Wowzers. . . this time of year just zips by, doesn't it? It starts with my kidlet's birthday right befor Thanksgiving and it won't stop until we take down the Christmas stuff on or near New Year's day.
Y'all have already heard about the sleepover so I won't bore you again with my rendition. We missed a large portion of the normal family contingent for Thanksgiving this year. Our house was suspiciously quiet. The GA group had come to town for my niece's wedding in September so it wasn't in the cards or the funds for double air fares this year. WE MISSED Y'ALL!! Thanksgiving was a smaller group this year, only about 19 of us, instead of the 25-30 we normally have, which means I only made two desserts: Toffee Crunch Cheesecake and Lemon Curd Layer Cake.
--hubster has requested the lemon cake for his work party on Thursday, maybe this time I won't forget to put the grated lemon peel into the cake! I had it grated, but just forgot. Ooopsie. Uh, I don't think anyone noticed. :-)
So last week we . . .
--Outside Christmas lights put up--CHECK (unusually warm weather so hubs took advantage of it)
--Christmas tree put up and decorated--CHECK
--Other Christmas stuff out--CHECK
--Exercised (jog/walk) four days last week--CHECK
--Went to one Light's On ceremony--CHECK
--Visited Rhema Bible College--CHECK (way impressive light display!)
--Oh, yeah, I read two books last week
This week, I'm . . .
--looking for Advent calendar presents
--regular present buying
--finish baby afghan
--thaw chocolate and decide what I'm making this year
--make lemon layer cake
--exercise four days this week--cold fronts are moving in, so it will be right nippy!
--read
--SET WRITING GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR!!
I'm sure I missed something.
I hope you all had a wonderful start to your holiday season!
Remember to spend as much time with your loved ones, or not so loved ones, because you never know when it might be your last chance. Presents are just stuff, so be sure to give of yourself and your time. It may not seem like much, but it can mean the world to those little ones, those that are very old, and all of us inbetween!
Write on!
11/25/09
Oi . . . Oy . . . OW!!!
Yes, people, I hurt. . . a lot. :-)
If you read my Monday blog you would know that I started jogging with a neighborhood friend. She was very gentle as we warmed up and started jogging, allowing me to make the choices for how far we jogged.
In total we jog/walked about an hour and, roughly guessing, four miles. We went along the route that I'd been walking, partly in a neighborhood to a main road to get to a walking trail that snakes around a bog area under a major expressway intersection. It's really pretty through there. A bridge crosses a creek where beaver live--yep, smack-dab in the middle of the city. I haven't seen deer near the walking trail, but have seen them less than 0.5 mile away crossing a four-lane road.
Anyhoo, I was pretty happy with what I managed on Monday. I have asthma, so I was concerned about my lungs/lung capacity, but V is a nurse, plus her kiddos have asthma, so she coached me in the appropriate way to breath. I got home and my muscles started talkin' to me. Not bad, just reminding me that there were there. It wasn't until I ate lunch with hubster and we sat at Logan's for an hour did I realize how much my muscles were seizing. I knew my legs would hurt, but I didn't count on abs and ribs. V said it was due to the core muscles stabilizing the body during the bouncing of jogging--and those poor muscles had a LOT to stabilize!
--and cravings! Man, I craved PROTEIN! I ate about three of those little baby Goudas and some cooked bacon.
I insisted we do our family walk that night, to start rebuilding the muscle and flush the lactic acid out of my system as I'd been guzzling water all day.
Tuesday dawns brightly and it wasn't until I tried to stand that "Uh-Oh" ran through my mind. I could barely walk down the stairs and V expected me to jog, AGAIN?!
Well, there was a lot less jogging, and a lot more stretching, as we power walked the same trail, but since we didn't jog--genius here, suggested we take the left fork in the trail to add some distance to our walk. We were gone about 75 minutes. No clue as to how many miles we walked.
By Tuesday afternoon, I felt HORRIBLE!! Oh, some of it was due to 'female' stuff, but my thighs were screaming for mercy. The last time I hurt that much was at a two-day horseback riding clinic--and that was when I was in my twenties and in shape. Now, I'm in my forties and so out of shape it ain't even funny.
But you know what?
I can't wait until V is back in town to go jogging again on Monday. The holidays will throw a small curve in my plans, but I have every intention to power walk at least two or three days over the holidays. And though I'm having a difficult time going up and down (down is worse) stairs, I'm okay with it because I know I'm getting into shape and that I'll feel better in the long run.
I'm sending a Write On! shoutout to my NaNo friend! Keep on writing! Who cares if it's dreck? Get it down and then you can fix it!
I'm taking a small writing sabbatical until January as I can't seem to find the motivation to work on any of my stories. Christmas is coming fast and I have enough to think about without adding the pressure of self-imposed writing deadlines.
Don't forget to start thinking about what you have accomplished this year and setting new goals for next year.
If you read my Monday blog you would know that I started jogging with a neighborhood friend. She was very gentle as we warmed up and started jogging, allowing me to make the choices for how far we jogged.
In total we jog/walked about an hour and, roughly guessing, four miles. We went along the route that I'd been walking, partly in a neighborhood to a main road to get to a walking trail that snakes around a bog area under a major expressway intersection. It's really pretty through there. A bridge crosses a creek where beaver live--yep, smack-dab in the middle of the city. I haven't seen deer near the walking trail, but have seen them less than 0.5 mile away crossing a four-lane road.
Anyhoo, I was pretty happy with what I managed on Monday. I have asthma, so I was concerned about my lungs/lung capacity, but V is a nurse, plus her kiddos have asthma, so she coached me in the appropriate way to breath. I got home and my muscles started talkin' to me. Not bad, just reminding me that there were there. It wasn't until I ate lunch with hubster and we sat at Logan's for an hour did I realize how much my muscles were seizing. I knew my legs would hurt, but I didn't count on abs and ribs. V said it was due to the core muscles stabilizing the body during the bouncing of jogging--and those poor muscles had a LOT to stabilize!
--and cravings! Man, I craved PROTEIN! I ate about three of those little baby Goudas and some cooked bacon.
I insisted we do our family walk that night, to start rebuilding the muscle and flush the lactic acid out of my system as I'd been guzzling water all day.
Tuesday dawns brightly and it wasn't until I tried to stand that "Uh-Oh" ran through my mind. I could barely walk down the stairs and V expected me to jog, AGAIN?!
Well, there was a lot less jogging, and a lot more stretching, as we power walked the same trail, but since we didn't jog--genius here, suggested we take the left fork in the trail to add some distance to our walk. We were gone about 75 minutes. No clue as to how many miles we walked.
By Tuesday afternoon, I felt HORRIBLE!! Oh, some of it was due to 'female' stuff, but my thighs were screaming for mercy. The last time I hurt that much was at a two-day horseback riding clinic--and that was when I was in my twenties and in shape. Now, I'm in my forties and so out of shape it ain't even funny.
