Well, here I am back in my usual Sunday afternoon spot–sitting in the car in the church parking lot whilst the Punkin sleeps in the back seat. My hubbie is inside chatting with friends and eating (it’s a potluck dinner day). I’m barefoot in the front seat, laptop on lap (a good place for it, I guess), WIP open and ready to continue. I want to be writing. I should be writing. So why aren’t I writing?

Because I happened to pick up a wireless network from where I’m sitting. Suddenly I have Internet access in the parking lot, and the temptation is too great to resist (and on Sunday too.)

I shall be good girl now, and post this, then log off the Net and put my fingers to the keys in a more productive cause.

Yet another quiz, this one found courtesy of Agent Kristen over at Pub Rants, and since I know she handles fantasy, I thought it might be worth my while to take… The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam

Answering yes to any of the questions means you fail the exam and should stop writing immediately because you are nothing more than a scum-sucking copycat. The ghosts of Tolkien and Lewis will sic a horde of mushroom-craving hobbits and umbrella-wielding fauns after you should you admit to any minor stealing of their ideas.

So, I’m very busy patting myself on the shoulder because, hey! I’ve not answered yes to any of these questions so far! Wow!

Then I started to get further down the list.

#28. Is this the first book in a planned trilogy?

29. How about a quintet or a decalogue?

Um…Well, they aren’t really a trilogy, or a quartet, or a quintet even (I’ve got 3 definite stories, plus 2 still fermenting). The stories are generational, with several long-lived reoccuring characters (an oread, an elf or two, an extremely old and cranky dryad). But each story is definitely a stand-alone story. Okay, I think I’ll give myself a pass on those two.

#37. Do any of your main characters have names longer than three syllables? Well, yes. Taviannah for one. But since she usually just goes by Tavi, I think I can get away with that.

# 39. Does your novel contain orcs, elves, dwarves, or halflings? I admit, I do have elves and dwarves. but no orcs or halflings. Lots of nature spirits (dryads, naiads, etc.) vs. old-fashioned bad-guys like sirens, baginis, wights, and bogies. Again, I give myself an ok. Elves and dwarves were public domain long before Feanor and Durin.

#42. At any point in your novel, do the main characters take a shortcut through ancient dwarven mines? Sorta. But it’s not a shortcut. One of the characters gets dragged into a stream by an over-protective naiad, and the others follow the tunnel the stream carves under a mountain to find her. Not really dwarven mines, though they do eventually run into dwarves down there.

#48. Do your characters spend an inordinate amount of time journeying from place to place? Now, I am guilty of this, having them travel all over the world. After spending so much time creating it, of course I want to show it off to all the readers! But they do not wander for no reason. The plot actually calls for travel, not vice versa. And the 3rd book takes place in one city.

72. # Is “common” the official language of your world?

Mea culpa. An easily fixed thing though.

#74. Is your book basically a rip-off of The Lord of the Rings? You know, I can actually answer no to that and not be lying.

Three partial yes’s out of 75. Not too shabby. I think I can safely plod along with my writing.

Those of you who write fantasy–how did you do?

Had a little fun with this quiz (link found courtesy of Susan):

Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!!
created with QuizFarm.com

Actually, I really don’t remember Emma much. Read it back in 12th grade, and didn’t like it enough to read again. And no, I didn’t see the movie, which might be a good thing. Perhaps I should remedy that soon (in my copious amounts of spare time).

Elinor is actually my favorite character. Okay, maybe a more accurate statement would be Emma Thompson’s Elinor is my favorite character (Sense and Sensibility one of the few chick flicks I’ll watch), but I know I’m not near as logic-ruled as she is.

However, since she and Emma tied for #1, I guess I can be satisfied with that

Okay. Between Bernita’s gentle chiding (deserved) and today’s Romancing the Blog article, I’m feeling a bit sheepish (baaa). I’ll climb down off my high-horse now and just be patient, read more, write more, and keep casting my bread upon the waters. Eventually, something will come through.

Totally off the subject, take a look at these romance covers (discovered courtesy of Agent Kristin over at Pub Rants). Make sure you continue on to the ones sent in by readers.

Got my scoresheet back from the Golden Heart contest today. Ouch. But I can look at it in several ways.
1. My writing sucks. My characters are flat. The plot is weak and tired. I should give up writing romances right now because I’ll continue to sucketh for the rest of my pitiful life. or 2. My characters are interesting and the plot has merit, but this is my first completed novel and it shows. Now I should put it under the bed and keep working on my other stories.
or 3. My writing is fine. My characters are fine. The plot is fine. My story was just not what the romance industry is interested in.

I’m suspecting it’s more of the 2 and 3. I’m sure when I look back at the story after finishing another novel or two, I’ll wince a little. I also suspect, after reading Romancing the Blog and various other genre blogs, that I’m rather out of step with the mainstream romance community. The whole Tea and Crumpets thing that I got on my soapbox about a few months back.

Anyhoo, I got the book out there, which was my main goal. Now on to other writing projects.