They look a little precarious there since I had to open the door to get a decent picture. A few immediately decided to see how close to the edge they could get before I caught them.

--

A couple days ago, I saw a link to this post from Scott Westerfield, about pace charts using Scrivener (which I use). Cool! I'd often felt I needed something like this, but had no way to describe it without waving my hands or...sometimes I could think about the pacing of a story like the pacing of a song, but nothing ever fit just right, you know? And saying "my story feels like blahblah song" isn't the same thing as being able to se it.

So I did this with ERIN INCARNATE. It's not exactly the same, because I don't have as many chapters as Scott does. (I write longish chapters, even when I'm writing short chapters. My chapters usually have two scenes.) His is probably more accurate than mine because of that, but this is still really darn useful. And if I get bored, I might go through and separate my scenes into chapters to see what happens with my notecards.

It's very pretty and colorful. *g*

I sent S. Jae-Jones (St. Martin's Press) a list of questions this morning, and she's already replied. I am THIS MUCH impressed. Since she was so speedy, I won't make you wait either.

--

1. I imagine you must have been seeing a need for a new category for a while before getting this started. What was the catalyst to get it going now?

This was Dan's idea. In his long career, he has subconsciously been publishing for people my age--for his children, actually. He was the man responsible for SWEET VALLEY HIGH and to some extent, the creation of a YA genre. He is also the man behind SparkNotes and was one of the first people to adopt a digital/print continuum because he saw how much his children were on the internet. He's very observant, and his successes in publishing attest to his discerning eye. He has two kids (23 and 25, respectively) and when he noticed that they weren't finding a lot of fiction ABOUT them, he thought that perhaps the gap in the market was something that needed to be addressed.

For me personally, I'm a huge fan of YA. Always have been and probably always will be. One of the things I love about the category is how the books are shelved: sci-fi and fantasy and romance and mystery and contemporary all mingle together, but more than that, I like how genres are starting to bleed into one another. Adult fiction that falls into one or more genres often gets shelved in literary fiction, which intimidates me with its vastness. Literary fiction can encompass anything from autistic children solving mysteries to 65 year old widowers dealing with blended families. My own personal sensibilities run to 19th century novels of manners, steampunk, post-apocalyptic, alternate history, and fantasy with protagonists around my age. Finding protagonists my age with imaginative, inventive adventures in all the varied aisles of adult fiction is time-consuming--if there were a section of the bookstore like YA in the adult aisles, I'd have a much easier time browsing.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is the fact that there are a lot of novels out there with young-ish protagonists that publishers are either trying to "age down" into YA or "age up" into...whatever they consider "adult" fiction. A lot of these novels are NOT YA--aging down the characters would change the story, but since YA sells, a lot of publishers are trying to shoehorn books into a hot category that rightfully belong elsewhere.

2. Since this will be a whole new category, not just an imprint from St. Martin's, do you have ideas or plans for getting other publishing houses to start acknowledging New Adult and putting out books for it?

I suppose it all comes down to how it's marketed. :) And how much money it makes. If this takes off, then I'm sure other houses will absolutely jump on it. It's really interesting sitting in on editorial meetings at publishing houses: on one hand, something might be a GREAT book, but on the other, publishers might not think ENOUGH readers will buy it to justify its expense. They have to be conscious of a bottom line, and a lot of that involves trying to predict and anticipate where the market is headed next.

It can be frustrating because as much as we all want to believe a book's merits will sell itself, that's not the reality of publishing. Always, always, always publishers need to figure out where buyers at bookstores will place the book, how it will be reviewed, how it will be physically SEEN by potential readers/buyers, etc. We can't publish to individuals--we can only publish based on the numbers we have and broad generalisations of the public. (Which is admittedly not the BEST way of conducting business, but what can you do?) I've mentioned before that writers, agents, editors, publishers, buyers, and readers all hold distinct places in this industry: everyone views someone else as the "gatekeeper". A writer views the agent, the agent views the editor, the editor views the publisher, the publisher views the buyer (this is a distinct position in the industry--there is ONE person who decides what YA gets shelved and stocked at Barnes & Noble, etc.), and the buyer views the reader as holding the keys to success, as it were.

