I just had to post that the new puppy is feeling much better and trying to drive me insane. I've got her put up so that I can work this morning but she hasn't quit barking yet. She's going to give me a migrane. I think I'm going to have to go into the office just for some peace.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Author Anna Dale...who I find interesting that she lived in Canterbury during her student years. Orlando Bloom also lived in Canterbury and wonder if they knew each other. (Probably not) Anyway, I digress. Will be adding comments as I go along. According to her website Whispering to Witches, she wrote this book in two months. Not bad for two months. 296 pages fairly large type for a trade paperback.
My daughter and I are reading this one together. She says the whole beginning is a bit slow for her. Although she thinks its horrible to be left alone at the holidays or put on a train by oneself. She wanted to know if I would do that to her? I highly doubt it, but I told her all good stories have to start somewhere.
I'll be making comments as I read. However I can already tell you who one of my favorite characters is...Cuthburt! What an amazing creature...
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Back to the drawing board tonight. This evening I've been re-reading a short story I'm working on.
Last night, while trying to sleep, and I'm not sure I ever made it into REM, one phrase between these two people kept coming back to haunt me.
"Your heart? What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid it's broken."
This means exactly what it says. A broken heart, in more ways than one, but in truth it is broken. Cannot be fixed. Irreversible damage. My lead cannot fix it, which sticks like thick bile in the back of his throat. These words have not been written into this story. But everything revolves around this simple statement.
Some things are out of our control. Our bodies, our minds, our personalities. Some things cannot be fixed. I guess the question is what do you do when you know something can't be fixed? How do you deal? How do you accept? And what do you do to ease the pain? Most important is the question, how does this make us grow as humans? In spirit? In soul?
These words have played through out my mind all day. Sneaking past my cold medicine stupor to drive me insane until I had to come back to the story.
The story is always what is most important. You have to be true to it.
So...what happens to the one person who has been able to fix all problems? When he finally meets something he cannot fix?
Last night, while trying to sleep, and I'm not sure I ever made it into REM, one phrase between these two people kept coming back to haunt me.
"Your heart? What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid it's broken."
This means exactly what it says. A broken heart, in more ways than one, but in truth it is broken. Cannot be fixed. Irreversible damage. My lead cannot fix it, which sticks like thick bile in the back of his throat. These words have not been written into this story. But everything revolves around this simple statement.
Some things are out of our control. Our bodies, our minds, our personalities. Some things cannot be fixed. I guess the question is what do you do when you know something can't be fixed? How do you deal? How do you accept? And what do you do to ease the pain? Most important is the question, how does this make us grow as humans? In spirit? In soul?
These words have played through out my mind all day. Sneaking past my cold medicine stupor to drive me insane until I had to come back to the story.
The story is always what is most important. You have to be true to it.
So...what happens to the one person who has been able to fix all problems? When he finally meets something he cannot fix?
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Well, you know something drastic is happening if I don't post to ze blog. Let's see if I can recap for you all the goings on...
A) Whistling Dixie got sick--real sick, as in had surgery today. Somehow she ended up eating some black plastic (we think before we got her) and it clogged her up bad and twisted her intestines. Therefore they had to do surgery to fix it or we would have lost her. (Have I mentioned I love my vet?) Went to the Dr's office today to see her after surgery and she looked so much better than when I took her in yesterday. It all started last Friday night. The not eating, throwing up, etc. Wouldn't drink water, wouldn't eat. I was heartbroken. Thankfully my vet, who I had already paid to spay her agreed to do an exploratory surgery and spay at the same time which ended up saving me a bunch of moola. But bless her heart she has this huge incision from the top of her tummy all the way down and they've got her all stapled back together. Now how am I going to keep this pup from running around and pulling those suckers out? I hope they give me some sedatives or something.
I'm sick. The daughter is sick. All because of the crazy weather. We went from ninty degree weather to freezing two nights ago. Ugh! I cannot breathe out of my nose and I'm talking like Elmer Fudd.
This post is the most I've written since last Friday. Bad writer. Bad, bad, bad writer.
My poor, sweet sister has to have heart surgery, which is not as bad as it sounds but its bad enough to break my heart. I'm going this weekend to see her if I can get well enough to make the trip. I need the salt air.
Went to see a movie. Elizabethtown...I'll post a bit of a review on it later but I enjoyed it. The guys won't like it. It's kind of a chick flick but not bad.
I bought Kingdom of Heaven but haven't watched it yet.
Middy refuses to leave my yarn bag alone. I haven't finished my clay stuff, or my pumpkin pins like I wanted...
I need sleep!
Hope everyone is doing well.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Morgan!
