Play Ball!

"The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." - James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams (1989)

So begins another season of Major League Baseball. Tonight was the official opening night but the season hits its stride tomorrow. Baseball has always had a place in my heart, I've been a fan since I was a kid. I remember going to my first Dodger game and being blown away. It seemed so huge to me, a magic fairy castle filled with dragons and knights. As I got older I spent more time at Chavez Ravine. When I was sixteen I'd go with my dad and he'd make me drive, including navigating the parking lot once the game ended. That was a challenge. I went with my friends and we'd squeal over the cute ball players. I had my favorites and I'd follow their stats with the devotion of a "Twilight" fan. I fretted for my Boys in Blue, worrying when they had to face the Evil San Francisco Giants, a team so villainous they made Orcs look like Sunday school teachers. By the way, I still feel this way. And don't get me started on the Yankees....

I don't go to Dodger Stadium much anymore. I married an Angels fan and Angel Stadium isn't far from my house. But I still get overwhelmed when get inside a stadium. Ball parks are still fairy castles to me. Is there any deeper green than the grass on a baseball diamond? The color of the clay used in the infield is a vibrant red, full of life and promising action. And there are the warriors, men armed with a small piece of ash who must hit a fist-sized orb hurtling at them at 95 miles an hour. They don't hit them very often but when they do, the heart leaps at the sound.

I think part of my affection for baseball comes from my love of history. And baseball is history. It is as attached to its own history as any other institution, maybe more so. The power of the past is always there, influencing the way the game is played. We constantly compare our modern players to men who died sixty years ago. And people who are obsessed with the game can rattle off statistics with frightening accuracy. My husband can rattle off numbers of people who died 20 years before his birth. He can name the starting infield for the 1969 Mets. Just don't ask him what he had for breakfast, you will get a blank stare.

Baseball is a summer game, its is played with redolence, a slow game for a hot summer's day. Baseball is a game with strict parameters. It likes to believe in its honor, the rules are strict and allow for no cheating. Hence the horror over the whole steroid thing. Beyond the health issues, its cheating and baseball hates cheating. Basketball and hockey are fast games, where players can foul and use those penalties to their advantage. Football is violent by its nature, a crushing game where a little blood is a good thing. Mind you, I enjoy those other sports, but they don't captivate me the way baseball does.

I welcome opening day with optimism and joy, prepared to watch the epic battles played out on grass and dirt. I look forward to a fresh season which brings back old memories.

Bloods Vs. Crips? Try Agents Vs. Writers

Did anyone catch the whole agentfail at the BookEnds blog? Agent Jessica Faust invited comments about how agents fail. At last look, there were over 270 comments.

Writers take things personally. Their books are an extension of themselves and when you criticize it, they take it as an attack on their person. Saying you don't like their writing is like saying they look fat in that dress.

Does that mean agents need to tiptoe around a writer and try not to break their little hearts. Nope. Agents are business people, they have a job to do and it is a tough one. They have no time or energy to suffer poor writing and lousy queries. These are professionals and they want to deal with writers who are reasonable and understand the process.

Oooh, there's the rub. I have found writers to be some of the least reasonable and rational people on earth. Nathan Bransford and Elana Roth were disturbed by the level of anger and bitterness of writers. Well, duh! Writers aren't the most mentally stable of people. Type in "Suicide," "Depression" and "Writer" in your google search bar and see what comes up. That which makes a writer creative also makes them...umm...difficult.

Again, does that mean an agent needs to be extra careful? No, a writer's anger and bitterness is their own issue and one they need to deal with themselves. They don't like to, they want to blame someone else for their failure and an agent is as good a symbol as any to vent their spleen on.

Some of the comments I've read had merit. Yes, I think those of us who have submitted to an agent have had one hold onto something forever and then reject it. Or we've never heard anything from them at all. Yes, its frusterating, but ranting and raving isn't going to do much good. Just don't query them again.

I thought the comments complaining about agents blogging and tweeting were stupid and presumtuous. Considering how much time writers spend blogging and tweeting, it seems hypocritical to castigate an agent for doing the same. Most agents who blog have something to offer their readership. And even if they didn't, so what? Its really not a writer's business.

I get irritated when writers bad mouth other writers, agents and editors. It's destructive and shines poor light on the rest of us writers. I'm not saying all agents are perfect and not deserving of criticism. But spewing vitrolic anonymous comments on a blog post is just immature and puts those people you want to work with on edge.

The Why's of It

Remember in school when you had to read a classic novel then dissect it, looking for the hidden meaning behind words and what the author was really trying to say? Remember spending unending, torturous hours figuring out the significance of the river in Huckleberry Finn? Or the symbolism in "Hamlet?" Even my beloved Steinbeck was turned into a sadistic lesson about the greater meaning behind Lenny and George's relationship in "Of Mice and Men." And always I would ask my teachers if these themes were intentional by the authors. And they would answer probably not. I didn't get that. Until now.

One issue I'm having with my current heroine is her flaws. They aren't readily obvious. Usually I have a pretty good idea what is going on with my characters from the get go. My last heroine had a serious responsibility issue and of course she was confronted with a situation where she was ultimately the responsible one. It was fairly simple to write around such an obvious flaw. But this chick is different. I know she's flawed, I know she has some huge issues, but darned if I can push them right out there and write to it. But the subconscious is so clever.

An early scene takes place in the heroine's kitchen. I usually don't spend much time describing a room unless there is significance. I'll mention the furniture, maybe the color, but unless it has a point, I don't waste my time. However, I went into detail with this room. The room is...perfect. It looks like a photo spread from a shabby chic catalog. Later another scene takes place in her cottage-styled family room and again I take time to describe the details. In the same scene, the room is destroyed. So her beautiful, perfect room is ruined, ripped away as it were. Hmmm...maybe I should take a look at that.

My secondary characters have helped as well, criticizing the rooms as being fussy and not her style. She of course vehemently argues her point, but apparently doesn't know herself very well. A flaw in and of itself. But I can tell there is something deeper going on. I have an inkling as to what it is, but I'm willing to let my instincts go and see where it takes me. They are so much more reliable than my brain sometimes.

Do you have those head scratching moments when you write only to have the light bulb go off later down the line? Or do you place intentional symbols in your stories?

It's Like Dessert

I have been waiting for Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews to come out all year. It is a series I really enjoy reading. I was going to order it through Amazon but they don't always get the books to me soon enough. So I went down to my local B&N and picked it up. While I was there I found a few other novels. I didn't realize the new Cassie Palmer book was out and I picked up a couple more of Simon R. Green's Nightside series.

So of course I got home and dove into "Magic Strikes," right? Nope. I put it aside and picked up one of the other books. I know I'm going to love the book, so I'm enjoying the anticpation. It's like when you go out to dinner and you are sitting where you can see the dessert tray. The whole time I'm eating I can see it's luscious goodness promising taste bud paradise. Not that I don't enjoy the rest of the meal, I do, but the sheer joy of eating dessert is...special.

I'm that way with books. I did it with "Bone Crossed" and I have and will do it with the next "Sookie Stackhouse" book. I think I waited a month before I read the last Sookie book and I got it on the day it was released.

It's a reading quirk, more of a game, or maybe its a ritual. I don't know. Do you have any reading quirks?

Settings

How important are settings to you? Do you revisit one location over and over again?

I do. I always write about California, particularly southern California. I write in a genre that doesn't often have stories which take place in the Golden State. I think it adds uniqueness to my writing. I like the myriad of environments offered in the states and the different cultures which make their presence known. But the biggest reason I write about California is simply because I live here.

Research is easier. I do quite a bit of research, I've got Google maps going while I'm writing so I can make sure the path my character is taking jives with the city streets. And I research neighborhoods and houses to get a better feel for my specific scenes. But I don't need to research the basic essence of my setting. I know what kind of people I'm going to see on the street because I see them everyday. I know what the weather is going to be, I know when traffic is going to be an issue,and I how long its going to take to get from one place to the next. I try to use my own observations and experiences to add a depth to my setting which will pull my reader in further.

