Return to the Pen (or Keyboard)

I got my first royalty payments from Dragonthology yesterday. Whoot, whoot! I'm laughing as I look at the small amount - if J.K. Rowling ever started this way it is a wonder to me that she continued trying because this amount certainly won't pay for a lot. Then again, it is more than I've received for most of the blue ribbons and show awards that I've gotten for my artwork and beadwork over the years so that's a plus. Still...I certainly don't feel rich - LOL.

It's been fun having a story printed and read, and the
reviewers generally enjoyed my little tale. I probably should
keep submitting things for publication.

But it is pushing me back to writing after taking a couple of weeks away from serious work to deal with family issues. The family problems aren't going away - as those of you who read my blog regularly know. And I didn't stop writing, I was still writing, only really short and small pieces. But I have to get going on a commitment that I made for a fic exchange called Sultry in September (SinS for short) and I finally figured out a framework. I bounced my idea off Aearwen when we talked on Wednesday and she thought that the twist could be very, very good. I sat down with a yellow tablet and began charting things yesterday and I think it can work. So, now I want to try and get things going on this. I may need to ask for a small extension of time because my father-by-marriage's death and the subsequent requirements that we have as executors of his estate forced me to shelve my writing for a while, but I would rather come in on time with a polished and interesting story.

Cold Fusion by Gusti Boucher. My plot and  characters are starting
to pull together into a really interesting fusion.

So now I'm running through characters and reactions in my head, correlating actions and plotlines through the time frames requested by my fic recipient, and working out dialog. All of these wheels in my head that moving so slowly, one cog at a time, and were rusting up from disuse are now starting to move again and gaining momentum and speed. I'm hoping to be fully into the construction and writing of this story by Monday morning - earlier if I can grab any appreciable time. I am almost there with knowing how things will work and the plot will fall together. It's so nice to be excited about my SinS story after more than a month of "argh" about how it was not working for me.

It's the weekend. I have to work today, but tomorrow I'll be back at my father-by-marriage's house and talking with the woman who will be holding the estate sale in a bit more than a month. That should be very interesting. The kids have taken a lot of the items that were in the house, and we have also taken some. Some of the furniture will be gone and - well, I know that she needs to make a minimum amount or she won't conduct the sale. I guess I'll know a lot more once I have had a chance to speak with her on Sunday.

Have a great weekend!