Tag Archives: plans

Winter Tidings of the Scribbler, October 21

by Liana Posted on October 21, 2013
This entry is part 20 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Dear muse,

Please get with it. November is coming and my dance card is now full.

Love,

the scribbler

Feels like winter is here at last, and it's time to get this mind gearing up for November beyond percolating possibilities. Time more to get some serious writing back into gear, especially seeing as I've got plenty besides to do this season.

So checking out the exchange front, I'm thinking through this [unnamed] prompt again and can't even hit it sideways. I already wrote that story, so hm. I guess it's just winging it on the fandom. :grumbles under breath: I had hoped for something to go on. Oh, well. Let's just see what we can come up with.

Well, I was going to fic that, but instead I fanficced my own and thecatisacritic's world again. Seriously, is it okay to post fanfic of this kind of stuff on AO3? I know the original creator and we're working together, but it's seriously AU fanfic.

Back to exchange... Didn't get anywhere on that. Then I spent some serious time hunting up fics to collaborate on, got back wonderful comments on "Dowse and Bleed" which may take it to novella-length, and typed up board meeting minutes. Also, got a 418 word start on a poem. Don't like it all yet, but it's a start.

Beta'd a piece. Hit a few more pages on my proofread. I'll try and pull something together after computer hours, but no promises.

Count

  • Fiction: 2291 words - Month to Date: 25,330 words
  • Blog: 279 words - Month to Date: 8,337 words

365 Challenge

  • 230–231/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn/Fracture and Recall Crossover: And So It Goes… – 1873 words

WIP

  • Kingdoms and Thorn poem: The World Backed Down – 418 words
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Reading, Writing, and Upcoming Schedule – October 17

by Liana Posted on October 17, 2013
This entry is part 16 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

FRIENDLY REMINDER: If your comment vanishes into the spam moderation ether, please email me at info at lianamir dot com so I can fish it back out.

Reading & Proofreading

I had a proofreading job come in, which will cut hard into scribbling time, but add to weather the bank advance cut-off transition, so it's a worthy switch.

I'm also going to put off reading any fiction by anyone else until after I've scribbled each day. This is an experiment. It will take nerves of steel (which I'm not entirely sure I have). More on that tomorrow.

Writing & Fanfic

So I didn't get anywhere with Laurie today. Couldn't find her mental space and realized I needed to dive into canon to do that. Canon's not at work and my lunch break didn't go to writing per usual, so yeah. Moving it down on the to-do list. I consider this a Yuletide piece.

Speaking of which, Yuletide itself is looking amazing. I signed up as a pinch-hitter and browsed through a bunch of letters. I may do the book exchange and I'm definitely going to be writing treats. In the middle of this, I promise to lithiumlaughter that I will indeed get around to hammering my head hard enough on "Everything is Blood" to finish it.

I did start off this morning with a ficlet that could go as a continuation of an interesting crossover fanfic AU (thanks, thecatisacritic) or fit within the regular Kingdoms and Thorn universe. So there's that. I do think it needs more, a continuation and exploration. Don't I have enough ficlets needing that though!

I decided to start posting more on the blog again, which is silly since I'm trying to scribble more fiction, but alas! I tend to be happiest when creatively overextended. Since I've already started doing it, I might as well just admit it.

For NanoWrimo, I still haven't the foggiest idea which book I'll write, though I'm leaning toward something with momentum, which would mean Kingdoms and Thorn or Seven Days. I love Vardin, but I'm not sure I could build up the steam in time for November. And everyone loves Seven Days. Thanks again, lithiumlaughter, for you wonderful comments. I need to get answers to your questions back, come to think of it.

Back on the evening scribbling grind, and this Kingdoms and Thorn piece is coming together again. Not sure what did the trick, but I'm liking the interactions between Justus, Cole, and Larique. I'm also realizing this thing's going to turn into a "Dowse and Bleed" size fic before it's done. Ah, well. At least I'm getting somewhere, 367 words of somewhere wraps the scene. I've a feeling it won't be done today, thecatisacritic, but you prompted it and it's coming. Now I've just got to remember to work in Justus going undercover and noticing a threat no one else does.