But you know what?
I can't wait until V is back in town to go jogging again on Monday. The holidays will throw a small curve in my plans, but I have every intention to power walk at least two or three days over the holidays. And though I'm having a difficult time going up and down (down is worse) stairs, I'm okay with it because I know I'm getting into shape and that I'll feel better in the long run.
I'm sending a Write On! shoutout to my NaNo friend! Keep on writing! Who cares if it's dreck? Get it down and then you can fix it!
I'm taking a small writing sabbatical until January as I can't seem to find the motivation to work on any of my stories. Christmas is coming fast and I have enough to think about without adding the pressure of self-imposed writing deadlines.
Don't forget to start thinking about what you have accomplished this year and setting new goals for next year.
11/23/09
I SURVIVED!!! (Looooonnnnnggggg . . . .)
--my kiddo's ninth birthday party and sleepover. YAY!
--oh, and this is my reminder to never do it again! YAY!
--And I didn't even have to resort to drinking to get through it! Double YAY!
Wow. The last few days have been nutso! All I have to show for it is a new batch of pimples and a dirty house! Yes, Virginia, you still get pimples even when you are pushing the big 5 0. Everything worked out pretty well if I do say so myself. :-)
--HINT: have plenty of craft projects to do.
I wanted to limit the number of kids so I put the cap at five girls--five eight- and nine-year-olds--so, of course, we invited seven.
--What is it with parents these days? Do they not know what RSVP means? Out of seven kids, we had only THREE parents who actually told me their kid was coming. The one decline, which I wouldn't have expected a call from, but heard about from my daughter. That left three unknowns. Now, my kiddo came home and told me that her friends were coming, but I didn't have positive confirmation. *sigh* I know this is the 'new' trend, but still the invite had RSVP, Not Regrets Only.
We had a total of six kidlets and only room enough for four in my car and that's if I left the hubster at home, so we roped in Grandma and Grandpa to help chauffeur the kiddos to the movie theater--about a mile away. We split the kidlets up and arrive at the movies about fifteen minutes prior to show time, only to discover one pimply teenager issuing tickets and a line of people heading out the door.
--What's a parent to do? Well, you leave the hubster in line and crash through the non-existent ticket takers and find seats in the theater. Luckily--most of the people in line were heading to NEW MOON and not PLANET 51.
--found out later that the weaselly manager kept poking his head out asking the kid selling tickets if he needed help, and then he would disappear back into his little room, leaving the kid alone to sell tickets. What a jerk wad manager.
--Now, my job, and the grandparents, was to contain six giggly girls to their seats without tying them down AND keeping their feet off the chairs in front of them. Oh, and they managed to scare away one family in the process who moved down about five rows. I wonder why??
The movie was good. The kids liked it. It was a tribute to a TON of movies: STAR WARS, ALIEN, BACK TO THE FUTURE, THE RIGHT STUFF, blah, blah, blah.
We arrived home. Grandma and Grandpa drove away as soon as the coast was clear. The kidlets went nutso. And hubster went for pizza.
Kids ate. We gained another kidlet. Sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Opened prezzies. Did craft. I went ballistic during the gazillionth blood-curdling, ear-piercing scream. Yes, I lost it.
--But you have to give me credit: 1) I didn't hit anyone, including my own kid, 2) I didn't resort to drinking. :-)
--I KNOW kidlets are loud and when you get a gaggle of them, especially girls, there is a lot of screaming, but even I have my limits. Uh, the kidlets kept the noise to a normal dull roar--for a gaggle of girls.
One kidlet left, not the same one who arrived late, but another one who had to go out of town early the next day. Of course, since this kidlet's mom was my kidlet's teacher, the gaggle had to show her around and introduce her to our fat guinea pig, Rocky, the cat, Kato, the dog, Katie, the koi living in the pond in the back yard, and Blinky our beta. Yeah, no secrets from the teacher, I'm surprised they didn't show her my laundry basket, but I digress.
We got the kidlets into their jammies and made them brush their teeth, but honestly didn't expect them to sleep until midnight or so.
Fast foreword: Make that three AM when I when ballistic (again) and told them to SHUT IT. Of course it was my kid and a neighbor kid. My kid asked if they could laugh. "NO!" I growled. Silence and peace reigned until eight AM. Out of the six remaining kidlets, I think a couple would sleep while the others chattered, and then it rotated around the group, with them periodically coming into our room to complain that 'so-and-so was talking and keeping her awake.
--Of course, my butt was out of bed at six, but that's my quiet time: coffee, paper, Farmville.
--It was a successful sleepover because two of the kidlets have had some issues in the past with sleeping overnight, and they successfully managed it. YAY!
Next morning, hubster made pancakes. The kids got dressed. We did another craft. We painted Christmas ornaments with stained glass paint. It's pretty cool . . . until the first one shatters on the tile kitchen floor. Two more of my practice ones bit the dust when hubster vacuumed up the glass and he bumped his butt into the foam holder. Oh, well there's plenty of paint.
The kidlets played upstairs and went home one by one, until we were left with our little peanut. We had a short downtime until the kidlet had to play a soccer game. Last game of the season and we figure out she is a GREAT defensive player! Oh, well, there's spring season.
We had to leave the game early to attend my niece's baby shower. So we trundle over to Grandma Sullivan's house to change and pick Grams up. The shower was at another niece's house, so we got the grand tour. My kidlet spent the entire shower taking pictures. Not bad for a nine year old, huh? We brought her Nintendo DS, just in case, but didn't need it. When we got home it was time for our presents: an angel afghan she wanted me to make, two Beverly Cleary books, and a CAMERA!! She was ecstatic!
Needless to say, we were in bed at eight. They others slept until 8:30, but I was up at 6:20. Hey, it's what I do.
--We only ended up with one extra pair of socks. Not too bad.
So during our soccer game, a friend set up a morning exercise get-together on Monday. She jogs . . . like a lot . . . and I don't. Over the years, exercise has become a bad word. It's sad really because I used to TEACH aerobics in the 80's and rode my horse for over twenty years until I sold him about five years ago.
So this will be my first foray into the walk/jog program.
I survived a gaggle of girls, but the next question is . . . can I survive jogging?
Until Wednesday, Write On!
--oh, and this is my reminder to never do it again! YAY!
--And I didn't even have to resort to drinking to get through it! Double YAY!
Wow. The last few days have been nutso! All I have to show for it is a new batch of pimples and a dirty house! Yes, Virginia, you still get pimples even when you are pushing the big 5 0. Everything worked out pretty well if I do say so myself. :-)
--HINT: have plenty of craft projects to do.
I wanted to limit the number of kids so I put the cap at five girls--five eight- and nine-year-olds--so, of course, we invited seven.