A) Whistling Dixie got sick--real sick, as in had surgery today. Somehow she ended up eating some black plastic (we think before we got her) and it clogged her up bad and twisted her intestines. Therefore they had to do surgery to fix it or we would have lost her. (Have I mentioned I love my vet?) Went to the Dr's office today to see her after surgery and she looked so much better than when I took her in yesterday. It all started last Friday night. The not eating, throwing up, etc. Wouldn't drink water, wouldn't eat. I was heartbroken. Thankfully my vet, who I had already paid to spay her agreed to do an exploratory surgery and spay at the same time which ended up saving me a bunch of moola. But bless her heart she has this huge incision from the top of her tummy all the way down and they've got her all stapled back together. Now how am I going to keep this pup from running around and pulling those suckers out? I hope they give me some sedatives or something.
I'm sick. The daughter is sick. All because of the crazy weather. We went from ninty degree weather to freezing two nights ago. Ugh! I cannot breathe out of my nose and I'm talking like Elmer Fudd.
This post is the most I've written since last Friday. Bad writer. Bad, bad, bad writer.
My poor, sweet sister has to have heart surgery, which is not as bad as it sounds but its bad enough to break my heart. I'm going this weekend to see her if I can get well enough to make the trip. I need the salt air.
Went to see a movie. Elizabethtown...I'll post a bit of a review on it later but I enjoyed it. The guys won't like it. It's kind of a chick flick but not bad.
I bought Kingdom of Heaven but haven't watched it yet.
Middy refuses to leave my yarn bag alone. I haven't finished my clay stuff, or my pumpkin pins like I wanted...
I need sleep!
Hope everyone is doing well.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Morgan!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Meet Whistling Dixie. This is the newest addition to my family. Bless her heart she is afraid of her own shadow. Slowly but surely she is coming out of it though. She is a rescue.
There was a woman on the side of the road on Monday and I stopped. Don't know why I stopped but it felt like my car took over and pulled onto the shoulder of the road. (Hey, it happens) Anyway when I started talking to the woman she told me that this was her last ditch effort to find these puppies a home. A man had dropped them off at her house because he couldn't keep them any longer and so she was going to take them to the SPCA. Now, this is a problem. We have a lot of animals from Katrina at our SPCA so I knew what they would do. The puppies are two months old. They would have put her down. I'm hoping she found good homes for the rest of the dogs.
I already had two dogs and a cat. Small little lap dogs, one eight pounds and the other twelve pounds. Dixie is going to be at least sixty pounds. She is a Black lab/Golden Retriever mix. When I picked her up and held her in my arms she gave me the look. The one that says please take me home. When she snuggled in at my neck, I was a goner.
My poor house...LOL
Monday, October 17, 2005
Okay…this is so weird. Yesterday afternoon some woman called my phone number and left a message that I had backed into her car this afternoon and that she had gotten my license plate?
She called and left a message at 1:42 p.m.
We didn’t leave our house to go to lunch until two o’cock. So unless she was dreaming and just drove by and wrote down my license plate how the heck did she get my number? Much less how did my car hit her car? Maybe my car is possessed and took off all by itself and made a bee line for her and just rammed into it but because my car is enchanted it didn’t leave a scratch.
Woman is off her rocker.
It could be a prank call. Which is what I’m thinking it is, but I guess I better call the police this morning and just double check. There are no marks on my car. Nothing.
Way bizarro yes?
In other news…we got our first cold snap! Weeeee! I’m so ready for fall. The leaves are finally turning. They are about three weeks behind schedule because of this crazy weather.
My dogs are all frisky and the cat won’t climb out from the covers—not that I blame her.
Found two huge ant mounds out in one of my big flower beds. Put out ant stakes and I’m hoping that it will kill those nasty little suckers, not to mention they may be killing my trees. Gotta call those pest people again. Some one should start an ant 911 website…what to do if?
I actually followed my plan this weekend on plotting and pre-writing my scenes for this week. I’ll post and we’ll see how it goes.
Thought for the day: Why is it that I still get grounds in my coffee when I use a
filter.
She called and left a message at 1:42 p.m.
We didn’t leave our house to go to lunch until two o’cock. So unless she was dreaming and just drove by and wrote down my license plate how the heck did she get my number? Much less how did my car hit her car? Maybe my car is possessed and took off all by itself and made a bee line for her and just rammed into it but because my car is enchanted it didn’t leave a scratch.
Woman is off her rocker.
It could be a prank call. Which is what I’m thinking it is, but I guess I better call the police this morning and just double check. There are no marks on my car. Nothing.
Way bizarro yes?
In other news…we got our first cold snap! Weeeee! I’m so ready for fall. The leaves are finally turning. They are about three weeks behind schedule because of this crazy weather.
