Alison's House of Grey

Here's where I'm at on my NaNoWriMo work.

Word Count: 13,992

I'm slightly behind pace for where I want to be, which is problematic because I'm faced with a busy work week. But the story is definitely coming along. I'm hoarding it a bit for the moment while I figure a few things out, but here's a very quick sneak peek to prove that I have, in fact, been working.

( Many the Miles Sneak - Chapter 13 )

I'll likely have a complete chapter posted later this week when I finish tinkering with it and send it through the appropriate channels. Thanks for being patient. Good things are on the way, I hope!

After what has felt like an eternity, the writing drought seems to have ended, and another installment of Many the Miles is on the way. Chapter 9 has been sent off to #1 Beta to be torn apart for me to reassemble, and I hope to have it posted before the middle of the week. These next few chapters are presenting some difficulties for me, but I think you'll be happy with the final product once I get there. Thank you, as always, for being worlds of patient with me. 


( Here's a quick sneak peek... )

Quick and to the point so I can get back to writing the stuff you actually care about...

1. I have NOT abandoned "Many the Miles," and I'm starting to get freaked out now that those questions are coming my way. Life has been crazy busy lately, but I should have another update done soonish (read: within the next week).

2. LSB (a.k.a Law School Beta a.k.a my husband) accepted a very prestigious one-year job in Montgomery, AL to begin in September 2009. So I may or may not be moving to Alabama for a year. Whether or not I go depends on our plans afterwards. If he wants to work in Atlanta, then I'll keep my current job. If he wants to work in DC, I'll take a year off teaching and maybe finish grad school. Major life decisions like this, though, tend to be super-stressful (and not conducive to writing).

3. Finished the Twilight series. Loved Twilight. Thought the following books were enjoyable but not amazing.

4. Cannot contain my excitement for the season premiere of Grey's. I'm expecting the stuff of legends, people.

5. Episode recaps: I'm planning to resume them this season. They're super time-consuming, though, so I probably won't be able to do both recapping and fic writing. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll be miraculously gifted with time.

Now that I've settled into my temporary summer abode in downtown DC and played tourist enough to satisfy any initial curiosity about my nation's capitol, I am close to updating Many the Miles. Not even lying. I've written about 10 pages, 4,000 words so far, and my goal is to post a new chapter sometime tomorrow. 

And because you've all been worlds of patient, here is a preview...


And thanks, btw, for the many fic recs. They've helped me get back in the writing mood for sure. 

Oh, and I took the Grey's personality quiz today twice -- once as a female, then as a male. It turns out, I'm Cristina and George. Explain to me how that's even REMOTELY possible? One or the other, maybe, but both? Together? Maybe that's why I feel so confused all the time...

It's day 2 of my glorious four day weekend, and I have been writing pretty much all day. Yesterday, I frolicked between my two stories, turning to the other anytime I reached a particularly difficult part. Today, I promised myself that I would finish the current chapter of "Gravity" before returning to "Many the Miles."

And I did it. Chapter 28 is done and is now sitting in the powerful editing hands of LSB, who has agreed to stay on as my primary beta for "Gravity" until it's finished (mostly because I can be a serious pain in the ass when I whine - not because he has any love for the story. He actually thinks that Meredith and Derek are both pretty despicable characters.). 


I've written about 6,000 words today, responded to all of the chapter 27 reviews at ff.net, and outlined most of the next chapter for both MTM and Gravity, and I'm still going. 

Oh, and I got tickets today to see Radiohead in May.

Four day weekends seriously rock. I should get them more often.

Back in December, I read a fantastic book about writing entitled Chapter by Chapter by Heather Sellers.  It was a great pep talk about writing, and it discussed many of the perils and pitfalls of the craft. One chapter, for example, was all about how easy it is to get lured to a new project when you've spent a long time working on another project. It compared it to relationships - the new project seems all sexy and alluring, but that's only because you're so familiar with your current project. You know its warts and the nasty habits that you just haven't had a chance to experience with the new project. But they're there. Warts and all. And you have to see your current project out before you get in bed with a new project, because you really shouldn't have an affair. Jumping between projects doesn't benefit anyone. I read the chapter and laughed, thinking "That's so true! I'm constantly thinking of how much more fun it would be to work on a new fic, but I can't let myself start that until I finish 'Gravity'..."

So, I started a new project this week. *sigh* I told myself I wouldn't, but I did. It was just too tempting, and to be honest, it was a good side project when I didn't want to write "Gravity." It started out as a one-shot for the fanfic challenge, and it just...grew...on it's own really, into a giant pile of warm fuzzies that seemed so easy to work on...So angst-free and not at all resistant. I tried to tell it to wait - that I only have a few chapters left until I finish "Gravity," and then I can give it my full, undivided attention. We could curl up every night together, lounge around together on weekends, and I could lavish it with all the love my little fingers can produce across the keyboard. But it wouldn't wait, and it wouldn't take no for an answer. So I posted the first chapter of "Many the Miles" this week. Here's a link if  you want to read it. I've already posted the one-shot version of it here, and the first chapter includes all that and then some.  

I now find myself torn between two fics, with equal desire to work on each. I am fortunate to be nearing the end of day #1 of a glorious four day weekend where the only thing I have planned is writing time, and I've had a productive day on each. My goal is to get one update of each done each week, but I recognize that could be ambitious - particularly as I'm starting to succumb to higher creeping word counts. Regardless, I'm sticking with both until I finish them, as I will not abandon a fic. 

Oh, and fic idea #3? Back off, will you? I really can't handle any more projects at this point. Seriously.

Here's the story in it's original one-shot version. The first chapter will be extended substantially when it becomes part of "Many the Miles" because it obviously can't stop where I left off. The scene has too much potential. *g*  

I've vaguely mentioned a mystery project lately that I couldn't disclose, but now I can. I wrote what I thought would be a one-shot over at Grey's McBoard for their Super Secret Silent Sunset Fanfic Challenge. I was given a topic and a partner, IchooseMcDreamy08, and a word limit of 5,000-7,000 words, and away I went. 

My prompt was: Meeting online was not conventional, but when you are as busy and lonely as Meredith Grey, you do what you have to do. When her conversations with Derek Shepherd got more heated, and turned to phone calls, she thought she had fallen in love through the internet connection. But when they set up a meeting and come face to face, is it really love? 

Well, the voting happened, and "That Night in Seattle," the fic I worked on, won the category "Most Wanted to Continue." And you know what? I'm going to continue it. It's light, fluffy, a little-AU, and a good break from the angst of my other fic.

I would like to thank IchooseMcDreamy08 for collaborating with me on this one-shot and for giving me permission to continue it on my own. (I discovered that I don't work well with others...I have some control issues coupled with perfectionism that makes teamwork challenging. I wish I was a better person, but I'm not...). 

The new fic that continues this will be called "Many the Miles" based off the Sara Bareilles song. Yes, I'm having lots of Sara Bareilles fan love right now between that title and "Gravity." What can I say? She's pretty awesome. I won't be very fast with the updates because I'm prioritizing "Gravity" over the new fic, and I kinda hate working on two things at once, but it's coming relatively soon.

As for my fix-it fic that is also in the early development stages, I have decided to wait a couple months until I'm absolutely certain that we won't get any new episodes until September before I post anything. I still want to give Shonda a chance to fix it herself (which she will) if the Writer's Strike ever gets resolved. Plus, I'm sure there will be a deluge of fix-it fics in the short term. But we'll see...