O Muse, Where Art Thou?

JUST Pick one....

2012-01-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me, shouting at myself...In the last week, I've written about 4500 words and they were on two different WIPs..and then started eyeing WIP #3 this morning..

Like a monkey jumping from tree to tree, I keep switching WIPs for two major reasons...

I think there's not enough conflict, hook, character growth, sizzle, glamor etc. to the idea...
That other idea (which felt like utter crap only yesterday) is absolutely the best..

Part of this might be because I haven't spent enough time mulling over either idea before I started writing....And this is a direct result of the high from subbing the full to SYTYCW..I loved writing this WIP, tearing it apart, writing half of it over and over again until I was satisfied with it..I so want to recapture that sense of accomplishment, that sense of having learnt so much that I jumped into the above WIPs..

And having admitted to myself that first drafts are getting harder for me to write, spending time to let the idea brew before I jump into writing is probably plain common sense.

So I'm picking idea1, stepping back from actual writing (at least for 3 days) and let my mind think over it...what it will do to my January goal is another thing altogether....

Waiting....

2012-01-05T12:19:00.002-07:00

Only 5 days into the new year and I'm kind of resigned to the fact that my word count is not going up, at least over the next few days as I try to make sense of the words I have done now...The worst case- I might have to ditch them and start over again....

But I'm determined to not jump into another tempting, fresh idea before the end of the month...

So while I slog through the mess I've created, I thought I would post the picture of the fabulous love triangle and especially one man that I can't wait for to come back to my tv....Damon Salvatore....

That's where I will be at eight tonight...;-)

We're off..

2012-01-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's a shiny, bright new year and we're off...

Keeping in line with my resolutions to plan what I want to accomplish in a given month, I'm setting a goal for January..especially as I wait for good, something, any news on the full submitted to SYTYCW. The month will definitely be a lot of highs and lows of it's the best ms ever written on the planet to it's utter crap, I wonder if they stopped reading after ch1...

The other reason I need to focus on just writing this month is that, every time I finish something, I fluctuate so much over which idea to focus on next that I waste invaluable time...Even now, I've been vacillating between 4 different ideas, favoring one over the other each day, and am really giving myself mental a headache just switching from one to the other....

My goal for January is to write 25 k on one manuscript..so it's on...

Any takers?

Looking ahead again!

2011-12-31T14:13:00.002-07:00

Am sitting here while kiddos and Smart Guy (for once) are napping upstairs, reflecting on the past year and looking at the next year....
I've done more than I did the year before but it's not enough....I need to write more, and write efficiently...but as always I am optimistic about the coming year so here are a few of my goals..

Plan what I want to work on each month writing wise and try to meet that goal...
Exercise more so that I can lose the #$ pounds that are still hanging on from having the now 16 month old
Live in the moment and enjoy life--with princess 1 turning four in a little over a month, it seems like time is flying by and it's another reminder to cherish every moment, and fight the stress and crazy demands of everyday life....

With that, a very happy new year to all....

Looking Ahead

2011-01-01T09:31:00.004-07:00

I'm one of those eternally optimistic people who always thinks the year ahead will be a better one. I always sit down and write my resolutions, and seeing that life is only getting busier and busier, it is even more important this year I think to note down what I want to accomplish this coming year.

And before that, a quick look at the last year:

I started a new job last year and got a new baby in August :-) , so it was quite busy. But writing wise,I definitely did better than previous year so not too bad. I had resolved to complete two manuscripts in the year but I did only one though I have to blame my estimation powers, because after the little girl came in August, I had barely any time to write since I also went back to work when she was 8 weeks old.

So there.

This year, I'm going back to basics. As the Smart Guy likes to say, life is only going to get busier. And the stress just piles up if I let it. So, it's very important to keep my peace of mind or I'm going to get lost in everyday life, forget leaving any energy for writing.

So this year, I'm resolved to:

Enjoy the present moment whatever it is and not stress out about what's coming after this one as I have a tendency to.
Remember every day that I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful little girls and all the good things that actually matter.
Not resent the everyday menial tasks that have to be done. Don't laugh - this is a big one.
Finish two new manuscripts and learn more about my craft.

Have you made any resolutions for the new year? Good luck anyway and hope you have a very fruitful happy new year.

In my world...

2010-10-11T11:26:00.003-06:00

I thought I would come out of my world for a little while and post something on my blog.. well to say that I'm alive and busy.

Second princess now being almost 9 weeks, I'm off to work today and feeling pangs of separation already.

The comp. I entered, New Voices, was interesting if nothing else. Obviously,my chapter didn't get picked, I didn't win the free critique, nor did it end up on the list of chapters they wanted to see more of.

But what is shocking is neither did any of my fabulous CPs' chapters get picked, nor some other fantastic chapters I read.

Anyway, surprisingly, I don't feel too bad about myself.

I redid the chapter and submitted the partial of Alessandro and Rachel, which is written except for the last two chapters and am really glad that I did.

Now to see what happens...

In the meantime, I'm mulling over three different ideas and wondering which one to start..

Alexandra and Nicolas?

Lauren and Zafir?

Emma and Lucas?

Will let you know as soon as I decide...

What about you guys? How are you going to show them that you're not giving up?

New Voices

2010-09-21T14:39:00.002-06:00

After a lot of Do I - Don't I, a lot of which story, I finally entered the first chapter of my presents partial at the last minute.

Just so that I don't regret later that I didn't enter.

It's called Claiming Her Italian Magnate.

With everything else going on in life at the moment, I'm just happy I did something writing wise.

And a big thanks to fellow minxes for patiently answering my questions even though I haven't been much help to them at all.

Thanks a lot, gals.

Announcing my little princess!!

2010-08-22T20:15:00.007-06:00

I'm slowly recovering from my exhaustion and sleep deprivation and realized today that I didn't post my second princess's pic.

So without further ado: here's Anu, my sweet little baby girl, who entered the world on 11th Aug and gave mommy very little trouble in the process!

Still here!

2010-08-06T10:54:00.003-06:00

I'm still here, waddling around at 38 weeks pregnant, wrapping up work, waiting for the little one to make its appearance.

And getting ready to hit send on my Presents partial.

As you can see by my absence here on the blog world, lot of things are happening, so will still be scarce for the next couple of months.

Just saying!!

The Death of a Story....

2010-05-31T17:30:00.002-06:00

Ok, I know. The stories we write don't really die but I wanted something dramatic for the title of the post.

Warning: Not a very happy post.

I recieved an R on my Desire full last week. After the heartbreaking first evening when I cried-

I'm a big crier, thrower and breaker of things (though I'm trying to cut down on that because my 2 year old thinks it's a cool thing to do) and then comes stomping around the house, cursing all things in the universe that have conspired to be unfair to me, egotistical much?

- having a house full of guests the last week helped in some way to numb it, I think.

Although, we can't completely escape it, can we? It's always in the back of your mind like

that niggling tooth ache. Only instead of what did I overindulge on, it's what did I do wrong among the gazillion things that could be wrong on a full manuscript?

This was my first official submission through the slush pile. I worked very extensively on the full, rewriting part of it several times and now,I have my first official R.

I guess I should be happy that it's not a form R becuase I did recieve feedback although I'm still

in the 'what does that mean? and how am I suppposed to correct that' stage. And this is the part that bothers me the most. Shouldn't feedback help you understand where you went wrong? Or could it be that I'm being extra mulish and refusing to see what's right there in front of me?

I think I need some tough love from my CPs and once I have sucked it up, I will post it to them to see if they can shed some more light on it.

I definitely feel like I've been thrown for a loop. And what bothers me, is that I don't have

anything ready now to immediately submit to the Desire line, because I figured I would have to wait at least 3 months before I heard on a full request.

I heard in 2 days over a month.

So not only does that mean I won't submit anything until I write a full novel which could take any amount of time, the R has also majorly sucked out my momentum and energy for the ongoing WIP which has 38k and which I was determined to finish by now.

So basically, I'm feeling very unmotivated and sluggish. And the day job and being 7 months pregnant is not helping.

But it's also a threatening timeline.

I have to get something ready for both Presents and Desire subs before the baby comes. Or else it will be November or December before I can type two lucid lines together, much less spin a good story.

So, I'm allowing myself 2, maybe, 3 more days of wallowing in misery before I get my head back into the current WIP and repeat all over.

Write, Revise, Submit.

Meanwhile, if anyone knows a magic trick that can make the above process NOT so emotionally draining, please let me know.

Please, anyone?

Crawling towards the end...

2010-05-21T08:30:00.002-06:00

Alessandro and Rachel's story is progressing quite nicely. I've written over 28 k in the last month and am finally in the home stretch. 3-4 more chapters to go and I will be done. Surprisingly, I wrote the synopsis once I was half way through and for the first time, didn't totally hate it and even think that the end product might not be so bad.

Delusional, moi? No way.

As with every story that I'm working on at a given time, I think this is my strongest story ever, even in the crappy first draft form. No, seriously... And I think it might be because I had a very strong grip on my characters and their internal conflicts when I began. Instead of going exploring in the first draft, I started with something substantial in mind and then let the story take me away.

I love my current hero, Alessandro. He's the most honorable guy I've ever written. And I know, I know, :-), I probably think that about every hero I write too, but I know that Alessandro will have a special place always in my heart.

He's right up there with the best of guys, recognizing the heroine, Rachel for the remarkable woman she is the moment he meets her. And it's his own code of honor that stops him from taking what he wants with a ferocity that surprises him for the first time in his life. He has fought the desire he feels for her with every ounce of control he possesses, but has finally given in and oh, how spectacular he finds it to give in.

And now, he's fiercely fighting to keep her in his life, but she won't stay, not with what he has to offer.

And this is where I'm in the story. But for some reason, I have lost a little momentum this past week. Or actually I know why I lost it. Every scene that's coming next is intensely emotional for both my characters and I think I'm feeling the pressure to deliver that emotion, knowing that I have to put them through a wringer for them to truly realize what they mean to each other. The black moment is coming and it ain't going to be pretty.

Here's a little more about what's coming:

Alessandro is feeling his control slip, nothing he does so far is convincing Rachel to stay with him. For a really smart and calculating person, he doesn't see the futility of his actions. He does everything in his power to keep her in his life except the one thing he should be doing- letting go of the tight fist with which he rules his emotions and sharing his darkest fear. Gripped by the same emotions he very much detests, he's failing to see that the reason he wants Rachel in his life permanently- because she is a remarkable woman who sets his fire on blood, is also the very reason why she won't fall for his elaborate gestures, won't settle for anything less than what she deserves.

In his desperation, he's finally taking the step that goes against every fiber of his nature, the step that will break the heart of the woman he desperately wants to make happy.

He doesn't see that he's already fallen in love with her, that he has already lost the battle with himself and all he needs to do is open himself to those emotions instead of locking them away.

Until the damage is done and he has broken the spirit of the one woman who has touched his heart. And the only option left to him is to let her go.

Poor Alessandro.

But, no worries. Rachel is every inch his equal and won't bow down without fighting, both her own fears and his. Not until she has his love.

What do you think?

Easy, peasy, right?

So, the plan is to finish the first draft at the latest by the first week of June, put the first three chapters through my amazing crit group and hit Send on the partial by June 15th.