My dogs are all frisky and the cat won’t climb out from the covers—not that I blame her.
Found two huge ant mounds out in one of my big flower beds. Put out ant stakes and I’m hoping that it will kill those nasty little suckers, not to mention they may be killing my trees. Gotta call those pest people again. Some one should start an ant 911 website…what to do if?
I actually followed my plan this weekend on plotting and pre-writing my scenes for this week. I’ll post and we’ll see how it goes.
Thought for the day: Why is it that I still get grounds in my coffee when I use a
filter.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
I've been thinking. Oh boy, you say, here she goes again. But I'm actually thinking this might work.
Okay, here's the idea:
Monday through Friday I'm going to write new words.
Saturday and Sunday I'm going to work on outlines.
This is so that when I hit Monday-Friday I know exactly what to write and the hard part is over so to speak. Not to mention if I know what needs to come next I don't spend all this time cutting and pasting and re-writing scenes. (That's the pantser in me)
I've been trying to write from a complete block but everytime I put my fingers to the keyboard something changes. I end up going back and correcting my outline a hundred times. (Why? this doesn't really make sense to me.) Now I don't really veer off course that drastically. All the major plot points are still covered, the character arc has already been figured out. Those things do not change. It's the little things, that I have this almost intense need to go back and change to add or tweak. It takes up a lot of time and I'm not going to do that anymore.
Writers do what is best for them. I like to know what I'm going to be writing before i write it. I do. The hard part is thinking out the plot. What happens here, what happens after that? And so on. It's like playing the game of what if? If you've never tried this you should. Take a situation, or a character and say what is the worst possible thing that could happen to them? How would they re-act? How would they deal with the obstacles in front of them? And just when they think they've got it solved what other right hook can you throw at them, that will enable them NOT to fix it. Well, this is what I'm attempting to do. I'm all set.
Laughing.
My internet time has been cut in half. Maybe an hour or two a night. Most of the time spent on the computer is writing time. I decided Thursday night that I wouldn't go online at all until I wrote for three hours. (Yeah, it almost killed me) But I ended up 3500 words the richer.
Last night I did the same but I only had a two hour time slot...2800 words the richer.
This is a nice pace for me. I'd like to get my speed up to about 3000 to 3500 words per night. And by working from my plot outlines, I think I can do this.
We'll see how it goes...
Okay, here's the idea:
Monday through Friday I'm going to write new words.
Saturday and Sunday I'm going to work on outlines.
This is so that when I hit Monday-Friday I know exactly what to write and the hard part is over so to speak. Not to mention if I know what needs to come next I don't spend all this time cutting and pasting and re-writing scenes. (That's the pantser in me)
I've been trying to write from a complete block but everytime I put my fingers to the keyboard something changes. I end up going back and correcting my outline a hundred times. (Why? this doesn't really make sense to me.) Now I don't really veer off course that drastically. All the major plot points are still covered, the character arc has already been figured out. Those things do not change. It's the little things, that I have this almost intense need to go back and change to add or tweak. It takes up a lot of time and I'm not going to do that anymore.
Writers do what is best for them. I like to know what I'm going to be writing before i write it. I do. The hard part is thinking out the plot. What happens here, what happens after that? And so on. It's like playing the game of what if? If you've never tried this you should. Take a situation, or a character and say what is the worst possible thing that could happen to them? How would they re-act? How would they deal with the obstacles in front of them? And just when they think they've got it solved what other right hook can you throw at them, that will enable them NOT to fix it. Well, this is what I'm attempting to do. I'm all set.
Laughing.
My internet time has been cut in half. Maybe an hour or two a night. Most of the time spent on the computer is writing time. I decided Thursday night that I wouldn't go online at all until I wrote for three hours. (Yeah, it almost killed me) But I ended up 3500 words the richer.
Last night I did the same but I only had a two hour time slot...2800 words the richer.
This is a nice pace for me. I'd like to get my speed up to about 3000 to 3500 words per night. And by working from my plot outlines, I think I can do this.
We'll see how it goes...
Look here...this is an interview with R.L. Stein from Teenink. Wow...I'm speechless. He'd be a lot of fun to talk to.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Incredibly, and I'm not sure how it happened, but I ended up writing thirty-five hundred words tonight. I cut five pages from the beginning of this little story which gave it wings. I've been tinkering with the darn thing for most of the week.
Then I got inspired by reading Paperback Writer's blog about turning off your internal editor and just writing.
That is what I did. I didn't read over last nights work. I just read a few paragraph's and started writing.
Whew.
I still can't believe I surpassed my normal average. Nights like this don't happen often. Normally I do around five hundred words to a thousand.