I'd be able to write more too, but I have a question it's going to take some percolating to answer. What in the world does that report say? Sometimes readers think we're hiding information for suspense when really, we don't actually know the information yet. Ah, well. Off to percolate. Good night!

Count

  • Fiction: 841 words - Month to Date: 21,871 words
  • Blog: 630 words - Month to Date: 7,580 words

365 Challenge

We're at day 290/365 and written piece 226/365.

Most of these pieces haven't been linked on the challenge page because they're commentfic and I'm editing the mess out of them for publishing. I really do need to get a Kingdoms and Thorn collection pulled together. But first, I want to see in_the_blue's suggestions for expanding "Dowse and Bleed." Seriously. It would be my first novella (not counting MG novel, similar word count) ever.

  • 226/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Price of Reconciliation – 474 words
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A Fandom-Original Writer: Markers of Success

by Liana Posted on October 14, 2013

A while back, Kristine Rusch wrote about markers of success, which are entirely dependent on goals. Recently, I exchanged some dialogue on beta readers with Elle Casey and came to the realization that our goals were quite different. Her goal is to build a readership; mine is to build a fanbase. She didn't really understand the difference.

I have a pen name, my most successful one, where the goal is to sell books. The way to reach that goal is simple: write and publish more stories fitting the brand. It works. It pays my utilities bill when I get the payout.

Her goal is to draw in many new readers with each successive book. This means she'll probably have more reviews and sales overall than I do and each book probably should go through a new to her reader, as she suggests, to see how it'll go over with new-to-her readers.

My goal with Liana Mir comes straight out of fandom: I want fans. I want to write what I love and what fascinates me and know others feel the same way. That means I don't need many new readers with each release; I need to hold onto the ones I have, to make them feel something. It means that my ideal beta reader is both active in fandom and someone who becomes invested in my storyworld and can react like a fan, pointing out problems as they arise, such as the failure to sufficiently characterize Pieter. Important stuff, this. One of my favorite TV shows ever, Awake, had a relatively small viewership, but it had a devoted fanbase. I'm perfectly content with that sort of result. In fact, that's what I want. I want fans, who may or may not ever review and may be small in number but are high in engagement.

That said, my markers of success are:

  • Have readers who ask questions and want more.
  • Have fanwork created for my worlds.
  • See an in-depth review or piece of meta from someone I don't know.
  • Have readers I don't know who ask questions and want more.
  • Have fanwork created for my worlds by someone I don't know.

These are my personal goals and benchmarks. I've got number one with Kingdoms and Thorn and Faeology got interest and wanting more from strangers (though I've yet to deliver, having gotten sidetracked). Number two has happened for Vardin (fix-it fic) and I got that gift from my beta in Kingdoms and Thorn. The rest haven't happened yet, which is fine as I haven't actually gotten as much into the world yet. These stories are created for my fangirl side. I actually care about canon, so if it's not quite right, it doesn't get published.

I don't pretend everyone wants this, but it's what I want. To create something that rich and awesome that if it were authored by someone else, I would fangirl it.

What are your markers?

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Reading and Writing, October 11

by Liana Posted on October 11, 2013
This entry is part 10 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So this morning was one of those mornings where feeling weird and what-have-you, I skipped straight past anything I ought to do and went and read Beneath Ceaseless Skies on my morning work break. It's a double issue. Then I dug through my email and dug up Laurie's story instead of waiting until I was at home this weekend where I already have it saved.

When I feel weird, I read. That's me. When I hurt, I fanfic or write an angsty poem. Otherwise, I write. I wonder what that says about how often I feel weird.

So I finished Laurie's story. Awesomeness. Then I finished editing all 13,574 words of story from inferno goodness—which I only say because it's done. Unfinished stories are not good. They taunt and tease and bother me. This is the first novelette I've written ever. Now, of course, I want to typeset it and publish it, which requires getting a Rachelle-worthy cover which makes me need to buy a stock photo I don't have, which would imply the need for a Kickstarter-type campaign, but this is micro-funding on a micro, micro, micro scale, so…

Thinking.

