Sorry I didn't get to visit blogs last week, but I was busy enjoying my vacation in Colorado Springs. My youngest son is doing an internship at The Broadmoor, a premiere resort in Colorado Springs. Besides the joy of seeing him after many months, it was awesome to hear all the wonderful things his bosses had to say about him. He loves the job, the people he works with and the area.
I'll share some of what I learned on my vacation but for today, I'm going to mention a few observations I made on my cross country drive from central Pennsylvania to Colorado and back again. I very much welcome input and discussion in the comments. Today is about the roads.
My husband didn't want to drive but I wanted to see some parts of this great country that I'd never seen before. Pennsylvania and Ohio has completely inadequate roads to handle the number of cars using them. They shouldn't be able to call a road a turnpike unless it has three lanes in each direction. Pennsylvania does have the cool tunnels that always remind me of Will Smith in I, Robot.
Ohio gets the award for having the most cops pulling over speeders. Wish they would use the money from all those fines to put in a few more lanes so traffic could move better. Indiana and Illinois get the awards for most road construction while still having the worst roads I drove upon. Kansas ... I loved driving there. My husband was bored with the landscape, but I loved it and the open highway in front of me. Colorado had the best police cars. Lots of big suvs and hot looking chargers. And who can mind driving when you can see all those mountains in front of you.
So, just a little detour from my usual talk about writing. What do you think of our country's byways and highways? Any state you love driving in or hate driving in? Agree with my assessments or do you have a different opinion?
Showing posts with label Colorado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colorado. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Take a Walk
Did you all start singing when you read the title? Yes, a little Passion Pit playing on the iPod while I write this post. But I'm not talking about romance, I'm talking about writing.
Finally, finally, I finished the first draft of The Marine's Heiress last Friday. I wanted to finish the book by the end of June but it took longer than I thought and was actually a bit longer, coming in at 85K before edits. There's lots to be cut, some added, some changed but that first draft is done. I'm eager to get onto the second draft, but first I'm going to take a walk. Well, actually, a long ride. I'm going to Colorado to visit my son in Colorado Springs. I'll be away from my writing for an entire week. All told, it will be about ten days until I get back to The Marine's Heiress. Long enough to think through the things I need to change and fix. Let it all percolate for a little bit.
How long do set aside a manuscript or story before you work on the second draft? Or do you dive right in? How long does it take you to do that second draft compared to the first? Do you like Passion Pit?
Finally, finally, I finished the first draft of The Marine's Heiress last Friday. I wanted to finish the book by the end of June but it took longer than I thought and was actually a bit longer, coming in at 85K before edits. There's lots to be cut, some added, some changed but that first draft is done. I'm eager to get onto the second draft, but first I'm going to take a walk. Well, actually, a long ride. I'm going to Colorado to visit my son in Colorado Springs. I'll be away from my writing for an entire week. All told, it will be about ten days until I get back to The Marine's Heiress. Long enough to think through the things I need to change and fix. Let it all percolate for a little bit.
How long do set aside a manuscript or story before you work on the second draft? Or do you dive right in? How long does it take you to do that second draft compared to the first? Do you like Passion Pit?
Friday, May 10, 2013
Unpredictable
There are lots of quotes about making plans and how God laughs at us. Life is uncertain and can surprise us in every facet of our world.
Few of us followed the exact career path we had planned on when we started out on our own. I'm sure some of the readers of this blog are still going to find a few zigzags along the way to a fulfilling job. Many of those twists and turns are not things we can see ahead of time.
Personal and family relationships can be very unpredictable. I have four sisters and two brothers and all my relationships with those siblings are a little different. I would never have thought when growing up that miles and miles would separate us. Now my own children are grown and starting to scatter. My youngest son moved to Colorado yesterday to begin a six month internship that will
hopefully lead to a good job placement ... anywhere.
Writing careers are like that. At times I've felt that my writing would develop into writing all epic fantasy, my first love for reading and writing. But I've been so pleased by the performance of some of my recent romances and have enjoyed writing them, that I now think my career will likely stay divided into my Susan Gourley, fantasy author and Susan Kelley, romance author. And I'm feeling very comfortable with that.
What unexpected turns has your life taken in your career, your home, and perhaps your writing life? Do you expect to have twists and turns along your path to fulfillment?
Few of us followed the exact career path we had planned on when we started out on our own. I'm sure some of the readers of this blog are still going to find a few zigzags along the way to a fulfilling job. Many of those twists and turns are not things we can see ahead of time.
Personal and family relationships can be very unpredictable. I have four sisters and two brothers and all my relationships with those siblings are a little different. I would never have thought when growing up that miles and miles would separate us. Now my own children are grown and starting to scatter. My youngest son moved to Colorado yesterday to begin a six month internship that will
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| Colorado |
Writing careers are like that. At times I've felt that my writing would develop into writing all epic fantasy, my first love for reading and writing. But I've been so pleased by the performance of some of my recent romances and have enjoyed writing them, that I now think my career will likely stay divided into my Susan Gourley, fantasy author and Susan Kelley, romance author. And I'm feeling very comfortable with that.
What unexpected turns has your life taken in your career, your home, and perhaps your writing life? Do you expect to have twists and turns along your path to fulfillment?
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