I think the world was against me posting this morning. First, a nightmare scared my son, and I spent extra time snuggling with him, consuming most of my morning me-time. Then I got a 403 Forbidden message when I tried to access the admin section of my website. That seems to happen yearly, so I no longer panic and freak out. Then my laptop wanted to run updates and pester me while I write. And before I made progress, my old puppy emerged from his sleeping quarters, and he’s old enough that I can’t delay in letting him out or I’ll be cleaning up after him. On top of that, several inches of snow covered my car and the roads, meaning I had to leave for work early, also cutting into my time.
It’s been quite the morning.
But here we are! Insecure Writer’s Support Group day!
Writing wise, I haven’t accomplished much in the past month. I got stuck on a scene and it’s taken me a while to figure out how to tackle it. I’m going to have to sprinkle a bit of the magic I’m using for it throughout the rest of the book so it doesn’t look like it comes from nowhere, but I think I have my way forward.
In the meantime, I’ve been distracting myself with art. (You can see my art on either Deviant Art or Instagram.)
I showed off Derek’s portrait last month. In February, I added MaTisha, LaTonya, and Cameron to my portrait collection.
They are redos of 2019 versions of the same characters–my POVs for book 2 and the voices that often occupy my headspace. I also scribbled a scene from chapter 1’s opening lines:
Landing in the river hadn’t been planned. He’d been aiming to materialize in the clearing. At least he’d undershot the cliff by a half-mile—that’d given him time to drag himself out of the water before the falls swept him over the edge and into the next province.
“Just envision yourself there, she said.” Derek squeezed his shirt out onto the bank. Droplets splashed against the grasses and low-hanging palms. “Trust in the Drethamir, she said. They’ll see you safely delivered.”
Except the elemental gods had yet to place him precisely where he wanted.
The frog on his shoulder isn’t in the book, but I felt the little critter went well with the scene.
IWSG Question of the Month – Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?
I know there have been quite a few zingers in books I read, but it’s not so much author envy I experience, but an admiration of other people’s skill. I’ve enjoyed several lines from the Locked Tomb, Lady Sherlock, and the Parasol Protectorate series. But again, it’s not envy, but sheer enjoyment and awe. I applaud these authors for entertaining me and aspire to achieve the same with my own work.
Has March started out well for you? What are some of your favorite lines? Is there an author who continues to impress you with their word play?
About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.
Really like the last illustration. It’s fun.
Sorry your morning was so crazy. Just think, if you didn’t get up early how nutty it would’ve been!
Yikes on the morning! Hope the rest of the day improves!
Love this – “But again, it’s not envy, but sheer enjoyment and awe. I applaud these authors for entertaining me and aspire to achieve the same with my own work.”
There were a lot of gremlins afoot this morning. I had a terrible time getting my blog to post, too. Glad you made it.
That was quite the morning! Your artwork is so fun and well done. I’m going to scroll over it a couple more times to enjoy.
Sorry, your morning started off on the wrong foot. Hopefully, it will be smooth sailing for the rest of the day. I like those first characters you illustrated. Well done!
Frances Hardinge is an author whose way with words is something I admire. She’s quite the world-builder!
Love that last illustration. Yeah, some days just getting started in the morning feels like an overwhelming task. I’ve had a lot of those lately. Keep up the baby steps in the manuscript!
Love your art, as always. My favorite is the girl with a sword. So much movement in this image.
That is a crazy morning.
I used to be on Deviant Art a long, long time ago.
I’ve had internet issues, too. The other day my computer wouldn’t connect to the internet even though it was working fine. I got it to work, and then the TV wouldn’t connect… Not fun.
Congrats on figuring out the scene. It’s not fun when you get stuck on something and can’t figure a way forward.
I’m glad you were ultimately able to post. Love the artwork! The frog seems like a good addition.
Overcoming frustrations is good for the soul . . . isn’t it? My pc wouldn’t connect the other morning – it turned out that the puppy had been ‘playing’. Not so much ‘ether internet’ as ‘eaten internet’.
Oh life, why can’t it ever just calm down and let a body sit at a desk for a few hours and get these stories out of our heads!??
All of my kiddos are out of the house and only bother me by text. Ho hum. I still find ways to distract me from getting things done.
Sounds like you’ve had a crazy morning. When I get stuck, I don’t always make as much progress as I’d like in my writing either.
What a morning you had! I hope you’ll figure out the scene giving you trouble. Been there. Sure does slow down (or stop) the writing. Hope it gets better.
I’ll applaud along with you.
You scene had me snickering. Nicely done. 🙂
My son has been waking from bad dreams lately too. I don’t let him watch anything scary, so I dunno what’s causing it. I do enjoy the cuddles though!
I hope you’ve had some productive time since then!
I felt that way for the last few days…every time I sit down to my computer, something interrupts me.
Love the art. You are so talented!
(Sorry I missed making return visits for IWSG. My internet went out for over 40 hours.)