Maybe I ought to write. Hm. Nope, first I read through the ficlets from thecatisacritic. I'm glad too. I'm still not all that settled down for writing.

Talking with the beta yesterday about maybe doing Nano, which would mean picking a story for it. I'm all over the map on what I'd want to do: Collateral Damage, the Seven Days book, or something in Vardin, or seriously, Lovemark the Seasons. So yeah, on the fence there.

I edited and finalized a story. I'll write more this weekend. Bad me, but it's Friday, so no after-work scribble-time was available anyway.

Count

  • Total Fiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 13,881 words
  • Total Blog: 291 words - Month to Date: 5,495 words

Finalized Pieces

  • "Dowse and Bleed," Kingdoms and Thorn, 13,574 words
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Reading and Writing, October 9–10

by Liana Posted on October 10, 2013
This entry is part 9 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So yesterday was October 9, 2013 and I wrote 513 words of last-second fiction and 84 words of blog post. So let it be noted.

I tend to use leading conjunctions, did you know that? But, and, so...

Onto today...

So. I signed up for Yuletide, wrote my letter, linked it on the Yuletide Livejournal, and otherwise freaked out but ended up feeling serenely as though I achieved something. Ahem. Yeah.

I also did my daily reading of writing/industry blogs I find useful, including Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Rusch, The Passive Voice, Juliette Wade, and others. Then, I tackled the ficlets in my LJ inbox from thecatisacritic. I still need to catch up reading on Laurie's story from in_the_blue and the rest of the Fire and Water books, but alas! That requires some ability to focus. Now, that I'm headache-free again and my leg isn't screaming this might be soon possible.

And then there's writing. I tried to use the lullaby lyrics I had in the prompt bin to write about Watcher and Shift, but I hated it. I tried a few other snippets, but the words aren't coming. I need a different angle.

Hm...

I got back my last set of beta notes on "Dowse and Bleed." Hurrah! Some edits, but they are good ones and all the typos she caught! Ack. Sometimes I wonder how in the world I can have that many words go missing... But anyway.

No scribbling today. Sorry, thecatisacritic. I'm just not really feeling up to that.

Count

  • Total Fiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 13,881 words
  • Total Blog: 1123 words - Month to Date: 5,204 words

365 Challenge

From yesterday...

  • 209/365 – Kindgoms and Thorn Ficlet: Family – 377 words
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A Day in the Life of the Scribbler, October 6

by Liana Posted on October 6, 2013
This entry is part 6 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Stage One: Assess

So there are lovely ficlets waiting to be read in my LJ inbox. There are lovely notes on the story from inferno and my infuriating anthology to be implemented. And there are prompts. Not to mention house-cleaning and other chores—like breakfast.

I've also been thinking about starting up blogging again, but there's the interesting thought of... should I? I'd like to focus on fiction I think.

I'm going to go do necessaries, then hit the story from inferno.

Stage Two: Work

So I'm actually flipping back and forth between cleaning, editing, munching, and going shopping (just got back). So far, it's working. I'm on page 13 out of 27 of my first pass through the manuscript at a little after three o'clock. I can tell this will take a couple passes though.

It's 5:48 p.m. and the first pass is done. I have two big changes to make and a handful of edits to decide on. Sometimes I agree with my beta, every once in a while I don't, and sometimes I figure out how to fix the issue in a way I like that differs from the one suggested. I've got those left.

Writing the new scenes. That's all I can call it, though technically, I'm writing them in and around the old material. It's better, I think. I hope my beta agrees.

Second pass done around 9:45 p.m. Just for the stylistic pass now and those last little decisions... Ten minutes later and we're down to stylistic. And wrapped at 11:00 p.m. Wow. Back to beta. At least, my brain doesn't feel like mush!

On Reading

Better (read, more relevant) blog posts today. Two I felt were necessary to link to:

The first one goes through a few ways people plot stories and when you get to this paragraph, just insert my name here:

My first clue is usually that I have an enormous heap of bright shiny bits and pieces (a few of which I absolutely know go into the story somewhere, but most of which I am equally positive are mutually exclusive options) that I can’t make fit with each other.

