomorrow. I can't wait! If all goes well, this could be my first 100K novel! :)

But right now, I've got about five or six other things I have to do.

Happy evening!

Lois

Crafts, Fish, Writing, Etc. (28 September 2010)

Sorry this is so late. I've been busy.

Jeff and I bought a male betta this weekend. He's a Crowntail betta, same as the female I had. We also bought him his own little tank, which I'm taking care of in the bedroom. So far, he's doing well, but I've heard that I should feed him every other day, instead of every day. From what I've seen of him, I think that's true, as he doesn't eat much. Anyway, he's beautiful. Here are some pictures:







The kids bought some more fish last night, and it seems they're all pairing off. It's really cute. And we think one of the black tetras they bought last time is pregnant. I wonder if there's some way to put the eggs/ fry in a separate dish to keep them safe for a couple of weeks...

I finished Cyrus's afghan last week, so we went to Hobby Lobby to get some yarn so I could start on Josiah's. We went back to Hobby Lobby yesterday so I could get another skein. I bought bright golden yellow with a coupon for 40% off. I have a theme for this afghan. I'm calling it "Sea and Sky," and the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 will be made from the colors of the ocean (green for seaweed and other aquatic plants, dark blue for the deeper water, and teal for the surface water), then I'll use green again to separate the ocean from the sky, then I'll start on the colors of a sunset for the sky part of the afghan (golden yellow, orange, red, reddish purple, dark blue). So far, it's looking pretty good. Again, here are some pictures:









And, of course, I can't post this without adding some piccies of the baby afghan. :) Here they are:







Eric gave me a pair of camouflage shoes he and Chelsey bought for Josiah when he was a newborn, and they want me to send them to Leah when I send the afghan. Here they are, as well:




Aren't they cute? :D

I did a lot of rearranging around the house yesterday. I moved a bookcase into the bedroom. The betta tank is sitting on top of that under a lamp. I also got rid of one of the folding tables, and it will likely go into the living room soon so my mom can use it while she's here. And I moved my favorite little table next to the bed (on my side). Juggling things around allowed me to free up a bookcase for the kids, which currently still sits in the guest room. I would take pictures of all this, but I doubt anyone's really all that interested in it. ;)

Speaking of the kids, I have great news! They've been on a waiting list for a while now to get into an apartment, and they just got word that they can move in soon--as in a couple of weeks (or so). They went to see it, but it was having some maintenance done to it. Still, they'll have their own place! :D I've been going through our things to see what we can give them. I'm not done yet, but at least it's a start. :)

We bought an Asparagus Sprengeri at Walmart on Saturday, and I'll be planting that in the glass container I bought last week. I plan to plant it today, making it an open terrarium. Here's a picture of that:





I also bought a cute little scarecrow for $1, and it's staked in my grass planter. Here are two pictures:







And I knitted a cozy for my large French press this weekend. I also knitted two cup warmers. One is very large, one is small. Here's a picture of the cozy and the small cup warmer, and it's the last picture for today.





I plan to work on my modern fantasy today. I've got the basic outline, I just need to read it, take notes, then begin tweaking it.

I'll work on the afghan later this afternoon. I also need to start work on my contributions to this year's goody bags for the Nanowrimo Kick-Off Party. I can't wait! :D I'm giving tea again, and I need to design the tags, then start assembling the bags.

At some point, Jeff and I will have to go back to the library, too. I put two audio books and two other books on hold.

Have a great week!

Lois

Back to Work!

I haven't been on here in a long time, but I'm ready to try again. I've cut my work load back, so it should be much easier for me now.

 

Today, both Jeff and I are starting back to work. He is starting at the greenhouse (he was laid off for two months or so), and I'm resuming work on my writing (I took a longish break). 

 

I have ideas for a screenplay rewrite, and I've got to get them all down. My old idea, while I loved it, it just didn't seem like movie material. It seemed more like a novel in screenplay format. I'm going to change it, make it better...make it bigger. I can't really explain it better than that. I just need to get to work on it as soon as possible (as soon as I finish up online).

