Writing Space

My Writing Space

So I finally got my writing space set up this afternoon. I usually work from my tablet, since it is difficult to play with and chase my toddler around the house, with a laptop and keyboard in hand. 

For the nights I can’t sleep or mornings I get up when everyone else is sleeping, I prefer to use my laptop, and type on a full-sized keyboard for several reasons.

I can type faster than I write. This allows me to write more in a shorter amount of time. It also allows me to get my thoughts out quicker. I also find formatting much easier because I can use a mouse instead of my chubby finger, which often selects the wrong thing on the tablet.

I can’t begin to even tell you how much I love One Drive. I can work from my laptop, tablet, or phone. Anytime, anyplace I can work on formatting, editing, and writing my book. 

Future writer in training!

Finally a space to call my own. Two more chapters and two hours later, I feel accomplished. My Son even had to try it out! Possible future writer? Maybe he will take after me. 

FREE Book Preview!!

This book is the reason I have taken a hiatus on blogging. I will be blogging more after this book is done, but I need to focus to get this done. Just wanted to let you all know I have not forgotten about you. 😉

Here is a FREE preview of my book Broken Glass. Everyone like free stuff right? So go ahead. Don’t be shy. Check it out and let me know what you think!

https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1195208

 

Updates coming soon…

   Sorry I have been away for a while. It has been a very busy summer filled with lots of family gatherings and some other things going on. I will all update you soon on my future plans, and write some more musings for you as well. I am also going to be updating my blog with a disclaimer soon, as My Husband and I will be working towards starting a LLC, and getting a vendors licence so we can start our prospective small businesses.

The Joys of Self-Publishing

   I am trying to get my Novel ready for publishing on KPD, and Create a Space, print on demand and I am very frustrated right now. I wanted to share those frustrations with you.

   I wrote my book in word, and when I previewed it in Kindle format, I was surprised at what I saw. It looked nothing like the word document I wrote. Then I did some research and found out why.

   1. Page breaks must be inserted between chapters so they do not run together.
   2. When wanting to move on to another line instead of pressing enter, you must press shift + enter to avoid formating problems.
   3. Do not use tabs. Set the tab with the ruler at the top of the screen, or in paragraph options.

   Ugh… I have to go back and do all of this. I’m just really frustrated right now, and I understand now why people get publishing companies and editors to help them with there books. It’s a very lengthy process, and I must say this is taking longer than I planned. I just had to call it a night and take one step back after this trying day of formatting and editing. I feel like I am going crazy.

   I want the formatting to be close to perfect so the reader can have an enjoyable experience. I find it irritating when I am reading a book that is not formatted properly.

   So here are my thoughts on this… I think I am going to write a short book of poetry so I can get the hang of this formatting stuff, and then come back to my big project, my Novel. That way hopefully the editing and formatting process will come to me more easily after I get the hang of this.

   Self publishing can be such a drag. I am learning alot, even though I am very frustrated.

   Sometimes I feel like just throwing in the towel, querying an agent and going with s publishing company. However I want to learn how formatting and publishing work, and I think there is alot that can be learned from taking up that challenge. I just am not sure if doing all this myself is worth the time and frustration.

   So I am gonna keep it simple for now and try doing this with a short collection of poetry, and go from there.

   Has anyone else had similar experiences? What are your thoughts on self-publishing?

Mother’s Day 2016

  “Hey, How much pizza did you order? Another delivery is here!” My Dad says.

   My Mom opens a door and screams! It’s a happy scream. Then she denies that she screamed. But we all heard her do it. My Brother came home earlier than expected from his job.

   My Mother had been all depressed because she didn’t think my Brother would be home for Mother’s Day. Now being a Mother and having my own Son, I understand how she feels.

   I am a person too that likes having family gatherings, and having everyone there. I too like to cook food, and for the first time this year we actually have a yard so now I can garden and Grill out and repay my Mom for all those times she fed us, and cooked out too.

