kittygamble

Been a while since I posted here. Bertie and Jack are now a (much tidier and a bit shorter) second draft. 
I haven't been posting because I've been busy. Feeling a bit stressed, actually. There's quite a lot to do in the next few months, and it's starting to pile up.

UK Meet is approaching, and I need to get the story ready for release on the USB stick pretty soon. It's done, it needs another pass (or two) then editing and so on. And also cover art, probably.

I am all excited about New Smut Project's anthologies, and have a concrete idea for the 50 Shades of Negotiation one (I've been brainstorming all day); and a bunny for the character-driven one.

But then there's Your Undoubted King, and the chance to pitch it at UK Meet, and so I feel like I should dive back into that soon, but there's just so little TIME. Curse my need for a full-time job. *shakes fist*

Factoring in a week for the completion of the short story (which may be too much?) several weeks for the anthology submissions that's bringing me close to the June deadline - and I have no earthly idea how long the next draft of Your Undoubted King will take. Because there are publishers taking pitches there, and I feel like I should at least have the next pass done to be sure it's working okay before I pitch to them. (if not the whole thing FINISHED).

I suppose the easiest way to approach it would be this: tonight, dump all of YUK (oh what an unfortunate acronym) into a google doc, and also send it to pipsytip and beg some other people to give me some feedback. While they're reading the monstrosity, work on the short story (and be QUICK), also the Negotiation anthology for sure. I'd like to submit to both, but I think one might be all I can aim for unless I want to drive myself insane. Then once that's done, work on YUK draft 3.

If that goes much much quicker than draft 2 and I have time to write something for the Character-Driven anthology then awesome! If I don't, at least I won't have driven myself mad by putting too much pressure on myself.

I might go mad ANYWAY, or madder, but I think it's the best plan. 

 I've been posting some blogs on the newspaper articles I found while researching Peace On Earth. So if you want to read about the problems of syphilis and Spanish Flu in December 1918, head over there. 

Project: Peace On Earth
Market: JMS (christmas call)
Deadline: October 15
Word Count: 7,980
New Words Today: Hard to say, I added in scenes that I'd taken from earlier drafts
Total Word Count: 11,108
Mean things: World War One. Shell fragments. Potential gas gangrene.
Fun things: Um. Planning Christmas stockings? Sex/flirting?
Research: I made notes of lots of things so as to not fall down the research hole, but I did have to look and see how early in January 1918 the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry established a convoy at Saint-Omer to date one flashback...

Peace On Earth is not dead, not yet!

I found another open call that I'm going to submit it to. Minimum is 10k, but I had scenes from an earlier draft that I cut. I'm working those in as flashbacks and generally expanding it, and I think it'll really, really improve it.

So I got to add some Effie/Henry backstory, which was fun. Also some sadder things, since I'm doing in flashback. I need to really add to the happy as well, so I need to figure out how schmoopy I can make it once I start getting them together. I also need to work on the James/Henry side.

I did get to actually write Effie driving James to the base hospital and being badass though! That was so much fun.

*dusts off journal*

It's been a while since I posted here. It was about finishing Susie and Percy. Since then I've finished and submitted an 8,000 word story to Torquere Press. It's called 'Peace On Earth' and it's set in 1918. Yeah. That was a silly time to pick for a Christmas story, considering how damaged it made all of my main characters. I think I made it work, though. It's about Effie, a nurse and ambulance driver; her childhood friend Henry, a soldier awaiting demobilisation; and James who was Henry's superior officer for a while and one of Effie's patients later on in the war. I love them and have LOTS of ideas for them, so I might expand it. No word back on 'Victorious War, Beauty Ashore' yet - but that's because they pushed the closing date back to the 31st September. Waiting is not fun, though I've had several things to distract me.

Quick summary of what they were (aside from 'Peace On Earth'): quit my job, moved to the UK, been to Dragon*Con in Atlanta and started job hunting. I'm currently living with friends in North Wales and I love it so much. It's much better than being at home, though obviously the sooner I get a job and get settled into my own place the better.

As to writing I'm not sure what to do first: edit Susie and Percy or edit Bertie and Jack (or find a title for either of them). Susie and Percy will be the easier job, I think, and I could get that out relatively quickly, but BERTIE AND JACK. I wrote 500 words of the new chapter one yesterday, after having a great idea for how to start it off, and it was so great to be writing them again. I missed them.

