Sunday, July 31, 2011

I Know You, A Poem

Here is a little funny poem I wrote.

I Know You

I know you, Carrie.
Your husbands name is Frank.
You have three kids...
Tommy who is in Troop 767, he's your good little scout.
Sally, she likes ballet.
Your proud of your honor student at Jackson Elementary.
Your family likes to Ski.
Your sassy, and proud of it.
You like dogs, and have a little puppy - Dover.
Your a democrat, and voted for Obama in '08
Yes, I know you.
Though we have never met.
How do I know all this?
From staring at the back of your car,
For 30 seconds,
Waiting at a traffic light.

Still think that - 'I honk for vampires' - bumper sticker is a good idea?

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Special Update Post

Sorry for the extra post today! Just wanted to share a little of my success.

This week turned out not to be a total loss! I just finished my entry for the Splintered Lands writing contest. I am really proud of the way the story turned out. Hopefully the editorial team at Splintered Lands will enjoy it.

Another bit of good news. I finished the slight re-writes to Shadowed Stones. I am going to send them to my beta reader Roseanne to see if the additions meet with her approval.

I believe in the old adage - "All's well, that ends well." So I officially declare this to be a good week!

I hope all of you find some little piece of success somewhere along the way!

The Progress I have made.... 0

I regret to report that I have not made much progress on any of my projects this week.

Shadowed Stones: I am re-working a few of the chapters in the last quarter of the book. I am trying to inject more of a love story based on a beta readers suggestions. Hoping it turns out well.

Three of Ivory: Nothing. I have been thinking of things in my head. And I did take a crack at drawing a map. But the map does not fit with some of the things I want with the story. So I am going to file that away and try again.

Splintered Lands contest entry: Hit a wall. Got right up to the climax of the story and then... nothing. I think I am feeling a little gun shy because it is emotionally charged. And I already know I have to re-work the middle. The deadline is approaching and I really need to get working

So I give myself a B for effort, but my actual grade for this week - F.

The good news is I can only go up from here!

How are your projects going?

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Mighty Pen #5

The Mighty Pen writing contest is held every Thursday. I post the beginning of a story, you post your ending in the comments. I judge all the entries on style, voice, imagery, humor, and pretty much anything else I think is important. On the following Monday I present the winner with The Mighty Pen award and feature them on my blog.

See The Mighty Pen tab above for previous winners.

The Beginning

She turned the radio off. She hated that song. She had hated it ever since - but she would not think of that now. She had other more important things on her mind.

Turning back to her suitcase she resumed folding and then carefully packing her clothes.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Three Words #5

Yeah! Three Words! This is one of my favorite writing exercises. You take three words and incorporate them into a story. One of the reasons I love this game so much is because of the limitless possibilities. For those of you who don’t know – my WIP (Three of Ivory) was inspired by this game.

Here are three words I have randomly selected for you to use. You can post your response or ideas – or a list of three words you would like me to try and use in a story.

If you do not leave me any suggestions I will use the words below next week.

To easily see all the Three Words posts – there is a link under Tags. There are also links to Prompt Tuesday and The Mighty Pen contest.

(Randomly selected from Yahoo Answers.)

Three Words

  • Sky
  • Hit
  • Lemon

Flash Fiction

Using the Three Words: Bloody, Read, Farm

He raised his hand, the bloody dagger gleaming in the fire light. Lady Ann screamed. A sneer broke across his face.

"Run." The rough and ragged word dripped from his lips. "Run."

For a heart beat Ann could not move...

"Sara!" The sound of her mothers voice calling up to her broke the spell of the enchanting novel.

"Coming!" Sara called down, but she did not move. Her eyes glued to the page.

"Now!"

Sighing, Sara closed her book and climbed down from the hay loft.

"Sara," her mother stood in the barn, her hands on her hips. "I told you to finish your chores, then you could read."

Sara shifted the book so that it was hidden behind her back. "Sorry."

"Give it to me." Her mother held out her hand.

Sara took one step, and then another, and then laid the book in the outstretched hand.

"Now get to work. This farm does not run itself."

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Prompt Tuesday #5

Every Tuesday I post a prompt and a flash fiction piece of my own based on the prompt. Writing prompts are a lot of fun and I often use them to warm up – or to keep up on writing when I am working on editing other projects. Feel free to post your own response. You can easily see other Prompt Tuesdays by clicking on the ling under Tags. Enjoy!