Please, wish me luck, won't you?

P.S. Oh and on a very uninteresting side note, my Desire full has been with the editor for a month now. But who's counting?

Are you ready for the Minxes?

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

My fabulous crit group, Minxes of Romance is launching a new group blog, minxesofromance.blogspot.com, beginning this coming Monday, the 10th of May, featuring a minx on Mondays, Author spotlight on Wednesdays and Anything Fridays- Movie reviews, Book reviews, anything that might catch our fancy.

Get yourself over there come Monday and join us on this amazing journey.

Sri, who's very proud and very happy to be a part of this amazing group.

The root of all evils, or in this case... chapter 6.

2010-05-04T22:21:00.005-06:00

I pushed myself and finished chapter 6 tonight. And by that I mean I have 3600 words of pure drivel. To give myself credit, I didn't introduce a plot device to get some action going. No, instead the H and h had meaningful conversation and then ran into the H's ex-wife.

While a very little of it might be salvageable, I don't think this scene has a purpose. It reveals nothing new to my heroine, only shows the hero's reaction to his ex wife, and since my heroine is no wilting wallflower, she's not intimidated by any of this.

For some reason, chapter 6 is always the devil incarnate for me. I know what I have in that chapter now will not work for me but I have to move along because right now, I can't think of how else to fix it.

Surfacing back up...

2010-05-02T10:11:00.004-06:00

I've been extremely remiss on the blog. In the beginning, I didn't want to post until I sent my Desire full in and then I just got lazy... by that I mean day job, toddler, cooking, writing etc.

Anyway, the desire full is in the editor's hands and I'm driving full charge ahead into the first draft of Alessandro and Rachel's story so that I could have a partial in for the Presents line ASAP. I finished chapter 5 and hit a small snag. so, I took a couple of steps back and took an overview of their GMCs and conflict instead of just writing ahead as I usually do. Chapter 6 is always the devil for me, something I end up writing 3 to 4 times, because for some reason, I get the end right, but throw in a couple of plot devices and twist the characters into doing something they wouldn't to get to the end.

Instead, I'm thinking. What do they want at this point? Why? And how're they getting there? Have their goals changed from the beginning? If so, again why?

PANIC

2010-02-02T06:32:00.005-07:00

From happily moving along on my revisions of the Desire MS two days ago, now I'm in full panic mode. Yep, I'm in the 'my MS is a pile of dung that will never be in a decent enough shape to give me confidence that I can send it to the editor' mode.

I had a light bulb moment over the weekend that made me look at chapter 6, the chapter from hell where everything comes crashing down and think, ooh, it's not working because that's clearly a plot device I have in there. So chop went the plot device.

Two days fast forward: Now I'm thinking I have no plot. My characters are evolving and developing emotionally, so far so good. But it seems nothing is happening, plot wise. Is that possible? Then I scratch my head. Is it possible that the characters GMCs are constantly evolving but there's no plot because they are not doing anything or nothing's happening to them?

Panic Item # 2: My MS is so unglamorous as in there's no glamour. Yes, that's how messed up I am right now. Every time I open a Desire I'm reading and liking very much, I keep coming back to this. Hmm, these people are jet setting in an exotic backdrop while working through their issues, while my characters keep having light bulb moments about each other in boring settings like the office, the car, the office and so on... Do you see?

So my next problem is how do I glamorize the book? Do I just include a gratuitous scene where they're suddenly headed off to an exotic place to eat lunch and I describe how exotically exotic this whole place is in that scene?

That's how much messed up I am, how chaotic my thoughts are when it comes to this book, that it's making me wonder if I'll ever be happy with the whole lot of it to mail it.

In other news, to distract myself from the looming disaster, I wrote a couple of thousand words on the shiny, new WIP which did put me in a good mood. But I know the high will last only until I get to about 25K when the feeling that everything's a piece of junk will come back.

Very cheery for a Tuesday morning, don't you think?

A little progress

2010-01-26T20:34:00.006-07:00

After a long time, my revision meter on SBTH moved a bit. Half way through on round 1 of revisions. A few things gave me a kick where needed to finish the revisions. By the end of February, I want to finish another round and send the full to the editor. I know it seems like a long time to get an already written MS to be revised and submitted but I'm literally working on maybe two pages a day, that too if I'm not exhausted and falling into the bed at 830. So, instead of setting up myself for failure, I've given myself a realistic deadline.

To get my juices flowing, I also started work on a new WIP I want to submit to the Presents line once I have the Desire full out the door. No actual writing, but lots of GMCs, Character Bios, Internal Conflicts, Outlines, and I even started a rough draft of the synopsis. All this preparation so that I don't write myself into a hole (that's absolutely hard to get myself out of) to increase the word count on the first draft, to stop resorting to plot devices, write scenes which I then revise, by which I mean, pretzel my characters' goals and motivations to fit that already written scene which I don't want to delete even knowing that it needs to go.

Oi!

So the plan for the next two months is to submit the Desire full by end of February, submit a Presents partial by the end of March.

Yep, I have my mojo back and I'm bribing it with lots of chocolate, and books with yummy heroes.

What? Didn't you know?

Of course, my mojo is female.

Lost My Mojo

2010-01-14T18:51:00.004-07:00

Yep, I've lost the mojo or whatever that is that spurs me into spinning stories.

At least, it's missing.

Several things going on in life and writing's the first thing that takes a hit.

Whatever I do, I'm just lacking the enthusiasm to just get my head into any WIP and keep plugging.

Donno why.

Have to do something to get it back because I get really unhappy when I'm not writing.

A little buzzing bee lands in a corner of my mind and keeps pecking and pecking reminding me that I haven't worked on anything for so many days and it's really hard to ignore the darned bee.

So, have to do something to get the energy back.

If I figure out what, shall definitely inform you.

What's in store?

2010-01-02T17:24:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year!!!

After a week's vacation, I feel a bit slow getting back into things. I'm happy with what I accomplished in 2009 writing wise, although there's always that niggling doubt in the back of mind that I could've done better. And am still making my resolutions for this year. But being very cautious too, because I start a temporary day job in 2 weeks and there are a lot of other things going on that are overwhelming me quite a bit. Toddler goes to daycare for the first time next week and that's making me a bit nervous too.

EFFICIENCY is the name of the game this year, I think. I think of my characters, and plot and story all the time, but the actual amount of time I spend on the current WIP is chipped away by browsing, reading blogs, checking email. With very little time to spare for writing once I start the job, I'd have to manage it carefully and make the most out of it.

Definitely have to make the most out of the new laptop Smart Guy bought for me. :-)

Here's hoping for an awesome year for everyone!!

My very first, shiny R

2009-12-15T13:54:00.002-07:00

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who have kindly congratulated me. Thanks once again. And the request has definitely distracted although not completely nullified my reaction to the new R.

After much nail biting, I received my standard form R yesterday from the Presents competition. To say that I was absolutely crushed is not exaggerating it. I finished this MS last year, my first Presents story ( Presents is my first love as I've been reading them for over 15 years) and won Donna's mentor contest with the same first chapter.

I had been slowly revising each word when I heard of the Presents competition in July. I had a lot of confidence in the story and absolutely loved it to bits. So instead of writing a new one to enter in the contest even though I had ample time, I just polished that chapter and sent it in.

Had I become too complacent? I don't know. Should I have written something new? Because I definitely learnt a lot writing wise this last year. Maybe I should have just submitted this through the slush pile and worked on something else for the contest.

I would have been very happy with just some personal feedback even if the editor didn't want the full. So, bye to Theron and Catalina's story for now.

As soon as I get the full out the door, I'm going to start working on a new Presents story and submit it through the slush pile.

Falling off the horse and getting back on again and all that.

News

2009-12-11T11:06:00.004-07:00

After reading the results on Iheartpresents of the writing competition at 5 in the morning, I was quite disappointed. Well, it was 544 entries and some stiff competition. Now waiting for the individual feedback. Life, it seems, is waiting for one thing or or the other.

Two hours later, what do I see in the mail, a thin envelop from Silhouette. I was pretty sure it was form rejection. But, thank God, it's not. The editor has requested the full of "Seduced By The Heir." This is my first submission and I'm just so happy to receive a positive response and without a long wait .

And I have to take this opportunity to thank one awesome lady, Donna Alward. She has been mentoring me since I won her contest at the beginning of the year and helped me so much. She has listened to me whine, complain, critiqued my chapters, gave me sound advice and encouraging words and I can't thank her enough for her generosity.

Thank you, Donna.

Now to get the revisions done soon and send it off.

Revisions

2009-12-08T14:12:00.005-07:00

I'm still working on my self imposed revisions on the Desire manuscript with the partial in the NY office. The self imposed revisions (although really hard that I'm really slogging my way through each word) serve two purposes: Revising a manuscript from start to finish because, who am I kidding, being able to revise and polish a dirty draft is the one of the most important and required skills of a writer and secondly, if I get a full request on this manuscript- I'll have the full ready.

I'm rewriting chapter 6 for the third time and still not sure that it's coming along right. This chapter is especially hard because the stakes have changed in the previous chapter for the hero. Some of Xavier's misconceptions about Sam have fallen away. And although,I have an external plot thread here that brings them to a crossroads (this being a Desire WIP), the way Xavier and Sam still react to it is very important. There are two choices in front of Sam and what she picks shows if something in her has changed because of Xavier and if she's willing to take that chance with him. In short, they have both reached a turning point in their relationship.

While struggling with the chapter, I made up another file with some questions that have popped into my head.

Do I need to show Nathan (secondary character)? What’s his purpose in this scene? What purpose is the fight about the painting serving? What am I showing by this scene? GMC of this scene?

Now that Xavier’s misconceptions have fallen away, what’s keeping them apart? What’s the conflict now?

What are Sam and Xavier thinking at this point?

Sam: What does Sam think about her past declaration? Sam’s problem is that she doesn't want to take that step towards Xavier, doesn't want to act on her attraction to Xavier without knowing where it would lead. Security is still a big thing for her.

Xavier: Right now, Xavier wants to forget about the past and just start over. He acknowledges his culpability three years ago. He doesn’t care about the painting until he sees it. He wants Sam to be honest with him, to trust him but Sam won't or can't after having her heart broken last time.

I'm hoping that answering some of these questions will point me in getting the chapter in the right direction. Because I know what happens next. But getting them to that point without contriving to a plot device but because they have made the choice to get there is proving really hard.

Latest reads

2009-12-03T09:20:00.010-07:00

I just finished reading Kate Hewitt's Royal Baby, Forbidden Marriage that she most kindly sent to me. I devoured Royal Baby, Forbidden Marriage in one sitting and loved it. I loved both Phoebe and Leo, Phoebe for how willing she was to fight for him and Leo for how vulnerable he was for all his power. I loved the way she showed Leo feeling compassion for Phoebe from the beginning, and his internal conflict as he sought to seduce her into marrying him, even though it was for her own sake. Just goes to show how much depth you can give to an Alpha male other than power and arrogance.

Kate is quickly becoming one of my favorite Presents authors. I loved "The Sheikh's Forbidden Virgin" , her installment of The Royal House of Karedes. I loved Aarif and Kalila.

Can't wait to read her next.

Tick Tock....