--What is it with parents these days? Do they not know what RSVP means? Out of seven kids, we had only THREE parents who actually told me their kid was coming. The one decline, which I wouldn't have expected a call from, but heard about from my daughter. That left three unknowns. Now, my kiddo came home and told me that her friends were coming, but I didn't have positive confirmation. *sigh* I know this is the 'new' trend, but still the invite had RSVP, Not Regrets Only.
We had a total of six kidlets and only room enough for four in my car and that's if I left the hubster at home, so we roped in Grandma and Grandpa to help chauffeur the kiddos to the movie theater--about a mile away. We split the kidlets up and arrive at the movies about fifteen minutes prior to show time, only to discover one pimply teenager issuing tickets and a line of people heading out the door.
--What's a parent to do? Well, you leave the hubster in line and crash through the non-existent ticket takers and find seats in the theater. Luckily--most of the people in line were heading to NEW MOON and not PLANET 51.
--found out later that the weaselly manager kept poking his head out asking the kid selling tickets if he needed help, and then he would disappear back into his little room, leaving the kid alone to sell tickets. What a jerk wad manager.
--Now, my job, and the grandparents, was to contain six giggly girls to their seats without tying them down AND keeping their feet off the chairs in front of them. Oh, and they managed to scare away one family in the process who moved down about five rows. I wonder why??
The movie was good. The kids liked it. It was a tribute to a TON of movies: STAR WARS, ALIEN, BACK TO THE FUTURE, THE RIGHT STUFF, blah, blah, blah.
We arrived home. Grandma and Grandpa drove away as soon as the coast was clear. The kidlets went nutso. And hubster went for pizza.
Kids ate. We gained another kidlet. Sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Opened prezzies. Did craft. I went ballistic during the gazillionth blood-curdling, ear-piercing scream. Yes, I lost it.
--But you have to give me credit: 1) I didn't hit anyone, including my own kid, 2) I didn't resort to drinking. :-)
--I KNOW kidlets are loud and when you get a gaggle of them, especially girls, there is a lot of screaming, but even I have my limits. Uh, the kidlets kept the noise to a normal dull roar--for a gaggle of girls.
One kidlet left, not the same one who arrived late, but another one who had to go out of town early the next day. Of course, since this kidlet's mom was my kidlet's teacher, the gaggle had to show her around and introduce her to our fat guinea pig, Rocky, the cat, Kato, the dog, Katie, the koi living in the pond in the back yard, and Blinky our beta. Yeah, no secrets from the teacher, I'm surprised they didn't show her my laundry basket, but I digress.
We got the kidlets into their jammies and made them brush their teeth, but honestly didn't expect them to sleep until midnight or so.
Fast foreword: Make that three AM when I when ballistic (again) and told them to SHUT IT. Of course it was my kid and a neighbor kid. My kid asked if they could laugh. "NO!" I growled. Silence and peace reigned until eight AM. Out of the six remaining kidlets, I think a couple would sleep while the others chattered, and then it rotated around the group, with them periodically coming into our room to complain that 'so-and-so was talking and keeping her awake.
--Of course, my butt was out of bed at six, but that's my quiet time: coffee, paper, Farmville.
--It was a successful sleepover because two of the kidlets have had some issues in the past with sleeping overnight, and they successfully managed it. YAY!
Next morning, hubster made pancakes. The kids got dressed. We did another craft. We painted Christmas ornaments with stained glass paint. It's pretty cool . . . until the first one shatters on the tile kitchen floor. Two more of my practice ones bit the dust when hubster vacuumed up the glass and he bumped his butt into the foam holder. Oh, well there's plenty of paint.
The kidlets played upstairs and went home one by one, until we were left with our little peanut. We had a short downtime until the kidlet had to play a soccer game. Last game of the season and we figure out she is a GREAT defensive player! Oh, well, there's spring season.
We had to leave the game early to attend my niece's baby shower. So we trundle over to Grandma Sullivan's house to change and pick Grams up. The shower was at another niece's house, so we got the grand tour. My kidlet spent the entire shower taking pictures. Not bad for a nine year old, huh? We brought her Nintendo DS, just in case, but didn't need it. When we got home it was time for our presents: an angel afghan she wanted me to make, two Beverly Cleary books, and a CAMERA!! She was ecstatic!
Needless to say, we were in bed at eight. They others slept until 8:30, but I was up at 6:20. Hey, it's what I do.
--We only ended up with one extra pair of socks. Not too bad.
So during our soccer game, a friend set up a morning exercise get-together on Monday. She jogs . . . like a lot . . . and I don't. Over the years, exercise has become a bad word. It's sad really because I used to TEACH aerobics in the 80's and rode my horse for over twenty years until I sold him about five years ago.
So this will be my first foray into the walk/jog program.
I survived a gaggle of girls, but the next question is . . . can I survive jogging?
Until Wednesday, Write On!
11/20/09
Double, double, toil and trouble. . .
DAMN! Shakespeare certainly knew his stuff--and it was almost as if he knew about the Harlequin brouhaha before anyone else! Uhm, basically HQ went to bed with AuthorSolutions(self-publishing) and managed to catch a roaring case of crabs. Within a short period of time RWA pulled their support of ALL HQ imprints, which means their HQ authors are NOT allowed to sign at any RWA venue and they will not be able to submit their books for the Rita's (romance's answer to the Oscars), and I'm certain there are all sorts of other ramifications that I'm blissfully unaware.
And as I'm supremely NOT qualified nor do I have an immediate interest in the outcome, I will leave it for others to give their input.
--And I'm sure virtually every agent and author who has ANY connection to Harlequin--and even some that don't--has had something to say about the situation. (sorry, no links--find your own. Okay, I'll provide some if you ask nicely)
I feel sorry for all the authors caught in this mess. They did nothing wrong. It is simply a case of management seeing guaranteed dollar signs with frustrated writers willing to do anything to publish their tomes--even handing over $600+ for the privilege of HQ/AH to publish it.
Uh, Remember--money moves toward the author. I can also see it from the business side of the issue. HQ saw a huge leap in the self-publishing industry and didn't see any reason NOT to get a piece of the market. They already had the set up, so it was a simple decision to add gravy to their taters.
But honestly, some books have no biz EVER getting published. Oh, there are exceptions: granny's rambling memoirs about the Oklahoma land run or a cookbook with all the recipes handed down over the generations to share with family.
But most self-pubbed books could stand a heavy editing hand. Shoot, just judge a contest and you know what I mean!
In the meantime, I'm popping some popcorn and sitting back to watch the show. It'll be interesting to see how it all boils down.
As I said before, I feel so sorry for those HQ authors, especially the debut authors, who are caught in the middle of the crap hitting the fan.
Thanks a lot, HQ!
But while we wait to see what happens . . . Write On!
And as I'm supremely NOT qualified nor do I have an immediate interest in the outcome, I will leave it for others to give their input.