I'm going to bed early and getting some shut eye.
Maybe I only needed some sleep!
Signing off pleased as punch.
P.S. I read back over what I wrote and while it needs revision and some layering it's not bad. Not bad at all.
Then I got inspired by reading Paperback Writer's blog about turning off your internal editor and just writing.
That is what I did. I didn't read over last nights work. I just read a few paragraph's and started writing.
Whew.
I still can't believe I surpassed my normal average. Nights like this don't happen often. Normally I do around five hundred words to a thousand.
I'm going to bed early and getting some shut eye.
Maybe I only needed some sleep!
Signing off pleased as punch.
P.S. I read back over what I wrote and while it needs revision and some layering it's not bad. Not bad at all.
Apparantly pretty good. I should with three brothers, my husband and four nephews who would rather hang out at my house than their own.
| You Have Your PhD in Men |
 You understand men almost better than anyone. You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well. Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful. |
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
I got a bit carried away with all the scrap clay I have. This is the clay in its raw form. You can still ball it up and throw it away at this point. These are setting before I bake. I still need to put the holes in before I throw them in the oven. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all these beads. Maybe give them to mother to string. She can string anything and is a wonder with beads...LOL
These were my first try today at Halloween beads. I have some witches hats in the oven right now and some Jack O'lanterns. But these beads will be filler beads or maybe I'll make one big focal bead. I just read somewhere that they have glow in the dark translucent clay that you can tint. Oh dear me, I never have enough hours to do the things I want to do.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Middy just ate a spider and brought the half eaten carcuss and dropped it at my feet? If she thinks I want the other half she's gonna be disappointed.
Ugh.
Ugh.
I read a post on a friend’s blog yesterday about critiques and how people react to them. So I thought I would add my two cents. (I’m sure you guys are so thrilled)
When I first started writing seriously about two years ago I was a member of a critique group. I’m still in the group but haven’t participated in a while because mainly I haven’t had anything ready in a long time that I was willing to put out there.
But I do have three or four readers that I call on from time to time and their feedback is invaluable. They are readers, not writers, per say. When I need to know if something is boring, or if I’ve crossed a fine line, I’ll send them a piece and get their take on it. I’ve known these ladies a long time. Normally I tell them don’t worry about the typo’s and grammar stuff. I’ll fix that later, what I’m looking for right now is would you buy this story if you saw the back blurb, does the story intrigue you? Do you want to read on or do I shelve this one and start on something else? There have been times when they’ve told me they don’t get a story or that it moves to slow or there isn’t enough tension and ‘you need to tighten the screws a bit more’ I take them up on their advise all the time. I know exactly what they read and what genre’s they like. It makes a world of difference. But they are readers and these ladies don’t necessarily write.
Critique groups are a different matter entirely as they are formed up of mostly writers. A writer is far more intolerant than a reader. Because they write, they see all the glaring errors. Pov switches, continuity, focus, grammar issues, and redundancies not to mention dangling plot threads.
For a new writer this can be traumatic, especially if you have only been writing a short time. Ego is a delicate thing. I believe most writers at the heart of it think their work is not good enough. (I suffer horribly from this personality flaw) But still they (me) keep on writing because writers can’t quit and be happy. They just can’t. We won’t go into burn out here because that is a different issue.
For me, when I first started having my work critiqued I looked at it like a business, or school. While red ink can scare the bejesus out of the best writers, it is a necessary evil. There is no better way to learn than from those with more experience than you. However, there is a caveat to this: Know your critique partners. What is their history? Have they published? What are their specialties? You need to take everything into consideration. Look at the advice you get objectively, and decide what is good and what is not. The rules of writing are there for a purpose, but before you go breaking those rules you have to know them. But knowing your critique partners is just as good a rule.
See, someone who has been published in mass market is going to critique totally different than someone who has been published in electronic format, and even more so if they have been self published.
The writers, who have been through the gauntlet (New York) as I call it, have been through the blood and guts of the industry. What they are trying to help you learn, (by their red, blue, or green marks) is what it takes to polish a manuscript so that it shines so brightly no editor or agent would ever turn it down.
Does it hurt sometimes? Does it make you feel like you are a total and complete moron?
Sure it does.
But wouldn’t it better to have someone who is not a New York editor tell you these things? It’s kind of like learn it now or learn it later the hard way and let me tell you I’m sure those editors in New York do not have time to hold hands. They are busy people and they have more than one author/book to deal with on any given day. Which book/story do you think they are going to buy? The one that only needs little to no work? Or the book that needs a complete rewrite. Yeah, you know exactly what they are going to do—the path of least resistance baby.