I admire other authors who do this. Stephen King's Maine is very visible to me. Charlaine Harris brings me to the South with her writing. I can peg where Dean Koontz has set his stories. There are a lot of other authors I could name who just do wonders with settings. I can feel that they have been there. So it kills me when the feeling doesn't come through. I read one series where the story took place in a fictional California coastal town. But the author was off. I don't mind mythical and created, I create my own suburbs. I'm not looking for complete accuracy, but I am looking for the little things a writer should know about a setting which would carry the reader away. There was nothing really out there is the books which screamed inaccuracy, but the writer missed the nuances. It was like they'd watched a t.v. show and took their cues from there.

I do think there are authors who do write about places they've never been and can do it well. Historical authors are particularly talented in this arena, but they research like crazy. They don't assume. And their setting is important to their stories so they do spend a lot of time making it as right as they can.

For me, I'm not confident enough to venture into a contemporary setting I've never been to. I could make it technically correct, but I couldn't capture the essence or the rhythm of an area enough to make it feel real to my readers.

What about you? Are you sensitive to settings? Are you brave enough to place your stories in places you've never been before?

Silly Writer, Weekends are for Kids!

I think we writers are a selfish lot by nature. We love to hoard our time like misers with their gold. We have worlds in our heads looking for an escape. But time always seems like a commodity none of us have. I will be the first to admit to resenting those activities which drag me away from my keyboard.

However, none of us live in a vacuum and if we did, our writing would suffer. We gain from the outer experiences we face everyday. I honestly believe the more external activities we participate the more texture our writing acquires. Anyway, even if it didn't, we are all members of some extended family whether by blood or by interest and those ties have obligations. So it is foolish to make lofty goals when those obilgations are front and center.

I wanted to reach 100 pages this weekend. I thought it would be simple. I got a half a page done. I knew better. But my inclination is to beat myself up for the work I didn't get done knowing the weekend was going to burst with other things. I tend to set myself up. Not sure why. Maybe its a girl thing. But now, however, I'm appreiciating the weekend instead. Yeah, they're busy, but I really enjoyed watching my girls. Sorry, only tee ball pictures. I kept book (scorekeeping) for Diva's game and couldn't take pictures. A pity to because she laid down a bunt which turned into a double. She ended up scoring later in the inning with a beautiful slide.

Yeah, I didn't get my pages done, but I'm guessing the day at the ballfield will help my writing in the end. Our voices are created by our experiences. The emotions we experience in such activities leech into our writing. Euphoria and despair are played out in the microcosms of our daily existence, giving us writers the tools for translating it onto the page. Instead of seeing these weekends as a hindrance to my writing, I am working on seeing them as opportunities to deepen my skill.

Do non-writing activities inspire you in your writing? How?

Losing its Luster?

The Golden Hearts finalists were announced yesterday. Usually I'm aware of that date long before it actually happens but this year, it snuck up on me. The only reason I knew was because I saw some RITA announcements. If the RITA finalists were announced then the GH's had to have been as well.

Usually the Internet is abuzz with GH news but I had a hard time finding any info beyond the RWA site. I didn't recognize a single name on the finalists' list, in years past I recognize a couple of names. It could be because I'm out of the loop on such things. I've dropped most of my RWA loops. But I didn't know anyone who entered. I judged this year and frankly I didn't expect to see any of the entries I read to be finalists. Not even close.

I entered the contest once. I didn't final but I made the top quarter. Unlike chapter contests, there is no feedback so the only reason you are entering is to win. That was enough for me. Too expensive and at that point I was well into submissions.

Did any of you hear a lot of buzz about the GH's? Did anyone enter? Judge? Is the contest losing its luster or am I totally out of touch? How about the RITA's? I think I've only read one book out of all of them.

Pre-writing

How much pre-writing do you do? This is mine. That's my outline, my plot points, my story boards, my character sketches, etc. That's it. In other words, I don't do much. I've tried. I've downloaded awesome programs which had great tools for writing. I'd open them, fill them out and then never look at them again. I've sat down and outlined a novel, mapped out what was going to happen. I lost it before I got to the third chapter.

I admire people who can do pre-writing. It must ease the stress of writing. I would love to know what's going to happen next, but I'm always in the dark. I plan about one chapter ahead. I'm not a good chess player or pool player either. I can only focus on one move at a time. I stress about it. I'm nearing the end of a chapter right now and I'm not happy about where it is going to leave me. However, I've been through this before (many times) and I know it will all come together in the end.

I've always written this way and I don't think I'll change. Its going to be tough if I ever sell and then I'm required to sell on proposal. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

So, how much pre-writing do you do? If you do a lot of pre-writing, does it come naturally to you or did you have to train yourself?

Spring is in the Air

Spring is the time for so many things. Baseball for one. As you can see, my two girls are ready. Thing kind of looks like she is ready to attack something and eat it raw. Anyway, the season heralds all types of activites. In my area baseball and soccer are in full swing. People are busy planting their gardens. Joggers are multiplying in the morning while the evenings are reserved the walkers. We have birds everywhere, they nest in the clay tiles of my house. Its just a big explosion of life, a new chance at whatever we endeavor.

I think it also shakes us from out winter cobwebs and we start seeing a bit more clearly. Like how dirty the inside of our drawers and cabinets are inside a sunny kitchen. Or how chaotic our pantry has gotten. The fridge and freezer are crying out for attention. Yep, I need to do some spring cleaning. But trying to find the time isn't easy. And it isn't fun. Besides, I have this brilliant piece of genre fiction which is demanding release.

In the end, I feel better after I've gotten a big project done. I like the immediate satisfaction of seeing something done. The results scream spring to me. My kids have spring break in April this year so I think I'm going to press them into service. It should get things done so much faster.

Do you spring clean?

Music

I've noticed something very odd in the last year. My taste in music has been changing. I've always had eclectic taste. Funny, most writers I know do. You look on their iPods or mp3 players and they have a mix which runs from rap and hip hop to Bach and Beethoven. I've gone through phases before; ska in the 80's, hard rock in the early 90's and Radio Disney in the 2000's (didn't have much choice there). But lately I've immersed myself in indie alternative. Big time. I'm not sure why. I think some of it has to do with the Internet.

Radio in Los Angeles sucks. For being such a huge entertainment factory with a dearth of talent, the radio is horrible. As soon as I find a station I enjoy, it disappears. And even if there were decent stations, I live too close to the mountains to get great reception. So I've turned to the Internet. I was listening to Indie 103.1 but then I discovered Pandora. I love this site better than any of the others. I've listened to quite a few. But too many of them have bad streams or they repeat the same songs over and over.

Do you go through phases with your music? What prompts a change?

Milestone Writer

When we write we look for milestones in our story. Maybe its when the hero and heroine first meet. Or the hero is called to his "journey" and realizes what must be done. Perhaps its the moment when the heroine is confronted by the villain. Maybe its when the hero and heroine discover their mutual love. Whatever, you get the picture.

I'm no different, but my milestones are a little different. My first milestone is when I start my book. It is the best thing I've ever written. I just know it is going to hit the bestseller list and HBO is going to turn it into a series. The next is wow, this is a huge pile of camel dung. No one in their right mind is going to read this waste of hard drive space. Then its the "I'm bored" phase. The bridge scenes kill me. And they are only a couple of pages long, but they take forever to write. But they are necessary. And the whole time the voice in my head is whining. I move onto, okay, this isn't so bad and then back to blech. Of course there is the deer-in-the-headlights spot. What is going to happen next? The voice in my head starts screaming "WHAT NOW? YOU DON'T KNOW? BOY, ARE YOU UP A CREEK." By then I'm at the last third of the novel and all those mile stones are behind me.

Well, not really, they just repeat over and over until the book is done. I've realized it isn't the writing I find difficult, its the emotional toll it takes. Its exhausting.

What kind of milestones do you go through in your writing?