2009-12-01T10:34:00.003-07:00

Yes, I'm slowly going crazy watching the clock and waiting for the results of the contest. To my non-writing, non obsessive friends, this is the contest that I entered along with 543 other hopeful contestants. The latest update is that the winners have been chosen and will be declared on the blog on Dec 11th , I think.

I'm steeling myself for bad news (so that I don't completely break down), thinking of the action plan to follow, what to work on, what to submit next, yet in a tiny corner of my mind and heart, a small element of hope glows bright. I can't help wishing for some encouraging words even if I haven't won, even if I'm not one of the runners up, even if I don't have a full request. Just a few measly encouraging words that say while we hate the chapter you submitted, we think you're doing something right, so keep persevering.

No excuse

2009-11-10T11:23:00.004-07:00

Courtesy of our new house, I have a study (okay, not I but Smart Guy and I) that is away from the clutter of the house (Yes, with my housekeeping abilities, even the new house has clutter, I just didn't get that gene from my mom and have accepted it :-)), to write. I've always wanted a study because maybe then I would feel more writerly?

My Dad who was also a writer had one and he would get really angry at all of us if we so much as touched a pen on his writing table. Even though I didn't understand what the fuss was back then, I do now. Having a space that you can call your own, something you don't have to share with anyone including Smart Guys and Naughty Toddlers is just great. Now if I can convince the liitle girl to play on her own for a couple of hours a day, I should really get some work done.

In other not so happy matters, I just found out that the contest I entered has received 544 entries. Yes, 544 entries.

Even though if one's entry is good, one's entry should still fare well among that high number, it definitely makes things seem different. Which brings me to the question what if?

Better get cracking on the next WIP, for if there's no good word about this entry, I need to have a partial ready to submit which means I need to write and finish another WIP.

Well, December already seems full. That's good, right?

Sent!

2009-10-26T13:57:00.006-06:00

I just hit send on my competition entry and I feel... nothing actually except for a certain detachment for the WIP. I loooove this story and even if I don't get a request for full, I think I will still be proud of how much I learnt with this one, the second one I ever finished.

Life has been busy the last month with moving into our new house (our very first, YAY), unpacking( will go on for the next couple of months) and dealing with a major hot oil burn on my left wrist (which really hurts when I'm typing). Luckily, I finished writing this WIP last year and had it polished to submit when I heard of this competition.

So, now that it's gone, I think I need to sit down and think of an action plan for the next month since the results will be announced on Dec. 2nd. As usual, I'm itching to jump into something new, but this time, I have to come up with a working plan even for a first draft, because I really want to have a cleaner first draft and not be daunted by the amount of energy and time it takes to rewrite a dirty first draft.

I need to make sure of where I'm going in terms of character arcs, GMCs and the overall structure and get it right the first time around. So, no racing against the clock to finish the WIP but working on one chapter a time with my mind on the overall picture.

Starting trouble

2009-09-01T21:39:00.007-06:00

I'm still in the process of rewritig the first chapter of SBTH and it's not really going well.

I have so much info dumped in the first version that I'm unable to think with an objective mind as to how much I put in there to indulge myself vs. how much the reader needs to know.

But there's a lot that needs to go.

The H and h have known each other forever, so there's a lot of backstory and they are both nursing old hurts which have to be revealed a little bit for their meeting in the first chapter to make sense. And it has to be done cleverly so that it doesn't sound like this:

Xavier: You did that. *frown*

Sam: I did that only because you said this. *sob*

Xavier: But I said it only because of that thing that happened when you said that. *glare*

Sam: Oh, really. Fine. Go to Hell. *slap*

Xavier: Oh, no. You didn't. *Kiss*

Ugh.

In the mean time, here's a pic of my heroine, Samantha Miller. I don't really look at pics for my hero and heroine inspiration usually but something in Anne Hathaway's expression here made me think of Sam in my story.

A new routine

2009-08-31T09:51:00.008-06:00

I called the post 'A new routine', although I should probably just call it routine because I don't have one and I've always resisted one with all my might.

After several false starts, I finally listened to Smart Guy's advice and decided to wake up early in the morning, and by early, I mean 6 AM to get a start on my writing.

Now, if you have known me for a while, you know that I'm an insomniac who doesn't see the light of the day before 8 or 9AM. So the notion of setting an alarm clock when I didn't have to go to work was for me a radical idea.

But for the past couple of days, thanks to Jetlag and cutting down on my cup of evening tea (which is a great achievement in itself because I'm a coffee and tea junkie), I've discovered that I can fall asleep by around 11, which means there's no real reason I couldn't try to wake up a couple of hours before toddler girl wakes up, providing myself with the peace and quiet to hear my own thoughts.

So, I did today. And even though the two hours weren't the most productive, I still got a head start. Let's see how long that lasts.

Coming to my current project:

I've started rewriting my Desire MS and have set myself a deadline. I don't want to jinx myself by saying what it is. But I know that I need to meet it or else...

I collected a few pitcures when the initial idea for this story crawled into my head. So I decided to post a few pics to inspire myself while I did the revisions.

So here's the first one. Montgomery Manor, Xavier's ancestral home.

For Xavier, being an unsentimental cynic, the Manor has no special meaning, even though it's going to be his one day. He has left it four years ago with no qualms and has only returned now.

But for Sam, once the housekeeper's daughter and now the widowed daughter-in-law, the Manor means everything. It's the home that she always wanted to be hers when she was a child, and in her heart, she knows that she doesn't belong there even though now she lives there.

Next up, I will post pics of Samantha Miller or what I thought she would look like in my head.

P.S. Hubby will be hereafter referred to as Smart Guy. For the obvious reason that he was smart enough to marry me.

Ready

2009-08-26T08:29:00.005-06:00

I'm back at home after more than two months away. Have finished cleaning the house to get rid of all the wonderful smells that have made our house their own.

Haven't worked on anything in so long and have been bursting with doubts and ideas regarding my writing.

Have conquered most of the doubts and given wings to ideas.

Have made a working plan as to what I want to tackle in the next three months after wonderful input from a smart lady.

I'm jumping back into the field with all swords drawn.

Hear me roar!

Reading Alert: Just finished reading Linda Lael Miller's A Wanted Man and loved it. Haven't read too many western historical romances but loved the way she so realistically created the town of Stone Creek. Have to read more of her books.

Ouch

2009-06-19T09:14:00.003-06:00

Nope, my log line didn't make it to the top 9 that were picked for the Editor Pitch for Silhouette Desire and it hurts.

Real bad.

Wow, losing based on the log line is making me feel so crushed, then Kudos to those who persevere rejection after rejection till they sell.

I guess I better be prepared.

It ain't gonna be a smooth ride.

Done

2009-06-08T15:44:00.005-06:00

My first draft for the manuscript for the Desire pitch is finally done. I forced myself to write the last few thousand words. Every word felt like drawing blood from a stone, and the last chapter is utterly crappy with she said, he said, but it's done.

Now I can travel in peace (oh, did I say peace- 24 hour journey with a toddler, yeah, right?) and will revisit the manuscript again on Thursday or Friday when I've had a couple of nights of sleep after reaching India.

This being the third MS I finished, I should feel quite happy with myself but I'm not. I think it's because it's a very rough draft and needs a lot of work.

The log line for the contest is ready but will submit it once I'm on the other side of the Atlantic. It's going to be so hard to open a laptop and work again with family, food (Yes, I have to decided to bilge as I feel quite deprived of good food) and shopping for my sister's wedding on my mind constantly( and not necessarily in that order) but having finished the WIP, I have to give my all to shaping it up into something decent that an editor will want to see.

Excited!

2009-06-04T13:58:00.009-06:00

I'm very excited as I will be going to watch StarTrek later today with a friend.

DH and I used to go to the theatre and watch a lot before toddler girl was born. DVDs are fun and everything but some movies, you have to watch on the big screen.

For a while there, we had even taken to watch some of them seperately, him with his buddies because it was the only way we could go to the movies with our baby girl, although we risked Indiana Jones flick with her.

And me, sometimes even alone because most of my friends don't go to the theatre and the few that do, our schedules never seem to match. I watched Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix by myself because DH was out of country at that time and I wanted to watch it the first day. (I will definetely not have to watch the upcoming installment of Harry Potter by myself because I will be in India and my brother is a big fan too. Woohoo!!)

And then, I went to Dark Knight by myself when DH offered to take care of the baby.

Now, after working hard the past one month, I felt like I needed a reward. Yes, other than the shopping for my trip and when the topic of movies came up at a get together with a lady of my acquintaince, I made plans to go see the movie with her.

Now, you might say, why is this of such importance?

Because, I never do that. I have changed over the past few years into a sort of a reserved person and my writing, I think, makes me even more isolated. No, I don't mean that I've become an antisocial creature. But I have taken to doing most stuff by myself.

Yes, self-sufficiency is a very desirable quality in my opinion, but not to the extent that I forget how much fun it can be to do stuff with other likeminded people. Although, I have to admit it is very hard to find likeminded people when you're in your late twenties rather than in teens.

So, hopefully this would be a step towards not becoming a recluse.

Well, this blog has to have its use of sometimes being cheap therapy too.

Now, to the particular movie, StarTrek. I didn't watch the original series in the 60s, not being born then, neither did I watch it when it was telecast in India when I was a kid.

DH introduced me to it just a couple of years ago, and I turned into an instant fan.

I love Kirk's alpha male enough but it is Spock that captured my heart from the first moment I laid eyes on him.

I love his Vulcan logic, I love his inner fight where he wants to deny the human part of him, the emotional side of him.

I loved Leonard Nemoy as Spock.

So, I was a bit skeptical as to how much I would like the new Spock.

But I have heard only good things about him.

Let's see.

Out of steam

2009-06-02T10:53:00.007-06:00

I feel like I've run out of steam in the past few days with respect to my Desire WIP. I have around 8 or 9k to write and then I will be done with the first draft, even though, it will fall short of 50K. But I've realized that I do that with all my first drafts, so I'm not worried.

Now as to why I can't concentrate I don't know. It might be the upcoming trip with my toddler girl to India for more than a couple of months. I still have to pack and I have a gazillion things to do before I leave.

Or it might be that I'm a bit unhappy and potentially scared that my story is not good enough because I wrote it pretty fast and I feel like I have glossed over a lot of things. But I keep telling myself that given the timeframe, I did ok. I wrote around 29k just in May and I have to pat myself on the back because it's quite the milestone for me. Yes, I had hoped to maybe even finish it in May, but let's stick to the positive side of things.

I still have to polish my log line: due June 15th, write the synopsis, finish the WIP and start revising in the offchance that I get to pitch to the editor and she asks me for a partial or a full.

A girl can dream, right?

On the other side, I' ve done some reading lately and yes, that might be one of the reasons I didn't hit 40k just in May. But I'm glad I read because for a while I've been scared that I have the same headspace alloted to both reading and writing in my brain.

They felt like mutually exclusive events.

If I was writing, I couldn't read anything because it took all my energies.

If I was reading, I couldn't write because I'm one of those that read the book until I'm done without a break even though my eyes are falling out and there are flies swarming over the sink which is full of dirty dishes. Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration.

But I managed it ok with the last couple of books. I finished my daily quota of words on the WIP and then spent the evening reading.

