Quick update: I lost internet after a switch to a new ISP. Everyone's computer but mine could connect. Nobody knew how to fix it. I seem to have poor luck with anything electronic these days! But all is well now.
We're experiencing one of the biggest snow storms Seattle has ever seen. I have a foot of snow at my house. I love the hush that snow provides, but if I lose my power I suspect the snow will lose its beauty.
Sean has done it again! I like this poem very much. In this English assignment, his poem needed to portray a paradox. I think he also manages a bit of a transformation here as well. No, he is not an angst-filled teen; he is actually a well-adjusted young man with a great imagination, the inability to put his dirty socks in the clothes hamper, and a little too much RPG experience :)
Death
By Sean Roberts
Life is existence.
Living.
Breathing.
Sleeping.
But, is it really life?
Are you free?
Do you have power?
Are you always happy?
Are you sure?
Death is nonexistence.
Your soul,
Your spirit,
Living in an invisible world,
Spying on the ones,
Who appear to be living.
Watching as the world unravels.
Watching as new souls are prepared for torture.
Knowing that soon,
It will be your turn again.
Is it truly life we experience?
Or is it death?
Vessels to a spirit who cannot roam free,
A spirit waiting to get out,
Waiting to live as it pleases,
Not needing food,
Not experiencing pain,
Not experiencing sadness,
Able to live with freedom.
Life is Death.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sit, Stay, Hyperlink
For today's joy-finding expedition, I didn't have to go far! I'm trying out the gift of knowledge and the fact that this old dog can learn a new trick. Here's my attempt at putting Madison Leigh's name in link format. Woohoo! It worked!
Thank you Elysabeth and CJ :)
Thank you Elysabeth and CJ :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
It gets easier with practice
Today's unexpected joy came easily: the devotion of friends.
My friend Madison Leigh (I wish I knew how to do that thing where her name is underlined and it's a link to her blog) did a little research on a problem I've been having. She put a few bits of information together and connected it to something else and voila! A clue that I can use to try to find some answers.
Thank you, Madison!
My friend Madison Leigh (I wish I knew how to do that thing where her name is underlined and it's a link to her blog) did a little research on a problem I've been having. She put a few bits of information together and connected it to something else and voila! A clue that I can use to try to find some answers.
Thank you, Madison!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Purple Is All That It Should Be
Oops - I missed 2 days! I forgot to factor in the weekend element. One of those days was a fun-filled family day, but I don't think it's fair to "go back" so I'll just pick up where I left off.
My 14 year old son wrote a poem for school and has graciously given me permission to post it here. It made me think and it made me smile so it's my "focus" option of the day. His assignment was to choose a color and write a poem about it. He chose my favorite color :)
The Color Purple
By Sean Roberts
The gentle blaze of a fire,
To a skier trapped in the snow.
The grace of an angel,
To a fallen soldier,
Purple rewards the patient.
Purple saves the punished.
Purple is all that it should be,
The regalia of royalty,
The symbol of patience,
The image of justice,
The emblem of hope and peace,
The pattern of prosperity,
The insignia of bliss,
The mark of a higher power
For all who have earned it,
Purple is all that it should be.
My 14 year old son wrote a poem for school and has graciously given me permission to post it here. It made me think and it made me smile so it's my "focus" option of the day. His assignment was to choose a color and write a poem about it. He chose my favorite color :)
The Color Purple
By Sean Roberts
The gentle blaze of a fire,
To a skier trapped in the snow.
The grace of an angel,
To a fallen soldier,
Purple rewards the patient.
Purple saves the punished.
Purple is all that it should be,
The regalia of royalty,
The symbol of patience,
The image of justice,
The emblem of hope and peace,
The pattern of prosperity,
The insignia of bliss,
The mark of a higher power
For all who have earned it,
Purple is all that it should be.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Multiplication
I set out to find one positive, uplifting moment from today and ended up having a hard time narrowing the field. Here are just a few things that brought me unexpected joy, in no particular order:
- Internet shopping (less hassle!)
- talking to my other sister today and laughing together
- my cuddly dog
Although I'm tempted to tell you how the "good" things just kept piling up - like something funny my son said, how my husband kept sending me bad Seahawks jokes today, and catching my daughter in an act of kindness - I think instead I'll try to focus on a few "good" moments at a time and really absorb them.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Don't say nothin at all
Remember Thumper? If you can't say something nice...
That's why I haven't been updating my blog. I realized today that I didn't want to post anything negative on my blog, and with the stuff that's been happening in my life lately, I honestly couldn't think of anything positive to say.
I was driving at the time and the thought had such a profound affect on me that I almost slammed on the brakes.
Bad things happen all the time. We are all surrounded by negativity, stress, unpleasantness. The only control we have over the negativity is how we allow it to impact our lives, right?
