deviantART: by:sangfleur http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:sangfleur&section=today deviantART RSS for by:sangfleur en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:09:52 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png 16,820 words and counting. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/28280327/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/28280327/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:52:55 PST passesoir over at nanowrimo.org.

I'm starting to get that "have been on another planet" feeling. But I've been reading so much about politics lately, it's keeping me somewhat grounded.

Which was probably my problem this evening.

I think I wrote more useless dialogue than anything.

But I did manage to segue into the next important scene, so...all's well.

]]> ~sangfleur NaNoWriMo '09 http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/28017594/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/28017594/ Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:15:18 PDT
Backtrack...I got a novel idea back in late December/early January.

I've been playing with it since then. I have a very brief outline of several chapters. Some character sketches. Some flash fictions of scenes I don't see being in the novel (at least not all of them/in full), but they do have an impact on character development.

And, so all this talk of NaNoWriMo got me to log into my account, consider it, and...

I've decided I'm going to try it again this year.

My last time was in '07. I completed the 50,000 words in 30 days and came out of November feeling like I'd spent the month in a constant 'tween state. I might have stumbled upon Tír na nÓg or Brigadoon for all I remember of November '07.

...And I'm going to do this again?

I think I've officially lapsed in sanity.

Maybe this year will involve an actual fugue state?

]]> ~sangfleur Writerly Things: Improper Words http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27901426/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27901426/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:57:21 PDT
"Grinded" is not a word. The proper usage is "ground." As in: He ground his hips...

"Thrusted" is also not a word. The proper word is "thrust." Ex: She thrust her tongue... Not "thrusted."


Stop mutilating the English language, please.

]]> ~sangfleur On and off the road again. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27794297/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27794297/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:14:59 PDT
Travel included lots of rural roads, flat land, and numerous, numerous corn fields. Pretty...but my God there's a lot of corn in Indiana. I kept wondering if I might run into "He-Who-Walks-Behind-the-Rows."

I've been creatively brain dead for the last week or so. (I was in Chattanooga last weekend and didn't accomplish anything literary.) I've even slacked off on those 50 word pieces...

I think I will have some time to myself this weekend to play with some more words and maybe pull up (again) that short story I was picking at a few weeks back.


Sadly (for my creative persona), I fear I'm about to be swallowed, somewhat, by a couple of projects at work, so my fiction output may slump again.

]]> ~sangfleur The 12 Question Writing Meme http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27611586/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/27611586/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:51:05 PDT
1. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

A little from column A, a little from column B.

Longer stories require more pre-plotting. Sometimes that's journaling, in character. Sometimes it's writing flash fictions for different characters. Sometimes it's outlining or note-taking or character profiling.

Shorter stories...those are usually "pants to the chair" types. It's the only way I can get them done. Otherwise, I wind up getting an information overload--more stuff than is feasible to go into a short story and then I have trouble deciding what to cut and where.


2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?

Yes.

I have one novel idea for which I'm writing flash fictions for the main characters. It lets me get into their heads a little bit.

Some characters take well to doing a profile sheet (name, age, desires, etc.).

Some require actually delving into the novel/story content before they'll talk to me. Just depends on their personality.


3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?

I have a general idea of some of them. They're usually minor and play only a side part to the overarching goal/story/plot. The rest usually come as I write.


4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?

Yes...

Anything on writing, I think one must keep at arm's length. Read, consider, learn...get rid of what doesn't work for you. Not everyone's process works the same. One exercise or piece of advice isn't going to work for you the same way it works for another writer.


5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?

A little from column "A," a little from column "B."

An average writing-night for me might go something like this:

Cup of tea. Write a paragraph. Cup of coffee. Delete half a paragraph. Write two paragraphs. Clean the kitchen. Write a paragraph. Watch an episode of Buffy. Write a few lines. Delete a few lines. Write a sentence. Clean off the computer desk. Cup of tea. Write three or four paragraphs. Dance around to some music. Write a 500-1000 word flash fiction. Food break. Write a character sketch.

On a non-average night, when everything's clean (definitely not average) and there are no interruptions (from the partner or the cats), I can probably put my pants to the seat and get a good rough draft or outline of what I'm working on.



6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?

Yes.