As usual, I loved Anne Perry's Execution Dock, the latest in the William Monk series. How does she dot it? I love the way she makes her characters dig deeper and deeper with every book.

JR Ward's Lover Revealed was good, although there were parts where I skimmed the story a bit. Somehow I kept wishing that Butch should have stayed human, being able to help with destroying the lessers with the whole inhale thing. Turning him into a vampire disappointed me a bit although I was happy for him. I'm looking forward to reading Vishous's story but have decided to wait for a couple of months since the books read like drugs. You want them but you don't want too much at the same time.

And then, I finished reading Deanna Raybourn's latest installment in the Lady Julia Grey mystery series, Silent On The Moor, and I have to say I like this one the least. It was rambling for quite a while, just the same scenes happening again and again in different guises. And the hero, Nicholas Brisbane really pissed me off. It felt like it was a one sided relationship, all the effort only on Julia's part whereas he acted like a stubborn dog, although I'm happy that they finally, finally tied the knot.

I'm also dying to read the next one in Victoria Thompson's gaslight mysteries, Murder on Waverly Place featuring Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy.

Yes, can you tell I'm both a mystery and a series junkie?

Weekly Goal #2

2009-05-18T12:21:00.008-06:00

Took a 3 day break from the current WIP, SBTH.

Feeling a little panicky now when I see the date. Although I'm pretty confident I can finish the WIP by June 7th ( since I'm leaving to India on June 9th which means I will lose a few days with jetlag and whatnot) , I'm a little scared of the massive editing/revising/polishing that will be involved and past records show that I suck at the whole editing process. So need to leave plenty of time for that.

Setting a weekly goal of 10,000 words. Must bring the WIP to 35K by Monday.

Onwards and upwards.

11 PM update: Wrote 2500 words and met today's goal. Now if only I could get some quality snooze.

A perfect day

2009-05-10T22:06:00.007-06:00

I had a perfect day today.

After a couple of weeks of sleepless nights, I woke up feeling refreshed after a goodnight's sleep.

Then I cooked.

Then I conquered the afternoon nap demons.

Then I wrote.

Then I shopped.

Then I spent some quality Mother's Day time with the little one and had her pick a present. (Ok, so I cheated here a little, but she did give a grunt of approval for a particular pair of silver strapped sandals.)

Then I came home and wrote some more.

Sigh.

If only every day could be a perfect day.

P.S. I'm also feeling very chuffed that my WIP has hit the 20,000 mark.

Working weekend

2009-05-02T11:37:00.005-06:00

I'm catching up on my writing this weekend. I wanted to have at least 15,000 words done on my Desire WIP by the end of April. But a nasty bout of cold and cough and fever meant I lost the whole of last week. So I need to get back on track.

And the dutiful mother that I am, I passed on my bug to the little one who I'm ashamed and a little proud to say is a far better patient than I am.

Update: Not bad for the day as I still fell pretty weak. I finished chapter 4 tonight and should catch upto 15000 words tomorrow. Xavier got a little surprise when he realized something about Samantha and boy, he has some more shocks coming his way. But the good (although arrogant) guy that he is, he is taking it all in stride and beginning to see Sam for what she really is.

And now for a little endorsement. I had about 20 packets of EmergenC while coping with the cold. And it's now my favorite drink.

Writing- Job or Hobby?

2009-04-23T13:45:00.011-06:00

I was reading a fabulous post by Lynn Raye Harris over at Romance Magicians yesterday and something she said stuck with me.

To quote Lynn: "I started treating myself like a professional. I acted like I was already published. To myself, of course -- because that's the most important person you have to convince."

Her words stuck with me because I haven't achieved that mindset yet. Yes, I'm doing better than I did last year or the year before that, when I only wrote when the fancy struck me, whereas this year, I've made time based i.e. yearly goals and also goals for what I want to write. I even spent DH's good money and took a couple of online classes on craft.

Which is all good.

But not enough.

The change for me has to come in the way I go about writing every day. Treat it as a job- amazing advice that's all over the net, but not always easily done.

Because life intervenes.

Although, anyone who has ever been to my house knows that I don't let at least let stuff like a sink full of dishes, three baskets of unfolded laundry (even in the three baskets, DH gets the least priority), and scattered toys interfere with me. But they're always present, taunting me every time I sit down to write.

And there's the 14 month old who's ever so fond of pressing either the power button or the backspace button on the keyboard ( look at your keyboard, they're the most easily accessible keys to already dangerous toddlers who don't get that they just deleted the fabulous kissing scene between the H and the h), and gets yelled 'NO' at because she can't understand that Mommy mustn't be disturbed when she's working on the laptop and then Mommy goes on a day long guilt trip because she yelled at her baby.

And there's the end of the day when the little one's sleeping and the kitchen's closed, but I'm too tired to really write and all I want to do or actually do is curl up on the recliner and watch some mind numbing television.

You see? As real as these problems are, they're also excuses at the end of the day as to why I didn't accomplish the daily goal.

If it was a paying job with a boss, I would have been fired at least ten times by now.

So, I'm going to treat it as a job from now on, be a professional, reach my every day goals and if I fall off the wagon, start all over again.

So here's my mantra:

Write every day, be a writer every day, do something that contributes to the career you want to establish as a writer every day.

Back in the saddle

2009-04-22T16:32:00.005-06:00

After a couple of minor glitches, I'm back on the saddle with the Desire WIP I'm working on. I'm halfway though the third chapter and going on. Feels good.

Also finished writing the query letter for GTSW. Have to send them off to my amazing CP( cough, cough, she said I can call her that for the next year, so big boo to you) Donna. Then it's revising the first three chapters one more time, and this baby will be ready to go.

And then I get to begin the waiting game.

Woohoo.

Backwards

2009-04-09T17:11:00.002-06:00

My little word counter for Sam and Xavier is going backwards as I have trashed the beginning I had and started afresh. It will probably take me a couple of false starts before I get the first chapter beginning in the right place.

A change in direction

2009-04-09T11:02:00.002-06:00

After three weeks with family, little one and I are feeling a bit restless. She's missing her cousins, her aunt and her grandma and me too, to be honest. But it's back to some serious writing now.

With respect to GTSW, I have the invaluable crits from the wonderful Donna and once I brave it enough to send her my synopsis, GTSW is going to find it way through cyberspace to London editorial.

In other matters, I have been dividing my time between two WIPs, one aimed at Presents and one tentatively at Modern Heat. While I hadn't decided which one I wanted to pursue, something else has come up. So a change in direction is required. I'm going to put aside the above two WIPs and work on something different towards Desire. Yes, I should probably stick to one line and learn it to perfection but I like switching things up a bit and changing pace. And I have a very specific, but reasonable goal. I have to finish this WIP by mid June at the latest and have it ready.

No, there's no switching between WIPs until this one's done.

No complaining that I don't have enough time. About 10 weeks for a 50,000 word WIP, I think is good enough time.

So, Samantha and Xavier are going to go up on the side bar with a word count bar until I can think of a title I like for their story.

Let's roll!

Crappity crap!

2009-04-02T10:15:00.002-06:00

The title of the post refers to the second chapter of the WIP I'm working on right now.

There's no chemistry between the H and h, they're just two talking heads who're mumbling stuff to each other and don't really care about what the other is saying either.

Crap!!

The failure that was March

2009-03-31T22:01:00.005-06:00

I'm ashamed to do a summary of my writing activities for March as I was busy in the first part with the online class and the second with family visiting.

But I've started working on the Italian Magnate's Wayward Mistress today. Tentative plan is to finish the first draft by mid June or so. I did more than a rough outline and am psyched to see how it will go.

On other hand, I'm chipping away my TBR pile and have fallen in love with J R Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. How did I miss such awsome stuff until now? I finished reading Wrath's story and Rhage's Story and waiting to jump into Zsadist's story.

All of them are going to be on my keeeper shelf.

Forever and ever.

February's Summary

2009-03-02T16:45:00.003-07:00

I'm cringing as I write this because as far as writing was concerned, February was a bleh... month. The little one had her first B'Day party, we had a delightful visit from my sis with great news, DH and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary and I could go on and on.

Bottom line, I didn't get much done. Still, the point of doing the monthly review for me is to take an objective look at what I accomplished each month and get back on track. The high point of the month was winning Donna's contest. Also, the online course I signed up for took a lot of time but also had some very illuminating points. Surprisingly, I did some motivation and conflict stuff for my main character for the mystery series I want to write with the exercises for the class and learned quite a lot.

Case in point, I have to get stuff done this month.

Have to submit chapters 2 and 3 and Synopsis and query letter for GTSW to Donna so that I can get her feedback and then finally submit to London Office. I have to do this in March. No more wasting time sitting on this baby.
Once I decide which WIP I want to work on, I have to start working on something new. I have three different ideas hankering for my attention, and I can't decide which one I want to work on. I keep writing one word here and one word there, and it's literally driving me crazy.
And I need to continue taking the new WIP into April and May and get most of it done by end of the May because a bird that came visiting tells me I'm not going to have much writing time in June and July. Which means to keep up with the yearly goal of writing two manuscripts this year, I have to finish at least one by August.
And continue to revise GTSW which is quickly becoming my least favorite task but that's another post.

With the other online class I signed up for this month, which is filling my inbox at an exponential rate, let' see how I do.

And speaking of online classes, I liked the one I took last month but after March, I'm going to close the door because they're very time consuming.

At least until I finish the next book.

The woes of rewriting

2009-02-26T21:01:00.002-07:00

I'm currently rewriting Ch 5 of GTSW, something I'm finding very painful.

In the first version, it felt like my heroine was becoming too passive, too easily fitting into what the arrogant hero wants her to do.
So, I wanted to make her more proactive, so I started the rewrite where she decides to bring him down a peg by teaching him a lesson. And fails miserably when her plan backfires and results in injury to her. Now, the injury is almost brought on by her own actions instead of from an external source.

It sounded pretty good in my head.

Not on paper. I'm almost halfway through the rewrite where I can mesh the second half of the original version in to the current chapter.

Only I hate it how it's turned out.
I like the previous version better, but I don't want to keep it because she is passive in it.

Have you figured out that I hate revisions? I know it's a writer's best friend. But for me, I think the problem is that I'm too attached, too much in love with what's already written. I need to become more detached.

The whole exercise reminds me of tests in high school and college where it was drilled into us that you always go through your answer sheet a couple of times before you turned it in.
I was one of those who always finished early and hated looking at it again. I figured, if I didn't get the answer the first time, nothing great was going to happen when I checked it again.
What can I say? I'm lazy.

But it's not that like that with writing. I just read it somewhere on the net that :

First draft is creation and all the other drafts after that are analysis.

So, I guess it's back to ch5 for me.

And the winner is ...

2009-02-24T09:22:00.005-07:00

***************DRUM ROLL PLEASE*********************

I won Donna's contest for unpublished writers. I get a partial critique from her and she's stuck with me for the rest of the year :-), which is YAY for me.

Already, her suggestions on chapter 1 make a lot of sense to me.

Here's what she said about my chapter on her blog:

"Sri's got solid conflict and characters that leap off the page. Her hero is a fantastic alpha male that is ruthless and sexy all at once, and her heroine is independent and spunky despite being faced with a terrible task at the beginning. I love how they went toe to toe and the sexual tension shimmered."