I've been working on a baby afghan. Here are three pictures:







I also knitted some hand warmers. I've tried knitting with double pointed needles before, but always got frustrated and quit. This time, it was fairly easy, for some reason. Here's a picture of one of the hand warmers:



Jeff and I went shopping for new shoes this week, too. He found some shoes for work, and I found some to replace the ones I've been wearing. Here's a photo:



I've finally taken a photo of the other Fittonia bowl terrarium I planted. Here's a picture of that:



And the last picture of the day is a funny one I took of Jeff and Niki:



So, this past week, I've done a lot of crocheting, a little reading (I've resumed The Faery Reel), and a bit of shopping. For the most part, it's been a pretty good week.

Oh! But our Mollies died. :( We're going to give it another week or two before we get anymore. One of the plants doesn't look too hot, either. Jeff thinks it has something to do with the nitrites. He keeps testing the water quality every few days. Yesterday, he added some kind of stuff to help regulate the nitrites, and hopefully it will work. Two of the Molly fry died, and he put the last one in the aquarium, but the Betta found it and ate it. At least she's doing well! :P So, all we have left are the frogs and the Betta, and they all seem fine. The Ghost Shrimp mostly disappeared, but we saw one dead on the bottom (Jeff removed it immediately), and we saw the tail of one up against the filter's intake. I think it's safe to say that they all died, as well. Maybe they'll do better next time...

Lois

Errands, Job Hunting, Whatever

Jeff sent his resume and cover letter out to two or three more greenhouses. I sure hope he hears back from someone soon!

I didn't do any writing yesterday. I moved some things into the guest room, though. Today, I plan to move the drawing table out of the bedroom and my desktop computer and table in. Eric can get on and put the stuff he wants to keep into a folder for me to put on a DVD, then that will be that. :)

Jeff and I went out for a while yesterday. We bought some Frontline Plus for Chloe. We also bought a new cordless phone...with two handsets. They're all charged up and ready to go. :)

And we stopped at a fish store to look at fish. We're not setting up the aquarium yet, but it was cool to look.

I'm hoping to write some more today. I'd like to get 5K, but don't know if I will. With the other stuff I need to do, I may only get about 1,500, which would still be fine with me.

 

I won't be updating here on Blogger anymore. I need to cut down on how much time I'm spending online, as it cuts into my writing time. I'll still be updating over on LiveJournal and Facebook, so you can keep up with me there. I wish I could keep posting here, but it just really cuts into my time, and I can't keep up with my F-List. :(

Have an awesome day!

Lois

Busy Day Today...

I plan to write for two hours, then stop for the day...no matter how many words I get. I'm still quite a bit ahead, and I did write 2,269 words yesterday, so I'm good. :)

Then I'll move some things into the guest room.

Eric needs to backup whatever files he wants to keep from my desktop computer so he can move them to Chelsey's, then I can have my desktop computer back. I'll be moving it into our bedroom and using my laptop as the portable computer it's meant to be. ;)

Jeff's still waiting to hear back about the job search e-mails he sent out yesterday. He needs to get a hold of a woman at the greenhouse in Grand Rapids, too. He tried yesterday, but got the voice mail, so decided to just call back today.

We're thinking of taking Niki to the Humane Society. We just don't know if we'll be able to keep her with the way our finances are...and with Jeff being out of a job. We may give it a few more days before we decide.

Chloe's got fleas, so we now have to get Frontline Plus for her, as well. :(

If we move, we may get rid of most of our furniture. I have to say, I wouldn't miss most of our furniture if we do. Most of it's crap, but there are a few things I definitely want to take with me.

Anyway, I've got to go get something to eat, then I'll start writing.

Have a good day!

Lois

Julnowrimo 2010: Writing Progress for Day 5

I did a lot of editing today, but I edited in about 2,269 new words! :D Not bad, if I do say so myself. ;) And I got a really, really late start, since I had to babysit Josiah for about 45 minutes.

Using the notes a friend sent me, I made some small fixes, then moved on to the bigger issues...the largest being that in several days, Arjun hadn't "eaten." Well, I couldn't have that, so I edited in a scene where he went savage and could no longer go without feeding. I think I did a good job, but I won't know for sure until M. reads it.