Links I Find Interesting for Writers

I had another post started that I didn't finish yesterday. However, I was up until 4 a.m. with Thing. She has been sick and last night had a horrible fever. She kept me up most the night until the ibuprofen finally kicked in and she went to sleep. She's fine now but I'm pretty punchy, so I thought I would instead toss out some links I find useful.

I'm addicted to an application called StumbleUpon. I can spend way too much time trolling the web for websites through this tool. I have found some great links which I would never have found in a million years. So I thought I'd share them.

Does one of your characters use a wise old proverb to dissuade another character? This site gives a proverb and it's exact opposite. Your character will never be at a loss for words again.

Have a character stuck out in the country and she needs to take care of chickens and the only chickens you've taken care of are the ones which are ready to go in the oven? KountryLife has the answer.

Tired of "said?" Enough said.

Looking for a word, something different? Here's a list of "beautiful" words in the English language. Or you need a descriptive word but don't feel like getting up and getting the thesaurus? Here's a brief list which might help you get going.

Is your character too perfect? Do you need ideas to make them...flawed? This site is actually designed for RPG players but I thought it was interesting for writers too.

I have more, but hubby has just arrived with fresh bagels. Hope you find something interesting here.

Now I Remember....

...why I'm a writer.

Epiphanies are far and few between. As any serious writer knows, writing is hard work. It is more mental sweat than anything else. Writing takes focus and demands sacrifices both on the home and creative fronts. Our books are filled with dead ends and useless characters. We unwittingly write laughable dialogue only to go back and edit, scratching our heads and wondering what the hell we were thinking. There are some days we stare at the computer screen, lucky if we are able to punch out four or five words. Some writers are more disciplined and manage to get the word count out, knowing in the end most of those words will end up deleted. Often we open up those files, read through our writing and think there is no way we can get this mess cleaned up. Or we read and think how good it is but worry we are the only ones who think so.

Lets face it, there are many times when we can't remember why we are writers. Sometimes there is little joy in the process. We slog through hoping to catch the fire. Too often we fear the passion we once felt is gone for good. I can honestly say I have felt this way more often than not in the last ten years of writing. Not that I haven't gotten things done. I've produced some good stuff even though it has been a struggle. But in the back the back of my mind I am battling the demons of self-doubt. I constantly question if what I'm writing will sell. I am not writing for the pleasure it brings me. And I miss that feeling.

But last week the most amazing thing happened. A story popped in my head and I started writing. It was so exciting. The flow of words was (and is) unstoppable. And the best part is I'm not worried about whether it will sell. I don't care right now, I only care about the story. My happiness is wrapped up in the feeling of writing. I love it again. I find myself constantly thinking about the book but not with trepidation. I'm only concerned with how I feel about it. I'm in love with the process once more. I'm enchanted with the words I'm writing. I wish I could bottle this feeling. I could sell it on ebay and make a mint.

Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is to keep plugging along. Have faith that the writer in you will emerge again and remind you why you do what you do.

Book Buying

As you may have heard, we are suffering from a difficult economy. I think the newspapers are drooling over the constant bad news.

Does it change the way you spend money in the bookstore? Are you buying less books or buying them second-hand? Are you being more selective?

I don't think I've changed in my book buying. In fact, I imagine this summer will see an increase in my purchases. I'm not going on vacation. I don't go to the movies. Since I won't be spending money on trips and movie tickets (which, in my area, are at $11 a ticket) I feel I can pick up a couple of extra books on my trips to B&N. As a rule, I do not buy used books unless it is out of print. And I do prefer paperbacks although I do buy some of my autobuys in hardcover. So that really hasn't changed either.

I am scratching my head about the Kindle 2 which seems to be based on people buying lots of books. And the device seems to be selling. People have to buy content for them, so does Amazon know a secret? Maybe reading never goes out of style.

My New Anthem

I had another post but since its Saturday, I thought I'd go for something light. I'm an avowed ShamWow fan. I think it's just the bizarre informercial that has mesmerized me into a fan. My son, ever so helpful, found this video for me. Thought it was a hoot.

Well...I like it

I emailed my complete and edited MS off to my agent yesterday. I'm a little nervous. I'd be a lot more nervous if I didn't have so many other things to worry about. I've got a room full of Girl Scout cookies and a mile long to-do list for my team mom duties for my daughter's baseball team. Also, I have spring coming up and I'd really like to do some spring cleaning. Right now I don't have the time to be chewing my fingernails in concern. I've done this before, always with disappointing results in the end and the world continues to spin as it has before, so getting too worked up is a waste of energy. I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but anyone who has had any experience with submitting knows the score. It's a longshot to get published and I've been through all of this before. In a way, I have no where to go but up.

Anyway, as I was editing, I realized how much I liked my MS. I thought it read well and it kept me turning the pages. It's clearly a winner...if I were running things. But that's how we writers feel about our work, or should. And that's the rub. How accurate is our own perception? When we submit to an agent, editor or contest, we think we've nailed it. But having just judged some Golden Heart entries, I realize how far off we can be. Whenever I get my packet of GH entries, I'm usually pretty excited. These are the best of the best, books that have either been in contests or have already started the submission contest. Back when I entered, it was stressed that this was a contest for mss ready for publication. Since all you get is a score with no feedback, its pointless to enter unless you think it stands a shot of winning. In this batch, I had two that met the criteria. The other three were no where close. Which made me wonder why they thought they were ready.

As a writer, how reliable do you think your perception is? Do you trust your judgement or do you look to others to give you an objective opinion? I had to wonder with these entries. Obviously they thought they were ready. So I had to wonder how off I was in my own opinion about my work. Can we be the best judge or our own writing?

Back In Business

My baby and I have been reunited and it feels so good. The last two days have been spent restoring my machine to where I wanted it. And I've learned a few things. In restoring my back up I realized some of my iTunes music didn't save. Or at least I couldn't find it. But I figured out how to save from my iPod onto iTunes. It isn't hard but it took most of the day to move the files over. I've loaded up my Microsoft Office and I'm back to editing. I did a lot of editing last week on my desktop so I'm actually about 60% done. I think I'll have it ready by Friday. I hope, anyway, I'm eager to start on something new.

So Where was I?

I got my hard drive backed up. I want it to be known, I could have done it myself, but I realized the price of data recovery software wasn't much less than having a computer repair person do it. So I surrendered and took the hard drive down and had what I needed recovered. Now that I have validated myself, I can move on...

I have my MS open on my desktop. I wrote the darn thing in Word 07 and I had to revert it to Word 03. There are some big differences. One of the biggest was a word symbol that didn't translate from one version to the next. Irritates me because I should have started editing in the older version anyway. So I got to start over. That's okay since all but 30 pages had been done. I should whiz through. And then I have to format the headers and footers. Ugh. I could spend a week on this. I tend to get obsessed about it. I want perfection. I don't think my agent cares.

I miss my laptop. My email is building up because I don't have the patience to sit at a strange computer and read. It means spending time back in the office which is far from the hub of the house so it is grossly inconvenient.

Anyway, the situation is making me cranky. I miss my little machine.

Black and Blue All Over

Things were going pretty good last week. I had most of my book edited. I figured I'd finish all my editing today and ship it to my agent tomorrow.

Alas, my optimism was my downfall.

I got the dreaded blue screen of death on my laptop. I wasn't too concerned, it isn't as big a deal in Vista as it is in XP. However, the black screen of death was more worrisome. To make a long story short, my computer won't boot up. I've tried everything, even tried reformatting and nothing doing. After talking to the manufacturer, it was decided I have a faulty hard drive. Luckily it is still under warranty so it is going back. Yes, I backed up, but not the latest edits. To say I'm really annoyed with myself is putting it mildly. Anyway, after studying the matter at some length, I think I can get into my hard drive and recover the data.

I can't even contemplate the loss of my stuff. Like I said, I did do a back up, but to be honest, I'm not sure how to restore it. I forgot to research that. However, I know the info is there and someone would be able to find it. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to recover my hard drive enough to pull off my documents. But if not, I'm going go ballistic.

