A New Day Dawns

One more day before I begin my re-write. I am very excited about it. At the same time, I fear that I will find myself in the same boat with a high word count.

Well, it is what it is. The word count will be higher than average, but it will not be 325,000 words. I am looking forward to building out a few storylines in both novels, but especially in the second novel, La Fleur. I always felt that I had skimped on Josephine's and Robert's story in a way. I believe that I will reorganize a few chapters at the end. I have a habit of telling the back story as a memory. Perhaps now, I can incorporate some things in as live action.

-Snicker- I have already begun to write some of the inserts. Is that cheating? LOL I know, I am pretty excited about a process that many writers dread. But I see it as an opportunity to make the story even better than before. I knew that this needed to be done, as I said in an earlier post, but I would not do it. Now, I am happy that I have finally submitted. Wow, two books for one!

La Rose, La Fleur, Parteth!

Re-write: 3 Days and Counting

Ooooweh! I am so excited. I feel like a surgeon. I am going to split the novel like the Red Sea, creating two out of one. I would prefer to leave it as a single edition, but I must be practical and reasonable. It is two books. I even experienced difficulty writing the query and the synopsis (which I have yet to do) because of this fact. Maybe it is just ego in a way (I did not even know that I possessed an active one) that encourages me to leave it as one work.

So, I have written a ending for the Book I, renamed La Rose for now, where Lela is clearly the main character. Book II will retain the name La Fleur which will focus on Josephine's life. Now I can add back in a few things that I had edited out due to my concerns regarding word count. Oye, I may end up back in the same boat again!

Yup, this may actually work out. I'm going to finish up a few details with Samantha and Resurrection, and then re-emerse myself in my first love.

Re-write Approacheth

Beginning August 1st, I will commence my 6th or 7th formal re-write of La Fleur. I have decided to split it into two novels, a Book I and Book II. Still tossing around the titles... I think they will be La Rose, Book I Le Baton Series. The second half will be La Fleur, Book II Le Baton Series. It may make a bit more since, since Lela is La Rose and Josephine is La Fleur. Still thinking about it though. We will see what August 1st brings!

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Feel Good Friday

Today is kinda weird. It started off weird. Nothing bad happened... I don't really know how to explain it. It feels like Bizarro World.

So I wake up early, shower, dress and leave home. Traffic seemed light, but it was not. I arrive at the train station and find a lot of parks. Cool. I board the train, relatively empty... I get a whole seat to myself. I get off of the train, Union Station traffic about average. I run into a friend from the train and chat for a few minutes on the river side of the CME building (oh, and did I mention that the train was early? Wow!). Crossed Washington Street by the Opera House... no cars or people... continue on and arrive at the office, on time.

Like I said, it is nothing bad. Life just feels a bit different. That is it. Everything feels different than it did last night.

FriendFeed.com

Someone just turned me onto a new networking site, FriendFeed.com. Not so much networking, but moreso a one stop view of everyone you follow on Twitter, Facebook etc... I'm still investigating it. I will let you know more once I learn more. But from what I can gather from my personal accounts, it pulls everything that I post on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and my blog. I wish that it could pull from Blip.fm, however that is linked to Twitter, so it should be fine. I hope that it doesn't pull my emails!

More to come.

If you wish to check me out, follow this... http://friendfeed.com/claudiaross

Working Out

With God, all things are truly possible. I actually went to the gym yesterday, for the first time in over one year. It was cool. Well, moreso hot and sweaty. In any case, I worked out for an hour.

I am not sure how I feel today. I begrudgingly admit that I feel a tad more alert. I refuse to say that I feel better. LOL

I look forward to returning this evening. I weighed myself while at the gym yesterday. I know for a FACT that I will return this evening, and many evenings to come. For a while, I am planning to work out everyday except Sunday until my weight falls below the yellow line once again.

New Day, New Life

Over the weekend, I visited an old friend who moved to Waukegan IL last November. Since I have been trifling, consumed with my own troubles, I had never taken the time to visit her and to see her new place. So, I bit the bullet and went.

Her apartment is lovely. She has an exquisite view of Lake Michigan with a doll sized downtown Chicago glittering in the distance! She has beautifully decorated her home in the contemporary style that she enjoys (I'm a more traditional Empire/Chippendale/anything old type of gal myself). An aura of peace permeates throughout her home.

As I slept in the spare bedroom, I began to think about my life. As of now, my only joy is writing, my peace lies there. In that world, I have no worries or concerns, I can remain lost there for hours. But alas, I cannot physically live there. So I have to do something about my existence on this side of Oz.

I began making changes last week. I joined the health club, a good (although less enjoyable) alternative to my nightly stops at the bar. Since the gym is located in the train station, I am forced to stop there (or so I have convinced myself) on my way home. So last night, once I returned home, I gathered my raggedy work out clothes and run down gym shoes. I will go this evening once I get off from work. I don't have any money, so the bar will not prove to be that much of a temptation! LOL But actually, I am excited. I think that I will start with the punching bag to release some pinned up anger that has festered within me for much too long.

Next, I will order my finances. They are a mess. In my own defense, I have worked to get my bills on a payment schedule, but I would like to pay off a lot of old debt too.

After that, I want to find an apartment in downtown Chicago. I have never lived downtown, and would like to give it a try. I expect that it will be very expensive. But perhaps I can sub-lease someone's fabulous condo for a reasonable price, with utilities and parking included (not that I really need parking). Yup that's the dream.

I plan to spend more time writing as well. Yesterday, after returning to Chicago from Waukegan, I stopped into the office and wrote for about three hours. No interruptions, just me and my computer. It was wonderful. My father broke my trance by calling me, asking when I was coming home. I tried to recapture the magic, and did, although fleeting.