You can’t blame them. They have a job to do. And while you may have a stellar story if it is not written well, it simply may take too much time to polish it up.
Which brings us back to critiques and critique partners.
Best rule of thumb. Divorce yourself emotionally when you submit something for critique. Expect the worse (you’re never disappointed this way) and try to learn from what your partners are telling you. Ask questions. Why should you do it that way? Learn, learn, learn your craft. And by divorcing yourself emotionally you become objective and by becoming objective you can look at your work with cold eyes and begin to see those errors yourself.
End of soapbox…(grin)
Edited to add: The best critiques I've received have been the ones that told me what I did wrong but ALSO told me what I did right. They balanced out the good with the bad. Makes it a bit easier to swallow. Thank God, they have always been able to find SOMETHING good to say.
When I first started writing seriously about two years ago I was a member of a critique group. I’m still in the group but haven’t participated in a while because mainly I haven’t had anything ready in a long time that I was willing to put out there.
But I do have three or four readers that I call on from time to time and their feedback is invaluable. They are readers, not writers, per say. When I need to know if something is boring, or if I’ve crossed a fine line, I’ll send them a piece and get their take on it. I’ve known these ladies a long time. Normally I tell them don’t worry about the typo’s and grammar stuff. I’ll fix that later, what I’m looking for right now is would you buy this story if you saw the back blurb, does the story intrigue you? Do you want to read on or do I shelve this one and start on something else? There have been times when they’ve told me they don’t get a story or that it moves to slow or there isn’t enough tension and ‘you need to tighten the screws a bit more’ I take them up on their advise all the time. I know exactly what they read and what genre’s they like. It makes a world of difference. But they are readers and these ladies don’t necessarily write.
Critique groups are a different matter entirely as they are formed up of mostly writers. A writer is far more intolerant than a reader. Because they write, they see all the glaring errors. Pov switches, continuity, focus, grammar issues, and redundancies not to mention dangling plot threads.
For a new writer this can be traumatic, especially if you have only been writing a short time. Ego is a delicate thing. I believe most writers at the heart of it think their work is not good enough. (I suffer horribly from this personality flaw) But still they (me) keep on writing because writers can’t quit and be happy. They just can’t. We won’t go into burn out here because that is a different issue.
For me, when I first started having my work critiqued I looked at it like a business, or school. While red ink can scare the bejesus out of the best writers, it is a necessary evil. There is no better way to learn than from those with more experience than you. However, there is a caveat to this: Know your critique partners. What is their history? Have they published? What are their specialties? You need to take everything into consideration. Look at the advice you get objectively, and decide what is good and what is not. The rules of writing are there for a purpose, but before you go breaking those rules you have to know them. But knowing your critique partners is just as good a rule.
See, someone who has been published in mass market is going to critique totally different than someone who has been published in electronic format, and even more so if they have been self published.
The writers, who have been through the gauntlet (New York) as I call it, have been through the blood and guts of the industry. What they are trying to help you learn, (by their red, blue, or green marks) is what it takes to polish a manuscript so that it shines so brightly no editor or agent would ever turn it down.
Does it hurt sometimes? Does it make you feel like you are a total and complete moron?
Sure it does.
But wouldn’t it better to have someone who is not a New York editor tell you these things? It’s kind of like learn it now or learn it later the hard way and let me tell you I’m sure those editors in New York do not have time to hold hands. They are busy people and they have more than one author/book to deal with on any given day. Which book/story do you think they are going to buy? The one that only needs little to no work? Or the book that needs a complete rewrite. Yeah, you know exactly what they are going to do—the path of least resistance baby.
You can’t blame them. They have a job to do. And while you may have a stellar story if it is not written well, it simply may take too much time to polish it up.
Which brings us back to critiques and critique partners.
Best rule of thumb. Divorce yourself emotionally when you submit something for critique. Expect the worse (you’re never disappointed this way) and try to learn from what your partners are telling you. Ask questions. Why should you do it that way? Learn, learn, learn your craft. And by divorcing yourself emotionally you become objective and by becoming objective you can look at your work with cold eyes and begin to see those errors yourself.
End of soapbox…(grin)
Edited to add: The best critiques I've received have been the ones that told me what I did wrong but ALSO told me what I did right. They balanced out the good with the bad. Makes it a bit easier to swallow. Thank God, they have always been able to find SOMETHING good to say.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Thank you to Patti for allowing me to post this picture. She is the one in the picture. This was taken outside the Four Seasons hotel in Canada for the Toronto Film Festival. Thanks Patti and I really think this is one of my favorite photos.
