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Seriously, Though

30/9/2015

1 Comment

 
Good morning, Readers!

Today, I am feeling meh.  I didn't get any writing done yesterday, though I did a a fair amount of reading through Daughters of Britain in an effort to get my head back into the story.

It's good so far...

But in all seriousness, the story is good but I'm having a lot of difficulty getting to the actual writing.  And that what I wanted to discuss at length.  But first, let me distract you with the most adorable kitty ZOMG SO MUCH SQUEE!
Isn't it adorable?

Now, onto the serious stuff.
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Image courtesy of thingsiwouldsend.blogspot.ca. Click for link.
s have been asked a few times before where I find the inspiration/motivation to write.  I honestly am stumped how to answer the question well.  In truth, there really is only one answer:

I write.

In ordinary circumstances, I often have little trouble putting words down on the page.  Other times I do.  The point is not only to write when feeling inspired or motivated.  It's to write, period, no matter how you're feeling.  You plonk your behind in that chair and you start writing.  It will sometimes be really easy to do.  Sometimes it's like pulling teeth.

Writing Human was like pulling teeth.  It took me a year.  I hated every moment of writing that book.  Turns out, it's a great book.

Skylark was incredibly easy to write.  In less than a month, I had a finished first draft.  My Beta Readers loved it, so I'm guessing it's also a great book.

Writing since 2011 has given me a fair amount of experience with the writing struggle.  It surprises and amuses me how different each book is to write for me.  How much harder one book is over another.

But the difference between myself and those who never finish a manuscript it simply this:

I write.

Granted, I do a lot of goofing off as well.  Rest is important.  Every time I finish a project, I give myself some time off.  If I've finished a manuscript, I take a month off.  I need it.  Writing can be very draining and I need some time to recover.  If it's editing I finish, I give myself a week off.  Rest is important.

But I also sometimes just don't write when I should.  Do you know what happens then?  Nothing.

That's right.  Nothing.

There's no bomb explosion beneath my chair, there's no alarm sounding off over my head, there's just ... nothing.  And the manuscript is also nothing.  It remains unfinished, taunting me with cries of victory.

NO MANUSCRIPT! YOU WILL NOT WIN!  I WILL FINISH YOU!
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Image courtesy of naosalvo.com.br. Click for link.
​Some people like to wax lyrical about the moods of their muses, but here's the actual truth.  If you show up, if you put in the work, your muse will too.  It's time to put to bed the fallacy that creative work isn't work.

It is work.  It is hard work.  It requires skill.  It requires imagination.  It requires discipline.  It requires effort.

It's work.

Now put your butt in that chair and write.

I'm off to do the same.

​Ciao!
1 Comment

SWAAAAAAAAG

29/9/2015

2 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!

So, last week... two weeks ago... Damn, I can't remember.  Some time in the recent past, I purchased a couple of items from my Redbubble store.  One of the things is part of a give away for my book launch (you're coming, right?), but the other two things were for me.  Because I'm cool.  Or something.

The first (and only thing) to arrive thus far is my phone case.  Finally, after owning the phone for five odd years, I have a case for it.  Lord knows how many times I've dropped the thing and could have used the case before now.  Oh well!  I tweeted a photo of it this morning.  It was very blurry, but it's the only one I have, so here it is:
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It's not that blurry in real life, I promise.

​It looks pretty cool, actually, and I'm really pleased with it.  Anyway, there are a whole bunch of things you can get with this design at the store from bags to clothes to journals... there's a lot of stuff.

Check it out in case you like the design and if you want to be one of the cool kids....

Sorry, couldn't say that with a straight face.

The design was created by the wonderful Lindsay Coderre for the book cover of Human.  It's my book swag.

... I have book swag.

... Does this mean I've made it?

*checks bank account*

Nope.

Oh well!

Alright, that's enough of me being silly.  I have work to do.

Ciao
2 Comments

Moving Swiftly Along

28/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!
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Image courtesy of women2.com. Click for link.
It has been a busy weekend, despite me taking a break for the past week.  I took a break from working, but life, alas keeps being life.  It was a good thing I took that work break, or I'd probably be dead on my feet right now.

Alas, things must return to normal as of today.

Sky Road Walker has been returned to me by the first Beta Reader and has undergone the second round of edits.  I'm currently waiting for Beta Reader Two, who is just as busy as I, to be free before I send it off to him.  In the meantime, I have two stories on the go.

This is not the optimal position for me, as I find it incredibly difficult to write two different stories at once.  Daughters of Britain is my first priority, at least until the first draft is done.  That said, The Third Prince is the book I'm reading to the writer's circle, and I plan on having new material for each time we meet.

Who knows how it'll work out?  I might be a confused mess before the month is out.

I'm still painting, of course.  My current project has been going for three weeks now.  It's quite involved, and it's taking a long time.  I had hoped to have it finished within the two week deadline I had given myself for every painting.  That's not going to happen...  It's a really detailed piece.

I have, however, still been posting a picture every Friday.  I post them on Facebook, so if you want to keep up with my progress on any given piece, go ahead and like my Facebook page, and make sure you "subscribe" to my posts, or Facebook will screw us both over and not post everything on your feed.  Unless I pay them.

Screw you Facebook.

Where was I?  Oh yes, writing.

Right.  So, today will be spent preparing next month's eNewsletter.  Hopefully it'll be done quickly.  There's a lot to discuss this month.  If you want in on the eNewsletter goodies, you can subscribe here.  You get the secret location of the monthly meet up and a free serialised story.  Go on.  Sign up.

Where was I?  Oh yes, stuff.