The day job can be hell on my creative spark. Sometimes I just don't want to mess with words after I've spent all day doing just that... Sometimes I just want to veg out. Or I want do something physical (take a long walk).

During those times the creative bursts of energy are the one thing that can usually get my pen moving.

I'm getting better at making myself write, even if I don't want to and can come up with a million excuses why I should be doing something else.

But, I still fail a lot.


7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?

I'm a night person by nature, a morning person by necessity. I can write at any time, in any place, and, usually, with any kind of distraction. Sometimes the best stuff comes in the mornings, when I'm still half asleep, waiting for the caffeine to kick in. Sometimes it comes late at night, when I'm, again, half asleep and starting to think the pillow would be a better head rest than my keyboard.


8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?

Yes.

In general, I can write with distractions. Drafting, editing, character sketches, whatever. You have to be able to do that, because there's always going to be someone who's interrupting you, invading your space, talking to you about something they think is interesting. Even if you have your "writing hat" on. (The one that has a sign on it that says: "Unless something's on fire, don't disturb me.")

But I have moments--if I'm trying to figure out a transition, or get through a particularly hard scene--where I need quiet. I need everyone to leave me the hell alone and let me get through what I need to get through (even if they occasionally hear sobs or muttered cursing coming from my general vicinity).


9. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)

All of the above. Some works come out easier long-hand and halfway through I mo... ]]> ~sangfleur Thoughts meandering... http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26544333/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26544333/ Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:11:37 PDT Chaotically Yours

]]> ~sangfleur In "Things I Hate." http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26373526/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26373526/ Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:06:54 PDT
Not sure I'll use most of what I've already re-written... Maybe. Somehow.

Maybe I should shelve this thing for a little while and work on a different one...

]]> ~sangfleur I finally did it. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26319308/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26319308/ Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:00:10 PDT Glimmertrain.

Now, I await the rejection notice.

One, because "literary fiction" is a weird little genre and often fits an editor's discretion and two, because Glimmertrain is notoriously difficult to get published in. I started at the top. I expect rejection.

But at least it's out there. It does no good sitting on my flash drive, collecting virtual dust.

This is the first big thing I've submitted in several years.

I digress. My next step is looking into other possible markets for said short story.

And continuing to delve into flash fiction markets for those pieces I've been developing over the last 9 months.

I've kicked around, in my head, the idea of talking to my creative cohort (who worked in conjunction with me; we each created our own set of work--my short fiction, her art on 3x5 canvas--and then shipped them to each other so we could build more work off of one another's creativity) about possibly self-publishing these things in a little book.

That idea may have some merit... But it needs research.

]]> ~sangfleur Oy. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26232122/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26232122/ Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:51:48 PDT
Not even close to being conducive of creativity.

I maintain: this day job thing is for the birds.

]]> ~sangfleur Half my problem with my creative mind. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26188714/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26188714/ Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:28:20 PDT
I need to find a balance between physical reality (mundane and often infuriating in this context) and my mental world where things get created.

That said, there's a really interesting post over at Pandagon on the idea of this "post-racial society" I keep hearing people blubber about:

Obama’s alleged post-racialism came from a single line at his masterful 2004 Democratic Convention speech: “There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.” This assertion, that we live in an America which is an intermingling of races, is powerfully phrased and evocative of the greatness of the civil rights movement, but at no point did Obama ever say that race didn’t matter anymore, or that the way to deliver on this promise was to artificially declare an end to racism as of August 2004. The thing keeping racism alive isn’t the contention that racism exists. - Post Racial My Black Ass


]]> ~sangfleur Contemplations http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26180705/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/26180705/ Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:01:05 PDT
And a new project is about to kick off at work.

I'm really hoping it doesn't swallow me up like that last one did.


I attended writers group today, for the first time in months. Read one of my recent flash fiction pieces. Which got rave reviews. I need to find some markets for submitting those.

And, I need to figure out if I'm going to be brave enough to submit this short story I've been sitting on to the place one of the, aforementioned, writers group members recommended, stating "might as well start at the top."


And, really, you might as well. If you're going to get shot down, you may as well get shot down by the most prestigious first. I think starting at the top makes subsequent rejections a little easier to bear.


