Daphne, meet Helvetica [revisions]

Already this year I've completed a revision of SUNDOWN II, and currently I'm working on DAPHNE II, and I've discovered that, on Scrivener for Mac at least, the story looks kind of groovy in Helvetica font. ;) I haven't got all that far in my revisions, and I wouldn't say I'm being absolutely perfectionist during this round. I guess my goals are to get my word count down (it started at about 111k, and I'd like it to be more like 95k) and fix up some inconsistencies. I also have other little goals, but for the most part the word count whittling is what I'm aiming for.

I really do love this story after the rewrite. I kind of loved it before the rewrite, but I am quite excited by the bad boy character I introduced in the rewrite. I want to tweak some of his scenes a little bit, to better illustrate his own issues. He's a little too stable considering all he's gone through, but I still want him to have that core reliability (whether he believes he does or not). There's also a minor character (a timid little mouse of a girl who is overwhelmed by most aspects of life) who I don't know if I should keep. She doesn't really serve any purpose, and in the latter parts of the story I neglected her entirely (guess I answered my question then, didn't I?). I was planning to kill her off, but I think the story has more than enough drama as it is without adding a death to the mix. So I might get rid of her entirely, even though I enjoy her scenes.

Revisions are going slowly, and I feel a little like I'm stumbling around in the dark, but I know this is only the beginning, so I'm not feeling too under pressure to get things perfect during this revision round. But, um, what was the whole point of this post? Oh yeah, I like this Helvetica font. :) And yes, I do tend to be a frequent font changer!!

What are you working on?

[O&AM] I'm single!

"Out & About Me" is a monthly blog series in which I tell you guys a bit more about me. I'll focus on a particular topic each month, and let you all get to know me a bit better than you already do.

In this month's post I'm going to talk about singledom and how it sometimes makes me feel like one of the odd ones out in this blogging community.

I've been single most of my life, though there have been blips, including a three-year one that ended when I was 23. Often I think that being single is getting a bit old. I refer to myself as the "eternal single", because my relationships tend to go wrong or, in some cases, start off wrong. A friend once told me, "You sure know how to pick 'em!" after a guy I had been interested in committed suicide (don't worry, she was giving me a hug at the time!). But I also tend to attract duds, not just be attracted to them.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not throwing a pity party here. I love my life, and I am aware of the benefits of being single. To be honest, I don't know if I even have the energy for a relationship. From observing other people's relationships, I think I might actually be too lazy for all that hard work. Maybe my friends are generally happy, but they live the sorts of lives I wouldn't want for myself. I'm an introvert (which I'll talk more about in another O&AM post) and I love my solitude. I need it. For some people, company is a large reason for being in a relationship. For me, it's a reason to be leery.

I get home from work every day and bask in my own company. I have so many creative projects that I'm working on that I'm never bored. I do have a bunch of excellent friends and a great family, but I also like to think that I'm one of my own very best friends. I'm certainly the one who puts a roof over my head, keeps me fed and clothed and in wine and chocolate. I'm even planning on buying my very first home this year, and I'm proud to be doing it on my own. Still, I roam around this blogger community and feel quite the odd one out, because I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only singletons around. Thankfully it doesn't matter to you all, and you haven't kicked me out of your club. haha. I do find it interesting, though. A lot of writers are women, and married with children. Have you noticed the same?

In conclusion, I do sometimes wish I had already found a partner suited to me, someone who needs his own alone time as much as I need mine. Someone who understands and respects my boundaries. Someone who isn't deranged would be nice, too. ;) Maybe I will find such a person, someday. For now, though, I'm getting on with building my own life, and I'm having a damn good time of it.

Hello from my new blog spot!

I did sort of expect to give a bit more warning than this before changing my blog's URL, but it seemed like a good time to make the change. My flash fiction from Nick Wilford's Overcoming Adversity blog hop will be included in the anthology he's creating, so I figured I should give him a new blog URL instead of one I was planning on changing soon anyway. My old blog address is still there, but from now on I'll be posting here.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to change to, but this URL features my initials (though my actual name is Patricia, not Trisha), and also the name of my blog. I have a fondness for my initials mostly because my dad makes use of them a fair bit. As a photographer, he's got folders full of slides of me throughout my life, and each of these folders are labelled simply "TWF". He's also sent me postcards from overseas addressed simply to "TWF". My brother is "JWF" (we each have our mum's surname as our middle name), and he gets labelled as such too. Even our email names display as TWF and JWF.

So there you go. That's the reasoning. Now I just hope you can all find me. :)

I have noticed some broken things and have fixed them as I've stumbled across them (blog rolls had to be done from scratch, and one page wasn't working), so if you notice anything else broken, please let me know! Hopefully this will be the last change in...a long time. Maybe ever. ;)

The Overcoming Adversity bloghop

Today is the first day of Nick Wilford's Overcoming Adversity Blog Hop, which aims to raise money for a very worthy cause. Check out Nick's blog for more details. Meanwhile, here is my little flash fiction piece about a gal who is determined to overcome any adversary (even Death) to achieve her end goal! According to Scrivener it's 489 words long.

Meri stares at the ceiling a lot. It helps distract her from the pain. The healer tends to her, but there are others much more badly wounded and the healer has set his priorities straight. It helps that she’s given up fighting him. He trusts her to stay put. 

She’s counting on it. 

Time passes and the fussing lessens. Soon enough it’ll cease completely, and Meri will be left to her much-needed rest. 

Seconds tick away and she grits her teeth. 

~*~*~ 

Cries echo down the hall—they’re admitting a new group of wounded. Meri draws a deep breath, folds the sheet back and slides gingerly off the bed. She pads to the door and peeks out. All clear. Back in the room she closes her eyes, expands her focus and summons the magic. 

It floods her, swelling each strand of pain to a glowing hot red. It fills her with a new strength. 

It hums and blossoms outward, covering everything. 

Meri’s eyes snap open. She creates a portal and steps through it. 

She enters chaos.