That ‘blizzard’ threw a monkey wrench into the week. It also led to a very odd reminder that people love to bitch on the Internet. The media erupted about 3 feet of snow, which some areas on Long Island got. Yet the storm did veer more to the east, so some areas didn’t get nailed as bad as expected. So people bitched about the panic that the media and government created. Here’s the thing: What would have happened if they said 12-18 inches and then it was 3 feet? Personally, I’d rather they predict more than we actually get than less. Better to be over-prepared than be fucked when it comes to the weather. Then again, I know someone who was actually injured due to the storm, so maybe I have a different opinion here.
So the storm had everyone home and a lot of shoveling. This meant no writing for a day or two, but I did finish two projects. The outline for Book 10 is ready to go and I finished up the preliminary work on a future book. I actually had to get a new marble notebook because I switching ‘categories’ and need the space. Like a true professional, I went for different colors and will put the next batch of ideas in the green . . . blue one. I’ve begun doing a few notes on the big series since it has 3 books that exist solely as a sentence each on a page of paper. This might be my project for the week since I’m hoping to have some out-of-towners visiting. Don’t want to start the next book and have to stop after one section. It’d drive me nuts.
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Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, so we’re slowly cleaning and putting things away. Then again, I did things throughout the week. That means I can do this post and lie on the bed trying to sort through things. Gearing up for a night of getting tax forms in order, which is always about as much fun as a ceiling fan to the head. On the plus side, HBO is having a Mel Brooks special on tonight and then the newest episode of Black Sails. That means the tax forms and brain-bending outlining will have some nice accompaniment.
I really lead a boring life outside of my head. Though I can’t talk about my books due to spoilers and most of what happens with the boy needs to be seen. The retelling doesn’t really live up to the reality these days. Hopefully the posts I have going up this month are interesting. I’ll be touching on ‘Romance in Fantasy’ at some point after Valentine’s Day including one on love triangles. This is all over the place for topics and I have a Tuesday Guest Post.
I did get a bunch of new reviews on some of my books. Nice to see the older ones are still getting attention.
So what am I doing this week?
- Shoveling after a small storm on Sunday/Monday. This includes flipping off the sky.
- Host the incoming guests if the weather doesn’t scare them off. This goal will include homemade penne with vodka sauce. It also will decide on if I do anything else.
- Working on the next big series on my outlining list. Not sure how and if I should bring it up here since it’s expansive. It’s getting harder and harder to bring up future series in Windemere due to confusion. Part of me wonders if I should shut up about the future until Legends of Windemere is over.
- Start working on Book 10 if #2 falls through, but it doesn’t look like that will happen.
- Contact Jason about ‘Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue’ cover art. Aiming for last week of March or first week of April. Editing and cover art will be the deciding factor.
- Trying to stay warm. It’s like the bitter winds are ignoring the fact that I’m in a house and I keep waking up with shivers.
Legends of Windemere 
Two “fuck”s in one post – you’re either loosening up or getting more frustrated. By the sounds of it, it’s the latter.
I really don’t know how you do it.. the outlining so far ahead. Do you ever end up completely off topic by the time you get there? (Feel free to make this the subject of a blog post, unless you already have and I’ve missed it, in which case I apologize.)
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I actually say that word a lot more often than people realize. Just more aware of it when I’m typing or the kid is in earshot.
The basic story idea remains the same, but the details can change. It actually helps direct me in the earlier installments of a series. Though outlining another series in Windemere takes much less of a hit from earlier stuff. I do have a post about outlining showing up at some point this month. I want to say in 2 weeks, but I’m not sure.
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Cool. Great minds think alike, eh? Best of luck with your s**w. (More of a four letter word than fuck this time of year. hehe )
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Thanks. I’m hoping it isn’t bad enough that the kid loses another school day. My dad has a snow blower, so that might make this infinitely easier to handle.
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Yay for snow blowers! We haven’t had any snow days … yet. Hate ’em!
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How easy is it to get those in your area?
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What, snow blowers or snow days?
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Snow days.
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Where I am now, very easy. They’ve cancelled the buses due to forecasts that never happened. Where I used to live, near Ottawa, it took a snowfall of 4′ in the space of an hour to cancel the buses.
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That’s surprising. I’m always told that it takes an act of God to cancel snow up north.
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Depends. Because of the Great Lakes and the lake-effect winds, we have little pockets where we barely have any snow. I’m in one of those. Did you know the most southern point of Canada – Point Pelee, Ontario – is further south than the most northern part of California? Great grape country there. 🙂
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Didn’t know that. I remember lake effect from college though. The campus was on Lake Ontario, so we always joked about escaping finals by swimming to Canada.
