What I have been up to writing wise.

Hey all! Just want to mention that I did do my exercise hour in the pool. Didn’t noticeably sweat, but my legs felt like jelly when I got out. 😉


Anyway, I finally felt the call to return to Doorways about a week ago and started to rewrite the first scenes. Although these scenes are far from perfect, I know that they are a huge improvement on the hasty scribbles I had penned down as a rough draft.


There are, however, some hiccups.


For one thing, I had worked in an aspect to the story that wasn’t there before. This change means that the relationship between Ward and Callan has changed. As well as the impression one gets of Ward as a person. On one hand, this change makes things simpler, but it also makes things complicated. Sigh. But I guess it will make for better reading.

Then, one of my characters has developed a crush on Callan and is still fighting with me because of the fact that I shipped her with someone else. Let’s just say he’s really vocal about it. I guess I will give him a shot (because I really like him), but I fear that this will lead to a disaster for all involved. Once again. Brilliant reading. Not nice to write, knowing what is going to happen as result of this guys choice. And he will not be dissuaded.

And finally, because of the fact that Quinlan arrived on the scene unplanned during NaNo, and because I think he’s awesome, one of my other supporting characters has to be sent back to obscurity. Bad thing is that he might be needed later in the series. So things are a little complicated. I’m thinking that maybe his sister (who now also has a rather threatened existence due to the above guy’s tendre) could mention him to Callan. But I’m still working on it, since he was introduced toward the middle of the story.

And no. I didn’t create her just to keep that guy distracted. She was supposed to have been his match, where few people are able to match him. And they weren’t supposed to like each other. At all. But I think things will remain that way, since she is very likely to play a bigger part later in the series…

Guardian still calls me, but I’m much more concerned with getting the Doorways rewrite done. After all. April isn’t that far away…

What about you? Do your characters sometimes run amok with your plans for the story? What are you working on?

NaNoWriMo day 2.

Sigh… to do something that isn’t either economics or NaNo related. So heavenly.

When I write, I’m worrying about economics. When I study, I’m thinking about writing.

Still, I’m slowly getting ahead of schedule with Doorways. (I’m about 400 words ahead of their daily goals.) So if I manage to write at my current rate, I will have gained a day by next week. I may get more writing done this weekend though, but I haven’t decided if I will make my weekend writing-only, or studying-only.

Choices… Choices…

Especially when I consider that both will leave me more or less equally exhausted.

I’m at this stage still wringing the words out of my muse. I get them down, but the effort involved is rather tiring. When I’m not wringing, I’m cramming portions of my economics into my head. Will I be more efficient doing only the one, or the other?

Yes… but I might also kill myself in the process.

Then there’s also the fact that something very strange happened in James and Ward’s story, while a complete stranger appeared in Callan’s. Oh the joys of pantsing.

I do like the stranger, although, he further complicates her life when she really doesn’t need it.

Wait… why am I complaining about that? Complications are good… Complications give me stuff to write about… Hopefully.

How is your NaNo going so far? And please leave your user names so that I can buddy you. 🙂

Black half week. (and what it reminded me of…)

I swear that someone up there is either out to get me or has a perverse sense of humour. Because almost anything mechanical or technological has decided to conspire against me.


My car. My car’s radiator. My blackberry. My toaster (I discovered that it hadn’t popped when I started to smell burning.)


Part of me is seriously wondering what’s going to happen next.


Still, there are upsides to all of these events. My car overheated in the parking lot of the student center, where my friend Theresa could call her brother to fix the car. Rather than being stranded in the middle of nowhere.


The radiator apparently now decides on its own when it wants to start and I can’t get it to work like it should. Luckily I was able to hear the deafening silence while I was still in front of my flat, instead of just before I see steam rising from the bonnet.


My blackberry refuses to charge and has now died on me. But… at least that didn’t happen during an emergency. Like, say, while calling fire fighters because my flat was burning to the ground due to a malfunctioning toaster. Also, it kept itself alive long enough to wake me up in time to prepare for class. Of course, my car did let me down on getting me there, but that isn’t the point.


And the toaster? I managed to hear the toast crackle on time for me to realize that there was a huge problem going down. Luckily I hadn’t left the kitchen as was my initial intention.


So… in the midst of all this crap that happened, at least I had luck that went along with it.


I guess that’s important when you tell a story, too. Put your characters through as much bad stuff as you like, but at least try to give what happens some meaning. I HATE when a writer tortures and maims a character, kills his family, has a dog pee against his leg and ends up having a bus running over him, just to add depth to his character and with no significance to the story. I HATE that authors like that even get published at all when they write like that. (Personal preference)


After all, most of us have killed a character. Usually I cry while typing those scenes, but I know that that character’s death means something to the story. That it has to be done. But seriously, even if it’s subtle and difficult to see, there has to be some bright side to the bitterness. For example character growth, or to get the story to the point when something has to give. Or to give the usually nice character a justifiable reason to be less than nice.


Just be sensitive. Killing the main character’s best friend and then not having the MC mourning said friend’s demise, is not sensitive. I find that I tend to take an instant dislike to main characters like that. But then I take just as much of a dislike to characters that moan and moan and moan about what happens to them without actively trying to do something about it.


It’s a fine balance, but really, if you can’t have your character roll with your punches, please please please just lighten the load on his shoulders? I’m sure that I won’t be the only reader that will love you for it.