WiP-lash

(get it? get it?)

Before I begin this post, I just want to give a shout out to my friend and fellow MoMo Kiersten. She revealed the cover for her upcoming book, and it is SHINY!!! Congrats, Kierst. You are living one of those moments many writers daydream about. :)

Anyway, I figured I'd better post, seeing as how my blog has been gathering dust for quite a while now. Truth is, you have all probably forgotten about me, and even now as you read this, are straining to remember why you're following this blog in the first place.

Regardless, I've decided to give you a brief update.

As you probably noted (in the extremely clever post title,) I am currently working on a new novel. You will also note that I didn't call this post WiP-Love or WiP WiP Hurray! or something like that.

No, I'm talking about Wip-lash here. Because my friends, gone are the days for me of dancing happily through a rough draft. Gone are the days of pounding out that novel and thinking MAN, this is the best thing ever. Unfortunately, I've reached a place where working through that first draft feels more similar to a cat-o-nine tails coming hard across my back.

But before you think I'm complaining, you should know that I'm glad. It may seem odd to say, but I'm happy that writing is such hard work for me. Why? Because I think it means I know something now. You see, it's hard to pound out new scene after new scene when you are keenly aware how important each scene really needs to be. And likewise, throwing in a cool plot twist just isn't as fun if you know it needs to actually make sense for the rest of the story.

Now don't get me wrong. There are plenty of people who blitz through first drafts, and I am in no way saying that they don't know these things. Not at all. I'm only saying that, for me, the fact that I'm not happily frolicking through my rough draft means that I think I finally get it.

So that's where I am, folks. Slaving away in the first draft sweatshop. But don't worry, you can know for sure that I have a smile on my face.

Dream Dude

I guess I'm on a non-writing related post spree, but I couldn't resist. This one makes me laugh.

In which I break my bloggy silence to be cliche

So yeah, I haven't been around for a while. I won't bother you with my various reasons why, though I assure you they are really valid . . . promise.

Anyway, what could have prompted me to post now? I'll tell you, but I warn that I'm just going to be jumping on a bandwagon and not offering anything new or incredibly insightful.

No, I'm going to rave about Avatar.

I know, I know, I'm probably one of the last people on Earth to see this movie. Literally. I mean, Palestinian protesters, in remote desert regions where electricity is probably hard to get saw it before me.
But anyway, I finally saw it. And LOVED it. It's not every day that after watching a movie you feel more like you experienced it. With the INCREDIBLE special effects and fantastic world building, it's hard not too. In fact, I remember reading about people who suffered from depression after watching Avatar because Pandora doesn't actually exist, and they can never go there. That says something, my friends.

So, um, I don't really have any writerish tie ins or conclusions to make. In fact, I felt that the story itself wasn't the movie's strong point. But seriously, who cares? I was too busy staring at the screen with my eyes bugged.

So yeah. I guess in conclusion I'll just put up this pic. (I did warn you in the post title that I was going to be cliche.)