Oh boy. Where to start? Well, the war with the ants wages on. The little buggers won't give up. I spray in one place and they appear in another. We've had about six inches of rain in the last two days and I think it's driven them for higher ground or at least dryer ground. I need more bug spray. The old wives tales one isn't working for me. Why do they love cat food? I can't figure this out?
Writing work:
Over five thousand words the last two days and let me tell you I've fought for every one of them. I've been writing in between visiting relatives, killing ants, and working. Anyone who really wants to write can find the time. You just have to be dedicated to it and sacrifice a bit.
Middy scratched the hell out of me today. She was sitting there watching us clean up the ant mess and I came up behind her to pick her up. Evidently I startled her and she leapt out of my arms hell bent for leather. In the process she managed to catch me with her hind paws. (I never clip her back toe nails as I figured she needed them to climb her perch) So now I have this lovely red line across my right hand that burns a bit. She didn't do it on purpose and it was my fault really for scaring her--cats are such jumpy things.
I got to sleep in today until ten o'clock. This never happens. I was up late working last night so the luxury of sleeping in that late put a rosy glow over everything today.
I have family visiting from Utah. They are fantastic and so much fun. We've spent the last few days running back and forth from home to their house. They are wanting to take a trip into the mountains tomorrow but I'm not sure I'm going to make that one. I have so much to do here with writing and everyday chores that I'm not sure I can make it happen.
Anyway, what is everyone else doing? Hmmm??? I re-posted some older vids I did over at gb.net that people had been requesting so hopefully they are happy. Oh, and Patti is giving me permission to post a pic of her and Gerry that I love on my blog. She is such a sweetheart. This picture is worth a thousand words. You can tell people how nice an actor is but when you can show them it means a whole lot more. I'll post it after I'm done here.
Happy Saturday folks...
Writing work:
Over five thousand words the last two days and let me tell you I've fought for every one of them. I've been writing in between visiting relatives, killing ants, and working. Anyone who really wants to write can find the time. You just have to be dedicated to it and sacrifice a bit.
Middy scratched the hell out of me today. She was sitting there watching us clean up the ant mess and I came up behind her to pick her up. Evidently I startled her and she leapt out of my arms hell bent for leather. In the process she managed to catch me with her hind paws. (I never clip her back toe nails as I figured she needed them to climb her perch) So now I have this lovely red line across my right hand that burns a bit. She didn't do it on purpose and it was my fault really for scaring her--cats are such jumpy things.
I got to sleep in today until ten o'clock. This never happens. I was up late working last night so the luxury of sleeping in that late put a rosy glow over everything today.
I have family visiting from Utah. They are fantastic and so much fun. We've spent the last few days running back and forth from home to their house. They are wanting to take a trip into the mountains tomorrow but I'm not sure I'm going to make that one. I have so much to do here with writing and everyday chores that I'm not sure I can make it happen.
Anyway, what is everyone else doing? Hmmm??? I re-posted some older vids I did over at gb.net that people had been requesting so hopefully they are happy. Oh, and Patti is giving me permission to post a pic of her and Gerry that I love on my blog. She is such a sweetheart. This picture is worth a thousand words. You can tell people how nice an actor is but when you can show them it means a whole lot more. I'll post it after I'm done here.
Happy Saturday folks...
Thursday, October 06, 2005
I hate these suckers. They do not give up. I stand prepared with my bug spray at the ready. It's been a crazy week. I've had to go into the office everyday except today. Five hours away from the house has totally screwed up my mojo.
But I have managed to write new words everyday. My ADD hurts me a bit because I get bored so easily. All of these stories are going to be done at the same time. It's weird. Laughing.
I'm also writing something so funny. I won't go into a lot of detail here but I giggled as I wrote it. It's every bad thing you're not supposed to do. (except for the writing of course) It will probably never see publication. *snort* But it's so funny that I have to laugh. I've borrowed a face and a personality, but I'm trying not to make it sooooo obvious. A little mystery is a good thing. It makes me laugh.
My other vampire story is really coming along well. I've been doing character sheets on this guy and this woman. It's gotten deeper than I expected it to. I can go one of two ways for the ending. If I chose the way I really want it to go--then it is not a romance but almost a tragedy. I love tragedies. I like to cry sometimes. I think everyone needs to cry at some point but there has to be a lesson learned. A growth of some sort or a moral. That is what sticks with you from those kinds of stories. Like with Romeo and Juliet, the moral is that you can cling to a grudge or a difference between families to the point where in the end everyone loses. That is a lesson story to me. There are lots of those out there. So the trick is which way do I want to go? I may write it both ways and see which one I like the best.
But I have managed to write new words everyday. My ADD hurts me a bit because I get bored so easily. All of these stories are going to be done at the same time. It's weird. Laughing.