--And I'm sure virtually every agent and author who has ANY connection to Harlequin--and even some that don't--has had something to say about the situation. (sorry, no links--find your own. Okay, I'll provide some if you ask nicely)
I feel sorry for all the authors caught in this mess. They did nothing wrong. It is simply a case of management seeing guaranteed dollar signs with frustrated writers willing to do anything to publish their tomes--even handing over $600+ for the privilege of HQ/AH to publish it.
Uh, Remember--money moves toward the author. I can also see it from the business side of the issue. HQ saw a huge leap in the self-publishing industry and didn't see any reason NOT to get a piece of the market. They already had the set up, so it was a simple decision to add gravy to their taters.
But honestly, some books have no biz EVER getting published. Oh, there are exceptions: granny's rambling memoirs about the Oklahoma land run or a cookbook with all the recipes handed down over the generations to share with family.
But most self-pubbed books could stand a heavy editing hand. Shoot, just judge a contest and you know what I mean!
In the meantime, I'm popping some popcorn and sitting back to watch the show. It'll be interesting to see how it all boils down.
As I said before, I feel so sorry for those HQ authors, especially the debut authors, who are caught in the middle of the crap hitting the fan.
Thanks a lot, HQ!
But while we wait to see what happens . . . Write On!
11/18/09
The Craziness has Started
Puttering around again. . .
Though my mojo is back, life has once again gotten in the way. As I mentioned to my lovely SIL, the craziness is starting and I won't have a life to call my own until I punt the children (yes, even the big 6'3'' child) out the door in January. But I have stuff to keep me occupied:
1) An SOS went out on my goals loop for judges--turns out a coordinator for an RWA contest had a few judges flake out on her--this has so happened to me when I coordinated--so I have two entries in my in box to judge. I glanced at them. They don't look hideous, but first paragraphs can be deceiving. I'll get to them this afternoon.
2) My kiddo's birthday is this weekend. A screaming, giggling horde of little girls are spending the night Friday. Saturday morning is craft time. Noonish is a make-up soccer game. 1:30 we have to pick up Grandma to attend my Godchild/niece's baby shower at 2:00. Then we have to have a private birthday celebration for the kiddo. She gets to chose the restaurant--of course, we will give her a 'helpful' selection to choose from. :-)
3) Uh, I forgot to mention that I haven't ordered the kiddo's cake yet (she wants a cookie cake), or figured out all the craft projects or cleaned the house. Yeah, I know, I know, clean the house so kids can mess it up. Hey! It's what we Gollas do.
4) A friend lent me a book about Down Syndrome siblings--I need to read it for research--one of the characters in my next middle-grade book is dealing with a sib and I want to get her actions/reactions right. I glanced inside and I really like the format of the book--one of my big pet peeves are books that make it difficult for the reader--I even gave away an unused Racheal Ray cookbook because I couldn't stand the blue font!
5) Thanksgiving is around the corner. Time to figure out what I want to make this year. Oh, I love baking, but it won't be as much fun without my SIL drinking and dancing with me as we have a two day long cooking fest. I miss my Margie!! And her kiddos, too! They make the chore fun!
6) and a blog topic. I need to come up with something to natter on and on about for Friday. And I'll take suggestions!
Gotta go...
And good luck to my NaNo friends!!
Write On, Peeps!
Though my mojo is back, life has once again gotten in the way. As I mentioned to my lovely SIL, the craziness is starting and I won't have a life to call my own until I punt the children (yes, even the big 6'3'' child) out the door in January. But I have stuff to keep me occupied:
1) An SOS went out on my goals loop for judges--turns out a coordinator for an RWA contest had a few judges flake out on her--this has so happened to me when I coordinated--so I have two entries in my in box to judge. I glanced at them. They don't look hideous, but first paragraphs can be deceiving. I'll get to them this afternoon.
2) My kiddo's birthday is this weekend. A screaming, giggling horde of little girls are spending the night Friday. Saturday morning is craft time. Noonish is a make-up soccer game. 1:30 we have to pick up Grandma to attend my Godchild/niece's baby shower at 2:00. Then we have to have a private birthday celebration for the kiddo. She gets to chose the restaurant--of course, we will give her a 'helpful' selection to choose from. :-)
3) Uh, I forgot to mention that I haven't ordered the kiddo's cake yet (she wants a cookie cake), or figured out all the craft projects or cleaned the house. Yeah, I know, I know, clean the house so kids can mess it up. Hey! It's what we Gollas do.
4) A friend lent me a book about Down Syndrome siblings--I need to read it for research--one of the characters in my next middle-grade book is dealing with a sib and I want to get her actions/reactions right. I glanced inside and I really like the format of the book--one of my big pet peeves are books that make it difficult for the reader--I even gave away an unused Racheal Ray cookbook because I couldn't stand the blue font!
5) Thanksgiving is around the corner. Time to figure out what I want to make this year. Oh, I love baking, but it won't be as much fun without my SIL drinking and dancing with me as we have a two day long cooking fest. I miss my Margie!! And her kiddos, too! They make the chore fun!
6) and a blog topic. I need to come up with something to natter on and on about for Friday. And I'll take suggestions!
Gotta go...
And good luck to my NaNo friends!!
Write On, Peeps!
11/16/09
Welcome back, Mojo!
Well, I'm busy putzing around this morning on the blogosphere.
But I'm excited to announce that I got my mojo back! YAY!
Last week, I didn't know what to do with my writing self so I called my friend Cyndi. I wanted to get back into my second middle-grade novel, but was stuck. I needed brainstorming help. For my story, I wanted a human element of growth along with the fantasy adventure story. I wanted Rhee's antagonist (popular kid) to have a secret, a secret she would be embarrassed for her friends in the 'cool kid' group to find out. I thought about having her dad lose his job. I thought about him being an alcoholic. I thought about him hitting her--but I really didn't want to open that particular can of worms. Just talking it out with Cyndi helped me come up with the right answer for this story. And no, I'm not telling you what it was! Only Cyndi knows the concept. :-)
I love having someone to brainstorm with. I tried it once with my hubby, but he got upset when I didn't take his suggestion. Uh, the key to brainstorming is to offer all sorts of solutions--including the stupid ones--to get the writer's mind open to all sorts of possibilities. When I was writing Leprechaun I needed some way to kill a manticore (part man, part lion, part scorpion). I wanted a solution that would work for my story in the setting I had written. We did this brainstorming session in our goals chat room. Donna gave me a ton of suggestions: hit by car, steam roller, guillotine, etc. BUT just by suggesting ridiculous solutions, I came up with the one I was happy with. It pithed itself :-) but there was the excitement of the fight before that it tried to kill my hero when he sat on it's neck.
So, I'm back, and I'm off to reread what I've written on FF, deleting the part that I KNEW was wrong. Ugh, I don't want to even think about how many pages are going bye-bye!
I hope everyone is having a happy and productive Monday! And keep going NaNo friends. BTW: Dale from my goals group crossed the 50,000 word mark last night!! WheeWhoo! 50K in 15 days! FANTABULOUS!!