Prompt

Take the first color that comes to mind and write about someone seeing it for the first time. (Source: Me)

Response

The small round object hummed in her cupped hands. It looked soft and inviting. Pale, yet bright. It made her want to sigh with happiness, and weep with sorrow all at once. As she stared longer at the objects smooth surface she felt calm and at peace. "Not harmful then?" She asked it. She stroked the curing surface and the object purred again. She smiled to herself. "I must name you, for I have seen nothing like you before in my life."

She thought for a long time, wanting to choose the right name for something so special. "Azmablu." She whispered.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday Madness

So... there is no winner of The Mighty Pen award this week due to lack of entries. As a result I find myself with an empty post slot. I thought I would take advantage and talk a little bit about my method of operation. (Or at least, the method I plan to use for my next WIP Three of Ivory.)

In high school I read several books on writing. I am working on compiling a list of the books that most impacted me and will post them when I have it. During this time I explored my voice and the structure of how I write. In writing Shadowed Stones I learned many different things. My writing method is a combination of everything I have learned thus far.

  1. The idea. I get all different kinds of ideas from all different sources. Sometimes I draw a map and then start imagining what the world is like. Some times I get an idea about an element of a society or a form of magic. But the most common ideas I get are about characters. I try to keep track of all the little snatches of ideas I get because I often pull them into my WIP or combine them to complete a full thought. Once I have an idea I mull it over in my mind to see if it is something I want to work on.
  2. Planning. I alternate between the two tasks below until I have enough of a foundation to start building my outline.
    • The World: This includes maps, laws of magic, creatures, culture and so on. The idea is to flesh out enough of the details of the world where the story takes place so that I can fully understand the environment of the characters.
    • The Story: I think of characters and how they interact and are related and how they fit into the world. This is where the first glimmers of my outline start to appear. At this point I don't keep to a chronological sequence. I just let the ideas for scenes and characters flow.
  3. The outline. I do a scene by scene outline. (To me a scene is a full section starting and ending with some kind of break.) I did not divide Shadowed Stones into chapters until my second draft was finished. I plan to divide Three of Ivory into chapters at the outline stage. This gives me the road map of the entire story. I like having a tight outline because it better helps me work in foreshadowing and so on.
  4. Write. I write from start to finish. This helps me keep the flow of the book going. When I wrote the first part of Shadowed Stones, I actually divided out the scenes for each of my view point characters and wrote them in sequence - then spliced them together. Not sure if I will do this with Three of Ivory or not. The splicing together was very difficult.
  5. Revise. This is the final step I take before attempting publication. And I do several revolutions of it. I always do one revision/proof read before sending to beta readers. I then revise based on the feedback I get. I have found that for me, it is difficult to put more detail in with a revision. So I try to get as much on paper to start with.

What about you? What is your method of writing?

Friday, July 22, 2011

Friday Update

First of all, welcome to all my new followers, hope you enjoy!

Just thought I would update you on the things I am working on:

  • Splintered Lands writing contest entry: 2,500 words of (at least) 4,000. Half way through according to my outline. Entries are due August 15th.
  • Shadowed Stones: I have not gotten much research done on publishers to submit to. And *gasp* I haven't started writing my query letter or summary or anything. I have however started work on a digital version of my 10 year old hand drawn map.
  • Three of Ivory (WIP): Nothing concrete on paper yet. I have been working on fleshing out my characters in my mind. Can't wait to finish up some of the other things on my plate so I can get back to working on it.
  • Critique Group: Caught up with Roseanne in reading her current WIP "Change of Heart" - totally left me hanging and can't wait to read more. Anxiously awaiting the chance to read Jen's "Earth Song" - read the first chapter and it hooked me. Now have to wait for her to finish her next draft.

Keeping up with everything is getting to be a little daunting, but I don't mind. I enjoy being busy and am loving writing again. I do have a question for all of you. Do you like the title Shadowed Stones?

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Mighty Pen #4

The Mighty Pen writing contest is held every Thursday. I post the beginning of a story, you post your ending in the comments. I judge all the entries on style, voice, imagery, humor, and pretty much anything else I think is important. On the following Monday I present the winner with The Mighty Pen award and feature them on my blog.