One way to bypass some--if not all--of this is digital publishing. Dan has a lot of experience in this area with SparkNotes and we are want to continue experimenting with the medium.

3. From Julie: If other publishing houses don't follow suit and start marketing books as New Adult, how would St. Martin's make their books in this category stand out?

A very good question and something I'm not sure I have an answer for. Marketing is not necessarily a decision that's entirely in our hands, but rest assured that we will push and promote the book by all the channels and resources we have available to us--especially the blogosphere, Twitter, and other forms of social media. If the public likes and takes up the idea of New Adult, then other publishing houses will slowly come to accept it as a viable category.

4. From pjschnyder: Will New Adult become an umbrella genre that includes flavors of fiction such as romance or urban fantasy or hard sci-fi?

Again, this is something I can't predict, but as I like my fiction to cross-genres, I hope so! As I've said before, this is one of my favourite aspects of YA--the blending of romance/fantasy/sci-fi/contemporary.

5. From Belletrinsic: If you're creating a category with New Adult, why do you want the books shelved with adult books? In adult, books are shelved according to genre, and most of the NA books will get lost in the shuffle. Readers won't even know they're categorized differently, which seems to be the opposite of what you're trying to do by creating this category.

This is a great question for which I unfortunately don't have an answer or a solution. Where else would New Adult be shelved? With children's books? They aren't children's books (YA falls into this broad categorization)--they are ADULT titles. It's most likely that the books will initially be shelved according to their genres, but if we get enough attention, I think that it eventually will change. Independent bookstores have more flexibility with shelving than big chains like Barnes & Noble or Borders; they can cross-shelve YA in adult or adult in YA while B&N and Borders have a strict policy against it. Books that get cross-shelved do exponentially better because they're reaching a greater audience. My hope is that New Adult will function as the "cross-shelf" section in big chain bookstores someday.

6. From patesden: In areas such as violence, sex, and language, how explicit is too explicit?

This is a tricky question because it varies from person to person and book to book. I don't mind explicit violence, sex, or language, as long as it serves a purpose in the story, instead of being in it for the "shock factor". One of my favourite book series is the KUSHIEL'S LEGACY books by Jacqueline Carey: it's about a young, sexually masochistic bisexual courtesan-spy involving lots of political intrigue and some fantasy. There is a lot of fairly explicit, violent sex in the books, but they serve the plot. As always, my advice is "Use your own discretion."

7. From Julie: If you're considering series for New Adult, how will you handle it once the protagonists age out of the genre?

My hope is we'll continue to shelve all the books together. Harry Potter started as an 11-year-old and in middle grade territory. The series ended with him at 17 (or married with children in the epilogue), firmly in YA territory. Of course, HARRY POTTER is a phenomenon, but the heroine of the KUSHIEL books starts as a young child. She spends the first two books in her early 20s, and then the third in her early 30s, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment because it was still HER story. The same with ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by L. M. Montgomery: Anne starts the series as an 11-year-old orphan and ends as a mother with a brood of children.

8. From amberdine: What lengths are you looking for?

As with most adult books, I'd say average about 100K. 80K to 120K is probably a good range. Again, this varies from book to book and exceptions are everywhere, but 80K to 120K is ballpark.

9. From ipgirl: I've heard that college students rarely read fiction (too busy partying and studying, I guess). Is it bad to set a New Adult book in college?

Set the story in whichever setting works best for your work. I can list a few books about people in college that have sold: Donna Tart's THE SECRET and Diana Peterfreund's SECRET SOCIETY GIRL. I think books set in college will appeal to younger readers as well, those who may be heading off to college soon and want to know what the experience is like. I won't deny that college settings are tricky, but if it works, then why not?

