Magnetism has its Drawbacks

Of course, there's a positive and negative side to all things. But sometimes you just don't have chemistry with someone.

So what do you do when s/he can't tell?

I mean, I get it that people aren't always into me. Doesn't matter if I dig 'em, I leave 'em alone. I just get annoyed when people don't do the same for me. Am I too polite?

Emotional or Hormonal?

Is it difficult for most women to tell? I always think of myself as sappy when I cry for no good reason - and there have been those times.

However, I wrote a story that keeps having a big impact on me. That ought to be something. I strive to be like a great lady I sat next to today, who gave all of us chills with her poetry. There's something about the image of a man taking his wife to bury by the light of his neighbors lanterns in their windows - alone - because they were afraid of contagion. True story, and all the more touching for it.

So do you know it's the story and the wording when it hits you over and over, or because I'm the writer will I always be biased toward my original intention?

Normal Stupidity

Of all the stupid things... In India, a yoga guru is saying gay sex is a disease that can be cured, like other congenital diseases. Read the article here.

Stupidity continues with this sermon on homosexuality being something that requires prayer to overcome.

I think my favorite part was where it said [homosexuality] is abnormal, so must be overcome with prayer and meditation. What's wrong with abnormality anyway? What is so bad about it? (That 'it' could point to either homosexuality or abnormality.)

Think about it - no one knows what normal is. If you try for average, you might manage. Each person has a different idea of normal, however, and we ought to figure no one is normal.

"If you're not weird, you're not normal."

Rewriting

This month I'm tackling the novel I finished in March. Not that I'll finish the rewrite in a month, but I'm at least starting it.

I've been giving a lot of thought to the beginning. I'll admit I already chopped the first five chapters. Part of it will come back where the backstory is needed. The important part is to figure out how to start. I have an idea now - all I need to do is examine the chapter to see how to put it in.

It's pretty exciting to be making progress. How long will it take until I finish? No one can say.

Self-Publishing

See Dehanna Bailee's POD Database here.

The possibilities are endless for self-publishing. I was idly wondering what it would take to make a series of my short stories into a book. My husband asked who would buy it, but I'm not as worried about who. If I publish it, there will be someone who wants it. Enough someones to justify the investment of some of those presses? Probably not.

Some have very minimal requirements for what's necessary. Others have extensive lists of items that must be met before they will handle the business. It isn't necessarily about the content of the book, though a few are picky about that, too.

I also think sometimes about self-publishing the book I'm working on, but I still haven't decided. There might be a good mainstream market for it, and I'd like to pursue that avenue first.

I probably shouldn't worry about it until I have enough short stories for a book. I'd just like to reprint the ones I've published in a volume, especially for those who don't have access to the sites where my work is visible. There are only four so far...

Revision

I finally pulled out the novel to start revisions. I have notes and I'm doing a read-through. I didn't start at the beginning...

Well, I haven't figured out exactly where it's supposed to start yet. I have some chapters in the beginning, but they need to be cut. I figured out when I finished the book that I began with backstory. Backstory goes in the back, as a friend of mine keeps telling me. The trouble is always finding exactly where it begins.

The action begins where things change. Too many times it's easier to set up the reader, make them take needless meanderings through the parts the writer needs to have to make it work instead of only the good stuff.

Also trying not to keep things that don't belong just because I wrote them well. That doesn't mean they can't be used somewhere - just not in the current story.

Ruthie's Club

Published my story, Painted Face, today.

It's so exciting that I matched the market and piece the first time. Ruthie's Club is one I've wanted to contribute to for awhile, but it needed the proper piece to send.

A bonus is the subscription I get for six months to their site. It's lovely to get to browse their archives.

So, now I'm thinking about the next piece to send out.