My hubby has kindly offered to let me use his laptop, I can even keep it in my computer space and use it there. However, I came to realize how personl my pc is to me. Its like my car. I know its quirks, I feel comfortable on the keyboard. I know where I keep things. I really miss it. I'll be glad when it comes back.

In other news, I'm off to a book signing. Patricia Briggs will be signing her new book in the Mercy Thompson series, Bone Crossed at a Barnes and Noble not too far from me. I'm pretty excited, she is one of my favorite authors right now. I've been holding off buying the book and lucky me, I got a coupon from B&N the other day. It will be a nice break from the Shakesperean tragedy I'm going through with the computer.

How often do you back up? Are you going to go back up right now after reading this post? How emotionally attached are you to your computer?

On Writing: Bashing Other Bestselling Authors in the Press

"The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn"

Stephen King has spoken. And what he has to say about Stephenie Meyer isn't very nice. In an interview for USA Weekend bashes Meyer as being not very good. He claims her books appeal to young girls because of the non-threatening sex scenes. Whatever.

I actually agree with Mr. King about Meyer's writing. I don't think she's very good either. However, plenty of people who I know, like and respect enjoy her immensely. So truly, isn't it a matter of taste and perception? Writing is far too subjective to give it such a black and white judgement.

Also, Mr. King is talking about its popularity among young girls. How does he explain the legions of adult women fans who have fallen for the series? Is there something wrong with them? Are they unable to judge what is good and what is not?

Meyer has struck on something powerful in her books, just as Rowling did (by the way, I've never been impressed with her writing either, but I am blown away by her imagination). To think the mechanics of writing is what captures a reader is short-sighted.

I'm guessing Mr. King has probably been quoted out of context, at least I hope, because as it stands, I feel like he is setting himself up as high priest of pop culture. I read his columns in the Entertainment Weekly and enjoy some of them. But I do feel a certain arrogance coming through. I'm also disturbed by this need to rip into Meyer. Like Rowling, she has brought in a new generation of readers. In a time when books have to compete with television, the Internet, video games and other electronic mediums, Meyer has successfuly pulled in young people into reading. And yes, that includes boys. My son has read the series as well as his friends. My nine year old daughter is reading "Twilight" along with the other boys and girls in her class. This is the first book she has stuck with for any length of time, to which I'm grateful.

Obviously Mr. King is entitled to his opinion and certainly has the right to speak it. But I thought it was tactless to be so harsh in his criticism in the national press. I thought it was crass and bordering on cruel.

What did you think about Stephen King's comments?

The End, Fine, Concluded, Finished.....

Yesterday I finished my WIP. I wanted to finish on Saturday and was almost there, but we had to make a trip to Sam's Club. By the time we got home, I was done for the day. If you've ever been to Sam's Club on a Saturday, you can understand how it sucks the life out of you. Made me appreciate Costco like never before.

Anyway, I got up Sunday and wrote until I was done. There is such a feeling of disorientation I have when I finish a book. It doesn't feel like its done. I've lived with this WIP for so long and it has been consuming for the last few weeks, it just jars when its over. Today I start editing (I enjoy that as much as I enjoy going to Sam's Club on a Saturday) and I need to start a new book. Neither has any appeal, but I was on writing roll yesterday and I'd like to keep it fed.

On the dark end for my kids is that Mommy is back from her half-dazed existence. They take advantage of my distraction to behave the way they want and I'm more than willing to let them guzzle 3 sodas if they will only leave me alone. Today, I'm a different person and their opportunities will be cut short. I will be watching to see how many fruit snacks they gobble in a day. I will be on them like a spider monkey over leaving their junk lying around the house...until I hit the end of the next book and I go back into my stupor.

Oh Dear!

I'm a mess. I'm wearing grungy sweats because I haven't done laundry all week. The sinks are full of dishes. There are enough crumbs on the kitchen counters to make a meal for five. My blogging has been woeful in frequency and content. Nothing is getting done...except for one thing.

I'm on the last 10K words of my WIP. My mind is consumed with it during the day. I am so distracted, I will start a task and not finish it because my mind is on my book. The only thing I do stick to is lunch. I generally stop at noon and eat lunch while watching t.v. This is my time to relax and watch the horrible shows my family won't watch.

Some people feel that fervor for the entire time they write. Not me. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about anything. There are some books which evoke that feeling in me. Sometimes a movie or t.v. show, but those are brief amounts of time. I don't have the energy to feel that way for an entire book. But once I hit those last three chapters, I am burned. I can feel it so close, can feel the satisfaction of tying up the lose ends and putting my characters through that last black moment before every one rides off into the sunset.

How consuming is writing for you? Do you hit a point where it becomes priority or is it a priority for you the whole time you are writing?

The End Is Nigh...

I've really had a hard time blogging lately. One, I've been sick. And when I get sick, I'm pretty useless for anything that requires focus. The other is my WIP. I'm down to the last five chapters. Actually four, I'm nearly done with the one I'm working on.

Anyway, words come easily in my WIP. I'm a pretty disciplined writer when I'm writing. But my brain seems to shut down when it comes to anything else. Over the last few days I've written and deleted several posts. I can't maintain the focus to get them done and have them read the way I like. Odd how I can write a 85K book but I can't pound out a 500 word post.

I've had plenty of good ideas, but the words aren't there. Perhaps it is a writer's defense mechanism. Kind of like when you are freezing to death and your body kicks in with weird responses designed to keep you alive. My writerly brain is protecting itself, making my book the essential reason for living and giving everything else the boot.

There is a sense of urgency in me to get this book done. Its been hanging around my hard drive way too long. I haven't really had any problems with it. I'm pleased with the writing and all, but I've really had a hard time focusing on it. I've had good reason for dragging my feet. But not good enough. So here I am on the precipice of writing "The End" (well, I don't really write the words, but I know when I'm done) and I can feel the tension in me. It needs release. So I've been pouring myself into my book. Sometimes I have to get up and do something (re-sealed the granite last week, the whole time my mind was on my book). My floor may get a good mopping just so I can do something physical while my mind races.

I hope by next week I'll be back to my usual brilliant posts about kids putting foreign objects in their ears or the emotional impact I receive from bad reality television.

So here's my question. When you are overwhelmed with your writing, does your focus sharpen all around or does it reserve itself for your writing and nothing else?

Will It Blend?

I had a total soapbox post planned for today but lucky you, I am feeling too crappy to go on a ranting tirade. Instead, I thought I'd share one of my favorite time wasters.

My kids, like so many others, are experts on YouTube. One day I heard them laughing over something, (usually it is something stupid like "Charlie the Unicorn" (a true head-scratcher for me). But this time it was a guy with a blender. I totally got hooked on the videos.
They are hysterical. Tom, the host of the videos and founder of Blendtec is amiable and blends the darndest things. My favorite is when he tries to blend Chuck Norris. You can find the videos at Will It Blend?. However they are easier to search on YouTube.

Obviously the point is to sell blenders. Does the campaign work? I don't know, but after watching the videos, I did look into the blenders. My KitchenAid blender recently snapped under the pressure of making a smoothie, so the BlendTec may be the answer. Don't worry, if I do get one, I will not be experimenting with any small consumer electronics.

Priorities

Some priorities are easy to see and understand. Your family is always top priority, even if you don't actually feel that way all the time, you can believe it. While it isn't always easy to give your top priority its due, we still have no problem making ourselves sacrifice as much as we can to make our families happy and safe. I hate doing laundry, but I can make myself do it with little convincing because it has to be done and heaven forbid my children wear dirty clothes to school.

But what about those other priorities? I came to the realization this weekend that it is easier for me to write a novel than lose weight. Doesn't that seem wrong? Crafting a lengthy piece of fiction should be tougher than dropping 10 lbs. And yet I've achieved a lot more of my writing goals than I have my weightloss ones.

Why is it easier for me to create another world populated by complicated beings than to watch what I'm eating? Why can I carve out an hour of my day to write but not a measly 30 minutes to exercise? In the long run, I will see satisfaction in losing weight long before I would in writing. Even if I sold a book today, I'd have more than a year before I actually saw it on the shelves. If I started focusing on weightloss I'd see a difference in a month. It doesn't make sense.