See The Mighty Pen tab above for previous winners.

The Beginning

"What do you mean - 'the problem is not with the thermal inducer?" He asked.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Three Words #4

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this week’s Three Words post. As always here are your three words, feel free to post your thoughts, stories, or a list of your own three words for me and other to use. You can view all Three Words post by clicking on the link under Tags. Enjoy!

(Randomly selected from Yahoo Answers.)

Three Words

  • Bloody
  • Read
  • Farm

I did not get any words from last week, so I just re-used mine :)

Flash Fiction

Using the Three Words: Dog, Death, Danger

Daddy says Toby went to heaven. In heaven there are lots of other dogs for him to play with.

Toby likes to play.

Mommy says death is not a sad thing. Mommy is always right. But I don't know what that means.

When Toby comes to visit I am going to play ball with him for a whole twenty minutes. But we have to play in the back yard. Mommy and daddy say we can't play by the street. They always shout - 'Stop! Danger!' when me or Toby gets close.

I'm hungry. I think I will have my cookie now.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Prompt Tuesday #4

Time to get prompted! As always here is the prompt and my response. Feel free to comment with your own responses, or thoughts! Also, check out the Prompt Tuesdays link under Tags.

Prompt

And you thought dragons didn’t exist… (Source: writingforward.com)

Response

"And you thought dragons didn't exist?" Jane asked, astonished. "Where have you been living all your life? The back side of a dung heep?"

John just stared at her blankly.

Jane pointed to the sky. "Look up, you dolt."

John looked up at the swirling mass of white clouds. "I don't see anything but clouds."

Jane rolled her eyes. "You stink at make believe."

Monday, July 18, 2011

This Weeks Winner Is...

It is time for me to announce this weeks winner of The Mighty Pen award:

Sarah Pearson


To see the winning entry and the honorable mentions check out the tab above. I liked her entry because it was funny and I have a soft spot for fantasy themes!

Sarah has a great blog called Empty White Pages. One of my favorite things that she does on her blog is called musical stories. I haven't had a chance to do one yet but I am trying to carve out some time in my busy schedule to do it. Here's how it works: she posts a lists of songs, then you write a story that follows each song in sequence. It is really cool, I think you need to go check it out.

Honorable Mentions

P.S. Sorry this post is so late, I was still deliberating up until the very last second. Sigh, judging is so difficult!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

And the finalists are....

So I have compiled a list of publishers. I found most of these on Amazon. My little brother also suggested a few. They all accept unagented submissions. Next step - research the books they publish and learn more about the company in general.

Here are the publishers:

Also, I have added a tab above called "From Penned to Published" where I plan to keep a log of my efforts to get published. I hope this will be helpful to others.

You may be saying to yourself - "Wait, that is a very short list." - I know. This is my first effort so I wanted to focus in on and do a few submissions to get the feel of things.

Question: Do you know of any publishers or sources for finding publishers?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Mighty Pen #3

The Mighty Pen writing contest is held every Thursday. I post the beginning of a story, you post your ending in the comments. I judge all the entries on style, voice, imagery, humor, and pretty much anything else I think is important. On the following Monday I present the winner with The Mighty Pen award and feature them on my blog.

See The Mighty Pen tab above for previous winners.

The Beginning

  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Can of Peas
  • Cream of Tarter
  • Bread
  • Cheese

Laura read through the list one more time, then folded it carefully and placed it back in her pocket. Taking the handle of the shopping cart she readied herself. This was it.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Three Words #3

On Wednesdays I post a list of three words. Your job is to either use these three words in a story, list some ideas that were inspired by the three words, give me a list of three words to use for next week, or all of the above! To see other Three Words posts, visit the link under Tags.

(Randomly selected from Yahoo Answers.)

Three Words

  • Dog
  • Death
  • Danger

The following are three pieces I wrote in response to comments from last weeks post. Enjoy!

Flash Fiction

Using the Three Words: Quest, Parchment, Lady Bug (from Jen)

Lisel brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. Her vision cleared she intensified her study of the lady bug. The tiny red and black bug climbed intently up the small twig Lisel had placed in the jar. She had also placed several leaves and a clump of grass in the jar before sealing it with a square of cloth and a string. “Nice and cozy, aren’t you, little lady bug.” Lisel whispered to her new friend.