Writing is such a solitary pursuit (even with online friends) with no immediate rewards (well, except for the ones dear hubby provides from time to time to motivate me), that Donna's kind words provide much needed validation that I'm at least on the right path.

I'm so excited that I can pick her brain. And with the partial crit I will get from her on GTSW, I will be sending the strongest manuscript I can to the editorial.

Again, thanks to Donna for being such a generous lady.

Here's the link to the post if you want to read all of it. :-)

http://donnaalward.blogspot.com/2009/02/announcing-perfect-pitch-winner.html

The Art Of Cooking

2009-02-18T20:42:00.006-07:00

No, I haven't mastered it. And don't think it will happen in this lifetime.
Earlier, I used to think it was because I didn't pay attention to details.
Not anymore.
Now, I know that I didn't get the cooking gene from my mother who's an exceptional cook.
Lucky I have a hubby whose only requirement is that the food I put in front of him be nutritious.

Thank God for small mercies.

Woohooo!!

2009-02-04T09:13:00.004-07:00

I'm one of the finalists of the Pitch contest held by the fabulous Donna Alward for unpubbed authors and I can't believe it. This is the first contest I've entered, and the first pitch I've ever written too.

Even if I thought optimistically, the chances of winning it were very slim. So, I'm doubly glad that something of substance caught Donna's eye from the pitch. And the worst part is, even though she had announced the winners yesterday, being disgusted with myself for spending too much time browsing and not writing, I didn't even check my email in the evening.

Now, the five finalists get to send her their first chapters which she will critique and then will chose the final winner who will get a partial critiue and Donna as the mentor for the rest of the year. How great is that? so, I'm going to tweak my chapter a bit and send it off and cross my fingers again.

Dare I hope?

I don't know how my first chapter will hold up against the other four, but I'm glad to have come to at least this stage. And trying not to cringe at seeing my pitch on Donna's blog. I can already think of two things I shouldn't have put in there.

January's Summary

2009-02-01T16:24:00.004-07:00

Even though I transitioned from the picture in the last post, I'm still not completely happy with what I accomplished writing wise in January. This year, every month I'm going to take stock of what I did and what I should do the next month.

Even if it's not the greatest draft, I did finish writing the synopsis for GTSW, my first ever synopsis. While it was hard, it was also very challenging, so I'm looking forward to working on those babies more.
I edited,polished and posted chs. 2 and 3 for the eyes of my crit group, which is a big thing for me. I'm anal retentive about showing my stuff to people before I think it's perfect, and well, you know what they say about perfection.
I also rewrote most of ch. 4 to push the manuscript from sagging a bit to standing upright and in the process, lamented more than a few times that rewriting is hard work. Indeed it is, but I have to change my thinking around. Revising/rewriting is a writer's best friend.
I also wrote a pitch for GTSW and entered Donna's Contest for aspiring writers. I think I will hold off on sending the partial to the London office because if I got the next round, I will get a first chapter critique and if I go even further and win this thing, I will get a partial critique and Donna as my mentor for the rest of the year. How cool is that? But, I'm still being very realistic about winning as this is the first pitch I've ever written and God knows how it stands up against the other 47 who entered.

Something that glares out at me from the above points is that I haven't written anything new. But, again, I'm taking hubby's advice in taking it easy and properly revising the GTSW first. But I think I will still go ahead and write a little on the new WIP and finish revising as much as of GTSW as possible in February. I'm also taking an online craft class "Plotting Via Motivation" and kind of very excited about it as this is my first craft class ever.

So let's see how this month fares.

Pulling hair

2009-01-09T23:21:00.005-07:00

Above picture, me.
Going crazy, working on synopsis.
In the same tone, can't use too many words.
Head hurt.

Neologisms

2009-01-07T13:12:00.005-07:00

Neologisms .....

The Washington Post publishes a contest for readers in which they are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. Some of them are really funny.

Coffee (n.), a person who is coughed upon.

Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent

Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.

Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

Gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.

Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you.

Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.

Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.

Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.

Pokemon (n), A Jamaican proctologist.

Bustard (n.), a rude bus driver.

Semantics (n.), pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood.

Spatula: n. A fight among vampires.

Excruciate: n., the ligament that attaches your ex-wife to your paycheck.

Perplexed: adj., lost in a movie theater.

Population: n., that nice sensation you get when drinking soda.

Racket: n., a small pair of breasts.

Nincompoop: n., the military command responsible for battlefield sanitation.

Ineffable: adj., describes someone you absolutely cannot swear in front of.

Pontificate: n., a document given to each graduating pope.

Pimple: n., pimp's apprentice.

Discussion: n., a Frisbee-related head injury.

Ozone: n., area in which the G-spot is located.

Flattery: n., a place that manufactures A and B cup brassieres only.

Cabbage Patch: A patch for those trying to stop eating cabbage.

Sudafed: A software program on how to file a civil action against the government.

Pop Secret: Paternity suit settled without publicity.

One Step At A Time

2009-01-05T09:44:00.002-07:00

My little one took her first independent steps yesterday. Of course, hubby and I couldn't get any pictures because she did it for just half a minute may be and then fell hard on her bum surprised by all my squealing. Her first birthday in almost a month, it made me realize she was growing up so fast.
Where did the year go?

Resolutions, Resolutions

2009-01-04T11:58:00.006-07:00

My resolutions this year, I think, are taking some time to evolve. I want them mainly to be doable and not some lofty aspirations that never even have a chance. So here I go.

Revise/edit/polish and submit two partial proposals to an editor at Harlequin as soon as possible and lose my submission virginity. Like the wise man my husband suggested, I can't run off to writing a new MS without revising the already written ones to perfection. Much to my surprise, my problem is not finishing a story(as I've already proved to myself), but shaping it into something remotely good.
Finish writing two more manuscripts by the end of the new year. I was actually planning to write 3 but decided to keep my goals reasonable. One is already started and I've an outline for the next.
Research and plan another proposal/idea (not romance, but a series of mysteries) that has been festering inside my head for some time. I'm very excited about this since it's a completely new genre, writing-wise for me, but also scared. I might learn I'm no good at spinning a tale of intrigue, but I'm going to try.
Improve(learn more) my writing craft by taking a couple of online classes. I've seen a couple I like.
Network. Unlike in other jobs, writing is a solitary pursuit. Sometimes, I feel cut off from the rest of the world, typing away on my laptop, feeling as isolated as possible. So I need to make friends online and more importantly, maintain the relationships.
Be more disciplined and organized. I know, I know, not really a quantifiable goal, but can't help it. This will probably be on my list for the rest of my life.
Develop more patience. I know this is a really funny resolution but sometimes I feel like I'm the least patient person in the world in any aspect. Although, I'm doing a lot better after having my daughter, I could still do a lot better.
Lose at least 10 pounds, although I need to do this by 6 months probably. Although I've gone down to my pre-pregnancy weight, I still need to lose the above pounds, which means I've to work out at least 4 times a week, which means I will sleep well, have more energy and so on and so forth. Need I say more?
Get a job. I'm not sure about this one as I'm in two minds about going back to work. On one hand, I love staying home to take care of my almost 11 month old and concentrate on my writing even if I only get a couple of hours at the most in a given day. On the other, I miss being in a challenging work place, interacting with adults :-) on a daily basis and I miss the money, may be just a little. We'll see.
And one of the most important ones for me. Read more variety. I tried to keep a list of the books I read last year but it went awry somewhere around when my daughter was born. Even without it, I know my reading list doesn't reflect everything I should read. So, I'm going to work on changing that consciously.

Well, that's about it. And instead of being daunted, I'm excited. Let's see how I will fare.

A late post

2009-01-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year!

Stay tuned for my resolutions.

Diving back in

2008-12-03T23:10:00.006-07:00

After a break (longer than I'd intended), I started writing again a couple of days ago. I also started the revisions on TGTSW.

I had two WIPs calling to me. Since I'm still trying to figure out where my voice fits best, I wanted to write the one that was geared towards Desire. So, I spent the last week brainstorming the new story, figuring out my characters Sam and Xavier and why they hated each other, listening to the editor podcast on eHarl and generally got excited about this project. And even started it.

But however much time I spend on the opening scene, it's just not coming properly. So I went back to the WIP I'd started back in May. This one's geared towards presents too and I roughly wrote about 2 chapters way back then.

As I started reading what I had so far, the story just called to me and before I know, I wrote 1600 words. So I've decided to let my muse tell me which story to write for now.

I will still go back and look at the first chapter of my other WIP in some time again, but right now I think I need some distance from it.

So, right now, I'll be spending my time on Alessandro and Rachel who seem to be quite intent on telling me their story.

Finished

2008-11-17T13:32:00.005-07:00

I finished "The Greek Tycoon's Substitute Wife", my second manuscript today. I even wrote a small epilogue that I hadn't planned to write and I thought it turned out decent.

I feel good, although it has taken me a long time after I finished the first ms. I feel good because I wrote almost 15000 words in the past two weeks and that's a big milestone for me. It shows me that I am capable of focusing and finishing a story if I wanted. I just need the discipline and the willpower to do it.

I love this story. It's the first pure alpha male I've ever written (the alpha male that has kept me reading romance after romance these many years) and I think, the story is primarily his journey from a tortured past to a better present. Even better, a Greek hero for whom I developed a soft corner after reading Lynne Graham's Greek heroes. I started the story in, I think, 2003 or 2004, wrote the first chapter and left it at that. It's the second WIP I started. And the best part, I absolutely love the beginning of the story. This is one WIP in which I'm sure I don't have to rewrite the first chapter to start the story at a better place.

I probably will leave it alone for a week and start revising it. With the first manuscript, I took a break too long to revise it and it's still waiting for me.

Right now, it also makes me think about where I am in this writing journey and it's still a long journey. It's time for the next step though. I have two finished manuscripts which need to be at an editor's desk ASAP which means revising and revising and synopses and query letters. I'm going to think about these steps and the next story I want to write in the next couple of weeks.

But for now, I'm going to enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.

And try to think of where I want to go for the big dinner that dh has promised me.

Another Post?

2008-11-12T22:32:00.004-07:00

I just ploughed on and finished chapter 11. I can't say I'm happy with it, but it's better than what I thought it would be. And now, for the grand finale, and this is something I have been looking forward to writing, which means I should be able to finish the whole thing no later than 16th.

Not bad for moi. Improvement in keeping up with deadlines.

The whole WIP might fall short of 50K, but I'm ok with it. I have some major rewrites to do anyway.

On a weird side note: Blogger kept correcting the word 'ploughed'. Actaully changing it to a different word. So, I went and looked it up and it is a word. Apparently, plough is the British variant of plow.
Kinda surprised and nice to know that English spelling as I learnt it is still there somewhere, even after trying to accomodate MS Word for 7 years.

And now, off to bed.

Not so dark!

2008-11-12T12:52:00.004-07:00

I have 7000 words, which roughly translates to two chapters, left in this WIP. But sadly, the dark moment ( where the protagonist is sure everything is lost), is not shaping up properly or rather, it's not as dark as I would like it. The 11th chapter that I have written to date feels like the crappiest of my work until now. I just want to scrap the whole thing.