I am exhausted, but I must put forth extra energy if this is to work. I have to start somewhere, so I will begin here.

Rejection Letter - Thank you!

I would just like to thank everyone for their feed back on my 'Rejection Letter' post. Hey, rejection is the name of the game. Sure the first few pies in the face sting, but after a while, it does not hurt so much. Only thing you can do is to keep trying and to continue writing. Of course we would like to share our worlds with others, but at the end of the day, these stories are our worlds to enjoy. Those who are meant to visit will.

Have a lovely Sunday. Keep writing!!!

Claudia

Rejection Letter

Yikes! I received another Reject Letter yesterday. Strangely enough, it does not bother me anymore. I always joke and say that my love life has prepared me well for the writing biz! LOL

I think that these days I am more interested in writing the story than publishing. Do not get me wrong, I want to be published, but the real joy is in writing the story, seeing the characters live through the pages of the novel. Will I ever become a published author? God only knows! But my loves (my characters) live inside of me and in the pages of the novels which I have written. Yes, that is where the joy lies for me.

Deep in my heart, I know that I will eventually find an agent who can sell the book. It is a good one. Sometimes I sit around and fantasize about what actors/actresses would play which characters. LOL It's true, I do see it becoming a film one day. Hopefully I will still be around once it does!

I have been an artist of one sort or another throughout my entire life. I was pretty good at oil painting, although I could always find something that was less than perfect within each of them. I never pushed to sell anything, though. My watercolors were ok. I was ok as a flutist, but gave it up in college. My fingers are stiff and I could not play anything faster than a 16th note. However, La Fleur is the first thing that I have done that I am willing to share with the world to enjoy. Yes, writing has worked out, because I do not control it, I simply write down what I am told.

Google Docs

Found something new. Well, it is new to me. Google has a service where you can manage, storage and share documents on-line called Google Docs. I decided to give it a try. What is nice about it is that it will automatically update changes to published documents. I also like that fact that my novel appears as a novel, not as a blog posting. Yes, I think that I kinda like it!

Check it out! Click on one of the links at the left to read any of the first few chapters from my novel. The links are under the heading 'La Fleur.' What do you think about it? Your feedback is appreciated on either the Google Docs, the novel or both!

Thanks!

Samantha

Oye. I started writing yet another novel last night. I knew that it was coming. It is about Lela's lost daughter, Samantha, who Richard pulled out the Seine River. Richard killed Lela's husband to take control of her daughter and the House of Chevalier. Samantha will tell of her life living with her Aunt and Uncle in Floridian Louisiana and the Hamptons during the 1890's. Although 'Uncle' Richard has told her that both of her parents are dead, she can see in the spirit that her mother lives, and her wars to reunite with her.

The Joy of Writing

It now seems that the happiest part of my day is when I write. I escape to where my characters live and dwell with them. Their lives are not perfect, but at least in Resurrection, they seem more interesting than mine! Lela, well all of the characters had pretty challenging existences in La Fleur. But with all that they endured, at least their lives did finally get better, at least for a little while. Their lives were somewhat like a rollercoaster.

Yeah, usually my quiet time is spent thinking about them. God has truly blessed me with them. I know that their spirits must exist...

I love them with all of my heart. I wish that they were real.

Jackson Funeral

As much as I tried not to, I finally broke down and watched some footage from today's services. I did well. I am not the type to become overly attached to celebrities or concerned about their lives. Honestly, I've been pretty disinterested in the whole matter. Self-absorbed with my own survival.

But when I saw this 1969 footage of the Jackson 5 Ed Sullivan Show performance, I almost lost it. Suddenly, I was a 2 to 3 year old, in love with her future husband! LOL Perhaps in watching the video, I was seeing myself in my innocence, when everything was good: Daddy came home from work at 5 for dinner (giving my sister and I a roll of pennies for out Snoopy piggy bank) sitting before our Sears stereo console, listening to the Jackson 5 and dreaming of my future. Life held so much promise! Every day was an adventure, playing in the pantry, climbing the shelves, nap time, playing with my father's racing car set hidden beneath my parent's bed.

Yup. It is true. I see my innocence when I watch you back then, Michael. God rest your soul.

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Groundhog's Day

Another exciting day of filing away rejection letters.

Soon, I will begin another major edit of La Fleur. I'm going to take a break from Resurrection. It is not flowing the way that I like. It is interesting, but I don't know, it is not there yet.

Well, let me do some work. I think that I forgot to schedule a meeting.

Monday

Crazy busy today. After work, I hope to submit to a few more literary review journals.

Resurrection is coming along. I did a lot of work on it Friday. It is coming along.

Alas, I need to return to La Fleur. I must finish the synopsis. Ugh. That will be a good 50 pages. I hope to keep it under 10 pages, though.

Short Story

Selling La Fleur is not going so well. I am receiving rejection notices in no time flat!

So, I have decided to take a new approach. In an effort to build some writing 'cred' I have decided to shop around a short story which I wrote about two years ago named Mildred's Twilight. The story is a little over 2800 words in length.

In Mildred's Twilight, Mildred lives her 85th birthday without joy or excitement, lamenting her unrequited love of 45 years, Sydney. As she goes through her day with her little dog Prissy, she observes others in love, while shunning those who love her. She hears her love calling her, as she has for decades, but ignores it. Returning home, she turns on the television to find Easter Parade playing. As she watches the final scene when Hannah calls on Don, forgiving him for all of the hurt that he has caused her, she realizes that it is because of her unwillingness to forgive that love has passed her by. Mildred gives up hope as loves embraces her in its arms.

I hope that I can get it published. Then I will have one writing credit to my name! I believe that I will publish some outtakes from La Fleur as well.