Just then she heard the sound of someone approaching the door to her room. Quickly she scooped up the jar and hid it under her dirty apron. The door opened and her father walked through it. Lisel drew in her breath at the look on her face. He stepped closer and the jar holding its little treasure slipped through her fingers.

The memory faded and Lisel tore her eyes away from the pile of shattered glass lying on the dust covered floor. The elements had long since claimed the remains of the jars contents. Her eyes drifted around the familiar room. Every where she looked new memories stirred in her mind. She felt the sting of approaching tears and forced herself to pay attention to the task at hand.

She pointed to a writing desk at the far side of the room. “There.” Ashmen, one of her companions moved to inspect the contents of the desk.

While the others were busy searching the room, Malmer took the opportunity to speak with her. “Are you alright mistress?” The old soldier asked, worry creasing his brow.

Lisel nodded. “It was foolish of me to hope that our quest would not lead us here.” Suddenly overcome she moved to the broken window to breathe fresh air. Malmer followed her. “I should have been preparing myself.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Once we have what we came for we can leave, and never return.”

Lisel nodded. “Such is my intention.”

“Is this it M’lady?” Ashmen asked, approaching her with an old rolled parchment.

Carefully Lisel took the parchment from him and unrolled it. Her eyes skimmed over the scribbled lines she found there. She nodded once. “Yes, this is it.” She rolled up the parchment and returned it to Ashmen, who in turn stowed it in his satchel.

“Alright everyone, time to move on. We must reach the cities gate before night fall or we will be spending another night on the plains.” She turned and resolutely left the room, her entourage filing out behind her.

Note: Entered this one in flash fiction contest. Go check it out at Characters Well Met




Using the Three Words: Ring, Fire, Balcony (from K.D.)

Flames licked up the walls all around her. The heat of the fire burned her skin and the light hurt her eyes. She stumbled backward, watching in horror as her chambers were consumed. A portion of the ceiling above her head collapsed. She was showered with ash and embers. She screamed and stepped back even further. Her back collided with something cold and hard. Turning, she found herself standing on the balcony.

With one vain glance at the fire raging behind her, she threw herself over the railing. For one brief moment she was flying. Then her fragile body met with the ground.

She lay, two stories down, broken and bent. Clutched in her lifeless hand she still held the signet ring of her beloved. She would go to join him now in the realm of the dead.




Using the Three Words: Horse, Lampshade, Umbrella (from Sarah Pearson)

“On guard!” I hollered at the top of my 14 year old lungs. My little brother Sam giggled. Then, straightening his lamp shade helmet he stood tall and responded.

“I will defeat you evil misser, with my trusty sword.” He drew the small black umbrella from his belt.

“You will never defeat me. Die hero, die.”

We galloped at each other on our broom stick horses. When we met, the umbrella glanced harmlessly off my pot lid shield. I cried out and fell to the floor. My horse sprawled across me.

“You got me! I am finished.” I closed my eyes and rolled my head to one side. My tongue sticking lamely out of my mouth.

“I won, I won, I won.” Sam chanted, dancing around me.

“Sam! Sara! Dinner!” Our mother called from down stairs.

Sam leaned over me. “Evil misser, does dying make you hungry?”

I cracked open one of my eyes. At the smirk on his face I lost control and burst out laughing. “Come on.” I told him, rising to my feet. “Let’s eat.”

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Prompt Tuesday #3

There are two reasons I like Tuesdays. First, Monday is over and I don’t have to live through it again for a whole week. Second, Prompt Tuesday (Yeah!).

I post a prompt and a response, and I encourage you to post – or at least write – a response too. It is fun and is a good warm up to writing. And don’t for get to check out the other prompts, click the Prompt Tuesdays link under Tags.

Prompt

Create your own metaphors (Source: fictionwriting.about.com)
  1. Blue paint spilled on the road like ____________________.
  2. Canceled checks in the abandoned subway car seemed ____________________.
  3. A spider under the rug is like ___________________.
  4. Graffiti on the abandoned building like ___________________.
  5. Nothing was the same, now that it was ___________________.
  6. The dice rolled out of the cup toward Veronica like ___________________.
  7. A child in ___________________ is like a ___________________ in ___________________.
  8. ___________________ is like muscles stretched taut over bone.
  9. The fog plumed through gunshot holes in the car windows like ___________________.
  10. She held her life in her own hands as if it were ___________________.
  11. Lacey poured coffee down her throat as if ___________________.
  12. If I should wake before I die, ___________________.
  13. The security guard walks the lobby as if ___________________.
  14. The library books left in the rain like ___________________.
  15. Music in the hallway like ___________________.