Life stuff has been hectic.  Training has recommenced, of course, so I'm busy four nights a week and one day each weekend.  I also went rock climbing on Friday.  It was so much fun!  We monkeyed around for two hours, and I got actual blisters on my hands.  It was amazing.  I'd love to take it up more; perhaps that will become my Friday night activity.

My forearms are hurting today, though!

Right, that's enough for blogging today.  I have this eNewsletter to write.  If I'm lucky, I'll finish in time to do some work on one of my manuscripts.  Wish me luck!

​Ciao.
0 Comments

Happy Birthday!

24/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!

Today is a special day.  It's my eldest sister's birthday.  I just wanted to wish her a quick
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Image courtesy of freelargeimages.com. Click for link.
I grew up without personal heroes, but she was the closest thing to it I had.

Big sisters are special like that.

So here's to a fantastic 36 years and may there be many more!

And now I am continuing with my week of goofing off.

Ciao!
0 Comments

Getting Work Done

23/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!
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Image courtesy of Patheos.com. Click for link.
Hello.  So... despite the distractions I've been indulging in this week, I managed to finish the second round of edits for Sky Road Walker, and will be sending that off to the next Beta Reader when he's ready for it.  Yay!  I've finished editing!

I'm giving myself the rest of this week off... because distractions.

Then I'll be back into writing Daughters of Britain. I may have to do some serious editing on that first, though, as I'm almost at 100 000 words at the moment and there is a fair amount of story left to tell.  I'll also be attempting to write a bit on The Third Prince for the writer's circle I now belong to.  I've never been good at juggling stories like that, so we'll see how it goes.

In exciting life news, I now have a date for a launch party for Human.  This year, I'm teaming up with the amazing folks at Renaissance Press, and we're doing a combined, pretty massive launch.  I'm launching Human, and they're launching four books by three different authors and two games.  It's a big deal.

I'm really excited.

You can find all the details here on the Facebook event page, and I'll be updating my website shortly.  Feel free to come!  There will be readings, and prizes, and good food with great company.

And now I'm going back to my distractions.  There is a Let's Play to finish watching!

Ciao!
0 Comments

Sadness

22/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!
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Image courtesy of wallpapersdb.org. Click for link.
Yesterday didn't feel very productive.

I blame Markiplier.

I did manage to do some drawing while listening to my Welsh lesson.  I got four chapters of Sky Road Walker edited, and I even wrote a little.... a very little.  Still, I got stuff down.  It just didn't feel all that productive.

Seriously though, he's been good therapy.  It's been a rough couple of weeks, and I've been giggling for the past three days....

And I've only just watched a video where he talks about his current silence online.  A good friend of his and a fellow YouTuber passed away from suicide.

I've never had a friend kill themselves, but I've been on that ledge.  I've stared down that abyss, and very nearly fell.  There aren't adequate words to explain what it's like, only that it's dark.  It's so, so, so dark that you can't see a way out.  And it's heavy.  It's so heavy; a weight on your chest that makes every breath a struggle.

Climbing out of there is not easy.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and it's a never-ending struggle.  I often slip.  I often slide back.

Please, if you're staring down that abyss, know that you are loved.  Know that there is a way out.  Reach out.  We'll be here for you.

If you live in Canada and you really need to someone, there are options.

Mental Health Helpline: 1-866-531-2300
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

That's pretty much all I wanted to say now.  I'm going to paint now.

Ciao.
0 Comments

A New Time Suck

21/9/2015

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!

So, many of you know that I get the majority of my entertainment from the interwebs.  YouTube has become my television.  There are many reasons for this, but most compelling is scheduling.  I simply don't have the ability to be home to watch television.  I'm up at 6:00 most mornings, and I'm not home again until 9:30 or 10:00 most evenings.  There just isn't time for me to keep up with everything.

I can't be home for most television shows, and I don't have the equipment to PVR them, either.

I make some exceptions; Galavant and The Quest were two shows I always made sure I could watch (they made me happy), but then again, I use the internet for that too.  Thank heavens television stations have started putting episodes up online for those of us who can 't be home at 6:00 on a Thursday evening.
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Galavant: A Medieval musical comedy. IT IS SUCH A GREAT SHOW GUYS! Image courtesy of Google Play. Click for link.
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The Quest: A "reality" show set in a fantasy world. WHERE IS SERIES TWO GUYS? WHERE? Also, LET ME BE A CHARACTER ON THIS SHOW, GUYS! PLEASE?! Image courtesy of Google Play. Click for link.
It's really hard for me to watch shows on someone else's schedule.  Television just doesn't work for me any more.  I know I'm not the only one.

YouTube is the perfect visual entertainment format for me.  Items uploaded stay uploaded and you can watch it at any time.  It's television on your schedule.  It's perfect.  To that end, there are a number of YouTube channels to which I am subscribed.

One such channel is The Fine Bros. They do a bunch of different things, but one of my favourites of theirs are their React videos. It was through their React videos that I found my current time suck: gamer and giant dork, Markiplier.  I'm currently working my way through his Alien Isolation game play, and it's simultaneously hilarious and terrifying.  He's a fantastic commentator, very funny and makes great faces.  Watch one of his Let's Plays.  You'll understand.

I've been watching his videos pretty much all weekend and they've cheered me up a tonne.  If you like complete goof-balls and you enjoy watching scary games, this is the channel for you.

Take heed, television.  This is the entertainment of the future.  Laugh at it, if you want, but you're going to be left behind.  People are busy.  They need a flexible viewing schedule.

And it's fun as hell!

Now I have to go learn more Welsh.  Enjoy the time suck, guys, and you're welcome!

Ciao!
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    S.M. Carrière, a Celtic Studies enthusiast, writes fiction.  And this blog.

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