HARD MAGIC update

I am officially at the "OMFG I HATE this book" stage.

I expect this to last another 20,000 words, give or take an "and."

*sighs*

Knowing that this is not only part of the usual cycle, but also part of the "first book in a series and it's not as easy to get everyone to hit their marks as I'm used to with better-trained characters" trauma....doesn't make it any easier to deal with, no. Expect continued whinging and head-desking until we achieve breakthrough.

Sorry about that, chief.



In better news -- happy belated birthday, varkat! You distracted me with all that talk of wine, last night. ;-)

it's funny 'cause it's true....

Stuck for your next scene? Try WordPerhect.


(via maryrobinette)

The One-Star Review Roundup

You may have seen this going on around the blogosphere, thanks to John Scalzi's challenge -- post, embrace, and own your 1-star Amazon.com reviews.

As I said on rachelcaine's comments, I'm not doing it, not because 1-star reviews make me forlorn and/or crazy (mostly, they make me sorry I couldn't write the book the reviewer clearly was expecting), but because there's a restraining order on me going anywhere near Amazon.com during the first few weeks of a new book's release.

Trust me. Author + new release + Amazon's insane ranking system = teh Crazy.


(most of the 1-star reviews I've gotten seem to gripe that a) nothing happens, b) I give too much detail, or c) there are too many typos. Possibly all valid complaints. The one that complained about the magic system being stupid/inaccurate, though, I put in the same batch as the "you're writing vampires wrong" letters I got for the Westin stories. Sez you! 2-star reviews tend to be more useful to the writer, as they're generally an actual review of what was liked/disliked, rather than "this sucked!")

And I seem to be spamming LJ today. I must be writing. *checks wordcount* Yep.

The Return to Riding Report Card, weeks 6 and 7

Some of you may have noticed that I missed last week's report. Some of you may have been thankful. Tough, we're back.

Week 6:

Not much to report this week, actually, mainly because I went with my head full of negotiations and counteroffers and whatnot, meaning that I may have been ON the horse, but I wasn't WITH the horse. Very frustrating -- nothing felt right, nothing was working, and I finally ended up riding sans stirrups so my legs at least would remember how to curl and grip. Head and body. You can't bring one and not the other and expect to make it work. Knowing why I was distracted made me feel not any the less annoyed with myself.

Week 7:

( good news, better news, and ow! )