I don't really have any answers. I just thought it was curious.

What about you? Anything skewed for you?

Distractions

I am as easily distracted as a 3 year old. My attention seems to wander at all times. When I do focus, I'm unwavering, but it is something I have to work on.

The biggest problem is the amount of distractions I am bombarded with. Some are necessary, some aren't. Even now as I write this, I feel the lure of going and doing something else. Sitting here and finishing the post is taking all my focus.

Part of it's laziness. It is easier to go with the flow than make the effort to concentrate. Part of it is my own lack of organization. I was not born with the organizing gene, it is truly an effort to keep myself organized. Which is why I need lists. I need to write on a piece of paper what I need to do that day whether it's feeding the fish or writing 1500 words. Unfortunately I've been too distracted lately to sit down and write out what I need to do.

Anyway, I've committed myself to making writing a higher priority. All well and good but I'm having a hard time just writing. It isn't writer's block. It isn't a lack of time. It is distraction. Melissa sent me this article (she's always finding great articles online) and it really resonated with me. The author,Cory Doctorow, has really come up with some great strategies for those of us who are distracted. None of them take a great deal of effort to enact.

How do you battle distraction when you are writing?

I'm Doing Them No Favors

My husband and I are far too indulgent of our children. They generally get what they want. Our lives rotate around them, their activities dictating our time and energy. We suspend our own interests to indulge theirs. And I don't mind. I enjoy watching my kids play sports and I like participating in my daughter's Girl Scout troop. I honestly think the activities they paricipate in will help them in their adult lives.

But I have failed them in the domestic sphere. My kids don't have any set chores. They slide on cleaning up their rooms. They do their own laundry but they don't help anywhere else. And it isn't because I want to indulge them, its simply a matter of laziness. It is easier to do it myself than delegate it to someone else. I'm doing them no favors. In six years my son will be out of the house at college living with other people and he won't have a sense of responsibility of participating in a household. I'm sure many of you had to live with someone like that when you were in school. I know I did. It would be a pity if my kids ended up being those people.

I know I need to make a change but boy, how do you introduce it without A) starting a fight and B) taking over the chore because they suck at it?

It's a Shame

I am endlessly amazed at how disgusting people can be. We took the girls up to the snow again yesterday to do some sledding. I was shocked at the amount to garbage I saw. Why do people do this? People escape up to the mountains, leaving their urban wastelands behind to enjoy the snow and the beauty of the forest. And they treat it like a dump.

Are they really this lazy? This oblivious to what they are doing? Do they realize what a total lack of respect it shows for the world? It was heartbreaking. And if that wasn't enough, it got worse.

My daughter brought a snowball maker yesterday. She set it down to sled down the slope, a time frame of about 5 minutes. The damn thing got stolen. I looked around and sure enough, I saw a kid playing with it with his family. We aren't talking a toddler, he must have been about 11, old enough to understand that stealing is wrong. I told my husband and he went over to the group and got it back. The kid's mom told him to give it back. However, she was fine letting him play with it. She didn't seem to have a problem with the fact her son was playing with a toy that was not his. I guess it is only considered stealing if you get caught.

Anyway, my opinion of my fellow man is pretty low. I thought decency was more prevalent. But as my husband said, if people were basically decent, he would be unemployed (he's a lawyer). What do you think? Am I just seeing some bad apples or is the general population lacking in a moral code?

The Cursive Curse

Is there anything lovelier than a beautifully written missive? How often have you seen a letter or note and thought "wow, what pretty handwriting?" On the flipside, I'm sure you've also read something and wondered if it was written by a human or a chicken.

Cursive runs the gamut. When I was a kid it was a required skill taught in the third grade. Now it isn't. I discovered this last year when my daughter was in third grade. I couldn't believe she wasn't being taught cursive and I found out it was no longer a standard.

How necessary is it that she learns? This post doesn't think it is. As a mother, she writes about the struggles her son is having with cursive. She discusses the difficulties the issue has created within her home and with her son's learning. From the number of comments to the post, you can see how hot this issue is. I read through some of the comments and many people brought up excellent points. Handwriting is fine motor skill, a way of developing our brains. Cursive is a lost art falling victim to our glorification of technology.

I hate cursive. Like the woman's son in the article, I also suffered through penmanship and remember my mother having to meet with the teacher because of it. My printing isn't great either but it isn't illegible. My cursive is unreadable and I can honestly say I haven't used it since jr. high. The only "cursive" I use is when I sign things. Once I learned to type in high school, I almost never write on paper.

Newsweek offers an article citing why it is important that our children learn handwriting. My son learned cursive in 3rd grade and I can honestly say I've never seen him use it. He prints and he types. Since he has entered jr. high, he is typing even more. He communicates better when he types.

I'm not saying handwriting is obsolete and shouldn't be taught. Certainly it is essential our kids learn "manuscript" writing, being able to communicate with pencil and paper is beyond importance. But fine penmanship is not a crucial skill. Being able to write legiblly is. But so is knowing proper grammar and spelling. If a child is struggling to form letters properly, how focused are they on content?

English professor Dennis Baron thinks the emphasis on handwriting is not preparing children to be actual writers. He brings up the point that good penmanship was a necessity back in the old days for business, but now speed is far more important. He also discusses how his own students find themselves far more connected through their keyboard than they are with pencil and paper.

Some writers I know are more creative when they write long hand on paper. I'm not. I type faster than I write. Like the college professor's students, I find myself far more connected to my keyboard than with a piece of paper. I also started teaching myself to type when I was a freshman in high school, so I've been connected to a keyboard in one way or another for most of my life.

I understand the desire of people to keep handwriting alive in our society. There is pleasure in reading a well-written note penned in a beautiful hand. For many, there is a delight in handwriting, communicating their thoughts and ideas with sweeping florishes and dramatic loops. I admire beautiful handwriting the way I admire art. While I like the idea of giving our childdren the opportunity to learn cursive, I'm not so sure I think it should be given a whole lot of emphasis. In truth, I'd rather they learned to use a keyboard at an early age.

I'm sure much of my opinion is based on my own personal experiences with handwriting and the tortures of cursive. I have similar feelings about beef stroganoff and second year algebra.

So what do you think? Is cursive writing and penmanship a quaint yet obsolete talent or am I a techno-barbarian who is leading the way to the destruction of western civilization?

Happy New Year

Our New Year's Eve was quite the spectacle...NOT. Hubby and I made it to midnight only because we were watching a movie. We aren't what you call party animals. We woke up this morning and took the girls to the mountains to play in the snow. They had fun but thankfully only lasted about an hour. It only takes us about 20 minutes to get the snow from our house. But as we were leaving the cars were starting to line up. Since snow is such an exotic substance to most southern Californians, it is quite the attraction. People can wait for hours to get up the mountain. Thus the advantage of living close by. We can get up there nice and early and leave before it gets too crowded.

Did any of you watch the Rose Parade? It was always a tradition for me as a kid to watch it. My kids are watching a replay now. And yes, the weather was as wonderful as they showed today. Highs in the mid-60's without a cloud in the sky. The temps in the mountains were in the 40's, so it was nice up there too.

Hope your new year started as pleasantly!

The Just Write Challenge

Whatever your writing goal, you can meet it with the help of the Just Write Challenge. Your fellow challengers will offer you support and motivation on your writing journey.

For the new year friend Melissa came up with a plan to jump start her writing and she is inviting all to join her. For January, she is encouraging writers to set up their goals. The real challenge begins in February. If you are looking for a challenge or simply need to get back into the writing swing of things, check out the Just Write Challenge.

Girl of 100 Lists

Christmas is over, the decorations have been stored away and my two month hiatus from real life has come to an end. As much as I enjoy the holiday season, I am not sorry to see it go. I don't understand how people can continue to leave decorations up after the new year, it seems so depressing. Ah well, my house is pretty much Christmas clear and my thoughts move on to the new year.

