I write what I see; I document what I hear; I talk when I’m listened to; I listen when talking in need to be heard.

Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

Friday, April 24, 2015

This and That about my Writing



I am on my second and third novel now.

The first one was an experiment. I’m in love with the story, with the characters. I know them well. The pacing and building is off, though.

Second novel is better. Spent five years working on it. I’m in love with the story, with the characters. I know them well. The pacing is better. The blueprint is a tad short of perfect. Tried for a few months to get the manuscript published. No bites. Decided to shelf it for one year and went on to novel number three with some more knowledge and a better understanding of story building.
One hundred pages into novel number three, I got stuck. So I went back to BLOW FORWARD, novel number two and spent six more months on perfecting it. Tell you…I think it’s going to be a winner.

Writing is challenging. Thank goodness I love the whole journey. I love to take sentences rearrange them, then take paragraph and reorder them as well. Cleaning and moving furniture around. See what makes sense. It doesn’t get better than that.

I have been writing daily for seven years. I know…a drop in the bucket. A couple of my friends  have been at it for twenty years.

For me, writing is the easy part.

The difficult part is taking my writing career to the next level. And that means having to extend myself beyond my comfort level. I’m willing to do that. But that’s another step in the growing process: learning the business, learning how to write queries, synopsis, go to conferences and pitch.
I could do without all that, if you ask me. I could just be happy in front of my computer all by myself.
 

No! On second thought, I’m lying. I’m driven. I AM a hard worker and I would like to reap some reward for my efforts.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Woman with the Jet-Black Hair

A partial of the whole...

(An excerpt from my first book, Black Diamonds)


That evening at the Eats, Moldoun sharpened the edge of a match and used it to pick between his teeth. “Sometimes I see things I don’t want to,” he told Jamie, who had just returned with his order. “Men getting hurt at the mine, company not caring…”


Jamie was just about to set the plate in front of Moldoun when she stopped suddenly; just at that moment, getting off a motorcycle, there was the woman with jet-black hair. Jamie’s skin prickled all over.

“Sometimes I see things I want to see all the time,” Jamie blurted. She watched the woman take off her helmet and shake her long hair free. The entire restaurant grew hushed. Dishes stopped clinking; the hum of conversations drew far into the background. A deep excitement settled on Jamie as she watched the woman inspect her reflection in the side mirror of the motorcycle.

The young woman walked in with a slight sway to her hips and sat at the table by the door, Jamie could see hidden smiles and trailing looks. At that moment, Jamie wished she didn’t look and feel so tired and that her hair wasn’t in such disarray.

After taking a few other orders, Jamie walked over to the table where the black-haired beauty was sitting. She stacked the cup on top of the plate that had been left there by a previous patron, and wiped the surface of the table. The young woman’s hands rested on her lap, and Jamie watched them, with their thin, blue veins. On her left hand she wore a silver ring etched with an intricate design. Her nails were ragged and half-eaten, the skin around them uneven.

Jamie caught the young woman studying her. She became acutely aware that she was taking in her pink uniform, her army boots, and her black bandana wrapped around her left wrist. Jamie shifted uneasily in her confining uniform. She felt ridiculous.

The young woman spoke. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Her voice was throaty. It came up from somewhere deep inside her chest. Jamie noticed that she was braless, and the gauzy fabric emphasized her nipples.


“Not that new. Ten days old,” said Jamie, smiling.

The young woman ran a small red tongue over her upper lip. “You’re tall.”

Jamie sent her a look from under her long bangs, which nearly covered her eyes.

“And muscular.”

“I like your bike,” Jamie said.

“You do? Really?”

“Really.” It pleased Jamie to see how eagerly she had sought her approval.

“It makes me feel powerful and free. You know, being out in the open with nothing between you and the air.”

Jamie wanted to hear her voice a little longer. “A car can do that too.”

“Not the same. I like the attention I get from riding it.”

“It’s a Suzuki TC 100, right?

The girl’s face lit up. “How do you know?”

“I know a good deal about motorcycles," Jamie said. "Had one when I lived in LA, a Kawasaki. It was a real beauty. I used to take long rides to Laguna Beach, sometimes all the way to San Francisco. Fact is, I’m thinking of buying another one.”

“Really? I know this guy, Jed, he rides a Kawasaki. It’s totally cool looking. Orange with lots of chrome.”

“Cool.”

The girl threw a glance at Jamie. “I love my bike, but it runs bad when I put the carburetor cover back on.”

“Could be a restricted air flow to the carb.”


To be continued...