What is this mess?

Mr. Why-aren't-you-writing sometimes accuses me of being a puppy - everywhere I go, I leave puddles. In my case, paper. Piles of it. Stacks of it. Receipts, notes, articles to be files, newspaper clippings, etc. Within reach I have a receipt to Perkins that must be entered in the checkbook, my new health card, a partly finished synopsis, a spreadsheet for the last 150 pages of my WIP, a page from my Book-of-the-day calendar (I want to read most of them) and a report from the Denver Chief of Police regarding an officer-involved shooting this past January (I was doing research on non-lethal 9mm wounds.) Some of this stuff gets filed, some tossed and some of it breeds and takes over the futon.

What system do you have (if any) of controlling your paperwork?

Okay, I lied

The phrase, "the book is done" really should include the addendum "except for the synopsis." Yes, ladies and gents, I forgot one of the most important selling tools of a novel, the synopsis. Basically, boiling every fifty pages down to one. Not an easy task. And here I'm supposed to be starting on TDS again. Jeez.
While I'm at it, I'll craft one for TDS while I'm in the mood. Then, when it's done, it will be DONE.
What part of the writing process is your favorite? The thing you dread the most?

Home again

Back from Pennsylvania, where I had the dual delight of seeing my daughter and attending a workshop graciously given by the Poconos Lehigh RWA. Thanks, ladies, for a warm welcome.
I have tons of notes to decipher and lots of research to do on the three vacation spots my daughter and I (kind of) agreed on for a trip later this year.
Richard and Lissa's story is done. It's time to return to my vampire story. I had the character's voice dead on (pun intended) and have reread all two hundred and forty two pages. I know where I want the characters to go, but am open to surprises. Let the games begin!

T-3

T minus three days until I leave for the weekend.
Professionally, I'm attending a Bob Mayer workshop on Saturday. I hope when I
return, I'm all charged up and ready to plunge into TDS. I'm done with my edits for The Spell Breaker and have too much happening during the next three nights to tackle anything new, writing related.

Personally, I'm visiting my daughter (shown with not-Bob Mayer) in the same city as the workshop. Hey, it's a free sleep, and I haven't seen her since the holiday. Maybe not free, I tend to slip her a few dollars. And buy her meals. And somehow, a trip to Burlington Coat Factory always creeps into the itinerary. I know
she's busy with school and she's worried about entertaining me, but as long as I have a book to read or paper and pen, I'm set.

Griffin is home after a two day absence to be declawed. He's sleeping on the bed. Can cats get migraines? He closes his eyes whenever the lights go on, like he has a kitty headache. Poor baby. Missed him.

Cat on loan and IKEA

Meet Griffin. He's on loan from my son and DIL. They're moving to a larger apartment and decided to give him up for adoption. Mr. Why-aren't-you-writing wasn't keen on the idea of us taking him, but I'm a cat person and insisted. As you can see, he's a very ambitious cat. Right now, he's curled up beside me. He's awfully skittish, so everytime I move or there's a noise, he's looking around. I'm hoping it's temporary and he'll start to feel more at home.

Yesterday, we went to IKEA near Detroit. It was a good day, (no snow) we all four had the day off, and we were ready to rumble. This was the third trip we've made there, so you'd think the glamor had worn off. We were in there for five hours. Unless you've been there, it's hard to imagine how one store can keep you captive for that long. The trick is a very winding pathway, with more delights just around the corner. I'm sure I walked ten miles. Son and DIL debated then bought then returned a kitchen table and chairs. My major purchase was wicker baskets and some round, stacking boxes and candles that match a poster I'm using to base my color scheme from. Good times.

In writing news, I've completed filling in all the holes in The Spell Breaker, and restructured a lot of sentences to end with a strong punch. Next? One more pass to add more non-verbal communication and the five sentences, then this puppy is done and I can move on (back?) to Tall, Dark and Slayer. It's very weird not having a word count goal every day.

Major vacation warning

Mr. Why-aren't-you-writing has given his tentative approval (like I need it, but it's good to keep him happy cause he's a peach. Really. Red Haven. No, we will not discuss plums.) for me and our daughter to take a college graduation trip this summer. We have some ideas, but she's stressed with her last few months of school, so we're dipping our toes in the water about destinations. Knowing LB, it will be someplace unconventional.
If you could take the trip of your dreams, where would it be? Tell me your first and second choices and why.

Backload not backhoe (or back story)

Writers know the importance of back story, the story behind the story. We try not to abuse it, like info-dumping it in the first chapter. But do you know how to backload?

Backloading a sentence, paragraph or scene puts the "punch" at its end. It gives your words power. Take, for example, this sentence from The Spell Breaker:

Immediately, she drew back, shock numbing her.

Not bad, but it could be stronger. Immediately, she drew back, numb with shock. Isn't "shock" have more punch than "her"? Or, take this example, Mahogany, (table edge) she noted as her eyesight left her. Could we empower it more? ...as her eyesight dimmed.

It's little substitutions like this that make your work stronger. Go through your work and rearrange. Substitute. Play with the sentence structure to add power. Every sentence doesn't have to end with a wow factor, but you should strive for paragraph and scene endings.

BTW, none of this is my idea. I took an online workshop three years ago from Margie Lawson www.margielawson.com She'll be offering the same course "Empowering Character's Emotions" for the Kiss of Death online chapter next month. (www.rwamysterysuspense.org) <--shameless plug. I'm doing a read-through of The Spell Breaker, backloading, and am pleasantly surprised some of it was done unconsciously. The sign of a good teacher, yes?