TLIF - That Sexy Taste of Accomplishment

I just finished something at work that's been nagging me for a while now. One of those projects where almost everything was perfect, but that last 1% kept it from being completely done and cost me a lot of time in the process. I've been digging for the answer for a while now. Wracking my brain, searching google with as many variations of my keywords as I could think of, trying new and different things...and none of it closed that last little gap.

Until yesterday. I stumbled on exactly what I needed, at exactly the right time for it to make sense to me. It's possible I'd seen the article before, I don't have any idea. But yesterday, it all clicked. I tweaked, I tested, I tested some more, I tested a third time (because even though it continued to work, it made me nervous because I've been working on this for so long).

This morning I let it go. I stamped it done, and posted it to a public environment where it would impact people who weren't just me.

I like that feeling. I get that feeling every time I finish a novel or a major rewrite. Even if I know I'll have to go back for another pass, there's a sense of accomplishment in knowing that I got done what I wanted to, and that I'm happy with the results.

I'm working toward that now with my two NaNo novels. I know, its been less than a month, and I shouldn't be revising yet, but I did finish one of them more than 30 days ago, so I've given myself permission.

I'm already making some big breakthroughs in the revision that I didn't think were going to be possible at this point. I've solidified my pantheons and my gods' names (which is a much bigger relief than you might realize). And I've figured out that even though I desperately wanted this to be in first person, for the sole reason that it would fit the voice of my other novel, I've decided it can't be. It's not right for the tone of the story. I've switched back to third and I'm SOOO much happier with it.

And know that I have a fresh memory of how sexy accomplishment tastes, I'm that much more motivated to plough through this. I'm looking forward to the end and then re-reading it just for fun at least once ^_^.

How do you celebrate milestones and accomplishments?

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Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies

Christmas is getting close, and it's always been one of my favorite holidays. I love picking the perfect gift for the people I care about and then seeing their faces when they open it. In my younger, less anti-social (or rather, less filled with work during normal hours) days, I could wander the malls forever (back when we had more malls here. And not really forever, but for a while). I love the lights, the people, the sounds, the smells...

And the cooking. I get all kinds of domestic for Christmas. Or at least, a little. I like making sweets. The years have taught me that working with a bunch of guys (I'm frequently the only, or one of two, women on my team at any job), a lot of them single, means that food makes great gifts for my coworkers.

One year, two of my best friends at work were single guys. I found this cookie recipe and pretty much tried it out on them disguised as a Christmas gift. It went over so well that I've made it my go-to every year. I think the response was something like 'next time you get bored, if you wanted to make these again...'. Making these will occupy my kitchen this weekend, at least for a little bit, because fortunately they're really quick and easy to make.

Lemon Cream Cheese Holiday Cookies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 3oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract (you can substitute any kind of extract here. I've used cherry and orange as well. Sharper flavors stand out better)
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Red and green food color (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 c), grease 2 baking sheets
2. Beat together cream cheese and butter at medium speed
3. Beat in sugar, milk, and lemon (or other extract)
4. (optional) split mixture into two bowls. Add 2 drops of red food color to one, and 2 drops of green to the other. Divide flour into two equal parts.
5. Beat in flour, 1/4 cup at a time until blended.
6. Stir in chocolate chips

• Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
• Using a spoon, flatten each cookie slightly
• Bake cookies about 10 minutes, until set and golden.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

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Disassembling that Novel

I mentioned yesterday that I just finshed reading a six book series. As I read I analyzed parts of it, but not too much. I was too busy enjoying the tale. Now that I'm done, snippets of observation are floating around in my head. Instead of a reader, I've become a writer, picking apart what did and didn't work for the story.

I'm applying these thoughts to things I hear in critiques and I can tell you it's a lot easier to do to someone else's work. But since these stories have a couple of things in common with mine, it's also a way to pick apart my own work.

So...