Write on!
But I'm excited to announce that I got my mojo back! YAY!
Last week, I didn't know what to do with my writing self so I called my friend Cyndi. I wanted to get back into my second middle-grade novel, but was stuck. I needed brainstorming help. For my story, I wanted a human element of growth along with the fantasy adventure story. I wanted Rhee's antagonist (popular kid) to have a secret, a secret she would be embarrassed for her friends in the 'cool kid' group to find out. I thought about having her dad lose his job. I thought about him being an alcoholic. I thought about him hitting her--but I really didn't want to open that particular can of worms. Just talking it out with Cyndi helped me come up with the right answer for this story. And no, I'm not telling you what it was! Only Cyndi knows the concept. :-)
I love having someone to brainstorm with. I tried it once with my hubby, but he got upset when I didn't take his suggestion. Uh, the key to brainstorming is to offer all sorts of solutions--including the stupid ones--to get the writer's mind open to all sorts of possibilities. When I was writing Leprechaun I needed some way to kill a manticore (part man, part lion, part scorpion). I wanted a solution that would work for my story in the setting I had written. We did this brainstorming session in our goals chat room. Donna gave me a ton of suggestions: hit by car, steam roller, guillotine, etc. BUT just by suggesting ridiculous solutions, I came up with the one I was happy with. It pithed itself :-) but there was the excitement of the fight before that it tried to kill my hero when he sat on it's neck.
So, I'm back, and I'm off to reread what I've written on FF, deleting the part that I KNEW was wrong. Ugh, I don't want to even think about how many pages are going bye-bye!
I hope everyone is having a happy and productive Monday! And keep going NaNo friends. BTW: Dale from my goals group crossed the 50,000 word mark last night!! WheeWhoo! 50K in 15 days! FANTABULOUS!!
Write on!
11/13/09
The Calm before the Holidays
This has been a weird week for me, the inhalation of breathe as I wait--wait for what, I don't have a clue! I've been at odds with what to do with myself. I stopped writing on one story because I was trying to make it something it wasn't. I started revamping another story for a contest, but didn't make the next round. About half the queries I sent to agents over the summer for MOGG still haven't had a response and, as they have hit the three month mark, I don't expect any sort of positive vibes.
And I still haven't received my rejection from the Delacorte Yearling contest. But that doesn't surprise me. One, I sent MOGG in on the very last possible day. And two, I heard through a couple of loops that they had more entries than expected and have pushed their announcement back until mid-December.
So what's a girl to do?
Exercise. Yep, I started exercising again on the Wii Fit and walking with the family . . . in the dark . . . at night (Spongebob inside joke). Hey, you take what you can get. I'm hoping that once I get my tolerance. . . oops, endurance, level up, I can start mini-jogging. One day at a time.
Playing MarioKart. Yep, I'm not a gamer, but when we exchanged our Wii for a new one, we lost EVERYTHING. I must get back into gaming shape.
Read. Ya'll saw my reading list from Wednesday and that doesn't even cover the books I've been waiting to buy or the ones sitting in my To Be Read box in the closet. Which means I need to clean out my read books and either sell or donate them.
Crochet. Something about this season brings out the crocheter in me. I think it's a comfort thing of crocheting and keeping myself warm with the blankie I'm making while watching TV or a movie.
Plus I'm making a baby blanket for my goddaughter niece--Family members who are reading this DO NOT TELL HER!! And for goodness sakes--DON'T TELL GRANDMA!
Query. Yes, I have about twenty more agents that I plan to query with MOGG. I'll revamp my query and double check my submission packet (anywhere from a page or two to three chapters and a synopsis) I might get a bite, but at least I'll feel as if I did everything possible for that story. Already queried XX and received one rejection. Trust me, I prefer the quick and relatively painless R to never knowing.
Get ready for holidays. And it starts with my kiddo's birthday sleepover a week from today, which means the prep starts right after her last soccer game of the season THIS Saturday. After her birthday is cooking desserts for Thanksgiving, but this year there'll be a smaller crowd at my bro's house with just the local clan--13-18 people, depending. Normally, I'd start my Christmas candy this year, but I'm toning that down and will NOT be making my truffles and filled candies. Partly due to the cost of chocolate and the back breaking effort that doesn't really get the appreciation and thanks it should. And shopping--the largest time consuming task around.
Write. I might start writing again, but I think I need the mental break. I've been beating my head against the publishing door for so long that I've wondered if it's all worth it. I'm tired of the negativity. Oh, I know that I can write a good story, but from what I've seen it's just NOT good enough. Heck, I can't even get my eight-year-old kid to read my middle-grade novel! Yeah, that's depressing!
So that's my game plan. Of course, everything is subject to change depending on whim and circumstances.
What about you? Do you have any plans for the rest of the year?
Write on!
And I still haven't received my rejection from the Delacorte Yearling contest. But that doesn't surprise me. One, I sent MOGG in on the very last possible day. And two, I heard through a couple of loops that they had more entries than expected and have pushed their announcement back until mid-December.
So what's a girl to do?
Exercise. Yep, I started exercising again on the Wii Fit and walking with the family . . . in the dark . . . at night (Spongebob inside joke). Hey, you take what you can get. I'm hoping that once I get my tolerance. . . oops, endurance, level up, I can start mini-jogging. One day at a time.
Playing MarioKart. Yep, I'm not a gamer, but when we exchanged our Wii for a new one, we lost EVERYTHING. I must get back into gaming shape.
Read. Ya'll saw my reading list from Wednesday and that doesn't even cover the books I've been waiting to buy or the ones sitting in my To Be Read box in the closet. Which means I need to clean out my read books and either sell or donate them.
Crochet. Something about this season brings out the crocheter in me. I think it's a comfort thing of crocheting and keeping myself warm with the blankie I'm making while watching TV or a movie.
Plus I'm making a baby blanket for my goddaughter niece--Family members who are reading this DO NOT TELL HER!! And for goodness sakes--DON'T TELL GRANDMA!
Query. Yes, I have about twenty more agents that I plan to query with MOGG. I'll revamp my query and double check my submission packet (anywhere from a page or two to three chapters and a synopsis) I might get a bite, but at least I'll feel as if I did everything possible for that story. Already queried XX and received one rejection. Trust me, I prefer the quick and relatively painless R to never knowing.
Get ready for holidays. And it starts with my kiddo's birthday sleepover a week from today, which means the prep starts right after her last soccer game of the season THIS Saturday. After her birthday is cooking desserts for Thanksgiving, but this year there'll be a smaller crowd at my bro's house with just the local clan--13-18 people, depending. Normally, I'd start my Christmas candy this year, but I'm toning that down and will NOT be making my truffles and filled candies. Partly due to the cost of chocolate and the back breaking effort that doesn't really get the appreciation and thanks it should. And shopping--the largest time consuming task around.