10. What does White-Harp think of all this?

White-Harp loves anything about animals. She says she has no opinion, except where animals are concerned. :)



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To learn more about JJ, White-Harp, and New Adult, visit JJ's website and blog.

Don't forget to check out the updated links list here.

When I was trying my hardest to nap so I could stay up all night, Kippy wandered into the bedroom. She leapt onto my back (I was lying on my stomach), and rolled around to get comfortable. Okay, that's eight extra pounds to lift while I breathe, but I can handle it.

A while later, she caaaasually reached down one paw. And covered my nose. As I was on my stomach, the other side of my nose was smushed against the pillow. So I couldn't breathe. I tilted my head up. (Would hate to disturb her, you know.)

When that didn't work, down came the other paw. Nosesmush again.

So now I'm afraid to go back to sleep. :P

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I hit the 1/3rd mark in ERIN INCARNATE last night. Hello, middle of the book. We've got political scheming, masquerade, dragon flyover, and will end this section with Horrible and Unexpected Betrayal.

I read a blog post from Abby Franquemont titled "Go Ahead: Be a Beginner" a while back, and it really stuck with me. A few recent posts and articles around the internet lately got me thinking about this post again. (I'd link, but honestly it's too tangental to explain my thought process here. Just trust me. *G*)

Abby is a yarn person, for those of you who don't know. Her blog subtitle is "Because One Way Or Another, It's All About Yarn." I don't disagree (being something of a yarn person myself), but I also think this post translates wonderfully to writing.

I'll wait while you read it.

One of the first points she makes is,

I hate some of the stuff people say to brand new spinners. Actually, to folks who are brand new to many things, but particularly spinners. Some of this advice is peevesome or downright offensive; some of it is insulting to people who've made huge commitments to skill and excellence, and much of it is actually condescending and belittling to the beginning spinner it's intended to support.

I fully agree. To use a basic writing example, I'll drag out the often-cursed adverb.

When I started writing and posting my stories for critique on the OWW, one of the first things I heard was, "Take out all your adverbs."

It's true, the perfect verb is worth a dozen adverbs, but that doesn't mean adverbs don't have their place. And how many times have new writers run across an adverb in a pro's story and dialed up the adverb police when the adverb actually does what the adverb was intended to do?

They're a part of language. They're legitimate. Often they can (and should) be cut and replaced with a better verb, but sometimes they are absolutely necessary.

What I'm getting at here is this: The advice to cut all adverbs is harmful to beginners because adverbs do have a place in writing. As for it being insulting to pros, it implies someone who's spent years honing their skills doesn't know which word to choose, even when it's the right one.

--

The other point I really like from this post is where she says beginning yarn is not art yarn. Because I suspect a lot of you don't know what art yarn is, here's a Google image search for you. (I'm not going to post specific pictures because I don't own them. I haven't made art yarn.)

Like beginners' yarn, it can look haphazard and sometimes sloppy. True art yarn is anything but. It's structurally sound. It won't break when you use it. It won't fall apart after a few washes. Real honest-to-God techniques were used while making it, and the spinner knows what (s)he did and, as Abby said, can reproduce it. A beginner cannot do those things.

Now replace "yarn" with "stories."

Sometimes you run across a story that breaks all the rules you learned when you were a beginning writer. The odd structure looks easy to reproduce because the writer just tossed it all in there, right? Same thing with multiple plotlines running everywhere. Sprinkle in a few more points of view. Add another explosion or cool thing. If you can write a sentence (if you can put twist into wool), you can make a story (yarn). Right?

No. Like art yarn, great writing isn't an accident.

Abby said,

I think it sells a beginner short to tell them their novice efforts are master-quality (and let's not even get into what it sounds like it says about master work). It sells beginners short, because it's a lie. People do it in an attempt to be supportive, I know, but I think it's better to praise beginner work for what it is, rather than to liken it to the work of people who've spent time and energy studying and practicing. Why? Because as a beginner, I think you have a right to know there IS more; that you can do better, and you will, and that all it takes is wanting to and practicing.