But heck I wouldn't even torture my characters the way I've been tortured this year! The deaths of pets, friends and family; a devastating loss of income; head-to-toe hives...? First of all, no one would believe my life in story form if I even had the desire to write it, which I don't. Second, the melodrama is just too far-fetched. Third -- oh, wait; I had a point to this rant.
For one week, I'm going to post a "positive" thing that happened during each day. A good thought. A kind word. A small accomplishment. Something uplifting that stands out from the rest of the day. Then I'm going to see if the act of shifting focus has an impact on my life. I don't expect my perspective to banish the bad, but perhaps it will turn my health around. It certainly can't hurt. And if it makes the spots go away, I'll be very happy.
Let's see...today...
One thing that stands out from the day is hugging my sister, because she needed it - and the wonderful feeling that a hug from me means a lot to her and vice versa.
That's why I haven't been updating my blog. I realized today that I didn't want to post anything negative on my blog, and with the stuff that's been happening in my life lately, I honestly couldn't think of anything positive to say.
I was driving at the time and the thought had such a profound affect on me that I almost slammed on the brakes.
Bad things happen all the time. We are all surrounded by negativity, stress, unpleasantness. The only control we have over the negativity is how we allow it to impact our lives, right?
But heck I wouldn't even torture my characters the way I've been tortured this year! The deaths of pets, friends and family; a devastating loss of income; head-to-toe hives...? First of all, no one would believe my life in story form if I even had the desire to write it, which I don't. Second, the melodrama is just too far-fetched. Third -- oh, wait; I had a point to this rant.
For one week, I'm going to post a "positive" thing that happened during each day. A good thought. A kind word. A small accomplishment. Something uplifting that stands out from the rest of the day. Then I'm going to see if the act of shifting focus has an impact on my life. I don't expect my perspective to banish the bad, but perhaps it will turn my health around. It certainly can't hurt. And if it makes the spots go away, I'll be very happy.
Let's see...today...
One thing that stands out from the day is hugging my sister, because she needed it - and the wonderful feeling that a hug from me means a lot to her and vice versa.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
May I Have the Keys to the Literary Kingdom, Please?
I have been having an identity crisis and I have no one to blame but myself.
In April of 2008, I attended my first writing conference and the world shifted on its axis. Did you feel it? I don’t see how anyone could have missed it. There was this l-o-n-g moment when the world stopped turning, and when it started up again, everything looked different. Suddenly, I could visualize my dream of becoming a Real Writer. And then the conference I went to last month had the effect of dangling a key just out of a prisoner’s reach. I could see my greatest desire, but even while I was surrounded by scores of supportive writers, I knew the four walls of my self-imposed prison would hem me in once I stepped back into my own reality (self-fulfilling prophecies are remarkably dependable). With great fear and stubborn determination, I soaked up the conference atmosphere like a drunk on a three day bender. I pitched my novel to Kevan Lyon of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and then, in a moment of reckless abandon, I accepted Cherry Adair’s “Write the Damn Book” challenge.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I am happy with who I am. I love my family and my life but I want – no, I need – to figure out how to make the transition from hobbyist to professional; to make writing an integral part of every day, not just something I do in my spare time; to stop treating writing like a dirty secret and bring it out into the open.
You know how much I love short stories. They are the perfect venue for the hobbyist writer. On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I can create a first draft and then spend the week toying with the story elements. For longer, meatier short stories, the semantics alone can consume months of Saturdays. All the while, new story ideas are brewing and the creative cycle repeats itself. Aside from NaNoWriMo month (November, for those of you non-WriMos), thus has been the extent of my writing for the past five years: a weekend here, an evening there, but otherwise, just a hobby. Oh, sure, I’d go through periods of binge-writing and have an occasional inspiration to enter a contest, but I always fell back into my usual routine of duty before hobby.
To be fair to myself, I have been a dedicated hobby novelist in the last year, with only a few brief diversions into short stories, but I tried to treat my novel writing like my short story writing and discovered that the two are very different from one another. Very different. My organic, spiral writing method isn't the most effective way to write a novel, but I have learned from successful writers that it can work and, as you may recall from paragraph two, I possess a stubborn determination.
So, while my fellow WriMos are dedicating this month, National Novel Writing Month, to the intoxicating infatuation of developing a new story, I am instead dedicating the month to developing a new writer: me.