Write. I might start writing again, but I think I need the mental break. I've been beating my head against the publishing door for so long that I've wondered if it's all worth it. I'm tired of the negativity. Oh, I know that I can write a good story, but from what I've seen it's just NOT good enough. Heck, I can't even get my eight-year-old kid to read my middle-grade novel! Yeah, that's depressing!
So that's my game plan. Of course, everything is subject to change depending on whim and circumstances.
What about you? Do you have any plans for the rest of the year?
Write on!
11/11/09
Not a Book Review, but . . .
just my thoughts about a book I bought.
**I didn't make the next round in Lori Brighton's blog--Bummer--good luck to all the next rounders!**
I started reading this book a couple of weeks ago, and yes, it took this long for it to get interesting. No, this isn't a book by a debut author (I doubt if I would have stuck around!). It's DARK CURSE by Christine Feehan. Now, Feehan is a new-to-me author and I have serious doubts if I'll buy another book by her.
Why?
THE GOOD: First off, I'll say the back cover blurb did it's job, and the cover art was pretty decent, too, so I thought I'd take the chance. It was about an ancient race, Carpathian's and their fight against evil, along with a heroine who was part Carpathian, part mage, and part Dragonseeker, but belongs to no race. Okay, it was the dragon part that got me.
THE BAD: It starts off with a LOOONG prologue involving a child being abused, drained of blood/spirit and terrorized. YUCK. Then it pops to the present where the heroine stupidly involves her friends because she's too focused on discovering her past (yep, she's the abused child) to be concerned for her friends who she pretty much killed--they lived, but at what price? Then a Carpathian shows up and sucks her blood, marking her as his 'soulmate'. Uh, WTH? Don't tell me this is just some glorified vampire novel??!! Well, CRAP!
The Ugly: OMG--talk about back story dumps . . . and dumps . . . AND detailed exposition about the history of the Carpathian's AND their stupid language. I had Tolkien flashbacks. Ya, know the elven language is sexy in the movies, but reading it? Boring. And then add a pile of Russian/Romanian/ uh, Carpathian names. Oh, sure, CF did a lot of research, but I didn't really give a rat's a$$ about it! 145 pages later, the author finally gets into the 'real' story.
I'm still hesitant about this novel. Call them what you want a Carpathian still sucks blood, still can't go in the daylight, still gets incredible strength, etc, the only thing a Carpatian isn't is UNDEAD. And I hate to say it, but that isn't enough to keep my interest.
I read to escape. I don't really like reading dark and this is a very dark book.
--If this is an example of the stories that publishers are buying, then I'm NEVER going to sell my stuff, I don't write dark and I like it that way.
So what books are sitting on my desk, waiting to be read?
--The Heart of Christmas--historical romance novellas
--The Christmas Ball--historical romance novellas
Yep, Sam's Club has had a shipment of Christmas Books!
--Timeline by Michael Crichton--time travel--a reread
--The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs--fantasy
--Because Your Vampire Said So by Michelle Bardsley--paranormal vamp romance, but has fun feel to it
--Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Levine--Tinkerbelle middle grade novel
--Inkheart by Cornelia Funke--middle grade novel
What do you have in your pile to read??
Write on! After I finish crocheting a baby blanket for my niece. . .
FYI: I STOPPED reading this book on page 234, third page into chapter twelve. I rolled my eyes one too many times. The romance part of it is suffocating! And ya'll know how much I love my romance, but give me some freakin' plot to move this boring story forward! Aarrgghh!
**I didn't make the next round in Lori Brighton's blog--Bummer--good luck to all the next rounders!**
I started reading this book a couple of weeks ago, and yes, it took this long for it to get interesting. No, this isn't a book by a debut author (I doubt if I would have stuck around!). It's DARK CURSE by Christine Feehan. Now, Feehan is a new-to-me author and I have serious doubts if I'll buy another book by her.
Why?
THE GOOD: First off, I'll say the back cover blurb did it's job, and the cover art was pretty decent, too, so I thought I'd take the chance. It was about an ancient race, Carpathian's and their fight against evil, along with a heroine who was part Carpathian, part mage, and part Dragonseeker, but belongs to no race. Okay, it was the dragon part that got me.
THE BAD: It starts off with a LOOONG prologue involving a child being abused, drained of blood/spirit and terrorized. YUCK. Then it pops to the present where the heroine stupidly involves her friends because she's too focused on discovering her past (yep, she's the abused child) to be concerned for her friends who she pretty much killed--they lived, but at what price? Then a Carpathian shows up and sucks her blood, marking her as his 'soulmate'. Uh, WTH? Don't tell me this is just some glorified vampire novel??!! Well, CRAP!
The Ugly: OMG--talk about back story dumps . . . and dumps . . . AND detailed exposition about the history of the Carpathian's AND their stupid language. I had Tolkien flashbacks. Ya, know the elven language is sexy in the movies, but reading it? Boring. And then add a pile of Russian/Romanian/ uh, Carpathian names. Oh, sure, CF did a lot of research, but I didn't really give a rat's a$$ about it! 145 pages later, the author finally gets into the 'real' story.
I'm still hesitant about this novel. Call them what you want a Carpathian still sucks blood, still can't go in the daylight, still gets incredible strength, etc, the only thing a Carpatian isn't is UNDEAD. And I hate to say it, but that isn't enough to keep my interest.
I read to escape. I don't really like reading dark and this is a very dark book.
--If this is an example of the stories that publishers are buying, then I'm NEVER going to sell my stuff, I don't write dark and I like it that way.
So what books are sitting on my desk, waiting to be read?
--The Heart of Christmas--historical romance novellas
--The Christmas Ball--historical romance novellas
Yep, Sam's Club has had a shipment of Christmas Books!
--Timeline by Michael Crichton--time travel--a reread
--The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs--fantasy
--Because Your Vampire Said So by Michelle Bardsley--paranormal vamp romance, but has fun feel to it
--Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Levine--Tinkerbelle middle grade novel
--Inkheart by Cornelia Funke--middle grade novel
What do you have in your pile to read??
Write on! After I finish crocheting a baby blanket for my niece. . .
FYI: I STOPPED reading this book on page 234, third page into chapter twelve. I rolled my eyes one too many times. The romance part of it is suffocating! And ya'll know how much I love my romance, but give me some freakin' plot to move this boring story forward! Aarrgghh!
11/9/09
The Misplaced Comma . . .
drives writers nutso, at least it does this writer. Oh, I'm not talking the grammatical comma or the serial comma or any one of the thousand of comma uses available.
I'm talking about the 'troll' comma. The one that appears from nowhere and lands somewhere in your sentence. Troll commas make no sense. They are just THERE.
As I mentioned, I made it through to the second round of Lori Brighton's first paragraph contest being judged by her Kensington editor, Megan Records. YAY!!