This is probably where I'm going to have to dodge tomatoes, because I'm going to say something unpopular about beginning writers and success.

Sometimes we come across a person who just got an agent or a publishing contract and find out they started writing a few months ago, and we say things like, "Wow, you must be really great!" While it's true they might be really great, chances are there are plenty of beginner errors in their manuscript, even as it rolls through the printing presses and onto bookshelves.

Then maybe everyone reads their book and says, "Wow this is really great!" even though it has all these errors, and the things the writer did right to make all these people love the book? Well, back to the yarn example, chances are the writer doesn't know what they did right. They can't reproduce it. They don't have the skills to pull it off again, but they have another book contracted and they need to get that in before deadline, so the sloppy stays and the finished product isn't much better than the first.

This is where being a beginner is awesome. A beginner without obligations, that is. You have time to try new things and experiment. You have time to learn the rules, and learn when to break them.

I think -- *ducking tomatoes* -- situations like the hypothetical one above are a disservice to beginning writers. They've been told their writing is publishable quality, and if they can keep doing that one magical thing right, they'll keep getting published. Hopefully they'll realize earlier mistakes and do their best to improve, but they don't have much incentive because the big goal -- get published -- is already achieved. Someone said, "Your beginning yarn is art yarn."

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katallen has a related post here.

JJ of St. Martin's agreed to let me interview her about New Adult. I thought I'd get a few questions from the crowd.

Here's the deal:

-If you have a question for JJ, leave it in the comments here. Tuesday evening, I will run through and choose ten questions to send to her.

-Before you ask a question, make sure you've read her posts linked in this post. Don't ask questions she's already answered!

-Ask ONE question. Not five questions. Not five questions disguised as one question. Just one. This is to give everyone a fair shot at their question being chosen.

-If you like someone else's question, say so.

-I will correct typos and/or edit questions for clarity, but that's all.

-If you love/hate/worship the idea of New Adult, that's fine. Just keep your question civil. Flaming or passive-aggressiveness will not be tolerated.

Last night I stayed up super late to write. It took me quite a while to get my stride (three hours for 400 words is ridiculous), but once I hit it, you couldn't have pried me away from the keyboard if the galaxy was exploding. It was that awesome.

I'm not sure what my actual progress was since I pasted in the last pre-written scene (it will have to be revised to fit today, of course), which bumped my day's progress to 5,000 or something silly, and puts my total for this draft at 20,000. I'm pretty pleased with that. I like the direction the story is going. The plot feels strong and the pace seems okay. (This could all change when I go in for revisions, heh.) There are some weak spots in the prose, but it's a first draft. They don't have to be perfect. (Thank commas.)

--

Here. Ferrets for you. Because standing up to eat is just too hard.

Queries: 101
Requests: 1 upper YA
In my inbox: 3 partials

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Query project. My comments are still in [brackets] . As always, I haven't read these yet. These are my reactions as I read them.

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#24

Dear Ms. Meadows:

When Sabrina moves to England, she gets more than she bargained for [Watch for cliches, especially in the opening sentence.] when she meets the man who has been appearing to her in her dreams. After she gets over the shock of seeing Isaac outside of her admittedly vivid imagination, she begins to wonder how he’s able to get into her mind in the first place. [This seems a little too tame. If someone I'd been dreaming about suddenly appeared in my waking life, I'd go straight into panic and trying to figure out what was going on. The sentence doesn't reflect that panic.] The shocking answers catapult her into a world where ruthless creatures roam freely alongside unsuspecting humans, and battle lines are clearly drawn. [Neat.]