My first and very strong impulse is to ditch the WIP here and may be come back to finish the last two chapters some other time. But that feels like chickening out. I mean, come on, writing the dark moment, the climax and the resolution should be the best part, but somehow, it feels like I didn't up the stakes as high as they could have been by this point.

An alternate chapter 11 scenario did come into my head last night as I finally closed the chapter in frustration and went to bed. These late night inspirations really switch on the light bulb for me most of the times. But translating the powerful scene in my head onto paper is the hard part.

Well, I guess it's back to chapter 11 for me again.

Almost there!

2008-11-07T13:03:00.004-07:00

I wrote 2400 words yesterday, a personal high for me, and finished chapter 9. As you can see, my little word counter has been showing progress. I was planning to finish the book by Nov. 15th which means I have to write around 12000 words in a week. I took a little longer than I thought with the 9th chapter, so I have to see when I will be actually done. As an incentive, my dh (dear husband) promised to take me out to a big dinner when I'm done. :-)

I'm not by nature an analytical writer as in I write as the story comes to me, but don't think too much about character arc or the plot line. I have a good grasp of who my characters are and their GMCs(Goal, Motivation, Conflict) when I start and I plot as I go. But as I'm nearing the first draft for this WIP, I find myself having to think of the story as a whole and kind of track it in my head.

And it's hard.

I already know that revisions are going to be the least favorite parts of mine although they give me the chance to polish my manuscript from so-so to at least halfway decent.

And I wrote another love scene into the 9th chapter.
And it sucks, big time.

History in the making

2008-11-04T21:38:00.004-07:00

Even though I don't get to vote here in the USA, I still feel like celebrating. It's simply not possible to not get involved in the excitement living here.
I'm just happy to see history in the making.
Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama!!!!!!!!!!!

Nearing the end

2008-10-29T21:25:00.009-06:00

I finished chapter 8 on my current WIP today and it feels good. I've been writing pretty steadily except for a day here and there and weekends. OK, so it leaves only 2 or 3 days in the week, still, my WIP is progressing pretty well. The story has also gained momentum as I've muddled my way past the terrifying middle, in turn, giving me the momentum to finish it. So, hopefully, I will finish midway through November. That will be the second novel I finish in case you lost score.

On another note, I finally gave in and bought Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. It had 103 holds in the library , so I bought my copy. But I couldn't find the original paperback, instead I bought the one which has the movie people on it. Even though I've followed the buzz surrounding the series and rave reviews Meyer was getting, I held off. I'm not a big fan of paranormal stuff and especially vampires. It's a personal thing, somehow I can't see beyond the bloodsucking.

If Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as vampires (Interview with the vampire, which I forced my friends to watch with me, I don't think they forgave me for it) didn't change my mind, I believed the case was closed. But I'm willing to give it another try. Will see how it goes but since I'm usually a sucker (No pun intended) for series books, I will probably read the following books. We'll see.

May be Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen will be more successful.

A good day

2008-10-22T20:25:00.006-06:00

I had a good day today, I wrote 1500 words on my Alphasmart Neo. And more to the point, I am writing my first explicit love scene and no, it's not as easy you would think, believe me.
Whether you want it or not, more details on what difficulties I faced are coming as soon as I finish the scene. Anyone whose sensibilities will be offended , please don't read tomorrow's post.

The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl

2008-10-16T18:39:00.005-06:00

I finished reading The Poe Shadow a couple of days ago. I picked it up at the library when I went to pick The Dante Club by the same author for my husband ( In an attempt to make him do some thing to relax, I'd suggested this. Don't ask how it worked).
I'd read The Dante Club a little over a year ago and liked it a lot. After finishing the book, I spent more than a week obsessed with Dante, his inferno :-) and nine circles of hell and all that.

Historical fiction spiced with a mystery is fast beginning my favorite genre after romance. More than one time, I've put down a contemporary novel which deals with current social or political issues to pick up a historical novel instead. (Which is not really good, I think, because in a way you could say I was burying my head in the past). But I love, love, love learning about fascinating periods of history and how they shaped what we are today even in a small way.

Anyway, The Poe Shadow caught my interest because it was based on the life or I should say the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the American poet Edgar Allan Poe. Now, I haven't read anything by Poe which I've to amend.
Through the protagonist, Quentin Clark, Pearl actually tries to put together a theory explaining what could have happened to Edgar Poe in the last few days before his death in Baltimore. Although it was a little slow in the beginning, it was a good read. I absolutely loved Clark's quest for the real life character on which Poe had based the genius detective C. Auguste Dupin. Imagine if we could meet the real people who were the basis of our favorite literary characters. The other thing that really rang a bell with me was Quentin Clark's obsession with finding what happened to his favorite author Poe at the cost of losing everything else in his life, including his love, and his worldly possessions.

All in all, a good read, although what happened to Poe according to Pearl, is really quite simple finally. As a mystery, it didn't rank very high with me because the discovery of what happens to Poe progresses very slowly and is lost in other threads running through the story.

It definetly sparked my interest into reading The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe.

Slow and sluggish

2008-10-14T15:28:00.003-06:00

The title of the post says it all.

After a week long visit from my brother, the little one and I are feeling blue. Both of us miss all the electronic stuff he had littered everywhere and all the shopping we did around town with him. It was nice to have another adult around the home during the day even though it involved a lot of reminiscing of childhood embarrassments. I don't feel like cooking or writing or cleaning and I think she misses having her fun uncle around.

Hopefully, we will get back to liking having each other for company exclusively.

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-09T09:01:00.010-06:00

November is National Novel Writing Month, known as NaNoWriMo or just NaNo.
According to their website, "National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30."

Sounds crazy and exciting, right?

But I'm not sure if I want to take the plunge and try it or not. There's a lot of support online for someone with weak discipline like me. Also, it teaches one to write under a deadline which is what life will be when one's a published author.

My reasons for not jumping in (even though I own the No Plot? No Problem! novel-writing kit by Chris Baty, the Founder of NaNo- a Rakhee gift from my brother. For those of you who don't know, Rakhee is an Indian celebration during which brothers pledge their protection to their sisters and also buy them gifts, just like that. :-)

1. I'm currently past the halfway mark in my current WIP which I really want to finish. Long overdue.
2. I will have to start a fresh, completely new WIP. Although I'm not thankfully out of ideas, I've done this a lot in the past. Start something new and then desert it in pursuit of something new. So, if I do start a new WIP, I have to stick to it and see it through, even if I don't hit the 50,000 mark.

I do want to join and participate because it will teach me to write consistently everyday with a goal for the end of the month. But I'm afraid to set myself up for failure. So, I'm going to think about it and decide in the next couple of weeks.

But for the ones who are participating, Good Luck and Happy Writing!

In a rush!

2008-10-02T17:17:00.003-06:00

My almost 8 month old is in a rush to grow up.
One week, she's crawling and we are like Woohoo!

The next week, she decided she wanted to stand.

Now, she spends the whole day standing wherever I happen to be sitting, pulling things from the shelves, tables and couches.

It was supposed to be a couple more months before I had to empty the tables, couches etc. of things. I just wish she wasn't in such a rush. Before I know, we're going to be fighting about whether she can wear lipstick or not.

Celebrating Banned Books Week

2008-09-29T20:58:00.009-06:00

My post is a couple of days late, but here it is.

Banned Books Week

Celebrating the Freedom to Read

September 27–October 4, 2008

The American Library Association (ALA) celebrates the last week of September each year as the Banned Books Week.

I think it's very easy to take all the little pleasures in life for granted. As an avid reader from my childhood, I can honestly say I would be lost without books. So, for someone to rule that a book be banned without giving everyone the right to decide for themselves is the same as taking away the freedom of speech.
So join me in celebrating this week by remembering the simple pleasure of reading a book and deciding for ourselves whether we love it or hate it and by reading or re-reading a favorite banned book.
Go to this link to see the Top 100 Banned Books 1990-2000. I couldn't believe how many books that I loved were on this list... The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter (Series)...
And how many more banned books I still have to read. ;-)

Happy reading!

Older and wiser?

2008-09-23T15:49:00.003-06:00

One year older!

This year I felt a restlessness I've never known before on a birthday. And I'm pretty sure it's not because I'm a particular age. I think staying at home with my daughter, as rewarding as that is, makes me wonder often at the end of the day what I've accomplished. My writing is still sporadic, which is not good. I need to do write everyday, even if only for 15 minutes. Given my complete lack of discipline, following a routine is the hard part.

Still, I want to give myself credit for working out at least 3 times a week for the past three weeks. Now if I could train my mind to just sit down in front of the computer everyday and just write.

Just BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard).

In the mean time, I have a new look for the blog and website, something I've been working on sporadically again.
Oh, how I hate that word sporadic. Seems to define most of my activities.

Here's the culprit responsible for all my distractions, well at least most of the day.

Where Am I?

2008-07-31T11:29:00.002-06:00

Since I can't go to the RWA Nationals in San Fransisco, I'm spending my days here.
And I already won a free e-book.
Woohoo!!!

What saved my sanity today?

2008-07-22T21:23:00.007-06:00

I didn't get any writing done yesterday.
Today was more eventful as in I got a 1000 words written in keeping up with my weekly goals.

A rough day, trying to keep my sanity as Aishu was pretty cranky today.

But in the middle of it all, I happened upon this amazing soundtrack from the movie "The Piano" composed by Michael Nyman.

And I'm not exaggerating when I say it helped and inspired me in more than one way.
So, I was looking up this track and lo and behold, I found that the track's title is a poem by Emily Dickinson.

Enough to say, the track and the poem made my day.

So, for anyone who reads this post, I hope they help you escape your everyday life, at least for a minute.

The Heart Asks Pleasure First

-Emily Dickinson

The heart asks pleasure first
And then, excuse from pain-
And then, those little anodynes
That deaden suffering;

And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.

And here's the beautiful soundtrack on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IepqvxE4gw&NR=1

Have a beautiful day!!!

Writing Goals 1

2008-07-20T18:02:00.002-06:00

Over the past couple of weeks, I have realized that looking after a 5 month old doesn't actually leave too much time for other things. Still, I count myself lucky that my little one takes naps during the day. Only problem is I have to stop taking naps when she does.

Easier said than done.

With too many things on my mind, I have decided to set myself a Sunday evening reminder.
Every Sunday evening, I check on what I worked on, towards writing that past week and set myself new goals.
Monthly goals will follow once I develop a good track record of accomplishing my weekly goals.

Good luck to me.

Weekly goals:

Write 5000 words or finish a chapter by the end of the week.
Study how to write a synopsis.
Keep looking for a critique partner.
Think of an idea for new Modern Heat book.
In general, work towards entering the FEEL THE HEAT contest due Sep. 15th 2008

Daily goals:

Write 1000 words a day.

Back after a long time!!

2008-07-15T11:46:00.001-06:00

For the first time in, may be, seven months, life is finally falling into some kind of routine.
I am back from my wonderful, hectic one month trip to India and settling down with my five month old bub.
After a lot of discussions, hair pulling, probably asking a thousand people for their opinions, I finally quit my job.
Now, hopefully, I can concentrate on my baby and my writing.
No more excuses!!

it's rolling time!!