Good
First thing that drew me into the books. In an urban fantasy universe, the main female lead was not an ass-kicking, crime-fighting, tough as nails chick with an immortal chip on her shoulder. She worked at a book store. Okay, she still had the immortal chip (she's a succubus after all). This gives us a strong female lead that doesn't immediately fall into the stereotype of the genre, but without straying so far from it that it alienates fans of the genre.

Not-so Good
In a series, in each successive book you have to spend a little time with the "previously on..." This is something that's always irritated me, way back when I read the 'Sweet Valley High' books. I get that for someone new to the series, they need that background, but for those of us who have read one or two books, or as in this case have read them all in the last couple of days, it gets tired. I don't think there's a solution for this. It's probably just a personal pet peeve anyway, but it's something I want to learn to work around in any of my series. Conveying that 'what came before' knowledge without boring paragraphs of info-dump.

Good
I enjoyed all of the male romantic potentials, especially the main romantic interest. Each of them was unique, personality-wise, though they all tended a little too much toward coddling the main character. But really, the main romantic lead was the character I kept reading for. The one person in the book I could really relate to and cheer for.

Not-so Good
This also ties back to the fact I didn't really care much for the main character. She was too...I dunno...I just didn't like her very much. I didn't have a problem with her job for hell, or her morals, it was all true to the character. And honestly, the character was believable and well-written (to me anyway), she just wasn't someone I liked or could relate to. I think this is a personal thing, but something any author has to be aware of. There were still characters to keep me invested in the whole thing, just not the main character.

Good
By halfway through book 3, I had the overall plot figured out. I knew how the series would end. You might think that's bad, but the thing is, I kept reading anyway. I wanted to see the details. I wanted to feel the emtion. I wanted to live it through the author's words anyway. That's good story telling. I'd like to reach a point in my own writing where I can put an equal balance on twists and surprise combined with compelling writing.

Not-so Good
Book 5. Like the entire middle of the book. I've been hearing a lot recently that a main character needs to act, not be acted on, in order to move a story forward. Something that kept all the other stories moving was the main character acting. Book 5, was all about rescuing her. *yawn*. Even worse, it had weakly contrived plot elements to tell what was going on in places she couldn't be, and at least 1/4 of the book was...more flashbacks and backstory. Pages and pages of variations on things we'd already read. Not just a couple of paragraphs.

Now that I have these overall elements, I'm starting to compare them to my work. There was more. How the author handled sticking multiple gods in the same universe, for instance. But that's for a different post (maybe).

Do you ever use in-depth analysis of someone else's writing to help you polish your own?

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Reading the Days Away

First of all, thank you to those of you who commented on my query. You're input was fantastic and valuable and exactly what I needed. I wanted to comment on the blog itself, but apparently, due to some ironic sense of humor from my diety, I can't comment on my own blog right now :-P

I've been reading for about two days straight. A couple of months ago, the first book in the Richelle Mead Succubus series was on sale for Kindle, so I picked it up. It was good. I was sucked in and enjoyed the story and was pleased that I'd finally found a book/voice/setting similar to the world I created (without being too similar).

And it took me a little while to move on to Book 2, but I did eventually. And then I moved on to Book 3, and I didn't really have much of a chance to read it, until this weekend. I hit the halfway mark and either the series hit it's stride or I did. Since Sunday, I've read the second half of Book 3 (possibly Succubus Dreams), and books 4, 5, & 6. (I'm a fast reader, and I was very pleased for that).

So, go read the books if you want urban fantasy that's a little outside the normal tropes. I give them a solid 4 out of 5 stars. And for the record, it's the only series I've read more than a book or so of in a long time.

As for me, now I'm going to analyze the books deeper. They've got so many similar elements to my world, and I'm going to take a closer look at why it worked and how the author kept it all from being confusing. I'm fascinated by this concept and I think I have a base understanding of how she did it, but now my analytical mind wants to know more.

That and I should probably finish getting ready for the holidays...maybe...we'll see ;-)

What are y'all up to?

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