As they embark on a dangerous and passionate affair, Sabrina realizes that a bitter enemy intent on revenge from Isaac's past will stop at nothing to remove her from Isaac’s arms. Permanently. In order to establish a foreseeable and solid future, it becomes obvious that Sabrina must ultimately deal with a tumultuous past. As she navigates a shadowy world she has never known existed, Sabrina must fight for her newfound love…and her life. [I know personal stakes don't get much bigger, but I feel like something is missing here. Like we're seeing one leg of the plot -- the romantic one -- but not the other. ]

Reclaimed is a romantic suspense manuscript that is complete at 88,000 words. I saw from your blog that I read regularly [Snip "that I read regularly"] that you were interested in romance novels, and I hope you find mine to your liking.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jennifer McLaughlin
http://jennifermclaughlin.wordpress.com/

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#25

Dear Jodi,

I was recommended by a friend to contact you as you represent both horror and science fiction. [This is a fake query, so okay. But if it was real, you should name the person who recommended you. Chances are they'd have emailed to let me know ahead of time, but just in case...] I hope that my first novel, tentatively titled Picking Up the Pieces, will be of interest to you. [Don't forget genre and wordcount.]


Matthew Caldey is a brilliant paramedic with a bright future career ahead of him, [Note what I said about cliches in the last query.] until he fails to save his partner’s wife and fellow paramedic, [Whups. And a clarity issue: is the partner's wife a fellow paramedic? Or is the fellow paramedic a different person? It could go either way.] in a traumatic deep space rescue gone horribly wrong. His confidence shaken by this tragic event, Matt returns to the EMS Academy on Earth to teach new recruits, the only job he feels is ‘safe to do’ anymore, vowing never to wear the uniform or go into space again... [Why ellipses?]

Following the death of his wife, Gary McAlliskey [So the story's about both of these guys. Okay.] has gone to McKinley Station, in high orbit of Kelder Prime, to finish work on their joint project: a Deep Space Rescue Cruiser, the first of its kind that will revolutionise deep space rescue. Gary is determined to finish the DSRC as a final tribute to his late wife, even at the expense of his own health and wellbeing, perhaps even that of his family... [What's with the ellipses?]

Still learning to cope with the loss of their mother, fifteen year old Imogen McAlliskey and her two younger siblings are that very family. [And it's them too? Okay, I admit, I was hoping for more space travel and explosions and daring rescues, rather than lots of people dealing with backstory death.] Realising that her father’s feverish attempts to complete his project could well be the last thing he ever does, Imogen calls old family friend Matt Caldey, begging him to visit McKinley to help her desperately try to convince her father that life is for living, not just remembering the dead… [You've now used up your year's supply of ellipses.]

Trainee paramedic Danielle Townend [This is getting longer and longer with a bunch of new characters. This needs to be much shorter. More concise and focused on what the story is about. Daring space rescue? People dealing with death? Choose a couple characters and focus on them, rather than the entire cast.] is approaching graduation from the EMS Academy. Born and raised on the council estates of West Yorkshire by a disinterested addict mother and an absent father, Danni has long awaited to escape her squalid roots and make something of herself. Intrigued by the tales of the exploits of her newest tutor, Matt Caldey, Danni realises her destiny is to go far, farther than she'd ever imagined...

For Matt, Gary, Imogen and Danni, a turning point is fast approaching in their lives. Each has been given a chance to move on from their dark past, into an uncertain future. One wishes to take this chance with both her hands, naively unaware of the consequences. One blindly refuses to forget the losses of his past. One wishes she didn't have to choose. And one is painfully aware that if he refuses to choose, the consequences for all of them could be disastrous. Brought together in deep space, the four of them must work as a team to fight their respective inner demons, and quickly learn that when picking up the pieces of other people's lives, they must first be able to rescue their own. [This is way too long and explainy. We need more about the story, less about the characters' individual journeys. It starts off with some good stuff, but gets off focus quickly.]