2008-06-03T17:21:00.002-06:00

Haven't posted in a long time, but well, motherhood is time consuming.
Still, I wanted to at least mark the milestones.
My little bub rolled over on 25th May.
Here's a pic:

Discipline and Perseverance

2008-04-15T14:35:00.007-06:00

I took a yoga class a couple of days ago at my gym. Now, it's been over a year since I took one because of the pregnancy. Although, I was no great yogini before, I could hold my own during the Adho Mukha Svanasana, popularly called the downward dog pose.

Therefore, imagine my shock when I found myself looking at the wooden floor with my legs shaking and my wrists feeling like they would snap any moment. Two days later, today, my arm still aches whenever I lift it.

Is it discouraging or what?

So, for the rest of the class, I went through the asanas with my mind still struggling to accept the fact that I was in such poor shape, until the instructor said something that kind of stuck with me.

She said and I quote, "The human body is unconditionally and exceptionally forgiving, all it asks of you is some discipline."

Well, isn't that true?

Our lifestyles are so busy now that almost all of us, at one point or another treat our bodies like junk boxes just throwing anything into it.
And then just like that, we want to feel like the perfect athlete after two minutes on the treadmill.

At least I did, expecting to be in perfect shape just 9 weeks after giving birth.

What I needed was some discipline and perseverance and I know that my body will listen to me.

Anyway, isn't that the whole point of Yoga?

A simple pleasure- Trip to the library

2008-04-14T14:44:00.011-06:00

Anne Perry's latest installment in the Victorian mysteries featuring Thomas Pitt series "Buckingham Palace Gardens" is out. I absolutely adore her writing, and having been resigned to the fact that a million bucks wouldn't be enough to buy all the books I wanted, I requested a copy from the library.

E mail Notification: Copy is ready.

Time: 4:15 in the evening, rush hour.

Weather : 38 F, slushy icy rain.

What? Who cares?

My mom thought I was crazy to go to the library in all that rain, but I couldn't wait.
Finally, I arrive at the library and my reaction: Utter Disappointment.
The copy I requested was the book I wanted alright, but the audio book version.

No Way!!!

I am sorry, I don't believe in listening to books.

Ignoring the weird look from the guy at the front desk, I covered up my disappointment and wandered into the library.

But wait. I was at the library, I am surrounded by books, I probably couldn't stay disappointed for too long.

So, I started looking at the mystery aisle.
After romance, I am a big mystery junkie, especially mysteries seeped in another era, full of history. So, while I wait for my re-requested copy to arrive, I am exploring three new worlds as diverse as 70 AD Rome, Contemporary New York and ancient Egypt.

So, until England in Victorian era is ready, I am off to Rome with Marcus Didius Falco.

Arrivederci!!!

Are you a dossier before or dossier after writer?

2008-04-03T12:08:00.009-06:00

I was reading about this on Michelle Styles's blog and it got me thinking about my writing process.
Was I a dossier-before writer or a dossier-after writer? A plotter or a pantster?

Stumbling my way through more than one manuscript right now, this question made me realize something. Being a newbie to the whole craft (I think I am going to consider myself a newbie for a long long time :-)), I am still in the process of figuring out what works for me as a writer.
I tried to remember what I did with my first manuscript. I had finished doing the character sketches before I began the story. I had more than a vague idea of what the plot was going to be. I knew the main conflict that drove my Heroine and Hero. I even had several crucial scenes playing out in my head. As I progressed with the story, my characters became more real and although I found myself stumped more than a couple of times, I finished the story.
Of course it requires probably a million edits, but the point is I finished it.

After that story, I came up with ideas for may be about two or three stories. After reading several blogs and articles by successful writers, I decided to try something new.
I spent several hours sketching characters and even more coming up with plot lines, outlining everything. In my enthusiasm, I probably went too far preparing to write the story than actual writing.
So, when I started writing this planned story, one third into the story, I kept losing interest in my own characters.
Why was this happening?
I did this again, I started another story and planned too much again. Again, I found myself feeling like it was a chore to do this.
After doing this a couple of times, I had a light bulb moment. I was getting bored because I was planning everything too much. Knowing what had to be written was taking the fun out of the game from me. It was bringing back memories of having to study the design of the Internal Combustion engine.
Did this ever happen to you?
In some perverted way, having to do something always took the fun out of it for me, even if it was what I had wanted to do in the beginning.

Result of th light bulb moment:
I was a dossier after writer.

I needed to stop planning and let my creative writing process drive the vehicle, going back a few miles every now and then to fill the pot holes, stumbling for directions on the way.

What about you?
Are you a dossier before or dossier after writer?

Getting physically fit!!

2008-03-30T13:59:00.003-06:00

Now that my daughter is seven weeks old, I have started going to the gym again.
After almost an year of eating whatever I wanted and no exercise, it feels pretty weird to be to out there. Another strange thing is having to exercise to lose weight which luckily has never been the issue before. So, it's a little daunting to stand on the scale.

Getting physically fit is going to be one important part in establishing a routine to get a lot of things into order in my life this year.

So, let's see how it goes.

Warrior Princess!!

2008-03-22T13:23:00.006-06:00

Nope, I didn't paint my month old baby like that on purpose, I decided to make a note of this, just in case, 20 years down the lane, my daughter said, "Mom, what were you thinking?"
She was being given a traditional Indian bath by my mom. The bath starts with applying oil mixed with turmeric which if you don't know is yellow in color and th black streaks resulted from the black bindi she had the previous day.
So, in the process, the little one ended up looking like this and my mom and I just couldn't resist taking a picture.
So, all hail the warrior princess!!! :-)

My darling baby!!

2008-03-14T12:14:00.006-06:00

I am back!!!

Still recovering from giving birth and late night feeds, although probably there's no recovering for the next few years. :-)
Very amiss of me to not post my little princess's picture on my blog.
So, here goes.

She's about a few minutes old in this one.

Surprisingly, she hadn't cried when she entered the world, instead she looked around herself in wide eyed wonder. One might imagine the way Alice had looked around herself when she had entered the wonderland.

So this one's for my little darling Aishu, hoping that she will meet everything in this world with the same curiosity and wonder.

Thank God for small mercies!!!

2008-02-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Two more days to my due date, but doesn't look like this little one is in any hurry to make an appearance. So, in the midst of feeling irritated and tired and being sleep deprived, I decided to may be stop harping for may be just about 10 minutes and list a few things that I am thankful for during this time.

I don't have swollen feet or ankles.
I still have pretty good energy to get stuff done.
My mom has been with us for almost 2 months now, and you know what that means, no cooking, but delicious food, although she is getting a bit anxious to see the baby now.
I work with a pretty cool manager/team who have made working during these long months pretty easy.
Last but not least, I have a wonderful husband who I am sure has felt every ache, pain, and cramp I have felt these past nine months.

Ok, so the 10 minutes are up and still no baby.

Back to whining and complaining. :-)

Much Ado About You by Eloisa James- Sri's Review

2008-02-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, I finished reading Much Ado About You by Eloisa James last night.
Now, I think it says something about the book if I kept reading it until a quarter to two in the morning when I am 38 weeks pregnant.

I can confidently say I have read many romances, both historical and contemporary, and though I like most of them enough, there comes a romance novel only once in a while that completely hooks you right from the get go.

Much Ado About You, I have to say, is one of them. This is the first Eloisa James I have read and I am definitely going to read about the other three Essex Sisters.

The downside of being a romance writer and learning the techniques and hoo-haa behind it, I have realized, is that I demand more out of a romance novel now as a reader.
The story has to be that much tighter or I begin to see all the small things the writer could have done better with the story. It doesn't mean I don't appreciate all the hard work that goes into writing it, (believe me, I really do), it just means that my palate is a bit refined now than it was when I started reading romance, oh may be 13 years and I can safely say, hundreds of books ago.
And thats' what this book did for me.
It made me forget that I am an aspiring writer for the evening and reminded me of the undiluted pleasure of why I read romance novels.

Alpha Smart Neo

2008-01-31T07:37:00.001-07:00

Now that my brand new Alpha Smart Neo is here, I plan to get some good solid chunk of writing done.
I love it although it is taking some getting used to after working on a laptop.
I especially like the fact that it's stopping me from browsing the internet whenever I find myself at a difficult spot.

Here's to writing better and writing more!!!

Starting my official countdown!!

2008-01-30T17:09:00.000-07:00

Just wrapping up stuff and getting ready.
I bought the baby memories/photo book today.
10 more days!!

WOOHOO!!

Interesting Tidbits #1

2008-01-19T17:53:00.002-07:00

Check this out at Paper Cuts.

Cool Picture!!!

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/

In the name of writing

2008-01-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just ordered my AlphaSmart Neo which cost me about 240 $ including shipping.

For those of you who don't know what the heck I am talking about, here's the link.

http://www.alphasmart.com/products/neo_In.html

I am hoping this expensive new purchase will help me concentrate on getting a chunk of writing done instead of browsing internet, reading blogs, playing games etc. which is almost 50% of my writing time. Also, the amount of time I spend on editing the previous day's work instead of actual writing is going to go away too. So, I am very excited.

But, once I ordered it, I began thinking about all the money I have spent just last year, all in the name of writing.

I bought a tiny (not much specs. since I planned to use it exclusively for writing) laptop, now the AlphaSmart, about 40-50 romance paperbacks, two craft books, lot of miscellaneous stuff (markers, white board, small book shelf,notebooks- can you tell? I am a stationery fanatic) , and the domain charges for my website.

While I know all the money I spent is on worthwhile stuff, I am wondering now if I should increase the amount of hard work and effort I put into my writing, the key ingredient.

Am I just satisfying my spendthrift gene?

No, but I definitely need to hike up my actual solid writing time and increase productivity, and that's where my AlphaSmart comes in.

It's all in the name of writing.

Weekly Goals #1

2008-01-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Two weeks into the new year and I haven't written anything new yet.
So I am setting myself weekly goals (small baby steps) starting today.

Here they are:

1. Write one chapter (Average 4000 words)
2. Critique at least two chapters at ORW, the new crit group I joined.
3. Blog at least one time per week.

I know, I know, I am not asking too much of myself, but then I have been in a slump and going slow is really what I need to do.

So, will report back in 1 week, the next wednesday, to see how I fared.

Countdown: Four more weeks

2008-01-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have 4 more weeks to go before the BIG day and these last few weeks seem as long as the last 8 months.
I constantly find myself in a state of mental limbo, as the extent of my physical activities is anyway limited.
I am wrapping up things at work before I go on maternity leave, so no big projects over there to mentally challenge me.
I have my mother and my mother-in-law at home cooking delicious food and practically taking care of everything on the home front, so no biggie there.
Still, my mind is finding it hard to concentrate on anything for too long and too often jumps from one thing to another.
I have people telling me all the time to relax now as I am going to have my hands full once the baby is here, but relax is what I am unable to do.

I think I am too psyched now to see the little darling that I can't think of anything else.

So, there you go, 4 more weeks to go.

For life to change.

Forever.

Resolutions, anyone?