Usually this is a time to think of changes I want to make in my life. I ponder my existence and come up with a list of goals I desperately wish to achieve during the coming year. My resolutions run from the mundane to the extordinary. Most of them are pretty common. Very few of them are ever completed. They are lofty and lack any forethought on how I plan to accomplish them.

My problem is that my goals come from my heart and not my head. They are as substantial to me as unicorns and sparkly fairy dust. If I were ambitous, I would sit down and devise a strategy for each of my goals, map out a plan and follow it. Unfortunately, I'm not that ambitious.

I'm a list maker. I like lists. I have all sorts of lists on my computer. I like to be told what to do, even if I'm the order-giver. I can follow my own instructions as long as they are simple and written out. Eventually I internalize my list and it becomes a good habit. For example, I can't leave the house if my bed isn't made. Making my bed was on my to do list for so long, I finally just did it without thought.

So I only have one resolution this year. I'm going to make lists. Before I got to bed I'm going to make sure my lists are made out and in order. While its not a sure-fire way of accomplishing everything, it doesn't take much thought or heart to get something done.

Oh, and bonus points if you know where the title of this post came from.

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Currently Reading:

If You Are a Writer Living in the L.A. Area.....

This is from my local chapter. Thought it was pretty interesting...

We want to get you read

Now is the time to work on that story idea sitting in your head or in that file box.

East Valley Authors (EVA), the West Covina chapter of RWA is offering you a chance to complete your manuscript and have it read by an agent or editor.

We are sponsoring a “Book in a Year” campaign.

Staring January 3rd each monthly meeting will sequentially focus on the process of completing a book.

Any manuscript started in January or February 2009 and completed by January 2010 will be sent directly to an agent or editor without you having to do a query letter.

To participate you must
1. Be an active member of both RWA and EVA
2. Attend six of the monthly meetings and six of the critique groups that meet after the general meeting.
3. Have no more than one full chapter completed before the Jan. 3rd start date and have the story finished by January 31, 2010. (You may start in either January or February).

We are inviting you to participate.

EVA membership is Membership is $15.00 per year and $1.00 per meeting. The first meeting is free. EVA meets at the Barnes and Noble in the West Covina Mall the first Saturday of every month at 10:15.

Bad Reading Habits

I dogear books. I bend them until the spine cracks. I lose the jackets of my hardbacks. The pages of the books I read are usually sprinkled with cookie crumbs or blotched with spaghetti sauce. The tell-tale warp of the pages reveals my penchant for drinking beverages when I read. None of this really bothers me (if the book is borrowed, I'm far more careful...or I borrow books from people with the same habits). I do something worse.

When I was a kid I loved getting the T.V. Guide and reading ahead to find out what happened the next week on my favorite shows. I was never satisfied waiting until the next week to find out what was going to happen. What new fantasy would Mr. Rourke provide on Fantasy Island? Would Gopher get a date on Love Boat? And lets not get into the soaps. I remember sneaking peaks through the soap magazines at the grocery store to find out what was going to happen to Bo and Hope.

I'm just as bad with books. I always catch myself going to the last page. Usually it doesn't mean much. The hero and heroine have generally ironed out their differences and author rewards us with a light epilogue which gives us a glimpse at the love birds. But I take it a step further. I read random pages, trying to get a preview of what lies ahead. It's such a habit I don't notice it anymore. I love to be in the know. And I'm curious. With the "Twilight" series I was desperate to hear how it all ended, however, I didn't really care for the first book. The thought of plodding through all of them didn't appeal. Luckily my son got peer-pressured into reading them and he gave me the cliff notes version.

Am I the only what that does this? What bad reading habits do you have?

The Most Busiest Time of the Year

Just when I thought I was out, the Toys R Us ad appears and pulls me back in.

If you have multiple children of sentient age, you understand the issue of balance in this gift-giving season. They know exactly how many gifts each has gotten and will claim "unfair" if those numbers differ. Quantity rather than quality is the issue. Doesn't matter what totally awesome toy they recieve, they will whine if their sibling gets more. So I've been running around with my list trying to make sure things are even without going into extreme debt. Of course, the days I have done this have been rainy and cold. Nothing like freeway driving in a icy rain storm with wind advisories, but my children are so worth it. Oops, better not roll my eyes too much or they might get stuck.

Anyway, yesterday was my crowning glory and, I think, the end of my shopping for the kids. Now I need to finish shopping for my husband. This is where I get irritated. I get coupons for Bed Bath and Beyond for 20% off of one item. Okay, there are three items I wanted so I have to keep going back to the store to get these items. Now there are other things I want there but I'm not going to waste my coupon on them. However, if the coupon extended to the entire purchase, I would spend a lot more. Heck, even 15%. So I will be making my third trip to BB&B today. And only buying one item.

I enjoy so much of the holiday season but too much of it is spent running. Yesterday I was carting Girl Scouts around in the rain to do Christmas caroling and while the girls had fun it was hectic. I've got teacher gifts to buy still and cookies to bake. Mind you, I love making cookies, but not when it is hurried.

But I'm taking a time out this evening. My hubby and I scored some free tickets to see "Australia." My folks are taking the kids and hubby and I get an evening to ourselves, a small break in the chaos of the next week. I'm not that interested in the movie, but the thought of down time without the bustle of everything else seems like Nirvana to me.

Have you found this season to be stressful? What do you do to relax?


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Currently Reading:

Avoidance

I can see my WIP, a minimized window on my computer, opened to the spot I last wrote. All I need to do is click and the pages will blossom before my eyes. And yet it doesn't move. I switch to email. I go to Facebook. I look up cookie recipes. Eventually I get out of my chair and do some laundry or dishes. I watch television or play a computer game. Anything but maximizing my document and writing.

Its avoidance. I know it, no reason to deny it. I have plenty of excuses as to why I can't write at the moment. Too many other things to do. Life is too busy to devote to my writing. I'm sure these concepts are familiar to most of you. The excuses may differ but avoidance is still the end result.

What am I avoiding? Well, my book is nearing its end. Truly, I could probably finish in a couple of weeks and take another week to edit and polish. In no time it would be ready to submit to my agent. But there's the rub.

Dark visions fill my head. I'm dream of sending it to my agent and hearing "gee, I didn't know your six year old could type. She does a pretty good job. Oh, I'm sorry, you wrote this? Easy mistake." Or maybe she loves it and can't wait to sell it and again I hear from editors that they just don't love it enough or they don't know where to put it in their lines, yada yada yada. And with the gloomy news about the economics of publishing, only people named Nora Roberts or Stephen King are going to get published.

Before I got an agent, I was pretty oblivious to things. I wrote the book I wanted without worrying whether someone was going to like it. The apple was so far up the tree I could only dream about it. Now I have an agent and I have a stepladder to get to that apple. The goal is within my grasp but darn if there isn't a stiff wind blowing the branch away from me. I think I'm more pessimistic about my writing than I was before. The dream isn't nearly so golden anymore.

Oh, I haven't quit writing. I will finish this book and I will submit it. Despite my bleak view, I still believe in dreams of publication. I'm a writer and I enjoy writing. I also believe in my work. And like the lottery, you can't win unless you play. I won't have any chance of publication if I don't submit. And in the scope of things, there are worse things in life than rejection.

How hard do you take rejection? Does it hinder your writing?

Book Shopping

Last Friday my son's jr. high had a fund raiser at the local B&N the other night. I came with list in hand. There were several romances I wanted to pick up along with a couple of fantasies and a mystery.

I was doomed to disappointment.

This is a big store, fairly new that serves an area of about 300K people. Its always busy and well-laid out. I like shopping there. However, the romance section was dismal, unless all you wanted to buy was Nora Roberts. I don't have anything against Nora but the shelves were full of nothing but her, as well as the other big time NYT-listers. The variety was so weak, I didn't find any of the authors I was looking for. The shelves were filled with multiple copies the big authors' books. Not even a full catalog of their works. I felt like I was in the book section of a grocery store. I've seen better variety at Wal-Mart. The fantasy section where I tend to spend more of my time of late, was filled with variety. Lots and lots of different authors shared space with the big names. The mystery aisle was the same. And the children and teens' sections boasted a cornucopia of books.

