I gotta get blogging more. I'm just really lazy and typically post links on Twitter to whatever I'm interested in, rather than do a proper blog post. But anyways, I'm going to try to do a round up post on Sundays of nifty, random stuff.
In Skyla News, I was on limited office hours this week due to really bad wrist pain, which flares up if I don't take enough breaks for several weeks. So...ouch. And in writing news, I've been suffering a whiny case of, "Writing is hard--waaaaah!" so I've pretty much kept to myself. I don't understand why staring blankly at the screen doesn't make words appear...
First up, publishing/writing stuff.
* A great piece on writers' expectations and publishing. I love this piece. It addresses the obsession with instant success stories (which I've talked a bit about before) and the whiny "Why do crappy books get published?" thing that everyone says. And it was summed up best by the awesome Julie Butcher: "So if we're hard-heads, we win?" Yep.
* Lili's Friday writing post about the fear that characters will stop talking to you if you're happier and don't share their pain. And it's a fantastic post because I've had that fear for years. I'm viewing shitty life experiences now as "taking one for the team"--they've allowed me to go to a very dark place and transform those feelings and experiences into something cathartic for others. In short, I feel like my best books are the ones I write for fellow damaged people. So if I actively work on being happier and healthier, can I still write effectively for the damaged? I don't know. But it's worth a shot.
* I wrote on the MP blog about my author checklist. This is something I've heard a LOT of editors talk about--what type of writers do they want to work with...and who do they REALLY not want around? I came up with nine qualities I've encountered that make me twitchy. I also encourage writers to come up with their checklist for publishers. I think we all have to be clear about what our expectations are for one another to make the best match possible, because really, that's how a book is going to be successful--when both parties are on the same page. I expect someone's going to get bent out of shape over it but, you know, someone's gotta say these things.
* Follow The Pixel Project on Twitter. Every night they tweet helplines from all over the world to DV shelters. Retweet the numbers and you could save a life.
New Children of the Apocalypse chapter has been posted. Yay! Now I have to scramble to get the next one done--it's too short, needs a serious rehaul, but I've been too lazy to do anything about it). We're on Chapter Two of Part Three: The Ritual, and the girls are--of course--getting themselves into a spot of trouble...read it all here: http://www.apocalypsenovel.com
Tomorrow (well, likely tonight) will see the posting of the next Curio Killed the Cat chapter. Chapter Five: Praise Jesus, Not Satan sees more trouble befalling the shop. Is there truly no such thing as bad publicity? Head over to http://www.curiokilledthecat.com shortly to find out.
I'm otherwise doing okay. I'm on medication right now and the (hopefully temporary) side effects have kicked in full force today. I can barely sit up to work on the computer, and am incredibly thankful I don't have to walk to work today. Lots of pain = badness. I have a few covers that I'm trying to get finished today, as well as some acquisitions work. Between all my jobs, I think I've been working fourteen hour days for the last couple of weeks...ah, the life of a poor person. ;-)
As an aside, WTF is wrong with some people who insist on kicking you while you're down? I'm so happy that all of the new people I have in my life now are quite the opposite (although I still think I'm doomed to always have potential in laws who dislike me). At the very least, it's incredibly comforting to know that they can kick me all they want--they invariably underestimate me and the things I'm capable of doing...
I'm going back to work now, where I shall continue listening to this awesome album Voodoo Blues, which I highly recommend.