2008-01-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

This is the first time in a lot of years that I didn't diligently write down my new year resolutions on Jan 1st.
I am worried that it might mean that I have given up on myself, but no, I haven't.
I am just finding it hard to focus on anything else with my baby due in 6 weeks ( and a wisdom tooth that decided to make its presence known at this auspicious time) , which doesn't mean I don't have my resolutions.
Just that this time, I am going to make short term goals which can be revisited from time to time depending on the failure rate.
So, here's to sitting down and writing down resolutions towards a better life.

I know one, be a great mom to my little one.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

A little late but Happy New Year.

Are you a quitter?

2007-11-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

What makes you a quitter?
Are you a quitter if you drop one project, even though you immediately start another?
Am I a quitter?

Before I finished the first novel, I had worked on a couple of other projects.
Now, I have once again stopped the novel I was working on when the going got rough.
I am still trying to figure out where my writing fits best, sweet contemporary or hot contemporary?
So, every couple of months, I find myself switching gears in terms of which line I am targeting, resulting in leaving the current novel unfinished, eager to start something new.

So, now my new WIP is focused at Silhouette Desire (hot contemporary) and I have even given myself a deadline to get at least halfway through by the endof January, i.e. 25,000 words in 2 months.
Not a lofty goal, I know, but working full time and being 7 months pregnant, I kind of know my limitations.

And also, warning myself that if I stop writing this novel to start something else, that definitely qualifies me as a quitter.

Tell me, are you a quitter, or are you just a focus-losing, new project starter?

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield - Sri's Review

2007-11-25T11:48:00.000-07:00

One more attempt to bring my dying blog back to life!!

Plot Spoiler ahead:

I just finished reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
Although I found the book to be a little bleak for my taste in the beginning and may be just a bit sensational, I did enjoy reading it. Diane Setterfield does an excellent job for a first novel.

Margaret Lea, amateur biographer, is invited by Miss Vida Winter, the greatest novelist of all time and the most reclusive, to work on her long awaited biography. Miss Winter has toyed with journalists all through the years and has given various fictionalized accounts of her life, but this time she swears to Margaret, she was going to tell the truth. As Margaret follows Miss Winter's life as a twin, she faces her own ghosts as a surviving twin.

The major attraction of the book for me would be that it centers around books and reading. Margaret has grown up reading books, works in a bookshop while Miss Winter writes books.
So did I ever guess the actual identity of Miss Winter? No. So, the mystery element really appealed to me.
What didn't really ring my bell is that the Angelfield twins are just allowed to run amok without a proper guardian for years together, without proper care. I assumed somebody like social services would get involved at some point, but that didn't happen.

Even though a few things didn't tally up for me in a realistic sense, the book was an interesting read and I would definitely pick up another book by Diane Setterfiled.

Kudos to my friend!!!

2007-08-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

After a period of self-imposed exile, I am back.

A few days ago, a friend of mine reminded me that it was friendship day. Now, I have known her for more than 10 years. A time when life was but a series of endless exams and watching movies without permission. In short, it was the best time of our lives. So, like with any friend that you have known almost half your life, you know their strengths and weaknesses.

This friend and I have gone through our share of petty fights and bitchiness.

But after all these years, I am but forced to acknowledge that she has surprised me.
It's not that I would have expected any less of her but to actually see her go through life and its complications with the courage and integrity that she has, leaves me awed.

Not for a minute has she compromised her goals or her own integrity and believe me, it's very easy to compromise your morals when you are the only one who feels the effects.

So, here's hoping that her courage will always be the guiding light in her life.

Too flowery?

What can I say?

I am damned proud to say she's my friend.

Tagged !!!

2007-06-28T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged by one of my writer friends, Jennifer Shirk.

So, here are the rules:
A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.
B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

So, here are 8 facts about myself.

1. I am probably one of the most disorganized people to have ever walked this planet and I don't like people who give me the "poor you" look that manages to say I am deprived of something important in this lifetime just because I don't spend every waking minute of my life arranging things to be just so.

2. I cannot live without coffee, books and solitude.

3. I'm always trying to better myself at something, although not with great success. From the most trivial to the most philosophical traits that I admire in people, I try to incorporate them into my life everyday.

4. I am a Hindu and for the first time in my life, I'm trying to learn what it actually means to be one and embracing it.

5. I hate hypocrisy in every form.

6. I can never close my eyes and fall asleep unless I have spent at least 30 minutes reading something every night.

7. I am the queen of procrastination.

8. I believe in Karma. What goes around comes around.

I am tagging Marcy.

If you read this post, let me know at least one fact about yourself.

New template!!

2007-06-20T07:25:00.000-06:00

I changed the template of the blog to match my new website.
Now the web site's running and my blog matches it, I have to get down to some real writing now.

No more procrastinating!!!!

I have a website!!!

2007-06-19T17:51:00.000-06:00

My website is up and running.

Come visit me at http://www.sripammi.com/

And please let me know what you think.

Tragedy and Character, do they go hand in hand?

2007-06-10T16:09:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a break from my manuscript right now before I go back in and tear it apart.
In the meantime, I've been wondering something.

In one of the previous posts, I questioned why somebody had ever said pain/loss is good for your soul. I still don't understand it.

But, is it possible that tragedy or misfortune is what defines us as an individual?
All the great people in the world, would we have known what they were capable of had there not been an occasion that demanded every thing from them?
If you got everything you ever asked for in life without having to sacrifice anything, does that mean your character is not really well defined?

I've encountered so many people in the world who have gone through so many hardships, yet have come out of all of it with even more strength of character.

Again, does that mean people who have never wanted for anything in their lives are somehow poorer in their understanding of life?

And the ones that have gone through the roller coaster of life, would they say it was worth it?

My first ever novel is finished !!!

2007-06-03T22:06:00.000-06:00

I did it!!

I finished my first ever manuscript yesterday .
Well, yes, it does require probably 100 hundred revisions before I send it to a publisher,but I have finished it.
It's a 45,000 word short contemporary romance.

And I 've celebrated the whole weekend.

A personal milestone!!!

I did it.

My goals for the rest of the year:

Polish this manuscript and send it off to a publisher.
Tackle two more works-in-progress waiting for me to come back to them.

Yeah! I am on a roll!

Mind against body?

2007-05-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

I am an insomniac, it is confirmed.

After a 16 hr. day that included work, exercise, cooking, eating and writing, I couldn't fall asleep yesterday.
It's like my body and mind are waging a constant battle against each other.

The undisciplined mind never listens to the exhausted body, which is constantly urging it to shut down. It might even be the result of the abuse my mind has inflicted upon my body a number of times. When all it had wanted to do was to close its eyes and fall asleep, my mind had pushed it beyond its limits by reading many nights into the wee hours.

So, the body takes its revenge in the morning. When the mind knows it's time to start the day, it tentatively approaches the body, conscious of its reprehensible conduct from last night.
The body refuses to wake up from the deep slumber, throwing its middle finger up into the air at the mind, relishing its small victory over the ever-powerful mind.

And so the battle continues....

Okay, so I am rambling a little. But then, haven't you heard? It's been confirmed.

I am an insomniac.

Insomnia is a gross feeder. It will nourish itself on any kind of thinking, including thinking about not thinking. ~Clifton Fadiman

Thursday Thirteen #1

2007-05-03T02:07:00.000-06:00

This is my first Thursday Thirteen. Yay!! So here goes.

Thirteen Fictional Characters I would love to meet.

1... Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austen). The archetype of the aloof romantic hero.
2... Frodo Baggins (The Lord Of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein).The hobbit who saved middle earth.
3... Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). Arguably the most famous fictional detective ever.
4... Howard Roark (The FountainHead, Ayn Rand). A paragon of Objectivist ideals.
5... Lord Frederick Ickenham (P.G.Wodehouse) Disperser of sweetness and light.
6... Albus Dumbledore (J.K. Rowling) The most powerful, benevolent and eccentric wizard.
7... Captain Jack Sparrow (The Pirates of the Caribbean) The sexy,if self-serving pirate captain. Savvy?
8... Tintin (Adventures of Tintin, Herge) The best investigative
journalist ever.
9... Mr. Spock (StarTrek, Gene Rodenberry) The ever-correct Vulcan with half logical self and half emotional self.
10... Bart Simpson (The Simpsons, Matt Groening) The ten-year-old self-proclaimed, underachieving hell-raiser.
11... Odysseus (The Trojan War, Homer)The most cunning and resourceful Greek.
12... James Bond (Ian Flemming) The spy with a license to kill.
13... Lord Vishnu (Ok, so I don't know if he is real or fictional, I still would like to meet him). The preserver of the universe.

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To Madam, with Love

2007-05-01T21:05:00.000-06:00

As an aspiring writer, I am supposed to have a good hold on the English language, one of the most important aspects of it being grammar.

So, as I read through one more article that discussed grammar in the English language, I couldn't help but remember one person.

From 2nd through 10th grade, I went to a school called Netaji High School. Now I am assuming that you know that there are on an average about 2 schools per street in India.
My school didn't have extensive grounds. On the contrary, it was a 4 storied building, the ground level being the home to our dearly loved principal and headmistress who were married.
It wasn't a bad school in terms of education, but it definitely wasn't one of the cool schools in the area.
My English teacher, the aforementioned headmistress, who died of cancer later, had always been a fair but hard taskmaster.

As I tried to work my head around the differences between coordinating conjunctions and subordinating( called subordinating because they join the dependent clause to the main clause, really) conjunctions, I realized my English (at least most of the time) was grammatically right, thanks to the beloved Mrs. T.J. Cherian, always remembered as Madam.

Offended Sensibilites Or Misguided Outrages?

2007-04-26T18:29:00.000-06:00

Have you seen this?

India may arrest Richard Gere over kiss.

How did we come to this? I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Have we forgotten that the event was to promote AIDS awareness in a country with almost five million people afflicted with it? AIDS!!!!
How hypocritical are we to bury our head in the sand when it comes to such a big issue and raise a ruckus because some foreigner entertained the crowds by playing the rogue?
I have infinite respect for our culture but are our sensibilities so offended that we burn effigies, we carry out parades in outrage when there are issues like poverty and illiteracy to deal with.
I still admit that one can expect nothing better from religious fanatics who seek nothing but publicity, but what about the judge who actually issued an arrest warrant instead of a slap on the wrist.
Boy!!! Do we need to sort out our priorities or what?

"Conventionality is not morality, Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."
-Charlotte Bronte

Shutting down my left brain!

2007-04-11T20:51:00.000-06:00

Today, I finished my 6th chapter far ahead of schedule, sadly my hero and heroine seem to be rushing towards falling in love ahead of schedule too, time to throw them off the loop again, I guess.

I am trying to write when I come back home after working as a QA testing technician dealing with numbers, doing things in order. Something a colleague mentioned got me thinking.

Our brain consists of two parts, the left side and the right side as we all know, one side dealing with logic and the other with feelings. These two are connected to each other by a thick cable of nerves called the corpus collosum. It is reasonable to assume therefore that depending upon which side is the dominant one, a person would either be analytical and orderly or artistic and unpredictable.

So for the better part of the day, I am trying to use logic, pay attention to details and remember the facts trying to avoid slipping into a fantasy world and therefore use my left brain.

But is it possible for me to come home, shut my Spock-like left brain and start its flaky twin (right brain) to get my creative juices flowing? How possible is it to program your two brains to reach a compromise and let the correct brain take over every time you need to stick to either facts or fantasy?