My Projects
April 14, 2009 | 
Author Instead of working on a new project last night, I opened up the beginning of a work in progress novel and reread the first few chapters. It felt like visiting a old friend from high school, even though I wrote it long after I left public education. The sentiment was still there. I still loved the story. It was the writing that threw me for a loop.
As I read through, enjoying the story, I had to fight the urge to edit it extensively. That wasn’t in my plans for the evening and I don’t intend to work on that novel for a while anyway. The deep-seated urge taught me something however.
I know I’m becoming a better writer. I can tell easily because I used to suck.
The writing in this vampire novel that I was working on a year or two ago was sophomoric and clumsy. Adverbs danced with speech tags that made no sense and descriptions that went nowhere. It was frankly embarrassing.
Finding out that my writing is getting a lot better was bittersweet. Of course, I am very glad that I write better now than I did two years ago. On the other hand, it only shows me how much work I have to do in order to get any of my novels or short stories ready for publication. It also scares me a bit that, if I get much better in the next two years, I will have to rewrite everything again.
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Toward the end of the month, the “Elements of the Soul” anthology will be published. Two of my stories will appear in it. At that time, I will post a publication announcement thread on the blog and post the cover and purchasing information on my site.
I’m very excited!
The anthology book is full of short stories in many different styles and genres from the top contest winners on the Accentuate writer forum.
Keep your eyes on the site for more information.
This is my 5 minute story inspired by the first photo on Your Photo Story, writing prompt blog.
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“It has that itchy stuff on the sides. I can feel it already.” Trina squirmed and pulled her arms in toward her chest.
Cale sighed and shook his head for the four-hundred and thirty-seventh time that trip. His neck had begun to ache.
“The ‘itchy stuff’ is far off the path, M’lady. It will not spring upon you.” He stared at a spot in the middle of her back, only vaguely remembering what it felt like to place his hand upon soft silk there when they had danced in the great hall.
“Ewww!” She squealed and jumped sideways, almost landing in a patch of the poison ivy that wound through the grass at the side of the path. “Dung!”
Her gleaming black boot had come down within inches of a considerable pile of dragon droppings. Cale bit his lip to keep from smiling. “See? I told you this path was in use.”
She turned and glared at him, but he looked back placidly. It was she who wanted to come on this ridiculous quest to begin with. She who insisted he accompany her, perhaps under the false impression that he wished to court her and should thus prove himself.
“A fairy dragon did not leave this.” Her lips pursed and one white hand waved toward the pile on the ground.
“No, M’lady,” he said, the grin slipping onto his lips at last. “But if you look more closely, you may find one within.”
She stared at him gape-mouthed for a long moment as he grinned at her. Then, stomping her foot, she spun around and continued up the path toward the hatchery.
——————–
Four minutes. That was fun!
The romance course I am taking over the internet from the local community college is proving to be a wealth of information. Not only is it giving very specific tips about how to write romance, most of it can be easily translated into non-romantic fantasy and horror genre novels.
My current/future WIP, "The Dream Dwellers," which will be a fantasy romance novel, is churning in my mind. Through the romance course lessons, and more especially the assignments at the end of each, the entire plot and progression of the romance is being fleshed out nicely.
Only a couple more weeks to go in the course. I am toying with taking an Advanced Fiction Writing course next, though I may concentrate more on writing fiction than learning about writing fiction for a while.
A is for appetite
B is for blood
C is for carnivore
D is for death
E is for energy
F is for fangs
G is for gore
H is for horror
I is for incubus
J is for jugular
K is for kill
L is for lick
M is for monster
N is for nosferatu
O is for O type
P is for psychis
Q is for quietude
R is for repellant
S is for sanguinary
T is for teeth
U is for undead
V is for vampire
W is for wounds
X is for xeric
Y is for yell
Z is for zzzzz eternal sleep
I have never considered myself a poet. Perhaps I had an image of an artsy, emotion-fueled avant garde whose main occupation was spilling syrup or angst onto the page. Perhaps it was just my lack of confidence that made me proclaim, “I can’t write poetry.”
Well, I have amended my views on the subject. Poetry, it seems, is more accessible than I had previously thought. It doesn’t hurt to put words together in shorter, more lyrical ways than straight prose. Don’t get me wrong… prose is still my greatest love.
But poetry works. Sometimes, poetry is all that can get the point across.
Every new thing
a golden ooze
spills slow over the dried up shells
my past
Every new phase
the trickle down
covers the old, the dry, the over,
the deep vein wells
with new found something.
As a Christmas present to myself, I signed up for an internet-based course offered by my local community college titled, “How to Write a Romance Novel.” Now, I am not the biggest fan of romance novels, though I do think my newest project may be a fantasy romance in the end.
I chose to take this course because it seemed to be the most extensive of all writing courses offered at the college. It covers everything from character creation and plot to synopsis and query writing. The instructor has 39 romance novels published, so she must know what she is doing.
Updates will be posted every week about the topics covered and how effective I think the class is.
Elements of Time
Available from Twin Trinity Media.
Elements of Dimension continues the Twin Trinity short story anthology series with more top-quality stories and poems. This book explores the themes of science fiction, fantasy and reality. I have one short story, "Death Obeyed," and one poem, "Tale of the Suburban Dungeon" in this book.
"Elements of Time" short story anthology is available now. It features winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Inescapable" and "No Time Like Now," are included.
"Elements of Soul" short story anthology is available now. It features fifteen winning stories from the Accentuate Services contests plus themed poetry. Two of M. Lori Motley's short stories, "Summer Heat" and "Flood of Tears," are included.