In writing, I love the horror, science and alternative fiction genres. I do not like "splatterpunk," but fully believe that blood and gore can be used to good effect. I have worked in a comprehensive school with 11-16 year olds with special educational needs, volunteered for St John Ambulance for thirteen years, and worked as a medic alongside paramedics for five years. [The only part of this that's necessary is that you worked as a medic, which can give your story a sense of authenticity.] I currently work in a large, local DIY store to pay the bills while finally concentrating on my writing. The online Short Story Group helped me sharpen my skills, before moving on to become a moderator with another online writing group, the Literary Den. I was a contributor to, and lead editor for, the LitDen's anthology of members' work in 2008, and am currently reprising this role for 2009. [And only the editor part is necessary out of this.]

Picking Up The Pieces is the first in a series of space-based medical fiction novels, revolving around the characters I have described here. [I think this is very telling. You said you've described the characters. Not the story. While compelling characters will keep me reading something I might otherwise not, I do need to have a sense of the story while I'm reading the query. Which I don't have here.] It is a completed 150,000 word manuscript, which I can forward to you, in whole or in part, should you be interested in reading further.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely yours,
Andy Walker
http://www.terrierandy7.com

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#26

Dear Jodi,

Rochelle had never dreamed of the past before, let alone travel into the future. Things like this never entered Rochelle's quiet, lonely life. [The first sentence is strong. This one says the same thing, and not nearly as snappily.] She had grown up in the foster care system because her mother died giving birth to her, and her father and brother had left before she was even born. Now Rochelle is living on her own, and realizes how mundane life really can become. [Same thing with this last sentence. Since you've repeated yourself twice within the first paragraph, I'd worry the manuscript has this problem, too.]

Her life gets turned upside down though, when Michael, a handsome British aristocrat, and his four friends come into the picture. [Same thing about cliches as the other two queries. Life turning upside down. Someone coming into the picture. Both cliches.] She is so intrigued by them, mainly because of the violet eyes they share with her. [Violet eyes (do they wear contacts? Eyes are not naturally violet) aren't a compelling enough reason to be "so intrigued" with someone. Do they do something weird? Do they behave oddly?] Not to mention the connection she shares with Michael. [What kind of connection?] As she gets closer to them, [How do they get closer? Are they thrown into mortal peril together? Do they overcome ancient evils together? (If that doesn't get you close to someone, I don't know what will!) Give short, specific examples. So far this is all really vague.] the more she learns about herself, friendship, and love. But as Rochelle learns of her past will she be able to accept who she really is? [This query is mostly vague. I don't feel like I know anything about the story. The most specific example of anything is people's violet eyes, and that doesn't tell me much.]

Tempus Viator is a 72,000 word work of young adult fantasy fiction. [I can't see the fantasy element in the query. Are they vampires? Selkies? Krakens? You've hidden the fantasy element so completely I can't even guess. (Except from the title. I'd guess something to do with time.)] This is my first novel and I would be happy to send the full manuscript upon your request. Thanks for your time and consideration. The first three pages are below as requested.

Sincerely,
Joy D. Wilson
http://joydwilson.blogspot.com/

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I've posted this before, but this seems like a good time for a reminder.

Here are the four things your query blurb needs to have.

1. Your protag and their problem
2. What they're going to do about that problem
3. Conflicts that keep them from achieving their goal
4. Stakes: what happens if they don't succeed. (Why the reader should care.)

The story part of your query (not the title/genre/credits) should be about 150-200 words. I tend to set mine up in this three paragraph structure:

1st paragraph: Introduction to the character and their problems. What they're going to do about it. (This paragraph gets the reader invested in the character and his/her story.)

2nd paragraph: Introduces complications and possibly another character. Things get worse. Worldbuilding tidbits are awesome.

3rd paragraph: Big bad or big onoes! is revealed. Big stakes. Character has to make an impossible choice. Reader shouldn't be able to see a way out. Reader should need to read the story to find out what happens.

Now, that's just how I do it, and I don't follow it religiously or anything. The structure is made to be played with. But if you're not sure where to start, hopefully that will help you with a foundation.

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How to submit: ( Clicky )

We start off with Todd wanting your attention. He loffs you.