It's been a while since I submitted anything at all, so I think that's part of what's causing my--I don't really want to call it anxiety, I don't think it rates that high--wariness, perhaps?


I go now. I need to do a read through on that short. Pick a bit at some of those flash fiction pieces. And take a shower... It's well past midnight.

]]> ~sangfleur Hello Space Girl... http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/24976124/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/24976124/ Wed, 27 May 2009 09:18:07 PDT
As such, my creativity has been suffering the last couple of months. Add weird health issues (only one issue was obviously pinpointable--and I now have reading glasses) to the Pharma Monster mastication and it's been a recipe for desolation and despair since about mid-March.

I think stress was/is largely culpable.

And now that the Pharma Monster is nearing its demise, I can decompress.

I feel like I'm recovering, though am still wary of a relapse...(and as such I can't quite determine if I feel normal [for me] or not).

But due to these things I haven't come nearly as far as I wanted on my projects. I've still been scribbling some in the tween moments, when I felt up to it, but I've not done much work on any one story or novel.

Hoping to change that in the coming months.


I have been doing a lot more analytical (through a feminist lens) writing/journaling. So the muscle hasn't atrophied, at least.


And I think Neko Case has just given me another song boost for one project I've in mind:

My love, I am the speed of sound
I left them motherless, fatherless
Their souls they hang inside-out from their mouths
But it's never enough

I want you

Carved your name across three counties
Ground it in with bloody hides
Their broken necks will line the ditch
'til you stop it, stop it
Stop this madness

I want you

I have waited with a glacier's patience
Smashed every transformer with every trailer
'til nothing was standing
65 miles wide
Still you are nowhere
Still you are nowhere
Nowhere in sight

Come out to meet me
Run out to meet me
Come in to the light

Climb the boxcars to the engine through the smoke into the sky
Your rails have always outrun mine
So I pick them up and crash them down
In a moment close to now
Cuz I miss, I miss, I miss, I miss, I miss, I miss, I miss
I miss how you'd sigh yourself to sleep
When I raked the springtime across your sheets

My love, I am the speed of sound
I left them motherless, fatherless
Their souls they hang inside-out from their mouths
But it's never enough

My love
I'm an owl on the sill in the evening
But morning finds you
Still warm and breathing

This tornado loves you
What will make you believe me?
This tornado loves you
What will make you believe me?


This is definitely going in my soundtrack files for my current (because I have several that I seem to focus on in revolutions) novel-in-progress.

]]> ~sangfleur Happy 2009 http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/22428292/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/22428292/ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:51:21 PST
I joined getyourwordsout over at livejournal. Pledging to writing 200,000 words in 2009.

I've got a list of short stories and novels/novellas to work on at the forefront of my LJ, so it's the first post I see when I look at it.

I've got a (very tentative) chapter by chapter outline for a new novel/novella idea that sprouted up round about October.

I'm going to make a (very tentative) outline for Lost Highways.

And maybe one for Wild Thyme as well; it's already been drafted once thanks to NaNoWriMo '07, but it needs more organization.

:iconlullaby: and I are still working toward finishing our art-fic swap. I've got about half my flash fictions for her art pieces drafted. (They definitely need re-writing, but at least they're on paper.)


Work's probably going to kick my ass in the next few months. (Better than having no work. Thanks US Economy.)

What can I say? I'm going to gripe whether things are good or bad, I'll just gripe more when they're bad.


Enjoying the slow time right now, however.


And may get some character journaling done during the day when I have downtime.

]]> ~sangfleur Updates: Travel, Writing, Dir en grey http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/21450571/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/21450571/ Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:05:19 PST
Awesome show! I have a new passion for Die (who I was about 8 feet from).

~*~

Finished up the flash fictions last week and sent them off to my friend. Still waiting for her art pieces.

~*~

Was out of town the weekend before Halloween for the AMWA conference up in Louisville. It went well. I learned things. There was a bit of stress when I almost ran the car into a wall and then couldn't get checked into the hotel immediately, but it worked out.

~*~

I've been out of town every other weekend for the last month. I'm exhausted. And I've still got, at least, one more trip to make before December as we're spending Thanksgiving with my grandmother and extended family.

~*~

Original writing doesn't get nearly as much attention on this site as original artwork does.