Anyhoo, those of us who made the next round were to send the first page, including the submitted paragraph, to Lori. Once I finally FOUND the stupid manuscript, I read/tweaked/edited my first page and copied it to Lori. A couple of days later, I thought, 'Well, if by some freakin' miracle I make the next round then I'd better clean up the rest of chapter one."
And guess what?
Yep, I found a troll comma. In the very last sentence of my submission. Place right after 'would' and before 'poof'. Aaaarrrggghhh! I HATE troll commas. They make absolutely zero sense, but they happen.
Now, do I get totally freaked about this?
No. . . well, maybe . . . naw, not really.
Because what can I do about it? NOTHING. It is out of my hands and in the hands of the editor judge. But I like to think that the troll comma won't make or break my submission. I hope it's my words and how they are used that would be the selling point of my page.
Who knows? I don't. But when I come across a troll comma in contest entries or in CP's work, I highlight them and go about my biz. I'm not going to count it against the writer--unless the submission is riddled with erroneous commas, then there's a problem to deal with--I like to read, envisioning the big picture and how the author tells the story.
How do you deal with 'troll' commas? Do you go ballistic? Roll your eyes? Heave a sigh and think, "Crap, I just sent that to twenty agents."?
Well, I fixed the comma and moved on.
Now, it's time to . . . Write On!
I'm talking about the 'troll' comma. The one that appears from nowhere and lands somewhere in your sentence. Troll commas make no sense. They are just THERE.
As I mentioned, I made it through to the second round of Lori Brighton's first paragraph contest being judged by her Kensington editor, Megan Records. YAY!!
Anyhoo, those of us who made the next round were to send the first page, including the submitted paragraph, to Lori. Once I finally FOUND the stupid manuscript, I read/tweaked/edited my first page and copied it to Lori. A couple of days later, I thought, 'Well, if by some freakin' miracle I make the next round then I'd better clean up the rest of chapter one."
And guess what?
Yep, I found a troll comma. In the very last sentence of my submission. Place right after 'would' and before 'poof'. Aaaarrrggghhh! I HATE troll commas. They make absolutely zero sense, but they happen.
Now, do I get totally freaked about this?
No. . . well, maybe . . . naw, not really.
Because what can I do about it? NOTHING. It is out of my hands and in the hands of the editor judge. But I like to think that the troll comma won't make or break my submission. I hope it's my words and how they are used that would be the selling point of my page.
Who knows? I don't. But when I come across a troll comma in contest entries or in CP's work, I highlight them and go about my biz. I'm not going to count it against the writer--unless the submission is riddled with erroneous commas, then there's a problem to deal with--I like to read, envisioning the big picture and how the author tells the story.
How do you deal with 'troll' commas? Do you go ballistic? Roll your eyes? Heave a sigh and think, "Crap, I just sent that to twenty agents."?
Well, I fixed the comma and moved on.
Now, it's time to . . . Write On!
11/6/09
Why Count Words?
My buddy Jody had a mini-rant in the comments of my last post. (Aside: I HATE blogger!! It won't let me cut and paste--I had to retype the darn quote!! Aaarrrggghhh!) It bothered her that I tried to set a daily word count.
". . . you've GOT to just drop the whole "word count" beeswax. Word count means NOTHING. You can write 5000 word and they can all be CRAP. Or you can write one absolutely stellar passage."
". . . I set a goal to work out a particular section, chapter, passage, scene, whatever."
Of course, Jody thought I'd get pissed at this, but I just chuckled. Why? Because there is no one way that works for everyone, in every circumstance. If I had a short article to write, I might approach it in a different manner than I would a 100K novel. But I doubt it.
I've tried the tweak until it's perfect route, BUT I get so bogged down in the immediate that I tend to lose sight of the big picture. For something short, it doesn't matter. Because it's finished in a couple of pages, giving the writer plenty of time to tweak. In other words, writing a 500 word picture book is vastly different than a 25K word novella or a 100K novel. Yes, I have done them all. Each style has it's own challenges and requirements, but they all have to have pacing, plot, character arc, etc.
For my novels, I've recently discovered the 'puke it out' method, otherwise known as the Karin Tabke method. I used it for my middle grade story, MISSING: One Garden Gnome. I don't plot, which means I figure out the story AND characters as I write. I started this story in the mother's third person point of view, but finished it in the eleven-year-old Rhee's point of view. I had to go back and delete the first two chapters. There was no tweaking involved. Trust me, a kid does NOT think like an adult. Oh, the scenes were technically the same, as in the same location, but that's it.
--If I had tweaked this scene until it was perfect, I still would have had to delete my 'perfect words'. They wouldn't have fit my story.
BUT, an online friend sent this question and answer for Dean Koontz link to my goals group. Mr. Koontz is a tweak each page as you go type of writer, sometimes diddling with it for 20-40 PASSES! It works for his process.
So I count words. Jody perfects her scenes. When I still worked at a hospital , I wrote from 4:00-4:45 AM. The only way to find out what works for you is to try different things.
Write on!
". . . you've GOT to just drop the whole "word count" beeswax. Word count means NOTHING. You can write 5000 word and they can all be CRAP. Or you can write one absolutely stellar passage."
". . . I set a goal to work out a particular section, chapter, passage, scene, whatever."
Of course, Jody thought I'd get pissed at this, but I just chuckled. Why? Because there is no one way that works for everyone, in every circumstance. If I had a short article to write, I might approach it in a different manner than I would a 100K novel. But I doubt it.
I've tried the tweak until it's perfect route, BUT I get so bogged down in the immediate that I tend to lose sight of the big picture. For something short, it doesn't matter. Because it's finished in a couple of pages, giving the writer plenty of time to tweak. In other words, writing a 500 word picture book is vastly different than a 25K word novella or a 100K novel. Yes, I have done them all. Each style has it's own challenges and requirements, but they all have to have pacing, plot, character arc, etc.
For my novels, I've recently discovered the 'puke it out' method, otherwise known as the Karin Tabke method. I used it for my middle grade story, MISSING: One Garden Gnome. I don't plot, which means I figure out the story AND characters as I write. I started this story in the mother's third person point of view, but finished it in the eleven-year-old Rhee's point of view. I had to go back and delete the first two chapters. There was no tweaking involved. Trust me, a kid does NOT think like an adult. Oh, the scenes were technically the same, as in the same location, but that's it.
--If I had tweaked this scene until it was perfect, I still would have had to delete my 'perfect words'. They wouldn't have fit my story.
BUT, an online friend sent this question and answer for Dean Koontz link to my goals group. Mr. Koontz is a tweak each page as you go type of writer, sometimes diddling with it for 20-40 PASSES! It works for his process.
So I count words. Jody perfects her scenes. When I still worked at a hospital , I wrote from 4:00-4:45 AM. The only way to find out what works for you is to try different things.
Write on!
11/4/09
Crisis of Faith
--writing faith, that is.