But I've also started having more concrete ideas for a longer length story about Cornelius, Freddie and Thomas. And of course Percy's sister Laura wants me to tell HER story... But my priority now is getting the two first drafts to work the way they should and get them submitted.

Oh, and finding a day job. Of course!

Project: Susie and Percy
Market: Whoever wants it
Deadline: (Self-imposed) July 31
Word Count: 67,889
New Words Today: 2,275
Mean things: Family disproval still. And the weird class stuff never goes away.
Fun things: Redecorating! Wedding planning!
Research: Weddings! Also lots of Cary's.

I got the end of Percy's visit done, and a scene with him and Susie's Ma. She's getting a bit worried about it all now she knows exactly how they'll be living. It'll be fine, though! Percy also had a conversation with his mother that I'm very proud of - it hit me as I was working the exact details of his uncle's legacy that perhaps his grandfather was still in trade when his mother married, instead of in a situation like Bingley. And if he was, it would bring an extra layer to her belief that Susie should be prepared to leave her family behind if she marries up - because she did. So that was fun.

I managed not to fall down the research hole, but I will go back to Amanda Vickery for details about redecorating their new house, because apparently it needs it. Susie's happy to wait until they leave for Percy to do the circuit, though, so I can get the details in there.

I worked out what scenes to write for the wedding, pretty much. I'll need some research on carriages, since Percy has a new shiny one. Well, perhaps new to them, for now. I also researched weddings a bit, and decided if I ever get married I'd go Regency the whole way. And not for the dress - because it was so small and non-fussy. No guests beyond immediate family and you were expected to leave your guests to celebrate without you if you had to travel. Sounds ideal to me! But then, Irish weddings go on from 12 in the day until the wee, wee hours of the morning. And PEOPLE. The thought of talking to all of the people fills me with dread. I'd end up in a corner of the hotel room not even able to talk to my husband by 10pm.

Which would probably still be a better wedding night than these two are going to have, bless their socks. Not that it'll be bad, just that they're not going to have amazing sex. I can't see how they would. I have some of that sort of done already, and I just need to tie it in.

Now, to transfer these notes to something I can bring to work with me tomorrow and go to sleep. Opening shift AGAIN. No fun. :/

Project: Royalty novel that needs a title now it is a FIRST DRAFT
Market: Whoever wants it
Deadline: None
Word Count: 120,707
Mean things: Very little this weekend, because they're getting their happy ending.
Fun things: Coronations. Tiaras. Proposals. Kilts!
Research: TIARAS. Also lots of things for the Coronation - seating plans and the order of service and the BBC commentary of the ceremony so I could get time stamps, etc, etc. But today I remembered TIARAS, and fell down the research hole looking at ALL OF THE SPARKLY THINGS.

I realised on Friday that having three days off in a row would mean I could theoretically finish the novel.

And I did!

I haven't been updating here, but I've been plugging away steadily. I had to do Lottie and Vivien's wedding, a polo game and the coronation this weekend. The wedding sort of fell apart, I literally could not remember what should be there. I think it's a product of some members of the family I never intended to be big parts of the story being louder than they should be. I'll fix it when I edit.

Because my GOD do I have a lot of editing to do. It needs to lose a minimum of 20k words, for a start. But I'm not going to worry about that now. I'm walking away from it for the rest of the month at least. It needs space. I already miss my babies, which is silly. Mostly I'm just giddy and happy to have finished it, though.

Project: Royalty novel
Market: Whoever wants it
Deadline: None
New words written: 2,422
Mean things: Bertie might not get a proper coronation.
Fun things: Jack is IMPOSSIBLE, Bertie gets to be pissy at the Archbishop of Cantebury.
Research: ... nothing today, because I was at work.

I got a good few articles written, some of the public reaction to Vivien and Lottie. People think they're adorable, because THEY ARE.

The coronation uncertainty is getting to Bertie, he knows it's a bit ridiculous considering he almost lost everything. But he wants the ceremony and the trappings. Jack helped distract him and cheer him up. I'm very happy to see that when he speaks to the Archbishop of Cantebury, though, he refuses to beg for it. At the end of the day he's still King, whether or not they rub oil on his forehead.

