Route 27

Route 27

This is my route back to a regular writing schedule, because the 27th is the first day of school for the boys. (Cheesy, I know, but I liked the graphic.)

That means:

Freedom!!! I love my kids, but it's really time for them to go get an education.

It also means I will have hours and hours to revise, rework, and reinvent the worlds I'm spinning on both my manuscripts. Who knows what all this unfettered quiet time will lead to?

Here's what I'll be working on in MoK:

Deeper secondary characters - They are the "salt in the stew" - according to my crit group member, Brad Davidson.

World building expansions of summarized scenes- My first beta reader suggested a longer chase scene for chapter three, among other things.

A tighter, more comprehensive ending, so the ms can truly stand alone- WriteOnCon agents suggested they are tired of trilogies. I was only planning one "companion" book anyhow.

A more interesting hook for the beginning- Always the LAST thing to get done, isn't it?

For BA:

Reworking Haydon- Back to what I really want him to be - a cute/slightly nerdy biotech geek.

Toning down the fantasy- I got a revise and resubmit request in April, the dreaded "slow no". She  passed because the fantasy wasn't slow enough. Yet, I had a full request on the previous version and that agent passed because it was too slow. I need to find the middle ground.

Scheduled completion for all of this?

Your guess is as good as mine!

WriteOnCon

www.WriteOnCon.com

I'm over in the forums at WriteOnCon today.

The schedule this year is chock full of YA information. Ninja Agents are lurking in the forums already. If you haven't ever participated, try sitting in for a session or two. You might find something you like. ;)

I've posted both of my queries in the forums, for better or for worse:

http://writeoncon.com/forum/showthread.php?8864-YA-Fantasy-BURNT-AMBER

http://writeoncon.com/forum/showthread.php?8425-YA-Sci-Fi-MIST-OF-KAVALA

If anyone is participating, I'd appreciate suggestions and/or pageviews so I can keep getting more feedback from others. I'd be happy to reciprocate.

Thanks!

Mindscrambler Central

Scott Adams

It's only been three days since my personal mindscramblers (kids) finished school, and I've already had to surgically remove the laptop twice. They could spend all day gaming, which would make it very quiet around here.

So why do I fight it? I want quiet, don't I?

If it was quiet, then Writer Me could get some work done. (There are only 62 days left until WriteOnCon!)

Except there's productive quiet, like when they're reading a book (heaven forbid!), and then there's guilty quiet - the kind that keeps the synapses in my brain from firing properly because Mother Me knows my children should GET OFF THE COMPUTER! and DO SOMETHING ACTIVE! or FIND SOMETHING CREATIVE!, etc.

However. Such outbursts are not a good thing to resort to in this house because DH works from home, and anything above a hush provokes him to go into dragon mode. (You thought I wrote fantasy? Dragonkeeping is my day job.)

So. I tell myself it's a good thing I signed my oldest up for an online class. It will keep his mind from turning to MMORPG mush. Earth and Environmental Science starts today - and he gets credit for it. Mother Me is happy. :)

But. Am I depriving him of a lazy, play-until-your-eyes-bleed summer at home? He doesn't have too many of those left before The Pointy-Haired Boss gets to him. Actually, TPHB's pie-chart looks kind of like mine. Mother Me is sad. :(

Mother Me will also be carting the younger one around to basketball camps this summer. Two birds with one stone there: No computer+Doing Something Active. Mother Me is happy. :)

But. Am I depriving him of one-on-one time with his brother? Between homework, sports and other miscellaneous activities, they barely have time to fight over the bathroom during the school year. Mother Me is sad. :(

So. I guess Gamer Me will give in and allow plenty of Minecrafting, Runescaping, and COD Team Deathmatching, whenever there's a chance this summer. Then Writer Me can relax and get some words on the page. ;)

PS - I've also got Grandma sleepovers and pooltime scheduled in, because what's summer without those? Reader Me likes that plan. :)