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Haha! You’d probably have escaped more than finals.
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Love the pic, Charles. A much needed chuckle 🙂
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Thanks. I stumbled onto it and thought I should share.
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Definitely! 🙂
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I love the cat picture! I also really like your ‘here’s what I’m doing and here’s what I’m planning on doing’ posts. They make me think a lot about how I should be doing things if I want to be a ‘real’ author. I didn’t do an outlining plan for ‘Silver Lightning,’ and there’s no doubt in my mind that it shows. Ah, well… debut book… learn and grow, right? 😀
BTW: Good luck with the taxes! I will be leaving Colorado for a couple of months come February 15th to assist a good friend on mine with her tax business and expect to be doing an awful lot of the basic ones. Not my favorite thing to do but she’s paying me and I get to miss most of the rest of the Colorado winter. Yay!
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It might not show as much as you think. I’ve noticed that many ‘pantser’ authors are harder on their continuity than the readers. You can see where the swerves are because you might remember an older path you wanted to take. Still, as you said, learn and grow. 🙂
We just need to make sure we have all our receipts and medical files in order. I’ve upped my organization skills ever since I went full time author.
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Good luck with your goals Charles. I hope you get done as much as you can this week. I have to say I’m really impressed with your productiveness (i.e. novel writing etc.). It puts me to shame. 😉
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I figure I might as well use as much time as I can to get these things done. Never can tell what the future will hold. For example, February and the summer are looking to be minimal progress periods.
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I’m looking forward to the romance post. It’s something I dabbled with in one story, and there is room for growth. It’s a constant learning journey for me and I’ll take all the lessons I can get.
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It’s really a double-edged plotline. You’ll attract those who enjoy romance, but those who hate the subject will really let their thoughts be known.
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Interesting. It probably has to do with the genre. Captain Kirk was allowed girlfriends, but Conan wasn’t. (You know, unless he bashed them over the head or something.)
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I forgot that Conan didn’t have any girlfriends, but mostly because I read a bunch of the original stories. Totally different character than the movie version.
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I read dozens of the books too. Seems like there were two different authors. I’d like to brush up on romance tricks. It won’t ever be the focus of my stories, but bits of it can make the stories better.
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Looked it up and a lot of authors got a swing at writing Conan. I’ve only read ones by Robert E. Howard. The character was primal, but not in the brutal caveman smash way. More like an intelligent predator. The comparison to a panther was pretty common.
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I could not remember Howard. The name L. Sprague Decamp stuck in my mind.
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I think that was the second. Howard was the creator.
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I would rather breath a sign of relief that it wasn’t as bad than pray for deliverance. Of course hurricanes can put the hurt on you. As a cat lover I enjoyed the cat and snowball pics
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Hurricanes really are nasty. I was lucky to avoid them during my time in Florida. Just a really bad tropical storm.
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That cat getting snowballed made me giggle. Wow, snowballed must really be a word…spell check didn’t red line it.
I’m just sorry I’m missing the penne pasta sauce 😦
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Hope it means what we think it means.
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Yikes! This could have snowballed into something cat-astrophic. Mayeb I shouldn’t have that next glass of wine.
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We are supposed to get a huge storm beginning tonight and going through Monday morning.
Good luck with your goals this week! You are much more ambitious than I when it comes to the writing. I’m doing good to focus on one project at a time, at least in the practical sense. (My brain is often working on multiple things at once.)
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Thanks. I sense a relaxing week before I jump back into Windemere.
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Sometimes I find that is helpful in the long run.
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Weather forecasting doesn’t seem like a people-friendly job… Stay warm. Or at least don’t get any colder…
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I think it’s a lot of guesswork when presenting to the public. What can panic them? What will make them take things seriously? There was a meteorology major offered in my college. Many of the people who took it seemed to go mad after the first year.
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The Midwest is feeling your pain no. Snow, snow everywhere here. Like you, I’d rather here a worse prediction and have that not to come pass.
You’ve got quite the list! I’m also working on number 6.
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No snow so far. Hopefully it went further north. Can’t see what 6 is from my phone for some reason.
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Hope you stay warm! We haven’t had any snow here, but I hear it’s pretty bad for you guys over there!
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It’s icy rain until later in the day. Gross and heavy to shovel. Kid is home too, so I’m not getting anything done today.
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Quite a day for you then! Hope you manage to find some time to write and rest 🙂
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Rest has already been undone. Writing is nothing but a pipe dream. Today is already proving to be a waste.
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