Hitting the wall...

Since my last post, I've moved, resettled myself and have written approximately (-1893) words.

I have no less than five stories started. Some I'm loving more than others, but five none the less. Every time I try to jump back into one of them, I stare blankly at my computer screen, type a few words and then make the 'backspace' button my bitch.

I have self diagnosed and I have what you would call creative constipation. How does one cure oneself? I have no freaking idea, but if anyone knows feel free to fill me in.

What have I learned from my 'little problem'? I shall never again get on my favorite author's ass about when are they going to write and release 'X'!! OK that last bit is probably a lie, but I'm going to try to do better.

So my Goodreads M/M Romance Group freebie has been out for almost a month now? And the response has been mostly good. To everyone who took the time to actually write something constructive, I thank you. It's nice to know what people enjoyed and what didn't work. The tricky thing about seeing a story in your head is getting the whole thing down in detail in a way that people understand and enjoy. I suck a little (perhaps a lot) at this. The poor gals who helped me edit did a great job of reigning me in and helping me to see what I had just been taking for granted. So thanks S and J!! You are the bestest of the restest.

I'm off to attempt to write something!

Reece out.

It's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!

So today is the day.

The day that my first written anything has been out into the world since I was in the third grade and we were forced to write a poem about 'the things I love best'.

I have been told by a truly fabulous chick that I need to keep my ass off of Goodreads. Or at least the part where my story lives.

Sadly, it's not even officially up and I'm haunting that page like it's my job.



I feel certain that while she told me to stay away, she didn't actually think I would stay away. Sorry about that.

So now I get to see what a month of late nights plotting, writing and editing have come to.

For now,


Reece out.

Final edits for my M/M Goodreads 'Love Has No Boundaries' submission

I want to send out the highest of freaking fives to the lovely people in the M/M group who have the distinct pleasure (or not) to do edits on all the LHNB stories. I think I heard there were something like 150+ story prompts? The word count was completely up to the author of those stories, so bless their hearts for wading through all of it.

I had a truly lovely gal read over my story. I've never had an 'official' editor (obviously because I am not published) BUT I've come to a few conclusions about the editing process.

1. Great editing has the ability to turn a soggy shit sandwich into something in which one might actually enjoy.

2. The comma is my nemesis. I am liberal with it. I wield it like I'm fucking Luke Skywalker and its my life saving light sabre. Sadly, much like Luke in the beginning, I suck and am getting zapped in the ass a lot because of it.

3.There are things those editors saw that I would never have seen in a million years. It was never anything drastic, but the impact was huge.

This entire process has been a really enjoyable one for me. I can't wait till it comes out if for no other reason than I'll feel like it's finally complete!

For now, I'm off to chase other plot bunnies.

Reece out.

So now what do I do....

I'm a control freak of the highest order. I don't let my husband drive when we have to go places together. I sit and hover over my poor children when they have swim lessons. I am always the first to volunteer for something I have to partake in. I have anxiety about flying--not because I'm scared per se of the actual flight, but because I don't get to pilot the damn plane. I could go on and on...

So now I find myself in a situation where I'm floundering a bit. Which I hate, because let's face facts who doesn't want to start at the top and work their way up. *g*

 I started out as a song writer which I did and do still love. I learned to play acoustic guitar and sat down with a pencil and paper and muddled through my first song. Then, because I'm not a complete jerk, I knew it was complete garbage, but as my father always likes to tell me, 'it takes shit and rain to make flowers grow'. So, I took it and paid a professional producer and songwriter and I told her to rip me a new a-hole. I knew it was horrid. What I didn't know was how to fix it. What was wrong with it, other than it was duller than a thirty year old pocket knife? I wanted her to give me steps. I wanted her to say if you want 'X' then you need to do 'Y'. Sadly, all I got was her critiques of my current Billboard-never-going-to-make-it and then we sat and wrote a new song together and plugged through the thing.

So here I am, throwing my hat in the ring--trying to write a fiction story. I am an avid reader. I probably read 400+ books a year and have been doing so since I was 16 years old. So I know what I like, I've seen what a lot of people have written and how they wrote their stories.

Unlike with a song (which is an average of three minutes and thirty seconds) where the story is so condensed, I'm have to expand the hell out of it. Word choices. Character development. Overall story arc, etc, etc, etc. All things I have little to no experience writing. So to soothe my OCD, control freak ways, I've been reading blogs, books, articles, picking people's brains. You name it, I've attempted it.

Here is the basic summary of what I've read thus far:
1. Put your ass in the chair.
2.Write everyday.
3. Don't edit as you go.
4. Write what you are passionate about.

While all this sounds like solid advice. Forgive me for thinking it all a little trite. Was I expecting you to give me the secret squirrel handshake? No. But I was expecting something more than that very short list of obvious.

Conclusion: I'm just going to have to do what I know. Write the bullshit, bullshit. Then take it to someone (like, oh say, an experienced editor) and have her rip me a new a-hole and then tell me the why's and how's. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat.

Do I think this is going to put me on the NYT Bestseller's List? Hells to the no, but I've got to start somewhere.

On a side note, I'm a member of the M/M Romance group on Goodreads and am participating in their "Love Has No Boundaries" event. I'm submitting a story. (See look Ma, this is me, putting my ass in the chair.) So we'll see how that catastrophe turns out.

It's called "Undeniable". If anyone reads it, I love honest feedback. And its free, so ya know, there's that. I'm not sure when the group is going to release everything, but when I do I'll post it here.

For now--Reece out.

Wind me up and watch me go. (If you are offended by cursing, you should stop reading)

So I'm quite the talker. Even when I don't have much to say--that never stops me. If you are one of those people (like my poor husband) who hates small talk and would rather be stabbed in the eye with a blazing hot poker--I'm the person to take with you to work functions. If you are one of those people who thinks silence is golden--we will never be friends.

Did you know that the average woman, statistically, will talk an average of twenty thousand words a day and a man, a mere seven thousand? Notice I said average. I am and always have been an overachiever so I'm pretty sure my average is double that.

Now moving onto the point of my post. I've decided to put my powers of evil to use for good (well, good for me anyway...and maybe my husband)--I decided to attempt the great American novel. Not really, but it sounds more dramatic when I say it that way. What's more likely to happen is that I shall ramble. Those ramblings will have a beginning, a middle and an end.

So if you are still here, bless your heart, this is to keep track of my ramblings about my ramblings and maybe do my husband a solid and get rid of some of those pesky words I try and throw at him when he walks into the door.

I want to put some catchy phrase like, live long and prosper... but original... and hilarious. Sadly, nothing is coming to me so, for now, I'll just say, Reece out.