Next time I'm down there I'm going to ask the manager about the meager offerings in romance. I'd love to know the reason. Why is the biggest selling genre given the least presence? I could start on a rant about the fact it is a genre written by and for women, but I won't. Maybe this Barnes and Noble fancies itself a high-toned and above the smut of romance. However, considering the number of books they carry which are based on MMORPG video games, I don't think that's it either. Most romance readers I know are voracious and they are looking for variety. They are constantly in the search of new authors, eager to hear a new voice. Anyway, it made me happy for Amazon.

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Currently Reading: Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)

Diva the Jock

Saturday was soccer, soccer, soccer. My daughter had a game at 10 a.m. then another at 3:45. My husband ref'd at 8 a.m., 11 a.m. then a 1 p.m. game for another division. My daughter's team won both games so we play again next week. If rumors are true, we could be playing through January.

As you can imagine, I have mixed feelings. I'm really thrilled my daughter's team is doing so well. They are a great group of girls and they play well as a team. Its fun to cheer her own and I get caught up in the excitement. On the other hand, I do miss my Saturdays.

This is my first experience with this level of kids' sports. I wasn't much of a jock as a kid. I played softball for a few years but it was always pretty limited. Once your season was over, it was over and I was never good enough to extend my play. By 5th grade I wasn't into sports at all. My stepson was in baseball briefly and Supernerd did baseball and soccer for a few years. He really wasn't into it but we made him do it to keep him active. He's glad now because he can at least swing a bat in p.e. and understands the basics of soccer. But like his mom, he's a book worm and far more content at home with his laptop.

Diva is the opposite. She is a jock. It's tough to get her to sit down and read. She can read just fine, but she doesn't enjoy it like I do. She gets impatient with her friends when they come over and want to play video games when she wants to go outside and ride bikes or skateboards. This weekend I caught her asking her dad about the football game on television. When he gets home from work she demands he take her to the batting cages. The motion is constant.

It is odd having a child like this. Its good, I enjoy it, but sometimes it makes me dizzy.

For those of you with kids, do you have a child who is the opposite of you in interest and skills? For those who don't have kids, are you the opposite of your parents?

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Currently Reading: Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, Dhampir, Book 1)

Dead Mouse, Dead Rat

First, before plunging into a post I wanted to congratulate the NaNoWriMo winners. Awesome job. Kelly and Joely are true inspirations. For those of us who didn't win, hey, there is always next year. I got about 23K words before I totally lost focus. I was actually on pace to win but I couldn't keep up the momentum. But I was pleased with what I did. It felt nice to write something strictly for myself without any real eye to the market. However, it was frustrating to realize that if I had worked on my real WIP, I'd have been done in three weeks. I have less than 30K left to write on my book. Ah well...

So over the Thanksgiving weekend we decided to look for the Christmas decorations. We have a storage unit and thought they were there and that they had been mistakenly taken by someone using the space so it seemed prudent to search for what we did have. Hubby opened the attic and swearing immediately ensued. He found a monster dead rat in a rat trap. Since the remodel we have had rats in our attic. Not a bad infestation but certainly one I'm concerned about. Luckily the nights have been chilly and ratty hadn't decomposed to the point of absolute gore so he was pretty easy to dispose of. But we decided to empty the attic. It will be easier for the pest control guy to block up the access. We did find our missing decorations (oops!) an a lot of other stuff.

Oddly enough we emptied the attic last year for the remodel but I didn't have a chance to really look through the stuff. Found some real treasures. I forgot I had a postcard collection. I found a tee shirt from when I worked at Mervyns. It said "Mervyns Super Saturday" on the front and "Open, Open, Open" on the back. Does anyone remember that ad? Anyway, that's a keepsake. There were little mementos from when I got married and a time capsule I did back in jr. high. There was lots of stuff I felt very little connection to. I'm not one to get lost in sentimentality. But one thing I did find was my writing from high school. Ouch. Over 150 pages of handwritten schlock. It was a historical (I think) and just painful to read. It made me smile.

It reminded me of why I'm a writer. In those sloppy words, I found the roots of my madness. There is a certain rough beauty in the prose. I was so obviously determined in my writing yet oblivious in its content. But I could see why I was writing. I loved it with abandon. There was a poorly conceived world on those pages which pulled me in and set the course for the rest of my life. I'm glad I got a chance to revisit that moment in time. I didn't keep it out. It is the past and it belongs with the past. I boxed it back up with the other symbols of my faraway youth. But I do think it is important to take a look back from time to time and see where you've come from. Its a good reminder of why we are who we are today.

Speakings of memories, do you remember life without computer mice? I remember getting my first mouse for my 386 computer back in 1993. It was cheap, only about $10 with the little rubber ball that had to have a mouse pad. Now I have cordless mice for my laptop. The damn thing died. But I had another one, roughly the same age and that died too. I was sans mouse. I do have a touch pad on my laptop, but I can't stand it. I know some people are artists with a touch pad, but not me. Anyway, I found myself totally at a loss. I barely used my computer for almost a week. How could I become so dependent on such a puny little device? I have a sexy little red number made by Microsoft. I'm hoping this cordless mouse will last longer than my Logitechs.

Are you mouse-dependent?




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Currently Reading: The Hunger Games

He's Back!!!

Bond, James Bond will once again grace the screen with his presence. This will only be the second movie I will have seen this year at the theater. I don't go to the movies too often, I don't like crowds or the costs or the fact there isn't a bathroom right next to me. But I make exceptions and Bond is one of those.

Quantum of Solace has been getting hit with some bad reviews. Apparently the critics feel there is too much action and not enough plot. Really? In a James Bond movie? Folks, I'm not looking for Atonement here. I'm looking for larger than life action. I'm looking for bombs exploding. I'm looking for adreline-pumping chases through exotic locales. I'm looking for Daniel Craig to do a significant amount of scenes shirtless. If I want plot and deep characters, I'll read a book.

I've pretty much liked most of the Bond movies with a few exceptions. Some I have loved and would consider my favorite movies all around. James Bond is a character we live through vicariously. I think that is why there is so much debate as to who was the best Bond. Bond is something different to each person. How the actor personifies those qualities we admire is what makes us a fan.

I really like Daniel Craig. Really, really like him. I think he is my favorite Bond. I like the hardness he brings to the character, a little rougher edge, hailing back to Connery's style only more tortured. And there is so much action, relying more on the character's own intuition rather than gadgets. The gadgets were fun back in the day, but really, in this world of technical marvels, it takes a lot to impress a modern audience.

What does keep me coming to Bond is the action. The movies give me an outlet where I don't have to think. For two hours I'm carried away to exotic locales and my eyes are assaulted with scenes of chaos. It's mindless which is just what I crave. I have enough to worry about these days as do we all. The Bond movies give me a well-needed break from thinking. So bring on the action, leave the plot out of it.

So do you like Bond movies? Want to share your favorite? Who's your favorite Bond?

When Worlds Collide

I'm very much a two-world person. My online life is very different from my real life. Not in an exciting way or anything. I'm a lot more vibrant online, far less inhibited and much more entertaining.

In real life, I'm a low-key soccer mom. I appear to be as imaginitive as a rutabaga. People know I can cook. They know my kids are involved in way too many activites. They know my husband is a sports volunteer and that I'm involved in Girl Scouts.

They don't know I write.

It isn't a big secret, I'm not trying to hide it from anyone. But it is something personal and something I care very much about. I don't want it exposed for people's polite and trite commentary. I don't mean that in a negative way. First, writing is not something everyone understands. When I used to be more open about it, the first question I was asked was if I wrote children's books. When I answered no, I could tell they were tuning out. Or when they ask if I have anything published and I answer in the negative, they lose interest. And that's okay, I'm not offended. Frankly, if someone comes up to me and talks about their scrapbooking or basket-weaving, I'm going to do the same thing. I'll make polite noises and show a shallow amount of interest, but those are activities I can't relate to so my interest is feigned.