For some reason, this week has been rough for me. I think it's because so many of you are doing NaNo and producing some truly impressive word counts--one online friend wrote over 11K in 3 DAYS! I must say my fingers would be bloody stumps if I had written that many words. But more power to her, and all you NaNo over-achievers!
I was putzing around with my suspense and managed to get stuck. . . again. I knew where I wanted the story to go, but I just couldn't get it there. So, I started looking at my books about writing craft--trust me, I have a lot--but one caught my eye. It isn't a craft book, but I stuck it there because of the impressive bibliography, it's Michael Crichton's TIMELINE. I opened it and read the first page. Love the story, it's on my desk for another read. And this morning, I was doing my usual blog-hopping and read Donald Maass's post on Writer Unboxed. Wow! What an eye-opener!
THIS was why I was stuck writing Rosewood Manor (RM). RM has the potential to be a HUGE conspiracy book, BUT I'm not at the point in my writing career to write it to it's full potential! I keep wanting to shove it into a romance, but it isn't. So, for the moment, RM is shelved. I still love the story--and the ghost--she is my Aunt Mary, so I have to like her! I'll return to this story when the time is ripe and I'm a better writer.
Onward to some better news!
Last week, Lori Brighton, held a first paragraph contest with her Kensington editor as the contest judge. I found out that one of my good friends didn't final, so I figured why bother looking if she didn't final. Well, when I hit the 'L's in my blogroll, I pulled up Lori's post. What do you know?!?
DEMON CONNECTION was listed as a finalist, #7 on the list! Whee!
I don't suck as a writer!!
So I had to send in my first page to Lori. Uh, I looked in my file--Nada. I looked in my sub files--Nada. I checked my recycle trashcan that I always forget to empty--Nada. At this point I was having a major freakage attack, but finally found it! Yay! So, with minor tweaks, I sent it on it's way.
Now, my mission is clear: tweak Demon Connection so it will be ready if needed. And if it doesn't make the next round, then it will be ready to query.
Write On!
For some reason, this week has been rough for me. I think it's because so many of you are doing NaNo and producing some truly impressive word counts--one online friend wrote over 11K in 3 DAYS! I must say my fingers would be bloody stumps if I had written that many words. But more power to her, and all you NaNo over-achievers!
I was putzing around with my suspense and managed to get stuck. . . again. I knew where I wanted the story to go, but I just couldn't get it there. So, I started looking at my books about writing craft--trust me, I have a lot--but one caught my eye. It isn't a craft book, but I stuck it there because of the impressive bibliography, it's Michael Crichton's TIMELINE. I opened it and read the first page. Love the story, it's on my desk for another read. And this morning, I was doing my usual blog-hopping and read Donald Maass's post on Writer Unboxed. Wow! What an eye-opener!
THIS was why I was stuck writing Rosewood Manor (RM). RM has the potential to be a HUGE conspiracy book, BUT I'm not at the point in my writing career to write it to it's full potential! I keep wanting to shove it into a romance, but it isn't. So, for the moment, RM is shelved. I still love the story--and the ghost--she is my Aunt Mary, so I have to like her! I'll return to this story when the time is ripe and I'm a better writer.
Onward to some better news!
Last week, Lori Brighton, held a first paragraph contest with her Kensington editor as the contest judge. I found out that one of my good friends didn't final, so I figured why bother looking if she didn't final. Well, when I hit the 'L's in my blogroll, I pulled up Lori's post. What do you know?!?
DEMON CONNECTION was listed as a finalist, #7 on the list! Whee!
I don't suck as a writer!!
So I had to send in my first page to Lori. Uh, I looked in my file--Nada. I looked in my sub files--Nada. I checked my recycle trashcan that I always forget to empty--Nada. At this point I was having a major freakage attack, but finally found it! Yay! So, with minor tweaks, I sent it on it's way.
Now, my mission is clear: tweak Demon Connection so it will be ready if needed. And if it doesn't make the next round, then it will be ready to query.
Write On!
11/2/09
Dis and Dat
I need to buckle down to Candace Havens' Writing Game challenge. I sent her note asking about where to link her--and got NADA. True, she's busy pimping her own books, but still . . .
--Speaking of which, I'm already a day behind and a day late. 632 words in the hole that I need to write on top of the new count for today.
Food for thought, peeps: No matter where you are in your writing career, DO NOT alienate your readers, and potential purchasers, of your novel. True, you are only one voice, but many single voices add up to substantial numbers. Think about it.
I HATE cleaning house, but I like the end product--A CLEAN HOUSE
My family claims to eat leftovers, but they DON'T.
--And they complain that I don't cook enough. At the time of this blog post, I have in my fridge from last week: Beef Enchiladas, Homemade spaghetti sauce, pizza--two kinds, and yes, I make my own crust, chicken tortilla soup, a big vat of chili, and a smidgen of homemade marinara sauce. Feel free to come over and chow down!
Let your writing sit for a couple of months, if you can, prior to your final polish. For some reason, I pulled up a picture book story that I wrote earlier this year. My comment, "Oooohhh.....crap!" Now this isn't to say that it was a rough draft, it wasn't. This story had been through about six edits--four of them documented into a new word document. I read three sentences and my fingers itched to rework it!
--I guess it is a good thing I never queried this particular story! :-)
Today is laundry day. Laundry day is usually a good writing day. Why? Because of the built in breaks. Don't look at laundry as a chore. Look at it as an opportunity to take those much needed walkabouts from writing!
AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE NANO PARTICIPANTS!!
Write on!
--Speaking of which, I'm already a day behind and a day late. 632 words in the hole that I need to write on top of the new count for today.
Food for thought, peeps: No matter where you are in your writing career, DO NOT alienate your readers, and potential purchasers, of your novel. True, you are only one voice, but many single voices add up to substantial numbers. Think about it.
I HATE cleaning house, but I like the end product--A CLEAN HOUSE
My family claims to eat leftovers, but they DON'T.
--And they complain that I don't cook enough. At the time of this blog post, I have in my fridge from last week: Beef Enchiladas, Homemade spaghetti sauce, pizza--two kinds, and yes, I make my own crust, chicken tortilla soup, a big vat of chili, and a smidgen of homemade marinara sauce. Feel free to come over and chow down!
Let your writing sit for a couple of months, if you can, prior to your final polish. For some reason, I pulled up a picture book story that I wrote earlier this year. My comment, "Oooohhh.....crap!" Now this isn't to say that it was a rough draft, it wasn't. This story had been through about six edits--four of them documented into a new word document. I read three sentences and my fingers itched to rework it!
--I guess it is a good thing I never queried this particular story! :-)
Today is laundry day. Laundry day is usually a good writing day. Why? Because of the built in breaks. Don't look at laundry as a chore. Look at it as an opportunity to take those much needed walkabouts from writing!
AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE NANO PARTICIPANTS!!
Write on!
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