The second article on enthusiasm is me in a perfect nutshell, except that I find I am simply unable to make progress when I opt for discipline over enthusiasm. If I shut up the muse at all, I shut it up entirely. Needless to say, this is a very bad thing.

 Stage Three: Count

  • Total Fiction: 2000 words - Month to Date: 9604 words
  • Total Blog: 742 words - Month to Date: 2125 words

365 Challenge

  • 198–201/365: Dowse and Bleed – about 13,600 words
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A Day in the Life of the Scribbler, October 3

by Liana Posted on October 3, 2013
This entry is part 3 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

Per usual, will update throughout the day...

Stage One: Assess

So I cleared out my LJ inbox of nonreaderly things on the first page and noted to self to read through the first page sometime today—AFTER writing.

Stage Two: Work

Picking a random prompt—Ilsa in the city—and writing for five minutes. So make that ten minutes. I finally used up the title that's been bothering my muse for two months now, and I like what I got.

Taking another random prompt—kisses as distraction—and running with it. I hope the prompter forgives me, but really, this is how Justus thinks. Now anyway. So that took less than eight minutes and netted me another scene of a Unit in action. I need more with Justus' unit as somebody :cough: :cough: thecatisacritic :cough: ordered some fics with them.

Same prompt, different characters: a couple because that's easier. Red Wolf/Whisper. Wow. That went quickly and yanked on a few threads I didn't expect to deal with.

And one more random prompt—not without you—with random couple chosen: Ilsa/Hasheni. Let's see what happens. About ten minutes and wow, is this stuff NOT fluff.

Okay, reading and reviewing those ficlets. That took a little while...

Grabbing random prompt and scribbling: Justus' family + Shift, Rachelle. Oh boy, don't I pick the easy ones. Ouch.

So more back and forth with thecatisacritic (what can I say? she's the one prompting) and added the new prompt comments to my ficlet post.

365 Challenge

Day 276. I'm at 192/365. Better... Ish.

Stage Three: Count

Written

  • Total Fiction: 2011 words - Month to Date: 3838 words
  • Total Blog: 249 words - Month to Date: 968 words

365 Challenge Pieces

  • 188/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Linger – 310 words
  • 189/365: Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: The Unsuspecting Suspect – 221 words
  • 190/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Taste of Regret – 460 words
  • 191/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Catalyst – 362 words
  • 192/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: What the Emptiness Fills – 658 words

Read

Fiction:

  • Rose is Rose comic
  • Luann comic
  • thecatisacritic fic/lets

Publishing/Writing:

  • The Passive Voice blog
  • Dean Wesley Smith blog
  • Kris Writes blog
  • Juliette Wade worldbuilding blog
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A Day in the Life of the Scribbler, October 2

by Liana Posted on October 2, 2013
This entry is part 2 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So last night, I quit writing because my sciatic nerve went crazy, but here I am again. Again, I'll update this post throughout the day.

Day 2 of my journal the reading/writing and let's start off with a quick stop by Melanie Edmond's Starwalker to read the latest update, "Watchful." Excellent, nail-biting, and feel-for-Starry stuff. I love this little serial.

But actually, I started as usual with checking my LiveJournal inbox, then read up on a handful of blogs: The Passive Voice, Dean Wesley Smith, The Daring Novelist, and since it's a Wednesday, the newest review at Strange Horizons. It's a Wednesday. P.C. Wrede will have updated. Got back from reading that. It was about plot development, something I've never concerned myself with so much as story development, but I'll let it mull and see if I can use any of it in my own process.

Now. To assess...

Stage One: Assess

Several pieces from thecatisacritic to read. I'll get there. Soon. I've got some prompts I want to dump off on her too as soon as I figure out who for which.

My wonderful beta has convinced me not to tear a new one for the story from inferno, so it's ficlets or "Collateral Damage," and I'm leaning a lot more heavily toward the latter, except I do need to sit down and work out chronology on all this mess, which sort of requires interrogating Pieter and Ashen and a few other set events that I haven't mucked around with yet. Gotta love continuity.

