In Which I Blow Up at Anyone who Mentions Deadlines, and even Those who Don't

The deadline for the sequel to EVERNEATH is coming up. Fast. And hard. So I've sorta had deadlines on the brain.

It reached a boiling point last night when Sam's entire extended family went to dinner. Above all the chatter that twenty people make, I kept hearing the word "deadline". 

I wasn't even part of the conversation, but I could hear the d-word being said at one end of the table. Over and over.

Were they discussing my deadline behind my back? Were they taking bets as to if I would make it or not? Were they consulting the odds-makers? (By the way, it's 4:1 that I'll make it.)

Finally, I snapped. "Could you all please stop talking about my deadline?!"

They looked at me like I was a little nuts. Then my sis-in-law pointed to something on the table. 

Ummm...

It's a lime. And it's "dead". Can you guess where I'm going with this?

Yep, that there is a dead lime. A DEADLIME. It was in my sis-in-law's Diet Coke. And it was all anyone could talk about.

Until I yelled at them.

Somebody help me.

The End of Days... and the End of Everneath 2. What Would Your Last Line Look Like?

With the Rapture predicted to happen this Saturday, I decided I had to at least get to the end of my sequel to EVERNEATH... EVERNEATH 2: NEVERABOVE

So, I wrote The. Final. Line. 

At least if the Rapture does happen, and if I disappear sometime tomorrow, someone will be able to read The. Final. Line.

Now to write... The. Second. To. Last. Line. Without which, The. Final. Line. won't make any sense. 

Of course, after the Rapture, only evil people will be left. And they'll be dealing with Armageddon. Will they have time to read a YA Romance? I say... yes. Especially if the power's out, and their house is boarded up to protect from the Zombie Apocalypse (aim for the head), and they don't want to make any noise, what else is there to do but read a book?

But my book is on the computer... 

I can't share the last line, because it's way too spoilery, but I can say there are the words "trusted" and "eternity" in it.

I did show some of the discarded last lines on twitter, so I'll put them here too:

Discarded line #1: "I couldn't believe everyone was dead. I thought for sure someone would make it out of this book alive."

Discarded line #2: "I looked out into my backyard. It really was time to get out the old pooper scooper."

Discarded line #3: "Something itches."

So, what are some of your ideas for discarded last lines of your books? Or any books?

What are y'all doing this weekend? Planning for Rapture? Anyone else going to arrange some clothes on your front lawn to make it look like you... just... disappeared?

Sweating out a Sequel: Sometimes your MC gives you the Bird

Howdy, y'all. 


Remember, tomorrow is the deadline for those of you who joined in the Chimichanga Challenge. 


I am currently at just over 22,000 words for my sequel. I don't think I'm going to make it to 40,000 by tomorrow, but that's okay. It's a heckuva lot more than I would have written otherwise!


The truth is, I'm feeling a little bit of deadline pressure. The end of school for my kids -- and therefore, the end of free writing days -- is looming like a dark bulbous cloud over the horizon. 


I think my stress is manifesting itself in my writing. Currently, in my sequel, I'm stuck in this one scene where the three main characters are sitting around, staring blankly, with nothing to say to each other.


I've been on this scene for a few days now. Once, a famous writer said, if you're stuck, put your main character up in a tree, and have the others throw rocks at her. I tried that. But the others couldn't be bothered to go searching for rocks, and my Main Character just built herself a hammock in that tree, and is now taking a leisurely snooze. 


I'm at that 22,000 word mark, which is the notorious Point-o-Desperation for the writer. I have thoughts like:


-I'm never going to finish. Books are really really long! Maybe the sequel could be told better in picture-book form. 


-My characters are protesting the lack of progression at this point. They are building hammocks in trees and refusing to cooperate.


-How did I ever finish a book in the first place?


-I'll never be able to finish a book again. That first one was a fluke. It basically wrote itself. (I liken this notion to having a baby, and when looking back on it, forgetting how much it really hurts.)


-I think my MC just gave me the bird.


I'm too easily distracted...


-That wall looks smudgy. Maybe I should clean all the walls.


-It's raining. I long to feel the rain on my face! Time to go outside... Oh wait. It's sunny. I long to feel the sun on my face! Time to go outside.... Lightning? It's been a while since I've been struck by it. Maybe I'll venture outside.


-Oh yay! The Mailman's here! So long, suckahs!


-Meet you for lunch? Sure! I'd never turn down lunch. Even writers have to eat, right? 


-Two lunches? In one day? I'm in!


-Watching Dr. Who isn't procrastinating. It's research. 


-I have to blog first. I can't let my blog readers down. They depend on me!


-It's been years since I've picked my nose. I wonder what's been going on in there? I better find out...


Yeah, any distraction will do. So I'm making a promise, here and now. I will not be distracted any more. I will not let these things get in the way of writing. I will throw my own rocks at my MC, no matter how many times she flips me off. I will not go to lunch more than four times a week. 


Most of all, I will finish this book before June 4. If I don't, you can stick me in a tree and take turns throwing rocks at me. 


Thanks for listening.