But why are you paying attention to the ferret in focus back there? Pay attention to TODD!



And so begins an epic battle. Behind a cut because it's picture heavy. ( Read more... )

I just found out about this today, thanks to Gwen Hayes who sent a link to St. Martin's newish editorial assistant S. Jae-Jones's blog.

Basically, it seems to be a genre between Young Adult and Adult with the age range around 20-26. More mature writing and ideas, but not full on adult stories.

I love it. It fills the gap between teenager and regular adult stories. After all, we don't all start feeling like adults as soon as we're done with being teenagers. (I still don't feel like an adult.) This is definitely what I want to write, and I'm glad there's a push to make room for it.

A few links for reference.

An explanation of the genre from JJ: Postadolescent or "New Adult" Fiction

A Twitter chat from the #YALitChat group on New Adult

St. Martin's New Adult Contest. Enter your NA story to win a book. (And possibly a chance for them to read your manuscript, so make sure it's finished and ready to go.) It ends November 20, so you have some time to get your work together if you're not ready. (I totally entered with DELUGE.)

YA is for Adults Too.

St. Martin's Press Has New Publisher and Good News for YA Writers.

New link: Where NA might go on the shelves.

New Adult? What happened to the old ones?

On New Adult

More on New Adult

Marketing "New Adult"

Why the "New Adult" Book Section is Needed

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I'm excited. How about you?

This one is pretty long. It's about four minutes. I got a little carried away.

Jeff: I don't mind butterflies. I just don't like caterpillars. Too many legs. And they're fuzzy!
Me: Legs are creepy.
Jeff: What I don't get is how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.
Me: Metamorphosis!
Jeff: They go into a cocoon for a few days and come up with fewer legs, no fur, and wings. Their bodies are completely different. How does that happen?
Me: Neat, huh?
Jeff: I don't get it! How do they change?
Me: Well you know how a human becomes a werewolf during the full moon? This is the same thing, but in slow motion.

At the fiber festival in October, I bought an ounce of angora bunny wool to spin. This morning I found the clamshell box on the floor, bunny fur spilled everywhere. I have no doubt Kippy was behind that. At least she didn't eat it.

I pulled out a spindle this afternoon and started going. It's spinning very thin, except for a few places. The fur wasn't prepared at all (as far as I can tell), so it's straight off the comb they used to brush the bunny. There are a few little knots and some dust, and it must smell like bunny because the whole time I was spinning, Kippy looked at me like this: O.O

Someone thinks she's a predator. How cute.



Yesterday evening, I tried out the sunset setting on my camera. I think it turned out okay.



I also took (another) video of the baby ferrets playing, but it's long (four minutes) and still uploading, and I want to get back to my story. I got 1000 words yesterday. Considering I've been getting about 500 words a day, this is more than adequate progress. :)

Yesterday we went out Christmas shopping. Jeff gave me my gift early: a new digital camera, since my old one was doing this thing where it didn't always take pictures no matter how nicely you asked or what names you called it.

This is my new one. It's an unfortunate shade of orange (which they wisely decided not to advertise on the website), but I am not defined by the color of my camera. I love it anyway. Mostly since it takes videos with sound, which my old one didn't. (Also an Olympus FE, but a much earlier model.)

Not that ferrets actually make that much noise, but I always felt the silent videos were unnerving. (And for some reason my phone and computer stopped agreeing to let files work between each other, so my options were getting pretty limited.)

I'll have to get used to a few new things with it; the controls are buried in other controls. Overall, though, I think I'm going to like it.

Here, have some ferrets in pants.

Queries: 124
Requests: 3: 2 YA fantasy and 1 one mystery (not genre, just a mystery) submission via Jenny
In my inbox: 1 partial

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Yeah, boring slush stats today since I was gone and didn't have time to get a query project ready.

My spindle post is on Robin's blog tonight.

I was going to write more about using a spindle, but got a little side tracked.

And I'd better hurry and put together slush stats, since I've been gone all day. Stand by.

