Good morning...good morning...*singing voice*

It’s a grey rainy Tuesday. I walked out of my house this morning to find an orange sky striped with bands of dark clouds. If it wasn’t pouring, I would have taken a pic. And since I don’t believe in umbrellas, * smile* I made a mad dash for the subway 10 blocks away. Slightly soaked, uhm yup.

I’m in a good mood this morning, which is not like me at all. I’m not what you call a morning person. In fact, I really dislike talking to people before 10 am. I need two strong cups of tea before I can venture into the human population without wanting to rip someone’s head off. No, seriously. And I’ve only just begun to have my first cup of tea of the day.

Yesterday night, I worked on my novel from about 6:45 pm until 11 pm. I worked slowly and methodically through my next seven pages (pages 16 through 23). It wasn’t just a line edit but a revamping of several scenes. I managed to delete chunks of text and rewrite segments so that the technology and the relationships seem plausible. I wrote up a good 1,500 words but after all the cuts, the word count was up by only 390 words. I dug deep and I wanted to flesh out the characters with their shared history. I was wired and tired by the time I finished.

Lying in bed, I tossed and turned for awhile. My brain wouldn’t decompress and I kept running scenarios in my head for the next section. There are two main elements that need to be cut…the scavengers (which only make one small appearance and they are really not needed) and Castle (main character) at an empty squad base. I think when I wrote it, I didn’t know where I wanted her to go. Now that I know where she’s going to wind up next, I can make a straight shot for the next location.

Something else came up as I was getting ready for work this morning. Initially, I had one enemy in mind and as I wrote up some of this second character’s background last night, motives changed. A new direction has opened up for this story and I’m excited about working out this new narrative line. Hmm, it’s a good day to work on writing but there is much to do for my upcoming move this weekend. Argh! I could really use an assistant to help me pack while I work on the writing. Volunteers? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

I have to get my day started.


Peace,



L~

P.S.  I wrote this entry up really quickly so excuse any typos.  :-) 

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

A Bit of News to Share

Brooklyn Paramount #1
March 2011

By the Overpass #1

Spring 2011

Two amazing literary magazines came out this Spring.
I'm excited to announce that I have work in both of them.

Brooklyn Paramount holds two poems:
1. my problem not yours
2. Increments
This lit. magazine has work by Stephanie Gray, Uche Nduka, Jamey Jones, Ann Waldman, Lewis Warsh, Christine Francavilla, Tamara Lebron and John Casquarelli just to name a few.  I just received my copy so I can't wait to read everyone's work.

By The Overpass holds Carping On, a color print of a larger acrylic painting.  It looks amazing!!  I'm really pleased by the way it looks in the context of this literary magazine.

Peace,

Lily~



All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Writing update

Yesterday, I started my second draft of my novel.  I managed to get through the first 10.5 pages and I was able to add another 606 words to add color and texture to some of the initial relationships with characters.  I also managed to delete chunks of excess verbage.  I'm going to set again some small goals.  I'm going to work through this novel a little bit every day.  I know I can manage that without shutting down.

Today, I continued with the next 5 pages and managed to add another 409 words...Yay!  Some of the holes I've been getting from the story are starting to flesh out with a couple of sentences.  And they seem to be doing the trick.  Good!  The progress feels tangible.  Two days of working on the story and I'm not in the fetal position...yes, that's what I call progress.

Anyway, this is just a short catch up note to let you know I'm still working.  Phew!!

Peace,

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.