Category Archives: PBOTL

Wednesday Wanderings

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I’m pulling some writing-related things together for the end of the year.  My writing plate is overflowing now.  This is largely a good thing — several projects are gaining momentum.

I just finished the revision of Polar Bear on the Loose. It’s out with beta readers now. While I would dearly love to say Inuit (pronounced Eye-Knew-It, by the way) could be on your e-readers very soon, the truth is the word I’m hearing back from my wonderful, adventurous beta readers is she’s not ready for prime time yet. I have one and a half to hear from, and those are going to be even more helpful replies than the two and a half I’ve heard from already.  Once I hear back from the last one, I’ll evaluate their recommendations and come up with a plan.  I used Holly Lisle’s “How to Revise Your Novel” for this first round of revisions. I plan to use Holly Lisle’s “7 Day Crash Revision” course for this next iteration. It will take me more than 7 days, because I’m just that slow, but it better not take another six years!

Twilight, which will have to be renamed, is up next on the revision block. I’m preparing to work through “How to Revise Your Novel” again with this.  The process worked for me. I plan to finish in 22 months in this iteration. I may have to adjust for reality, but that’s my goal.

I’m also working on compiling some blog posts into a couple of ebooks.  Some for gifts to subscribers and one for sale.

That’s what’s on my mind on this Christmas Eve 2014.

MGR: Protagonists

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Protagonists.  Specifically, my protagonists.  What to say about them?

I have a few I like.  Let me introduce you.

  • Inuit (pronounced Eye-knew-it).  Inuit is my female polar bear character, and she’s telling her first person account of what her life was like as she transitioned from a wild polar bear to a polar bear living the American human lifestyle.  Inuit has learned a lot during her journey, and she taught her author a few things as well. Her story is nearing completion, and I hope you’ll find her journey as interesting as I have when she’s finally ready to share with the world.
  • Jeff Forrester.  Jeff impregnates his high school sweetheart during their first year at college.  He successfully convinces her to have the baby she does not want and turn the baby over to him. They break up, and Jeff raises the baby.  They meet again years later.  Can they resume the relationship they both wish had never ended, or is there too much baggage?
  • Harold, Charlie, and the Freakin’ Geeks: This elite cyber team searches and destroys cyber criminals determined to wreak havoc upon the nation. They’re also a bowling team.

Those are the protagonists from my first three draft novels.  They are likely to be the first three novels I revise for publication — Polar Bear on the Loose, Inuit’s story, is nearly complete.

This post is part of Forward Motion’s Merry Go Round Blog Tour.  Find other author’s participating in the tour here.

Zoo

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What have I gotten myself into? Odor. Overpowering. Cover nose. That cuts it. A little. I opened my eyes. How austere. Looks nothing like the tundra. I seem to be alone. I lifted my head. The odor abated some. I stood up. Not so overpowering. I shook my body to get the kinks out and to try to clear my head from whatever they’d used to knock me out to bring me to wherever I was now. I bounced lightly on my front paws. Sturdy. Solid. Good. I walked to the edge of the place I was in, until my path was blocked by something. Hard, porous, room to poke my nose through, but hard, vertical…things. I turned. I walked to the corner. Hard. Blocked my path. Couldn’t see through it. Turned again. Brushed the hard thing as I walked. A lot of strange stuff in front of me. Ouch! I didn’t see that. A substance I can see through but not walk through? A human is sitting over there. I lifted a paw and pressed on the clear substance in front of me. Firm. But I can see through it. Interesting. The human watches me. Scratching on something in front of her. Curious. I walked along the clear, impenetrable substance. Back to the hard, porous, room to poke my nose through things. I turned around, sat down, and watched the human watch me. Another human came in and spoke with her. She gestured, and the other human slid a tray with food through an opening. Smells unusual. Nothing I’ve ever seen before. I glanced at the woman watching me. I angled my nose. Sniffed. The human still watched. I placed my paw on the orange stick-like things. The white things were soft. I pulled the tray toward me. The human scratched more things. I lowered my jaws and tried the orange stick-like things. Crunchy. A little sweet. Good. I pulled the white things into my mouth. Soft. Chewy. Almost melts on my tongue. Brown nuggets under the white stuff. Not unappealing. Crunchy. I finished the snack, curled up in front of the clear solid substance, placed my nose on my paws, and, through my lidded eyes, watched the human watch me.

I must have slept. Slipping. I didn’t hear anything. I opened my eyes. The human was not there to watch me, but I smelled it. Where was it? I turned my head. There.

“Good morning.”

It spoke. I tipped my muzzle in it’s direction.

“Welcome to Winnipeg. I hope you’re comfortable.”

Winnipeg, eh? I stretched.

“Yoga? Downward facing dog. Good idea.”

Stretching is yoga? The human was on the other side of those hard, porous things with space between them.

“By the way, my name is Mindy. You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

She paused as if she expected a response.

“You’re the major subject in a research project I’m conducting. I want to see if a polar bear can live among humans.”

________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for visiting for the April A-Z Blogging Challenge. Today’s entry is a work of fiction. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it in comments — what you liked or didn’t like. Each day will be a little different, so if you don’t want to miss an entry, please enter your email address below, press sign-up, then check your inbox to click the validation link to get these blog posts in your inbox.

A Decade of National Novel Writing Month

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In November, I completed a decade of participation in National Novel Writing Month, affectionately known at NaNo. In my first attempt, in 2003, I wrote my first novel, Polar Bear on the Loose. I finished the first draft while deployed to Bahrain in the summer of 2004. Here’s a brief … Continue reading →

Animal Rights?

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When you hear the term “animal rights,” what does that conjure up in your mind?  Do you envision dogs casting votes beside you in the voting booth or sitting next to you at Panera sipping a beverage?  Is it limited to respecting that animals can feel pain and suffering and … Continue reading →

Revision Meat and Potatoes

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And, just in time for the Internet to go on strike, I’m ready to begin Lesson 17 of How To Revise Your Novel.  This begins the culmination of all my efforts so far, and I begin cutting the manuscript!  This process will take many weeks, but after taking several years … Continue reading →

Moving Again

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It’s taken me a little over a week into the new year to get started, but I’m back to working on Polar Bear on the Loose, and, by extension, “How to Revise Your Novel.”  I was dragging my feet at getting started.  The bag with the project was sitting beside … Continue reading →