I have been writing like a mad thing since...what, Sunday? I have just over 5000 words. It's not bad, but considering how fast my first drafts have gone before, is pretty slow. Especially since I was able to paste in about 1500 of those words from a scene I'd written before. Heh.

The synopses are written. The plot is already plotted. I'm not sure what's keeping me from zipping on through this. Maybe I'm being more careful about the prose than I usually am with first drafts, since it's already plotted?

I'm not really concerned about it, just curious. It's interesting. I've never had the entire plot before starting, so maybe this is half first draft mode, and half revision mode. The part of my brain that would normally be cooking up the next turning point has moved to other projects, like prose or theme or something.

At any rate, I'm still having fun with this, and enjoying it.

How are you feeling about your current project?

Apparently the last time I read LJ was Monday. I know this because in order to catch up, I had to go back 120 entries.

I keep wishing I could add more people to my reading list, but the sad truth is that I don't have time. I make time for the LJs I do read, but even so, when I get behind like this and have to catch up, I think I should trim the list a little more. I'm resisting that urge, but this is why I don't automatically follow everyone back.

However, I do read and respond to all comments.

--

I finished my socks for Jeff. Here they are on his feet with his Darth Vader PJs and Todd.



Speaking of ferrets, I gave the ferrets their foamy treats. There are six in a pack. Five ferrets. That leaves one extra, which I kept aside for emergencies. Good thing, too. Austin stole Bobby's foamy treat. Since I knew Bobby wouldn't steal it back (he worships Austin), I gave him the extra.



Om nom nom nom. Happy Bobby.

Until this happened.



Yep, that's Todd sneaking up on Bobby's treat. I eventually had to put poor Bobby in the little cage so he could eat in peace. Later, I saw Austin running off with yet another treat. I don't know whose it was, but Todd followed him into the bag a minute later.

Very suspicious if you ask me.

I'm not sure what happened to today. We got up (relatively) early to run to the store and make sure we called the water man*, so there should have been more daylight, right? At some point we got home from the store and put away groceries, I read slush and chatted with my sister (that took an hour)...but I'm sure there should have been more time. I just don't remember using it. I know I didn't use it to write.

Maybe I lost time while I was watching Jeff attempt reading a game manuel with ferrets...



(Yes! I actually do have a husband! I didn't make him up! He's just camera shy. :)

Or wondering how much that Kippy in a window costs.



Okay, it's dinnertime, and then I'm going to come back and write! I didn't get Erin into the lake last night, but I did get her running toward it. She'll be drowning in no time.

--

*Some of you will remember we don't have city water, but a cistern that needs to be filled up every couple of weeks. The water man gets sad if we call too late in the day; he has a lot of houses to visit.

Can't talk. Have book to write.





(After deleting a scenelet, writing new things, revising that, and creeping into new things, I currently have 1390 words. I'm going to push Erin in a lake before bed.)

I'm starting my first draft today. I have socks all ready for it:



These are for Jeff. I actually knit the first one a year ago and shoved it in a box, and decided to start the second one yesterday. I got several inches up the foot using the same numbers as before, except it was much looser than the other. So loose I could stick my hands in the sock while Jeff's foot was in it! If you guessed this was because my knitting changed (no more twisted stitches), you get a gold star.

So I frogged both of them and started over. I can knit while I ponder the next verb.

--

I'm not starting my draft today because of NaNoWriMo. I don't have anything against it, but it's not something I care to do. I feel I should work this hard all year 'round, not just November. :)

No, I'm starting my book today because a) I'm done with my synopses and I didn't hate them when I reread them, and b) it's All Souls' Day, which is nice and appropriate for this book, which I'm calling ERIN INCARNATE, unless something more awesome appears. (Thanks, tanaise!)

( A darling: Soul Night )

--

Here, have a ferret picture. Austin, Bobby, and Todd all playing. It was the cutest epic battle you ever did see.



And Austin pretending to let Bobby win.