Post-Retreat

I got back on Monday from the Writing Popular Fiction Alumni Retreat. It was fun (although I didn't get as much writing done as I wanted to - Shepherd must be continued - grrr). It was also a nice break for my hand. I am currently at work now, though. :( Lunch break. Figured blogging would be more productive after eating, since I am stuck in a big battle in reading Clash of Kings (did I ever mention I'm not a huge fan of ongoing war in fantasy - this book has been tough for me to get through, but that is just my taste).

Anyway. The retreat. :p One week was a tad too long away from home, so if I go next year, I think I need to shorten it by a couple days. I did get "Bloodstains" revised, and e-mailed that out to a contest. Did a brief crit session with Chun and Heidi.

Oh, and Heidi has been doing a Pick Six on her live journal, where she has writers choose 6 questions to answer for an interview. She does a fine job with it (and I wonder where she finds all the time and energy to do it). Mine went up last week: Click Here to take a look at it. Also, don't forget to take a look at the rest of her live journal - some great Pick Sixes all around.

Back to the retreat (so, I'm not consistent today, phooey to consistency). I had a chance to pitch to an agent during the retreat - I felt like I stumbled over my own tongue too much, but she did request 50 pages and an outline. Speaking is NOT my forte...I mean, I AM a writer. ;) She was nice, though, and the session she had about choosing agents was informative (and funny - lol). I like seeing agents that say they will only take on clients whose work they love. That's what I want, above all, is to find someone that loves my writing and is willing to find the right spot for it out in the scary publishing world.

If I detailed the rest of the retreat, this would be a long blog indeed. It was fun, and something I think I needed.

Yesterday I sent out those 50 pages, as well as 3 short stories to different markets. I have 5 things out in circulation now! Yay for getting my butt in gear. It took a while to research the short story markets, so I didn't get the short story on my list revised, or any scenes written for Shepherd. If I didn't have this brainless part-time-feels-like-full-time job, I would have been working on those today. Hopefully tomorrow I won't be too exhausted. maybe once some bills are paid down I can kiss this job good-bye and concentrate more on my writing. It could happen, right?

Okay, see, I've been productive. Always a good sign. I need to keep it up. I will keep it up? Yes, I know, ditching the ? would make it sound more optimistic. I'm trying at least. A little.

By the way, I am leaving Critters.

Happy writing all!

You Don't Need To Ask Because You Know I'll Tell Anyway

It's been almost 2 months since I blogged last. I am not going to chide myself this time. It's actually taking a lot of will to blog right now.

Shortly after my last blog, I went to the doctor because my middle finger on my right hand felt numb for most of the waking day. This had gone on for a couple months, so I forced myself to the doctor. Turns out, I have carpal tunnel. This is not an affliction a writer ever wants to hear they have.

Needless to say, this bad news has made me not want to blog. At all. I feel like I shouldn't even be in front of a computer most of the time, even though I of course still am, constantly.

The carpal tunnel has derailed my writing, to say the least. The pain is the worst when I'm at work (don't ask how many weeks it's taking me to get a keyboard tray put on my desk so my hand is below my elbow, instead of the other way around - they don't seem to take medical condition as a hint to speed things up). Supposedly it's a mild case and could get better (not with how I'm working right now, though - totally pisses me off, if you can't tell). I have a splint and I'm supposed to ice my wrist.

So, my usual routine that was getting my Shepherd novel done scene by scene was, work, then write until the husband picked me up. Since I am in such pain during work, I need a break after finishing work, so no writing done in those nice slots that were working. I am blogging at work right now, and it is numb, numb, and I should be shutting this computer down and reading or something - but I felt obligated to post and stop putting it off.

I am also at the point where I feel Critters is not giving me much for the effort I have put in. If I'm so back and forth on something, I think it might just be best to cut it out. I mean, I haven't heard from my one dedicated reader for over a month, and I only got 2 crits on my second set of chapters when I posted them...and since they hadn't read the first few chapters (even though I included a brief synopsis), about half of what they said was really irrelevant. Two days ago I got a 3rd, late critique, also with a lukewarm offer to do the dedicated reader thing. I think I will politely decline, go to inactive status after giving the one disappeared reader credit for the 8 chapters she did, and then beg/plead/bargain with some writer friends whom I trust to exchange critiques with. I want to be critiquing others' work, but not the Critters people at this time - I like critting for my writer friends much better, especially since I know them better and know who can take a joke. :p

That's what's up with me. I want to be writing again. I hate the carpal tunnel immensely (and yes, i have cut back on EQ - barely play during the week because of needing breaks from the pain I'm in at work). In about 2 and a half weeks I'll be heading out to Seton - I am looking forward to that and hoping I'll get some quality writing time in, which will get me back on the rails, even if the wheels are squeaky.

There you have it. Wish me luck with my hand improving. And happy writing!