I also worked out June and July, and what I need to write as a scene vs an article. It's coming together! End of July brings us right up to CORONATION and PROPOSAL and THE END.

and then comes all of the editing aaaaghhh

Not going to let being called into work on my day off stop me from doing this today. Jack FINALLY got to see Bertie in a proper crown, and here it is. (a bit rough still, don't have time to polish it. The snippet, not the crown...)

( Read more... )

Project: Royalty novel
Market: Whoever wants it
Deadline: None
New words written: 3225 since Friday
Mean things: Parental conflict, paparazzi, only narrowly escaping the destruction of the monarchy as a whole
Fun things: Strategy meetings (fun for Jack, not Bertie), implied celebratory sex.
Research: Chelsea FC home fixtures list, voting procedure in the House of Commons, flats in Fulham, lots of walking up and down using google street view.

I've been bad at this but I'm going to get back into the habit of it. I'm working shifts starting at 7am every weekday now, and though I can usually get a couple of hundred words done at work I crash when I come home. It's slow but it's getting there.

Not to mention the fact that I was still struggling with that week of Commonwealth meetings. Something's not feeling right, I don't know what, and so I've just decided to draw a line under it and move on. I'll fix it later. I keep adding words but not getting too much further on, and it will not do. So.

They have a strategy for how to move on - business as usual for the most part. Bertie and Jack are going to just do what they'd normally do, and try to strike a balance between not hiding their relationship and flaunting it. Jack is going to keep going to Tesco and random shops, they're introducing him to lots of the family and they'll make it clear he's being accepted. He's also going to go to a Chelsea match with Alice's boyfriend Tim because it's literally around the corner from his flat.

A lot of this I can do with articles and stuff, which should save on the word count. Maybe. I'll see. But I'm moving forward which feels good.

Next comes the State Opening of Parliament, and Jack is SO EXCITED because Bertie will be wearing an ACTUAL CROWN. Not just a fake one that's been weighted properly.

Project: Victorious War, Beauty Ashore
Market: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: July 31
Present total wordcount: 14,614
Mean things: A lot of the edits I had to make were changing it from summer to April, and so there was a lot of mentions of the difference in temperature.
Fun things: A title drop! I'm happy with how I worked that in. I may have made it too cold, but it gives more of an excuse for CUDDLING, which is fun. (also it's April now and FREEZING here so I feel justified).
Research: ALL OF THE THINGS. I had a giant list of things I made a note of to check, so that was mostly what I did today.

This weekend, I edited and included opening and closing bits to all the scenes I'd just left with a (start this) or (end). Today, I researched!

Here's what I researched and fit in today, in between general editing.
- Inns in Great Yarmouth
- They did go to Great Yarmouth, didn't they? WHERE DID I READ THAT I CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE.
- Oh. Found it. The wounded went there, and the Monarch and the Isis brought them home. Okay.
- Ship building in Great Yarmouth, to see if it was possible for the repairs to happen there. It was! Phew.
- Where did the wounded go? Naval Hospital was slightly after my time, so I had to ferret it out. It was the barracks, okay.
- Where in the Indies could they have had fun cliff adventures that isn't Santo Domingo? St Lucia, a colony that went back and fort between French and British control around this time. No dates mentioned, so I have wiggle room. Awesome.
- A ship name. I had to have an idea for that and then check there wasn't a ship called that. Success.
- Naval toasts! It was an informal dinner between friends, so I played with it a bit. It had to happen in the room, because it led to an epic flirty moment. But it worked.
- Oh, for the toast I needed a day of the week for it to happen on, which meant I needed a plausible date. I can't find a date for when the Isis/Monarch arrived in the town, except that it was after the 15th/16th because it was an express from London that came with the news of the battle to Great Yarmouth. So it was to an 1801 calendar for that, and I just guessed how long it would take given the time it took them to sail TO Copenhagen and various other journey times, and bearing in mind how damaged the ships were. The dinner happened on a Thursday, which gave me a brilliant lead in.

... and there was more, but they were small things so I can't remember. I also read a lot about the history of words for penis, which wasn't technically research but was also very interesting.

But it's a second draft, yay. I needed to get it done today because I can't edit while at work, so I can go back to the novel during the week, and do another pass at it next weekend. It's close, though. Yay!