   My Mom has a theory, the same theory her Grandmother and Mother had. The same theory I have adopted. Cook the food, and people will come. The Kitchen is the heart of the home and it is where the most important time is spent. Eating food and telling stories.

   So happy Mother’s Day to My Mom. The older I get I become more like you, and I’m OK with that because you are a great Mom. As I have gotten older you have become more like a best friend, and you are an amazing Grandmother, to your Grandson. He always knows if he goes to Grandma’s, she has “delicious” food in her kitchen that he would like to taste. We don’t mind you being a food tester either, and when you get tired of cooking or don’t feel like cooking dinner, you can always come over and snitch food from our kitchen, or have a cup of coconut coffee.

Love,
Chris

Happy Mother’s Day to My Mom, and all other Mom’s out there!

Rejection- Feedback!

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   I am very appreciative of the feedback I received on my story “Snapshots of a Life” from Mash Stories. If you get a chance I would definitely submit to them. I love getting feedback on my stories, because it helps me improve my writing. I think there is nothing more frustrating than getting no feedback at all. I am going to be submitting more stories to them.

You’re the Writer

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   I wanted to share with all of you last nights and tonight frustration. This is a perfect example of why I gave up the first couple times when trying to undertake the daunting task of writing my first novel.

   There is a time sometimes when your manuscript becomes frustrating. It is times like this that I have to take a day or two to take a step back.

   I was reviewing some of what was written, and thought,
   “Jesus, the is the most terrible Dreck I have read! Shit did I really write this?”

   So I took out my pen and started correcting what was written thus far. I noticed several things when reviewing my work.

  1. I use several words as crutches and use them far to often these words include,
   • I
   • It
   • Begin
   • Begain
   • The
   • Look
   • Again

   2. I often created to many short and choppy sentences that can be made into a longer sentence.

   3. More is less. I often have extraneous words that don’t need to be there. For example,

“She felt like she was going to cry. Tears begain to stream down her face.”
It should be….
“Tears stream down her face.”

Why? It’s a little redundant. Don’t you think. Of course she is going to feel like crying before she cries. Do we really need that information? I think the readers can figure out how she feels. Because isn’t that the way anyone feels before they cry?

4. The more I write, the more mistakes I continue to find. So, hopefully the next 10,000 words will need less editing, now that I am learning what mistakes I make as a writer.

5. Oh and punctuation. I use far too many commas.

   This is by far the most challenging task I have ever undertaken. As frustrating as it can be at times, writing is a fun challenge.

  I am driving my husband crazy, talking about my fictional characters, and the flaws they have. Trying to breathe life into them. By the time I am done with this book he will be sick of it because I ask him things like,

“Does this sentence seem ok? Or do you like it better this way. No no wait that doesn’t sound right. I need to take this out. There does this sound better now?”

   These are seriously the arguments and dialouge I have with myself, and my husband. Then he gives me this advice,

“You’re the writer. You figure it out. You can do whatever you want.”

Damn, I need more Coffee!

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   The coffee is all gone, and because I need it to write. While everyone is settling in for bed, the demons come out spilling onto the page. Sometimes you can here them in the night. The thunder that booms or the wind that howls. Sometimes it’s just a bump in the night.
  
   My husband gets up for work, and there I am, frustrated as hell with the last 6,000 words that were written because, quite  frankly they suck. Then when he gets home I brood about the characters because each and everyone of them have a unique voice just like you and me. I stay up all night trying to bring these fairy tale creatures to life, and the demons they are wrestling with.

   I sometimes wonder if I am really cut out for this. Questioning and doubting myself, going over the words on the page at least a dozen times to find I am not satisfied with what I have written. Then I am reminded of the message I have to share with humanity, the inner demons wrestled with at night, that need to come out, lest I become possessed. Such is the struggle of a writer, and Dammit! I need more coffee. If coffee isn’t available, tea will have to suffice.