But...I may post one or two of those flash pieces, anyway.

We'll see.

I'm not exactly sure if this project will turn out to be something more than a creative exercise between friends...

We'll see.

]]> ~sangfleur Devious Journal Entry http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/20965635/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/20965635/ Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:10:25 PDT
Then...tunnel vision, work, family issues, and general lazy brain syndrome struck.

I really should take the downtime I have at work and make it creatively productive; it's just very hard to get into the mindset.

]]> ~sangfleur Ruminations http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19973362/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19973362/ Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:51:20 PDT
Yeah.

Anyway. Been contemplating the whole Good and Evil thing. (Thank you Joker fandom...)

I think people are far too quick to dismiss something/someone as "evil" or "insane." No consideration. Just straight up "this is evil because____," she/he's insane, so they couldn't possibly do ____."

Well, says who? If they're "insane," as you put it, you have no idea what they're capable of, what with the "flouting of societal norms."

And what is insanity, really? That which deviates from the normal/average and possibly poses a danger?

And what is evil? Maybe that which poses a threat to me and what I love or hold dear?

I'm rambling. It's just something that's been ruffling my fur a bit.

Simplicity. I'm certainly not one to say you can't have a simplistic view of the world, but I think it only goes so far... Especially when it comes to philosophizing.

Black and white. Good and Evil. Sane and Insane. Names readily transferable and all that...

I need to re-read Emerson.

I need a break from the thought train. My brain is already fried from work, as it is.

On a semi-related note:

While I was roaming around in the TDK Joker's brain (strange place), I got another idea for original fiction.

Like I need anymore... I have zero motivation at this point in time.

But, I'll appreciate it. Scribble it down, file it away.

]]> ~sangfleur My kingdom for a cup of good coffee. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19764945/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19764945/ Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:53:49 PDT
I'm drinking instant.


...Because instant is better than subjecting myself to the work "coffee." (Which is either Starbucks packet brand or a packet bearing Arabica across the front of it. The latter is better than the Starbucks brand, but not by much.)

And this instant ain't that great either.


I may have to give in and buy a 2-4 cup coffee maker for my cubicle. Because this whole thing is getting ridiculous.


And speaking of coffee, I ordered a gift basket from Cafe Due Monde for my mother's birthday. Was going to order myself one, but I dropped $800 on a new bed this weekend, so I decided to hold off.

But I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have, if this is the kind of coffee I'm downing. :\

At least I had a good dessert coffee this weekend. Chocolate Velvet. Perfect black, with just a little sugar.

I'm starting to remind myself of that poor fellow in Final Fantasy VII who just wants to drink new and exotic coffee.

~*~

Saw The Dark Knight on Saturday.

Consensus: :lick: :worship:


I've always liked the character of the Joker; Heath Ledger's performance severely increased that like (while simultaneously making me question the last threads of my relative sanity.) The makeup, the voice, the movements... Perfect.

It's making me want to work on my TDK-trailer-inspired-last-November-short-story "Harlequin."

Whether I will, remains to be seen. There was another I was contemplating messing with first.

:writersblock:


~*~

As far as certain projects go in my day job...I'll grow a dick, just so they can blow me.

Hell. I guess it's not quite as bad as all that. These people are just frustratingly obtuse and convinced that they can somehow make things easier to comprehend by making them more in depth (re: harder to understand via undoing the simplification process).

The failure at Earth logic is nearly epic.

]]> ~sangfleur This project at work... http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19286019/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/19286019/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:06:18 PDT
Well, it's really not all that bad. I've had worse.

I'm ready to move away from it now. I'm tired of writing the training material. Especially when it looks like the program is going to be shot down to their usual "blah" crap because they're scared of being creative or "fun."

So...yeah. I'm done.

I want to be done.

But I still have (probably) a good 1/3 of material to write.


Half the challenge is getting my brain back on track when I come to work in the mornings... Right now, my brain is running a few hours behind me, which means it's still in bed. Which is where I wish I was.

]]> ~sangfleur Self-Gratification (via writing) http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18656710/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18656710/ Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:36:02 PDT
I've been distracting myself from my original fiction by many snippets of Transformers fanfiction. I have several vignettes/flash pieces in progress. I could call it "practice," but really it's just self-gratification.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with that unless it interferes with daily life...