Hence, I keep my writing life exposed online only. People who read my blog are genuinely interested in what's going on. I know not everyone is a writer who reads this blog, but they are aware that I am a writer and know it often influences the rest of my life. When I am harping on some writing issue, I know there a dozen others out there nodding their head and saying, yeah, I know what she means. I generally don't talk about the specifics of my writing, for the same reason I don't like writing synopsis, I'm no good at describing the particulars. Plus, I'm more interested in the general problems of writing that we all share rather than the minute details. Again, you may not relate to my particular genre and I don't want to give you the yawns. Anyway, the point is, my writing world is based primarily in cyberspace.

Until Facebook. Boy, people can really find you on that network. Suddenly people I haven't heard from in 25 years are contacting me. People I know from my kids' schools are "friending" me. But like most things, my Facebook page is geared towards writing. One person I know in real life is my friend on Facebook and emailed me about my blog. Crud....I like the anonyminity of my blog. Another person said she had no idea I was a writer. Yeah, and that's kind of how I wanted it to stay.

For the most part, it is a non-issue. People are so busy with their own lives they don't have time to delve into mine. But I do feel like I have a secret identity which has been revealed and I wonder what people are going to think. Of course, if I sold a book and had a publication date, I'm sure I'd feel differently.

Struggling

I'm not used to writing rubbish. When I get the feel of something and decide its garbage, I quit writing and move on to something else. I'm not into heavy repairs. Somethings just can't be edited.

But now I'm doing NaNo and I don't have that luxury. Part of me wants to give up. Its a small part luckily, and I'm trying to keep my mind firmly focused on my goals. I'm writing something I'm not used to. This is an urban fantasy romance written in third person. It has been a long time since I've written in the 3rd so its a little harder work. I haven't written a romance in years. Oh, there is always a strong romantic theme in my writing, but not enough for editors to consider it romance.

I don't have any illusions that this book will actually see the light of day. And I'm not trying to sound pessimistic or negate the purpose of this NaNo. I do have a book in mind which is a romance and in third person which I am enamored of. I don't want it to be rubbish. I specifically chose something else for my NaNo project, essentially giving myself permission to write junk.

I'm hoping this frantic writing pace will kick me into overdrive. By letting the instinctual writer in me lose without presure, I hope to work the kinks out of my writing and feel more compfortable writing the next book.

I guess that is what I hope to get out of NaNo. For those of you doing NaNo, what do you hope to get out of it? For the rest of you writers, do you ever give yourself permission to write rubbish?

Speakings of rubbish, my word count numbers were down yesterday. I decided to wash all the upstairs bedding. Heavens, it was a much larger task than I planned. There are four beds upstairs. I employed both of my washers and dryers and still took all day. Today my legs are sore from going up and down the stairs so much. And I'm not done. I'd like to sweep and mop the floors up there. I'm thinking of taking my laptop up with me and giving myself breaks in between.

I Am So Damned Glad...

...the election is over. Please, everyone, take your signs down. They are like Christmas lights. Particularly since most people's signs have been hit with a continuous barage of sprinklers and weather and they look terrible.

Why Rene, aren't you a bit touchy? YES! I'm doing NaNo and it makes me cranky. It doesn't take much to set me off. I can feel that itchy feeling in my skin like I've had too much caffeinne. Only I haven't. Part of my brain is constatnly engaged in my novel so the rest of my brain has to compensate. It doesn't like it.

Not helping the situation is Thing. She has started Fall Frenzy. My kids go through a horrible phase that begins at Halloween and lasts through Christmas. We have way too much going on. Obviously Halloween is a big deal. Next is the soccer parties. Both girls have their birthdays in November. Thanksgiving is a huge deal. My son's birthday is in December and of course there is Christmas. For 3 months my kids are complete messes. They have no self-control and their emotions are raw. They grow out of it. My two olders are fine. But this is the year of the Vile Thing. This morning she asked her dad to fry her an egg for breakfast. He made it over easy and the yolk broke. OMG, she threw the biggest tantrum. She refused to eat the egg and wanted her dad to make her another one. THIS WENT ON FOR AN HOUR!!!!!

She's off at school now and I'm trying to regain my sense of calm so I can dive back into writing.

No No NaNo Weekend

Having NaNo start on a Saturday is not a good idea for me, particularly when Friday was Halloween and I have children running around on a methaphetimine-like candy high. Thing was totally out of control. None of them would listen and if they saw me on the computer they picked that time to demand something or chat about their lives.

My kids sense there is a new "baby" in the house and they don't like it. This new creature is taking Mom's attention away from them. And right now, the new kid is my favorite. I don't have to make it lunch or urge it to get dressed. I also don't have to yell at it to clean its room.

The NaNo website has been difficult to put it mildly. I can't get in to post my word count. Not that it is impressive. I've got some making up to do this week. I should have time.

I will give some kudos to my AlphaSmart and I'm starting to wonder why I haven't been using it more. I took it with me to the baseball game and did some writing while I waited for the game to start. Not a lot of words but any little bit helps.

Happy NaNoWriMo

I went back into ye olde archives to see if I had a nuggets of wisdom to pass on for this year's NaNoWriMo. I went back to November of 2006, the year I won and found this from an old "Thursday Thirteen:"

Thirteen Things I Learned About Myself and NaNoWriMo

1. That I can win. This was my first year trying and I'm flushed with triumph.
2. When I push myself in my writing, I can get it done.
3. I can do this and still have a life.
4. I waste a lot of time doing nothing. After seeing how many words I could produce in a day, I realized I do spend precious minutes doing nothing. A disconcerting discovery to be sure.
5. Oh, I do love to write. Being immersed in my writing takes me away.
6. The more I wrote, the easier it got. Except for the end. I finished my book yesterday but realized I had come up short for Nano. I spent two hours adding 500 words.
7. Instead of being exhausted creatively, I'm invigorated. I'd love to jump right back into it today but I don't think my back could take it.
8. The idea behind Nano is to turn off the internal editor. Discovered my internal editor is as much a part of my writing as anything else.
9. I need to go back to the gym. I devoted the time I would have been at the gym to writing.
10. My kids have a sixth sense. If they see I'm heavily involved in my writing, that's the time to totally misbehave and get into stuff. For example, Thing wandered out of the kitchen naked and covered with flour. I asked her what she'd been doing. "I peed in the flour." File that under "why I drink."
11. Non-writers think I'm insane, but they respect it.
12. Atmosphere is inconsequential when I write. If I can crank out 4K words while "Power Rangers" is blaring non-stop from the t.v., I can do anything.
13. I MISSED YOU GUYS AND THE BLOGOSPHERE IN GENERAL. I'm going to start catching up today

I'm glad I read this. It addresses some of the doubts I have. And since I made it through once, I know I can do it again.

Good Luck and Happy Writing!

Too Hot Halloween?

Friday is the big day, one of the highlights of my kids' lives. They have anticipated Halloween since summer. My son when he was little, would choose his costume the day after Halloween for the next year and stick with it. Back then I sewed his costumes. One year he was a skunk, a pumpkin, a dinosaur and an alien. Amazingly enough, his sisters were skunks, pumpkins and dinosaurs. But as they got older they fell under the spell of store bought costumes. I must admit, I didn't mind too much because the costumes aren't bad and they cost less than it would for me to make them. But I'm starting to notice a trend with girls' Halloween costumes. They're getting, well, sexy. Apparently this is a trend noted by professionals as this "Today" clips shows:



The L.A. Times also has an article about the trend:Sexy Halloween costumes . . . for little girls?


My daughters were drawn to many of these costumes. They are glamorous and shiny with spangles of all sorts attached. They are also ultra-short, bare-midriffed, exceptionally tight, off the shoulder and plunging in the neckline. I'm not a prude per se and I fully appreciate the fun of Halloween. Kids get to pretend to be something else for a night. But really, does my 8 year old need to dress like a French maid? Doesn't this just seem inappropriate? And what is this costume saying?Nothing good as far as I can see.

Is this acceptable? Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Is this just Halloween fun or is there a more provocative message being sent?