I'm also writing something so funny. I won't go into a lot of detail here but I giggled as I wrote it. It's every bad thing you're not supposed to do. (except for the writing of course) It will probably never see publication. *snort* But it's so funny that I have to laugh. I've borrowed a face and a personality, but I'm trying not to make it sooooo obvious. A little mystery is a good thing. It makes me laugh.
My other vampire story is really coming along well. I've been doing character sheets on this guy and this woman. It's gotten deeper than I expected it to. I can go one of two ways for the ending. If I chose the way I really want it to go--then it is not a romance but almost a tragedy. I love tragedies. I like to cry sometimes. I think everyone needs to cry at some point but there has to be a lesson learned. A growth of some sort or a moral. That is what sticks with you from those kinds of stories. Like with Romeo and Juliet, the moral is that you can cling to a grudge or a difference between families to the point where in the end everyone loses. That is a lesson story to me. There are lots of those out there. So the trick is which way do I want to go? I may write it both ways and see which one I like the best.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
I'm hungry. Why is it that I always get hungry at midnight? I just checked and there isn't a bit of chocolate in this house.
Heads will roll...
LOL
Heads will roll...
LOL
I love writing new words. It's taken a long time to get to that place, meaning I don't slather over words already written. I want to revise those old words, but I have forced myself not to. I do go back and read what I have already written to put myself back into the story before writing and that helps and I make notes and the like, but until the story is done I'm not changing a thing.
Revisions are a glorious thing. It is the molding stage of a story. Where you go back and make sure all things have been wrapped up. Making sure that you don't have any loose ends dangling, ensuring that if your character kicked off her shoes in Chapter two that she has, at some point, put shoes back on. While that is fine for people in real life to go bare foot all the time, it makes a reader wonder....(finger to chin) what about her shoes? Another revision to look at word choice, description, action/re-action/emotion--to make sure it all happens in the right order, and above all to make sure you don't call your character another name midway through your story. (Guilty again)
Still, as a writer you can revise too soon. (raising hand--guilty--if revising doesn't stop your forward movement then certainly ignore this post. I am, after all, only talking about myself.) It can stop your forward movement. Then you think, I need to fix this, and this, and this, and before you know it four months have gone by and you're still revising. You look at your calender and cringe. You'd hoped to have that manuscript finished within four months hadn't you?
Revision can be a form of procrastination which can stem from a lot of different things, for me anyway. I really haven't done my homework and have no idea where the story is going next so instead of writing new words--let's revise...yeee haw. My other forms of procrastination have perfected themselves very well. i.e. laundry, children's homework, research, surfing the net,etc.
Now please do not get me wrong. I'm not saying you shouldn't revise that story until it shines. You should. You should not quit revising until it is the very best you can possibly make it. But what I am saying is don't let the little things stop you from writing.
I'm going to coin a new phrase. Writers write new words. After all if the story never gets written what will you revise then?
Revisions are a glorious thing. It is the molding stage of a story. Where you go back and make sure all things have been wrapped up. Making sure that you don't have any loose ends dangling, ensuring that if your character kicked off her shoes in Chapter two that she has, at some point, put shoes back on. While that is fine for people in real life to go bare foot all the time, it makes a reader wonder....(finger to chin) what about her shoes? Another revision to look at word choice, description, action/re-action/emotion--to make sure it all happens in the right order, and above all to make sure you don't call your character another name midway through your story. (Guilty again)
Still, as a writer you can revise too soon. (raising hand--guilty--if revising doesn't stop your forward movement then certainly ignore this post. I am, after all, only talking about myself.) It can stop your forward movement. Then you think, I need to fix this, and this, and this, and before you know it four months have gone by and you're still revising. You look at your calender and cringe. You'd hoped to have that manuscript finished within four months hadn't you?
Revision can be a form of procrastination which can stem from a lot of different things, for me anyway. I really haven't done my homework and have no idea where the story is going next so instead of writing new words--let's revise...yeee haw. My other forms of procrastination have perfected themselves very well. i.e. laundry, children's homework, research, surfing the net,etc.
Now please do not get me wrong. I'm not saying you shouldn't revise that story until it shines. You should. You should not quit revising until it is the very best you can possibly make it. But what I am saying is don't let the little things stop you from writing.
I'm going to coin a new phrase. Writers write new words. After all if the story never gets written what will you revise then?
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
I love to knit and to crochet. The doing of something so mundane that I don’t really have to think about it helps clear my mind. Knit one, pearl two, chain one, double crochet, around around and around we go.
