Sidetracked by Fatigue

So, the writing hasn't gone so well this week. Actually, it hasn't gone at all. I've been working my full-time job plus and side job, and I have just been exhausted beyond coherency this week. I couldn't even vege in front of the tv for falling asleep. This means that my WIP numbers have stagnated, but I'm still very much into the story with my head.

On another note, I've been vacillating on whether or not I should continue doing tabletop roleplaying writing. I've been a gamer since I was 12 (nope, I'm not saying how old I am, but let's just say it's a lot of time). I have a vast game collection, and I do enjoy gaming. However, I'm kind of burned out on the fantasy thing. I don't read any fantasy fiction anymore, though I do occasionally run a fantasy game. I'd much rather be playing in another genre at the moment.

So, anyway, I've been talking with a fellow game writer whom I know from the Internet. We've talked some things over in regard to a game supplement for another game system (I've been writing d20 fantasy books since 2000). I'm excited by this project, and it will work into the line with the pdf game publisher I work with. It's a win-win situation, and it will be fun--something game writing hasn't been for me for a while. I'm looking forward to this, and I hope to do some other projects with this fellow. Glad to have some enthusiasm back for game writing. Games have been a part of my life for so long, I was having a hard time imagining life without them.

Still, I can't let my romance book falter. Now, I've got to find a way to keep my energy up to work on both projects.

Moving Right Along

I hit over 16,000 words last night. I'm still in Chapter Five. It is still going well, IMO. And, I'm enjoying the trip.

In terms of reading, I hit the Wal-Mart this morning, and I bought way too many books. I still have about 30 or so to read, and I just added more to my TBR stack. What's wrong with me? Oh, well, I'm supporting writers, so it's all good. I'll get to them eventually. :)

WIP Status (cont)

I'm working on Chapter Five now of the novel. I did not finish with the first scene in it during my night's writing (as was my plan), but I am happy with my progress. My word count is just over 15,000 words now. I'm feeling good about this. I hope to reach 20,000 words by Sunday night.

I've been allowing some friends to read the story as I progress. I know some writers advise against this, but I'm finding that it is helping me to stay on my writing track. Their interest in knowing what happens next has kept me providing installments, so to speak. So, if it works, I'm going to keep doing it.

WIP Status

So, I'm working on my first novel. This past weekend, I sat down to flesh out some scene ideas for the 23-24 chapters it will have. I've decided to try tackling one scene ever night. As I'm new at this, I'm not sure if that's wishful thinking or something that's feasible. I work a full-time job that's sometimes mentally taxing, so I'm often tired at night. For the time being, though, I've decided that writing from 9-11:30 at night should work for me. I can always grab a short nap before writing if need be.

Before last night, I had racked up 10,517 words in three chapters. I began last night's session with Chapter Four's first scene. I was able to finish the scene, which involved jumping into a new character's head, and I ended up with 12,222 words. Not too shabby, I guess.

I'll be finishing the chapter tonight with the last of the two scenes. I've decided to take tomorrow off from work to see if I can push my word count closer to 20,000.

Recommended Reading

I've purchased several books from eharlequin.com over the last few weeks, and here are some of my recent reads:

In the Groove, Pamela Britton http://store.eharlequin.com/t2_book_detail.jhtml?PRODID=11324&_requestid=994064
This is an official NASCAR romance. While I have ocassionally watched a race, I wouldn't call myself a major fan, but I can agree the sport has some nice-looking men in it. :)
The book brings together a fired school teacher, who takes a job driving a motor coach, with a handsome NASCAR driver. The story kept my interest, and it made me want to go back and read Britton's Dangerous Curves, which I've ordered.

Learning Curves, Cindi Meyers http://store.eharlequin.com/t2_book_detail.jhtml?PRODID=10756&_requestid=994327
This book is about a size-12 woman who works for a news broadcast station, but they won't give her the opportunity to be on tv because of her weight. So, she takes a stab at a news job for a public television station show, which is just starting up. She gets the job, and she falls for the new boss, of course. He likes her, as well. Enter the romance. Only, I found the romance in this one a little flat--meaning I didn't see the sizzle between the characters or find what was there believable. However, I still couldn't put the book down. So, the author did a good job with the story itself. I liked it enough to pick up Meyer's new Blaze novel, No Regrets http://store.eharlequin.com/backlist/backlist_book_detail.jhtml?PRODID=11465&_requestid=995237

Writing the Romance, Romancing the Writing

I plan on using this space to talk about writing, one of my main passions, books I'm reading, and life stuff. I've published in the tabletop gaming industry (over 20 books/projects), but I'm trying my hand at fiction writing now. Only, I'm not trying to write a fantasy novel at this point. Nope. Instead, I'm aiming toward the romance genre, romantic suspense in particular. This is the type of novel I find myself reading the most, and this is the area in which I had my most compelling (compelling me to sit down and write, that is) idea.

So, I'm starting Chapter Four on this book, and I'm feeling like it has some possibilities. I've been tentatively looking at possible publishers, but I haven't sent out an inquiries as of yet. This is mainly because I don't have all the details of the book hammered out in my mind yet--not enough to complete a synopsis on it yet. But I'm getting close.