I also added in some other new material, little things scattered in here and there, leading up to his feeding, then adding in his remorse afterward, and Claire's acceptance of him, even after seeing what he'd done.

I'm including an excerpt here, so you can get an idea of some of the dialog between Arjun (the young vampire) and Malachai (the Archangel). My friend told me she really loved this exchange, and I have to admit to some sense of accomplishment with this. I've always wanted to write some great dialog. I think dialog is one of my strengths, but in some ways, I haven't really attained what I'd like through my dialog. In this excerpt, I think I've actually done what I've rarely been able to do, and I hope you'll like it.

As a side note, I am fully aware that Malachai is not a realistic archangel. I'm using a lot of creative license here, as the story is dark fantasy, so please don't let my portrayal of Malachai offend you.

Without further ado, here is the excerpt:

Arjun woke up confused as hell. There was a light shining so brightly, he thought it was daylight. His eyes hurt, but he forced himself to keep his eyes open so they would adjust to it.

“You're awfully reckless for someone who claims to love that woman, Arjun. What were you thinking? Or were you thinking at all?”

“What do you want, Malachai?” Arjun groused.

“I came because I've been ordered to help you.”

Arjun sat straight up and stared at the Archangel.

“Yeah, I couldn't believe it either,” Malachai shrugged. “But here I am.”

“You're not supposed to...”

“Interfere? Yeah, I know. I guess it's pretty important, or I wouldn't be cursed to help the likes of you.”

“What have you got against me, anyway?” Arjun asked. “I've never done anything to you.”

“It's not what you've done,” Malachai said, his voice flat as he shrugged his broad shoulders. “It's what you are. For centuries, I've been protecting humans from your kind. Don't take it personal. I don't like any of you. You're an abomination.”

“You know, Malachai, I didn't ask for this. It was forced on me against my will.”

“Still, you are what you are. You have impulses,” Malachai slid a glance toward Claire, who still slept soundly beside Arjun. “And you don't even attempt to control them.”

“How would you know that?” Arjun asked, perturbed.

“Look at yourself, Arj. Just look at yourself. You've been in contact with her for, what—sixteen hours, give or take a few minutes—and you've already bedded her twice. If that's control, I'd hate to see your lack of restraint.” The Archangel rolled his eyes and sighed, as if speaking to a child who'd done something mildly wrong. “Really, when you asked her if she wanted a ride home, what did you think would happen? Did you think she'd bake you a cake and send you on your way? Really, Arj, you're prone to these kinds of things. It couldn't have surprised you when things started getting hot and heavy.”

“You wouldn't understand any of this. As far as I know, your kind don't know anything about romantic love or sex.”

“You would be surprised what I know,” Malachai said, his eyes glowing white hot.

“Yeah? So, what do you know about it? Tell me.” Arjun taunted.

Malachai didn't take the bait.

“We don't have time for this, Arj. There's a band of twelve Hunters heading this way. They'll be here within half an hour. We've got to get you and the girl out of here.”

I would have liked to include the new scene I wrote today, but I think I'll pass for now. Who knows? Maybe someday. ;)

Have a great afternoon and evening!

Lois

Back to Redemption

Once again, I didn't write yesterday. I'll be starting cold today, with all new material. Thankfully, I have an outline! :P I plan to get at least 1,500 words today. If I write that much every day, I'll have no problem finishing with 50K+.

We had a pretty good day yesterday. Jeff's cover letter and resume are looking really good, and he's already sent them out. :) Granted, he's only sent them out to his two bosses, so far, but still...

We watched Pops Goes the Fourth last night. It was great, as always! :D

I watched Josiah from 3:30 until about 8:00 last night. He was really well behaved. :)

I got Chelsey's computer all set up, and I copied photos and setup programs to it, too.

I've done kind of a lot of crocheting. :)

I mostly caught up online yesterday. Today, as I've said, I plan on writing 1,500 words. We'll see how that goes...

Have a great day!

Lois