My original short story has a title and, I'm thinking, will be submitted to Glimmertrain in July. Just for kicks. I don't hold out much hope of being published there.

I'm looking around at other places as well and will build a small list of where to submit.

In the meantime, my other short is giving me issues; I may have to go back to writing it longhand and, if that doesn't work, just switch to something else in the interim.

]]> ~sangfleur Megatron/Optimus http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18374111/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18374111/ Sat, 17 May 2008 21:54:16 PDT

...I really do need to turn my attention to other things.

]]> ~sangfleur An update http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18358729/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18358729/ Fri, 16 May 2008 21:41:58 PDT
I'm a bad, bad girl. Fandoms come along and steal my time.


But, I plan to (try, sorry Yoda) to make up for some of the lost time this weekend. I've had enough of staring at "The One Who Got Away." It's time to skip the transition section and get into the meat of the story; I'll come back for clarification.

My Untitled piece needs the final typos corrected, one paragraph re-considered and it needs a title. Badly. (I'm completely stumped as to what to call it.) And then...it will be ready to submit.

To...somewhere.

I'm thinking of throwing care to the wind and sending it to Glimmertrain. (I have no delusions that I'll be accepted, don't worry.) :p

]]> ~sangfleur The Writing Meme http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18245333/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18245333/ Fri, 09 May 2008 16:50:48 PDT
3 more fandom snippets.

And several snippets of original stuff that, while not great, is much better than what I got the first time around.

You don't actually think about how short the songs are until you're trying to write to them.


~*~

The Meme:

Choose a subject and go -

Writing: Put your entire music collection on shuffle, hit play, and write. Write for as long as each song plays and move on to a different writing when the song switches(even if it's mid-sentence). Go for ten songs(or five). If nothing comes, it still counts. If you're listening to a comedian, you can skip it.

Drawing: Basically same as the writing, only you draw for the duration of the song instead of write.

]]> ~sangfleur So, I did this writing meme last night. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18222005/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/18222005/ Thu, 08 May 2008 05:05:09 PDT
I did 6.

And 4 out of 6 turned out to be fandom, specifically Transformers, related.

...I didn't plan that. Honestly. My Muse skewed my brain.

I got two for my original characters which I might throw up in "Scraps." Maybe. There's not much too them.

]]> ~sangfleur Books '08 http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/17159825/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/17159825/ Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:03:36 PST
Silk ~ Caitlin R. Kiernan
A Great and Terrible Beauty ~ Libba Bray

Next:

Finishing Apprehensions and Other Delusions ~ Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Murder of Angels ~ Caitlin R. Kiernan

And possibly picking up in the next few days:

Rebel Angels ~ Libba Bray
New Moon ~ Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse ~ Stephenie Meyer

~*~

Back in the day...pre-college, I would read anywhere between two and four new (to me) books per month. That's...about 48 books per year, give or take a few.

I hope to get back to the devouring stage.

]]> ~sangfleur 8 Facts http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16960447/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16960447/ Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:17:56 PST Kmcgeijyutsuka


Here are 8 facts about myself...

1. I grew up a military brat, living and traveling often across the Southwestern and Southeastern portions of the US as well as a few countries in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland.)

2. I'm an introvert, but I took a drama class my first year of high school just to prove to myself that I could do it. (I still don't like public speaking, but it's not as big a deal as it used to be.)

3. I once wanted to be a vet, but then I realized that I can't handle animal death.

4. I speak/understand some Japanese and French. (I can read and understand more French than I can speak or "get" by listening.) (I did live in Germany, but all I really got out of those rather shoddy language classes was how to count.)

5. I've been writing since I was 8 years old. That was the year I won a small award for a short story contest in my 3rd grade class; I also received a letter of congratulations from the Superintendent of the Lowndes County schools.

6. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I love writing--I do want to publish some day and have (at the least) a little bit of an influence (doesn't have to be a lot). But...I also contemplate working in the State Department, or in the publishing industry.

7. I want to go back to school for my M.A. and perhaps (later on in life) my PhD. I'm not certain what I want my M.A. in, though. I've been moving between an M.A. in English & Writing; an MFA in Creative Writing, or an M.A. in Asian Studies. I've also contemplated a degree in Editing or Publishing.