Response

  1. Blue paint spilled on the road like water splashing from the bath.
  2. Canceled checks in the abandoned subway car seemed worn and torn like old treasure maps..
  3. A spider under the rug is like jam between your toes.
  4. Graffiti on the abandoned building like scars on a battle worn warrior.
  5. Nothing was the same, now that it was all stirred together like cookie dough batter.
  6. The dice rolled out of the cup toward Veronica like boulders crashing down a hill.
  7. A child in the morning is like a baby bird in the throws of a hungry wail.
  8. My nerves is are like muscles stretched taut over bone.
  9. The fog plumed through gunshot holes in the car windows like smoke from a cigar.
  10. She held her life in her own hands as if it were a simple river stone.
  11. Lacey poured coffee down her throat as if it were rain after a long drought.
  12. If I should wake before I die, I will feel all the more dispair.
  13. The security guard walks the lobby as if he is a tiger stalking its prey.
  14. The library books left in the rain like stray cats on a garbage can.
  15. Music in the hallway like construction work in the city.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Publication Update - Special Post

I just thought I would let you know how things are going with my road to publication.

Right now I am researching publishers, then I will move on to agents. I am compiling a list of publishers that take unsolicited manuscripts. My sources? So far Amazon.com. I looked up the 100 top Fantasy books and looked at their publishers. I also looked at other fantasy books and their publishers.I am a little wary of The Writers Market because of some reviews I have read lately. Anyone a subscriber?

My goal was to have a list of 10 publishers to submit to. My list is at 10 now and I am still researching. That is encouraging. Once I have finished compiling my list I am going to research the books that each publishes to make sure Shadowed Stones would be a good fit.

Then it is on to preparing my submission packets. I plan to allow one re-submission (in case the first gets lost) for each. If nothing turns up at the end of that I will turn to looking for an agent.

P.S. Also in my search I found this good article: So You Want To Publish Your SF Fantasy. It listed a few publishers that I checked out.

Drum Roll Please

It is time for me to announce the winner of the second Mighty pen award:

Jen Daiker


Jen has a great blog called Unedited You should check it out and give her a follow. While there be sure to check out her work in progress page.

P.S. I would like to start a blog roll. If you would like to be on it - just post a comment letting me know and I will add you.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I Have Made a Decision

So, one of my awesome beta readers for Shadowed Stones (Roseanne) suggested that since the story is finished I should start sending out query letters. Unless of course I wanted to self-publish. That got me thinking.

My first thought was - after so many years of dreaming about being at this point I am here! Followed by alternating waves of excitement and fear.

Then I thought, traditional or self publishing. Which one? I considered self-publishing and did some research. My decision?

Traditional Publishing.

Why? Because this is my very first novel. And I feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of self-publishing right now.

This of course does not mean I won't self-publish later. I just don't think I am ready yet.

Well, that's it. My decision is to focus on traditional publishing for Shadowed Stones.

Friday, July 8, 2011

WIP Update and Other Wonderful Stuff

First of all I would like to do two things:

  1. Say "Welcome!" to all my new followers!
  2. Say "Thanks!" to my primary beta readers for Shadowed Stones Jen and Roseanne

I have Shadowed Stones out to beta readers now and plan to start working on compiling some query letters (*cringe/squeal*).

I haven't had much time this week to work on Three of Ivory. The good news is I got a lot of background work done over the long weekend. I have, however, been thinking about my three main characters.

That leads me to some feedback I would like to get from all of you. Two of my MC's are from a distant foreign land. I want to set them apart from the others in a subtle way. Do you think an uncommon eye color and skin tone (for the country the book takes place in) will set them apart enough?

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Mighty Pen #2

The Mighty Pen writing contest is held every Thursday. I post the beginning of a story, you post your ending in the comments. I judge all the entries on style, voice, imagery, humor, and pretty much anything else I think is important. On the following Monday I present the winner with The Mighty Pen award and feature them on my blog.

