Tag Archives: Friends

A new blog

Posted on by Sherri
6

My little experiment with You Are the Muse on Thursdays hasn’t really worked. Originally I thought YAtM needed its own space, but I was too afraid to give that level of commitment when I didn’t even know if I could sustain it for a long period of time, so I left it here to see how I would do. Several weeks later, YAtM grew legs and walked out into the world.

I’m happy to announce my new blog, You Are the Muse. I’ve moved the YAtM posts from here to there and added a couple since, while I waited for the right time to tell you about it. Everything about this is different from anything I’ve ever tried before. It might not be an original concept, might not even be very important in the grand scheme of things. It might not turn into anything at all, ever, just me pissin’ in the wind here. (Hard for a lady, but not impossible. ;) I might not ever finish, but it’s asking me to begin.

I tried to box it in here where I’m comfortable but it never felt right, so now I’m trying to let it go where it wants, without a plan or even a destination. There may be many changes in the early days while I adjust course. I have a feeling I won’t be able to see the turns until I’m right upon them.

It’s funny how a blog about finding the muse within oneself seems to be coming from the outside. It might be the only way my subconscious can get around my inability to promote myself. I mean, who am I to tell other people what they should value? Am I really so audacious as to think I might make something out of this? Really? I can only do it if it’s not me doing it, that’s what I think.

And so I ask for your help on behalf of this-thing-that-is-not-me.

Here’s what I need, and you may do any of these or all, whatever you feel comfortable with. I understand you might not be interested in the subject of the new blog, but your friends might be. Anything will help.

  1. On Twitter: Follow YAtM on Twitter, and if you feel so moved, give a #FF shout-out
  2. On Facebook: “Like” the new YAtM Facebook page and share with your friends. I’ll be suggesting the page to my friends, to make it easier. Subscribe to YAtM with a FB app called Networked Blogs. It’s a safe subscription service, with no spam whatsoever. Very unobtrusive. I’ll also be sending invites for that.
  3. On your blog: If you think your readers will be interested, give YAtM a mention and/or put it in your blogroll. I’ll return the favor. I invite you to write your own post about creativity or the muse and tag it with You Are the Muse, or send it to me as a guest post, or both. I have two lined up, but would love more.

I think that’s a good start.

I imagine I will still post here with news of my life, but I might be a bit busy with YAtM for a little while. I would be EXTRASPECIALLY HAPPY, NO LIE, to hear your suggestions for features or improvements. This is a project for all, not just for me.

Thanks for all your support.

I gots me some cool peeps

Posted on by Sherri
4

I know I’ve been a little scarce around here, but the good news is that very few people are coming on purpose to look for new content. Whew. The bad news is that I’ve been oh so lazy in showing my gratitude for good things which have come my way in the past little while. I have the best budz on the webz, and I think I’m a little spoiled because not everybody could possibly be this lucky.

Case in point:

The only one like it in the State of Oklahoma

Yellowcat sent me this t-shirt as a prize for her little movie-lines contest. Now I have the only t-shirt from Bubba’s in Oklahoma, it’s safe to assume, and I wear it with pride. (Yes, I know it’s backwards. Too lazy to flip it.) Thanks, Holly!

And another confirmation my blog friends are indeed flesh-and-bone people:

Another thing the rest of Oklahoma does not own....YET!

I helped Ian on three of these books. I was a beta on Mustang Sally and Troubleshooters (my fave) and helped him in the Amazon book contest process on Deep Six, and though I didn’t work on The Archmage, he knew I’d like to have a complete set. He threw The Archmage in for kicks. These will be worth something someday, guaranteed. They’re signed and everything. A very sweet thing to do. Thanks, Ian!

And these aren’t the only things I’ve received from you guys. I’ve gotten snail mail from several of you, and books, and cds, and I just love getting these little pieces of my Internet friends. So now I’m thinking maybe I should have a contest and give something from my world as the prize. I’m going to really have to think about what it could be.I write, of course, and I can sketch, sort of. I don’t work, so no t-shirts. I have a daughter who makes her own greeting cards and a son who draws the coolest action scenes ever. I have several writing books I could pass along. Have I mentioned anything on the blog that made you say, “If only I had one of those”?