8. I am a horrible procrastinator. Especially since the last few years of college. I start numerous projects and leave them in various stages of completion and it can take me months to pick them up again. I think it's partly my way of rebelling against the deadlines I had in school. (Which is funny, because I have no trouble completing deadlines at work. Apparently, I can't hold myself to the same respect for deadlined work for myself that I can hold myself to for other people.)


[I'm supposed to tag people, but eh... Do or don't. ^w^)

]]> ~sangfleur Ping-Ponging http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16956663/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16956663/ Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:02:25 PST
Posted a new Scrap last night. Inspired by the short story idea I got a few weeks back. 1/3 Naga (though I'm thinking Dragon of some kind will be better) inspiration. 1/3 Predator inspiration. 1/3 my own little mish-mash of mental trappings.

Anyway. Looking forward to working more with those characters and giving my Naga/Dragon/Whatever people some more background. (I have to check myself to make sure I don't try to overdue bio history within the story itself; it doesn't need much, if any.)

Novel editing is slow. I'm only on page 12! (And this is just reading and note taking, not hard core editing.) Sheesh.

But, I blame actually wanting to get out of the house--sometimes--on the weekend. Especially when it's near 60-70 degrees out and partly cloudy. That's perfect weather for walking around the town square.

I haven't done the Cafe Writing prompt for this month (or for last). Maybe I'll try my hand at one of those and post it.

]]> ~sangfleur Come mid February http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16737651/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16737651/ Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:44:53 PST
I printed it just today, before anyone else came in to work. 53,000 words. 93 pages, single spaced.

Short for a novel, but I'm sure it will expand as I go through and make notes.

Technically, it's four novellas compiled and interconnected. The stories center around a single family.

In the interim, and I keep saying this: short stories.

Apparently, I need to apoxy my pants to the chair in order to finish one of these things.

"Writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."

And staying there until you get results...or lose your mind. Whichever comes first.

Sometimes mind loss begets results.


I may have to give it up and just work backward, starting from the most recent short story idea I had and moving back toward the ones that are almost--but not just quite yet--complete.

I may need to dedicate my own month (or two weeks per story) to completing a first run of these shorts.

]]> ~sangfleur Improvements http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16222361/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16222361/ Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:53:12 PST
I'm working on the second (and computerized) draft of "The Lunar Son." I've actually typed up a small portion here at work while I had some downtime.

A main goal is to keep myself from getting discouraged halfway through it and thinking that it sounds like complete and utter crap and thus avoiding completing it.

"The first draft of anything is shit," and this is, still, very much a first draft. The long-hand pages are more like a detailed outline.

]]> ~sangfleur Happy New Year http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16197490/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16197490/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:15:22 PST
Hope your New Year is off to a better start than mine.

]]> ~sangfleur Eating my words. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16049043/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16049043/ Sat, 22 Dec 2007 19:43:07 PST
I don't expect to maintain the pace.

I got the idea for two new short stories at the beginning of this week. (I currently have around 15 unfinished pieces in various stages of completion, living on my hard drive and in my many notebooks).

The two new pieces are "The Lunar Son" and "Harlequin." The former is nearly "complete" in long-hand form. The latter has several long hand pages written.

I think "The Lunar Son" may be finished before "Tide Drawn" which I've been working on--on and off--since the idea showed up in the late spring.

Ta for now,

L

]]> ~sangfleur Demain, et demain, et demain http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16032426/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/16032426/ Fri, 21 Dec 2007 16:40:37 PST
That's not to say I'll actually be using it much for my writing (perhaps the occasional fiction exercise or scrap) -- most of what I write that I'm willing to post in public forums (publishing rights paranoia, have I) ends up at livejournal and usually under a filter unless it's a pretty general exercise.

I will mostly be using this account to play favorites, so to speak.



Ta,

L

]]> ~sangfleur In Psychology they termed it avoidance. http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/6722950/ http://sangfleur.deviantart.com/journal/6722950/ Sun, 09 Oct 2005 16:54:31 PDT
But there's nothing quite like mucking around with words and pictures.

My muses always pick the most inconvenient times to whisper to me.




~degclub ]]> ~sangfleur