It's Thursday Already!

Woo-hoo!

Thursday actually came fairly quickly this week. That's a nice surprise. The past few weeks, since I switched job locations, the weeks have DRAGGED and I've been dead halfway through the week.

Today, I actually feel half alive. That's an improvement.

Of course, part of the reason is probably that I'm going in late today instead of having another day of pushing myself past human limits.

My oldest has a dentist appointment this morning, so I left boss a post it telling her I'd be late. She was out of her office and I couldn't find her and two other employees said they'd make sure she found it. (I'm going to e-mail her this morning, though, to make sure. The switchboard doesn't open until 7:30.)

So, I got to sleep an hour later! Got up at 5:30, after I usually leave home for work. :)

Going to take youngest son and daughter (she's going to volunteer at the high school today) and then go for breakfast at my Saturday breakfast place. I'm hoping that'll help me relax enough to think through some things that have been troubling me.

Taking my BIG notebook, too. Got writing things to scribble down, too.

Then, I'll come home and dress for work (I'm wearing jeans to breakfast) and take oldest to dentist. I probably won't get to work until around noon.

Thursdays are one of my hard days, usually, cause I have to leave work at 3:30, hope I get home by 5:00-5:30, pick up oldest at home, pick up youngest and daughter at school, take oldest to college class by 6:00.

Get home around 6:30-6:45. Hopefully have time to swallow some food whole, maybe take a FAST bath, leave at 7:20-7:25, and go back to pick up oldest by 7:50-7:55. Get home by 8:30. Entire night lost.

He only has two more weeks of class, though, and then his final. So, we'll make it. And, then not have to work out his schedule again until fall. Hoping to work out more day classes for fall, so he can take the bus to his job at the high school and I can pick him up there. Much easier. Depends on money.

Anyway, got to go. Youngest has to be at school by 7:00.

Today, of course, is a minimum day, because of Open House tonight. (There's ALWAYS something to complicate life.)

So, I have to give youngest and daughter lunch and movie money, so they can go do something until I can hopefully pick them up around 5:00-5:30...if there's no wreck on the freeway.

Come to think of it, I think I'll take surface streets tonight. :)

WARNING: Back Brain at Work!

My back brain is jumping up and down and whooping and waving its hands in an effort to distract me from my current novel, Phantom Song.

It started whispering to me quietly, the end of last week, I think it was, assuring me it was working out the problems of the universe.

I told it that was nice and yes, I liked the ideas it was coming up with. They'd work nicely.

This week, it grew more insistent, until yesterday, I actually had to start jotting down notes and some new plot points for a new opening to one novel. (The old opening will be shifted to another novel.)

Today, it's jumping up and down, screaming, "I'VE GOT IT!!!! I'VE GOT IT!!!"

You know what? It's got it. It really does and I can't ignore it any more.

It's worked out a new flow in the portion of my universe that includes Out of the Darkness/Xanali/Guardian Force. And, it all totally fits together, answers questions I hadn't quite worked out yet, and even flows forward to work out other things down the line.

I actually think this has to do with finally revealing Keiko's true name and past in Phantom Song, which led back to details in Xanali, where Lilli meets her in the first place, where she's actually in her true form and commits the "sins" and the act of redemption (in Guardian Force) that win her the second chance at life in a different form. (That's making a long story short.)

Now, suddenly, OMG, every new idea leads to another and another and another.

And, brain says I have to write it NOW, or it's going to go on strike and not speak to me until it's good and ready.

I don't usually abandon projects mid-stream, but maybe I can just take a small break to get this stuff out.

We'll see. Brain and I are going to discuss it more later.

(Good brain. Nice brain. Keep on working brain.)

Unscheduled Day Off

WOO-HOO!

My oldest didn't finish with the dentist until 11:00. And, then I took him to lunch because I had to eat and because we haven't done that in a long time.

Got home around noon. Called boss to see if she really wanted me to go in and only work two hours. (Remember...it takes an hour to 1-1/2 hours to get there.) Or would she prefer (nice me...I'm so considerate of my workplace) I take a vacation day???

She said vacation day!!!

HOORAY!!!!

Now, I want to go to Disneyland, but there's not really enough time before I have to pick up youngest and daughter.

I made a page of plot points, two pages (I think) of notes and started two scenes in Out of the Darkness--new opening--while waiting for son at dentist. (We were there a LONG time.)

Made them in a really pretty shade of pink ink. (I know I've told you folks before that I color code. It was in my Xanali section of my BIG spiral...because it started out as Xanali during NaNoWriMo, and then was split into two sections...Out of the Darkness and Xanali.)

Now, though, I have to fight the oh, my god, everything I write is crap feelings to actually try to get anything done.

Sigh...I hate it when this happens.

Cross-Genre

Is it acceptable these days? Or is it the kiss of doom?

Some of you who have read my LJ for a while have seen me discuss my trouble with choosing a genre for my work before.

I have aliens. I have magic. Some of the novels in my series take place on other worlds. Most do not.

I consider my work fantasy, because of the magical element and a few other features.

However, I have to admit that there are SF elements present. I don't emphasize them, but they are there nonetheless. There are, in a few of the novels, space craft. There are advanced civilizations. BUT...that's just the setting, not the story, if that makes sense.

It's all about the characters, who they are, what they are, what they face, and how they deal with conflict as they set out to fight this particular evil. They use magic more than they use weapons. There are magic artifacts and spirits and various accoutrements you'd find in fantasy stories.

Am I cross-genre? Will it come back to bite me in the butt? Do I have to pick ONE to market?

Hack & Slash

Well, brain won.

Kinda.

At least for now.

But, I told it...if we're going to add something new, some of the old stuff has to go away.

It said OKAY!

So, we pulled Out of the Darkness out of mothballs this afternoon and took the hatchet to it.

46,390 words we cut out of it!!!

Woo-hoo! Good for us.

It now stands at a still whopping 142,362 words total, but, I expect to lose more words--especially to tightening--as I edit.

The new words will, of course, add more, but I still think I can whittle that sucker down to a more appropriate 125,000 words by the end of the game.

So, look for the counter to go back up before it goes down, but here's how it stands now.

Out of the Darkness

142,362 / 125,000 (113.9%)

Oh, and no, we didn't get rid of the words. Most of them will be relocated by humane methods to Xanali.

Final Fantasy Advent Children - English Version

I was seriously worried that the voices and translation for the English version would be lacking compared to the Japanese version, but...

I am totally, wonderfully pleased with the English version.

Translation is GREAT.

Voices are marvelous. And, the inflections that were missing in the Japanese version add a lot to the English version.

I'm still quite fond of the Japanese version, but I'm loving watching this new one, too.

Better Than Nada

Well, I have one paragraph I didn't delete.

I'm very into deleting right now. Very.

I don't like deleting. I've never been into deleting before.

But, the one paragraph remains. Perhaps that's a start.

Too tired to find out tonight.

Hopefully I can write more tomorrow, now that lots of plotting and notes are out of the way.

However, I now have scenes that want to be written for Phantom Song, too.

Brain is fickle.

Night. Night.

Everybody sleep good. :)