See The Mighty Pen tab above for previous winners.

The Beginning

"Halt!"

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Three Words #2

It’s time for Three Words again. Below are the three words from last week. And since no one suggested a list of words for me to use, I will use the words I posted from last week. Feel free to post a list of three words you would like me to use for my post next week. Just note, there is a link to all the Three Words posts under tags.

(Randomly selected from Yahoo Answers.)

Three Words

  • Pencil
  • Knob
  • Nose

Flash Fiction

Using the Three Words: Staff, Harp, Belt

She held up the strip of blue leather in-laid with gold. "You want,me to wear this?"

"Tara," her old teacher shook his head at her, "you know it is a requirement of your station as Harper."

Tara wrinkled her nose. "I know, but it is so ugly!"

Her old teacher, Sven, sighed and leaned on his staff. "Tara."

"Alright, alright." She wrapped the belt around herself and then retrived her harp. "Shall we go and perform for the King?"

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Prompt Tuesday #2

It’s prompt Tuesday again. For those of you who don’t know here is how it works. I post a writing prompt and my response to the prompt. Then, if you so wish, post a comment with your own response. Or you could even just post your thoughts about what you would have written.

Want to see some other prompts? Check out the Prompt Tuesdays link under Tags.

Prompt

Write from the point of view of a birdcage whose occupant just died. (Source: CreativeWritingPrompts.com)

Response

I feel so empty and alone. Gone, she is gone. Her lovely soft voice will never ripple through my frame again. Alone. Why, why must she be gone. What is this frailness that is life? I do not wish to endure the ages if I must hold with in me life, only to have it vanish in the blink of an eye. Gone, she is gone. I feel so empty and alone.

Monday, July 4, 2011

My Next Project

I have come to the decision to go ahead with TOI as my next project. I have been so enraptured with my background work that I cannot imagine working on something else. The runner up for my next project, TCOM - will most likely still be written. It is a captivating idea, but is very similar to the book I just finished writing and I would like to do something a little different.

Yeah!

So now that I have selected my next project I am going to reveal its working title. Note that I have also added it to the From My Pen tab.

Three of Ivory

In my post Three Words #1, I mentioned that a friend of mine gave me a list of three words to write a story off of. (Snake, Ring, Bubble) This story grew out of that list. I have a few short pieces I wrote based on this idea. I may post them some day if I can find them in my story box.

Every Friday I will post updates on how the work is going.

Question: I have the name of two of my characters but am not sure about the third. Is Kell to common of a name? It seems very familiar to me.

P.S.
Normally on Monday's I plan to post the winner of The Mighty Pen award - however, I took care of that yesterday. (And the Winner is...)

Sunday, July 3, 2011

And the Winner is...

Normally I would post this on Monday, but as I find myself with a spare minute, and seeing how tomorrow is a holiday here, I decided just to get on with it.

I am proud to announce the first ever winner of The Mighty Pen award (drum roll please)...

Krista M

Check out the new tab - The Mighty Pen - above which lists her winning entry.

I loved her ending because she did a great job of keeping with the pace and voice of the beginning. But my favorite part about her ending was how she expertly painted a picture of an entire world and character in just a few hundred words. Amazing!

Krista M's blog, The Jelly Beans of Writing is very enjoyable. If you don't already, you should follow. She has written several novels and has summaries of all of them on her blog.

Currently, Krista M is participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, and as of today is ahead in her word count. Way to go Krista M! Let's all support her in her goal to write and entire novel in one month. (A feat I am sure I could never master.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Where to from here?

For the past few months I have been iching to start my next writing project. I told myself I had too finish my novel first. Now it is "finished" and I can start something else.

Yeah!

Wait. I am having the hardest time finding my next project. Don't get me wrong, I have hundreds of ideas, it is just hard to find the right one to work on.

I think I have it narrowed down to 2 possible projects. Let's call them TCOM and TOI. (Don't want to give the working titles away just yet ;)

They are both fantasy and both ideas that have been floating around in my head since highschool. My plan is to spend one week each on developing the ideas further and see where I stand.

This up coming week I am going to work on TOI and report back on how it went.

Do you think it is bad to work on two novels at once? And how do you choose what to write next?