Welcome to the blog of science fiction author Eileen Rhoadarmer--where science fiction and Mommyhood collide!


Thursday, August 30, 2012

What? A post?

No, I haven't fallen into a black hole.  I've just been busy.  I'm trying to develop a smart phone app, the novel still progresses, the kids require care as always, and we're gearing up for Zaxxon to start preschool.  Yes, blogging has mostly fallen by the wayside.  But here are a few kiddie crafts that we've thrown in here and there.

The day after we got back from Orlando, Zaxxon declared that he wanted to make a map.  A map of what?  Of where we were... of where Mickey lives!  So we pulled out some big paper and a park map we brought home and set about making a personalized map, highlighting the rides we went on.

Drawing Cinderella's Castle

Coloring Mickey

Insisting on using liquid glue to put it together

Now this was an awesome craft, and all his idea (though I influenced the implementation.)  If nothing else, it helps him remember everything that we did, and it was great to ride on his enthusiasm.  He regularly wants to "talk about it," which I think is great.

A week or so later, we also made a map for Animal Kingdom. 

Hubby did a lot of background on this one

Animal Kingdom, as we saw it

These helped make his trip extra special.  I love it when Zaxxon suggests crafts, and I love it even more when the crafts he suggests are do-able!

Tot School


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My manuscript is again Riddled with Comments

I've been spending nearly three weeks going over my research notes from my trip to Kennedy last month.
(That's one big rocket!)

I've been doing a lot of rethinking during this time.  Some elements are major, some are minor, but all require figuring out exactly how they fit.  I've begun adding comments to the manuscrit again so I can put my thoughts where they need to be, but not make the actual changes until I read through the story in sequence.  So now I have over 100 comments to consider as I go through--and I'm not even done adding them yet.

I am close to being done, however.  Soon.  Soon I will finish adding comments and start at the beginning again.  Soon.

The sad thing is that most of my new comments are in the first sixteen chapters of the novel--and I've already been through the first fourteen chapters once.  Why can't most of the necessary changes be to parts of the novel I haven't edited yet? 

Because the beginning of the novel takes place in and around Kennedy Space Center, but it branches out for the middle and end, that's why.  Ooh, Murphy, you tease me.

So I am still working.  Steadily.  Slowly.  I yearn for speed, but will bide my time until it all fits.

Some vacation pics:

Here I am, trying to pose at the astronaut van, when hubby pokes his head around from the back and calls "Driver, can you hurry it up?  I've got a rocket to catch."  Ppbth!
Zaxxon with a rocket.  He has LOVED rockets since we got back.  We got him a matchbox space shuttle to occupy him on the flight home and it has been played with a lot, he managed to find a non-fiction little kids' book on the space shuttle at the library, and he's constantly making rockets out of legos.  Methinks he's inspired!
Teaching them how to fly already
Our little astronaut!  This playground was awesome.  Kal'El managed not to learn to walk until just after we got back, but he still enjoyed crawling around after his brother

Thursday, August 2, 2012

July Stat Check

During the month of July, I wrote/edited on all 31 days
I edited my novel, working on chapters 11-14 (14 and 15 got condensed into one chapter), did some on-site research, and began making major decisions in preparation to start at the beginning again to make any necessary changes
I made 3 submissions
I received 6 rejections
I took between 4 and 8 days to get a story back out after a rejection (the ones that have made it back out already, anyway)
I have 12 stories in slush pile circulation (4 are waiting)
I made 8 blog posts
I took no days off

Analysis:
I was working through the novel at a pretty good clip, got to see Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding area firsthand, and then started figuring out what needs to change.  I knew I would need to make some changes after visiting Florida--some of them are in areas that I expected and purposefully left vague, but others were unexpected.  I'd never thought much about how different humid air feels from Colorado's dry air (even though I've been to Florida before)--but I have random comments about the nights cooling off that assumed the more drastic temperature change we get here without realizing that humid air holds onto its heat longer.  There are other little things like that, in addition to larger items.  I've slowed way down while orienting the necessary changes, but I still feel like I'm making good progress.  Soon I will start over at the beginning--I don't want to miss any other minor details--but I expect the first 14 chapters ought to go pretty fast since not much will need to change in them, and then I'll continue at the approximately-one-chapter-per-week pace of before.