Now Midnight (my adorable little kitten who is not so little anymore) loves yarn. Yes, yes, go ahead and shake your head we all know cats love yarn. This I know. However, last night I forgot to put my case of yarn away. I love fun furr, which is a type of crazy yarn. It’s comes in all kinds of variegated colors and fuzzy lengths. (Middy likes them too.) I have to kind of give you a lay out of my down stairs to describe what the little minx did. My downstairs is very open and a big square. So literally you can walk in one big circle from the foyer to the den to the kitchen back to the foyer with rooms leading off from this little circle. The stairs leading to the second story are in the foyer.
So what did I see when I woke up this morning, came stumbling down the stairs, eyes only half open? Every single skein of yarn I own had been taken from its plastic container, unraveled and wrapped as many times as possible around the square that makes up my down stairs.
It had to take hours to do that kind of destruction.
I should have taken a picture but my batteries were dead. If you don’t see or hear from me for a while you can find me underneath the two tons of yarn I’m trying to roll back into little balls.
Now Midnight (my adorable little kitten who is not so little anymore) loves yarn. Yes, yes, go ahead and shake your head we all know cats love yarn. This I know. However, last night I forgot to put my case of yarn away. I love fun furr, which is a type of crazy yarn. It’s comes in all kinds of variegated colors and fuzzy lengths. (Middy likes them too.) I have to kind of give you a lay out of my down stairs to describe what the little minx did. My downstairs is very open and a big square. So literally you can walk in one big circle from the foyer to the den to the kitchen back to the foyer with rooms leading off from this little circle. The stairs leading to the second story are in the foyer.
So what did I see when I woke up this morning, came stumbling down the stairs, eyes only half open? Every single skein of yarn I own had been taken from its plastic container, unraveled and wrapped as many times as possible around the square that makes up my down stairs.
It had to take hours to do that kind of destruction.
I should have taken a picture but my batteries were dead. If you don’t see or hear from me for a while you can find me underneath the two tons of yarn I’m trying to roll back into little balls.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Obviously she is trying to figure out how to swat at the little moving arrow. Forget the bouncing ball...LOL
Saturday, October 01, 2005
To write well, you have to be disciplined and write every day. I'm happy to report that I've been doing that. I'm not updating the word meters but I do have my own deadlines that I am trying to make and this system is working well for me.
I've been revising a short story I did for my father last year. I had to laugh when I went back and start working on it. Amazing how much you can learn in a year. Some errors are so obvious. I'd like to have it polished up by January to send it off in the Spring. I think I've actually got a market for it.
Have another piece that I have been working on that is moving very well. It's not a long piece by any means, but I love the character in this story. He's so lawfully evil. LOL.
Then the third project I'm working on is the one for my daughter. This is coming along nicely.
Overall I've been trying to keep track of my writing time and how much time I spend on each piece per day. From my data I'm working roughly two hours a day on new words and then about another two off and on working on blocks, character sheets, and actual story craft. Four hours a day for seven days a week. Not bad for someone who works full time (and now has to go into the office for five hours a day. I'm hoping this doesn't last--it makes it very hard to keep track of my normal duties and now I have to do this other work on top of that. Ugh!) So all writing time has been relegated to evening hours at this point.
Who needs television anyway right?
I really miss Smallville...LOL
Edited to add: Went to an apple festival today. I had never been to one. How much fun!!! Next weekend I think I'm going to load up hubby and the little one and go pick some fresh apples. 14.00 a bushel isn't a bad price I don't think and we still have fresh peaches. Wow. I thought they were all gone by this time of year.
I've been revising a short story I did for my father last year. I had to laugh when I went back and start working on it. Amazing how much you can learn in a year. Some errors are so obvious. I'd like to have it polished up by January to send it off in the Spring. I think I've actually got a market for it.
Have another piece that I have been working on that is moving very well. It's not a long piece by any means, but I love the character in this story. He's so lawfully evil. LOL.
Then the third project I'm working on is the one for my daughter. This is coming along nicely.
Overall I've been trying to keep track of my writing time and how much time I spend on each piece per day. From my data I'm working roughly two hours a day on new words and then about another two off and on working on blocks, character sheets, and actual story craft. Four hours a day for seven days a week. Not bad for someone who works full time (and now has to go into the office for five hours a day. I'm hoping this doesn't last--it makes it very hard to keep track of my normal duties and now I have to do this other work on top of that. Ugh!) So all writing time has been relegated to evening hours at this point.
Who needs television anyway right?
I really miss Smallville...LOL
Edited to add: Went to an apple festival today. I had never been to one. How much fun!!! Next weekend I think I'm going to load up hubby and the little one and go pick some fresh apples. 14.00 a bushel isn't a bad price I don't think and we still have fresh peaches. Wow. I thought they were all gone by this time of year.