And what could the contest be? Oh dear.

Back to work

Posted on by Sherri
9

I’ll begin with a call to prayer. My regular readers are familiar with the Darcs, a husband and wife team who have been tireless supporters of me, my blog, and my writing for a couple of years now. Darcknyt and Darc’sFalcon have brought me many blessings, and I’ll always be grateful for their friendship. I won’t go into detail, but recession-related unemployment has made things hard on them. They still have a home for now. I wish there were something I could do, but of course I don’t have any jobs to offer. All I can do is send a message to the universe that these people need help and trust that work will come in time. I’d appreciate your taking a moment to do the same.

~~~

After finishing the first draft of my WIP, I took a couple of days off to allow a migraine to run its course, as well as to fulfill a critique commitment. Ian’s got a unique spin on the vampire novel and a good story to go along with it. His writing seems so effortless it makes me jealous, but I can’t wait until he snags a publishing contract. This may be the right book at the right time to do just that.

~~~

So now that I’m feeling healthy and free, I’ll start edits on my WIP. I have been using yWriter on this last push to the end, which is based on individual scenes–great for moving big chunks around during organization stages, and then for crafting the scenes themselves. I’ve had trouble with this program in the past because of this chunky quality, but for some reason it was just what I needed for this book.

However, now that I’m finished with the scenes I need to read the book as a whole, and for that I’ve imported it to MS Word, my standard and the industry standard, though that is relaxing. I’ll make a single-shot pass, making notes and correcting typos, re-writing easy stuff as I go through and detailing the hard stuff for the next pass. My biggest trap is indecisiveness, so I’ve vowed to go with my gut on the hard decisions and not over-analyze. Another vow I’ve made is to look at the whole process through a fun lens, rather than fulfilling a duty. Duty crushes my creativity.

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Scattered bullets

Posted on by Sherri
9

It’s a beautiful morning, though a cold front will be coming in this afternoon, plunging us back below freezing after a day’s reprieve during which the kids played barefoot in the dirt. So let’s see…what else is going on in Blossomland…

  • Maggie gets her cast off Wednesday. I imagine they’ll x-ray her first, but I don’t see any reason they’d leave it on. She’s felt no pain for a week, at least. She will have to wear the cast for her school Christmas program tomorrow. I’ll probably buy a red sock to cover the bright pink, or else I’ll buy her a pink Christmas dress to match.
  • I finished up my final project for Eternal Press last night and sent it off to my managing editor. I’m absolutely certain the decision to leave is the right one for me at this time. I’ll let you know when this vampire erotic fantasy is released in February.
  • That post I did about being blocked by a  friend? Well just a day or two after, one of my best friends from college reconnected with me on Facebook and salved my soul. He’s a world traveler and drifts in and out of my life every few years. I’m pretty easy to find, as I have never lived outside of Central Oklahoma.
  • Can’t wait to see Avatar! But how come aliens are always shaped like us? Even down to the women having breasts? I’m sure it’s a choice between realistic speculative world-building and concessions to characters a human can identify with. You know, because if a creature has boobs our brains supply woman seamlessly, and then they can focus on other aspects of a story. But still, it bugs me.
  • So far I haven’t had anybody tell me I should be linking to them, so maybe those people don’t read me anymore. Thanks to those of you who checked your links.
  • I will be making bourbon balls this year, and some other goodies for our Christmas night gathering, only I’ll have white, milk AND dark chocolate coating on the bourbon balls, and maybe even actual bourbon if I can talk the hubs into going to the liquor store. Maybe he could also buy a bottle of wine

I feel like there’s so much more I could be talking about, but I’m scattered. Anything you’d like to hear more about? Wanna tell me what you’ve got going on?