Ursula has such a way with words. Normally, under any sane circumstances, 2300 or so words a day would be a totally respectable wordcount. But to get this book done this week, I need to be doing 5K. I went to Ursula and whimpered. She said, “Ah. So the problem is that you’re doing mere superhuman productivity instead of Blazing Avatar of the Writing Godhead productivity?” I knew she’d understand. ytd wordcount: 150,600 miles to Minas Tirith: 264.9

novelist’s event horizon

I’ve just figured out why I feel like I’m slogging so very, very badly on this book. Realistically, I’m not: I’ve broken 500 pages, and a week ago I…ok, it was two weeks, that kind of sucks, oh well, but anyway, I was at 400 pages two weeks ago, and that’s not a bad rate of work. It’s not as awesome as I’d like it to be, but then, I was brainless-sick for four days, too, and lost another couple struggling with how to fix a scene. But anyway, that’s…

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ONE. MILLION. WORDS!

My editor at Del Rey sent a couple copies of THE QUEEN’S BASTARD ahead of the contracted author copies so that I could see them soonest. Oh my god. This is a beautiful, beautiful, *beautiful* book. Ted, in awe, said, “This is *hot*,” and it *is*. I cannot *wait* for this to go on the shelves so people can get it, because oh my GOD it’s gorgeous. I ran around the house shrieking and doing the beauty queen thing and being all tearful. It’s *so* pretty. And it’s the mark…

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*Gah*.

After a very frustrating day of sitting there doing nothing, as related on Magical Words, I managed to shake off some of my stupor and get 2200 words written. I finished this wretched chapter, which more or less shoves everybody into at least the same geographical area, and leaves me with nothing more to do than juggle fifty thousands words of politics against the backdrop of what is effectively a world war. I need my head checked. ytd wordcount: 140,600

Colorado Gold Writing Contest

Nabbing this from Karen Duvall… The Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold writing contest is open for submissions. Those of you who’ve been around a while might know I’m a bit evangelical on the topic of the RMFW. They’re the organization which lit a fire under my ass to get published: I finaled in the contest in 2002 with a (still unfinished) novel called MANIFEST DESTINY, which got me in to talk to my first editor. She was a small press editor and said, in short, “Go to the big…

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