So. Ficlets. :eyes prompts: Let's see what we can come up with.

Stage Two: Work

Put off work until after chiropractor appointment as there went first work break, including reposting yesterday's entry sans my lovely comments. I'm currently ticked off at LiveJournal.

So I'm calling this day a wash. Sciatic nerve still a little crazy.

Stage Three: Count

For obvious reasons, we are not counting the words spent commenting.

  • Total Fiction: 0 words - Month to Date: 1827 words
  • Total Blog: 310 words - Month to Date: 719 words
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A Day in the Life of the Scribbler, October 1

by Liana Posted on October 1, 2013
This entry is part 1 of 103 in the series Daily Scribble Reports

So it’s October 1st and that means the start of a brand new month and I decided to take a page from Dean Wesley Smith’s book even though it’s crazy and that’s how it goes. Okay?

I want to track my reading and my writing because I’m a stealth reader and writer and have been for a long time. For example: last night, I reread most of Spots the Space Marine by M.C.A. Hogarth, out of order, in between running chkdsk scans on my computer, which is finally semi-resurrected by the way, but I still have to run a virus scan and backups tonight.

So, a day in the life of a reader/writer. You can skip these posts if you want, or you can keep up on my slog if it does not put you to sleep. I'll post sometime during the day and probably update as I go. Let's see if I can even keep this up.

Stage One: Assess

Went through my LJ inbox and have a bunch of ficlets from thecatisacritic to read. Which reminds me that I have a bunch of prompts for ficlets to write. Naturally, I am also torn between plowing ahead on "Collateral Damage," a major Rachelle-focused Kingdoms and Thorns fic and ripping out the back half of "Dowse and Bleed" to rewrite that from scratch. Again.

When in doubt, write ficlets.

Stage Two: Work

Wrote one ficlet, which didn't go at all where I expected. I thought of the second scene and started at the first scene and didn't like the second scene but posted the ficlet anyway. I know this is part of the big piece where Lena finds out about Wesley in the Seven Days storyworld.

Took a break and read and reviewed half of my ficlets to read by thecatisacritic, but stopped at half as my first work break was over.

Lunch break: it's time to start ficletting again. Checking out the prompts...

Scribbled one ficlet then stopped because I only had a couple minutes left and decided to finish reading the comments on DWS's excellent Book as Event post. Reading a couple more ficlets from thecatisacritic.

So wrote some more ficlets (I swear, I'm going to get that reading done), and boy, I'm wanting to dig in to something longer, but this is a start anyway, covering some of the rougher patches and crossroads in Kingdoms and Thorn. Rougher to me anyway. Posted them all at once.

Additional Comments on the 365 Challenge

The current day number is 274. I started it at 182 of the 365 Challenge (which means I'm only almost 100 pieces behind—do I ever catch up), and now that my muse has filled in a lot of holes in the Kingdoms and Thorn world, I'm feeling impatient with writing the necessary shorter work to meet the challenge, instead of the more ambitious work that will finish out a book.

Ah, well, the challenge is still on, so I keep writing the smaller pieces, knowing I'm going to slice and dice them and merge them into the longer work I'm still nibbling at.

Le Interlude: Computer Notes

And this is where I take time out from writing to finish resurrecting my home computer, virus scanning, and backing up my files. The huge awesome wonderful bit is that I'm editing this post at home. The bad bit is that I need to get off and let the scan run. :le sigh:

Stage Three: Count

For obvious reasons, we are not counting the words spent commenting.

  • Total Fiction: 1827 words
  • Total Blog: 409 words

365 Challenge Pieces

  • 183/365 – Seven Days Ficlet: The Apple Don't Fall Far: 447 words
  • 184/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: The Fox and the Wolf: 304 words
  • 185/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: A Gift Well-Chosen: 355 words
  • 186/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Cracking the Ice: 285 words
  • 187/365 – Kingdoms and Thorn Ficlet: Remind You to Dance: 436 words
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