In April of 2008, I attended my first writing conference and the world shifted on its axis. Did you feel it? I don’t see how anyone could have missed it. There was this l-o-n-g moment when the world stopped turning, and when it started up again, everything looked different. Suddenly, I could visualize my dream of becoming a Real Writer. And then the conference I went to last month had the effect of dangling a key just out of a prisoner’s reach. I could see my greatest desire, but even while I was surrounded by scores of supportive writers, I knew the four walls of my self-imposed prison would hem me in once I stepped back into my own reality (self-fulfilling prophecies are remarkably dependable). With great fear and stubborn determination, I soaked up the conference atmosphere like a drunk on a three day bender. I pitched my novel to Kevan Lyon of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and then, in a moment of reckless abandon, I accepted Cherry Adair’s “Write the Damn Book” challenge.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I am happy with who I am. I love my family and my life but I want – no, I need – to figure out how to make the transition from hobbyist to professional; to make writing an integral part of every day, not just something I do in my spare time; to stop treating writing like a dirty secret and bring it out into the open.
You know how much I love short stories. They are the perfect venue for the hobbyist writer. On a lazy Saturday afternoon, I can create a first draft and then spend the week toying with the story elements. For longer, meatier short stories, the semantics alone can consume months of Saturdays. All the while, new story ideas are brewing and the creative cycle repeats itself. Aside from NaNoWriMo month (November, for those of you non-WriMos), thus has been the extent of my writing for the past five years: a weekend here, an evening there, but otherwise, just a hobby. Oh, sure, I’d go through periods of binge-writing and have an occasional inspiration to enter a contest, but I always fell back into my usual routine of duty before hobby.
To be fair to myself, I have been a dedicated hobby novelist in the last year, with only a few brief diversions into short stories, but I tried to treat my novel writing like my short story writing and discovered that the two are very different from one another. Very different. My organic, spiral writing method isn't the most effective way to write a novel, but I have learned from successful writers that it can work and, as you may recall from paragraph two, I possess a stubborn determination.
So, while my fellow WriMos are dedicating this month, National Novel Writing Month, to the intoxicating infatuation of developing a new story, I am instead dedicating the month to developing a new writer: me.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Post-conference thoughts
What a conference! The Emerald City Writers' Conference was the BUSIEST conference I've been to so far! Probably because this is the first conference where I've volunteered to work :) I enjoyed the work, but I found it challenging to get to any of the workshops. I was only able to attend a few: Allison Brennan, Jennifer Ashley, and Julia Quinn. I spent a lot of time pouring champagne up in the hospitality suite, chatting with out-of-towners and making new friends. GSRWA is an incredible chapter. Soooo many successful, motivated authors and all of them willing to help you realize your dream. I love them already!
The editors and agents held a panel discussion on Friday night after dinner and I enjoyed hearing the "other side" of the writing business. It's a funny thing: writers and publishers are dependent upon each other. Why is there such a big gap between them? Thank God for agents and editors! I didn't hear anything new from the panel, but it gave me a chance to get to know them each a little better. For instance, I found out that they're all human and not, in fact, superheroes. This cut the intimidation factor back quite a bit.
After agonizing over my pitch for a week, I finally decided to trust my own instincts. I found a short pitch that included the main plot points, encapsulated a bit of the tone of Err Apparent, and sounded like something I would say. I didn't trip over the words. The best news was that my appointment was with my first choice: Kevan Lyon of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency (The Sandra Dijkstra Agency!!! Diane Mott Davidson! Lisa See! Amy Tan! Need I say more?). That made my day. I'd already researched the SDLA and just needed to know how to get an appointment. So obviously, I was anxious to get an appointment with Kevan Lyon. Of all the editors and agents at the conference, she was THE fit for me considering Err Apparent is an urban mystery with a strong romantic element and Falling Short is a mainstream women's fiction with a small romantic element.
I realized rather quickly that it must be difficult for Kevan to remember any one person she sees at these group appointments. She immediately put us all at ease, and I breezed through my first pitch without any trouble. One drawback to the group pitch is you really don't get a chance to get to know each other at all. All I have to go on is the way she portrayed herself during the editor/agent panel and the few minutes during the group pitch.
She didn't do anything hideous; come to think of it, that's pretty much all she can say about me, too. Which is good.
I'm giving myself a week to polish the first 50 pages (again) and rewrite my synopsis. Currently, the synopsis is written as a series of notes for myself, so I have a bit of work to do to turn it into good reading material. As soon as I send that off, I need to finish the revisions to Err Apparent so I can start on the novel I pledged to write at Cherry Adair's Write the Damn Book challenge. Since Falling Short is going to take a complete rewrite (what else is new?), I figure it's the perfect book to write after Err Apparent is off to my trusted beta readers.
Motivational tip of the day: Cherry Adair said, "If you can't write a page a day, what the hell are you doing at this conference?" I have soooo many ideas for other stories, so it's tempting to start something new, especially after a conference when you feel like anything is possible. Work on three novels at once? Sure! Why not? Alas, I make notes and write random scenes to save for later.
November is coming...NaNoWriMo...Allison Brennan made me feel better about the way I write my novels. She said it takes her 300,000 words to write a 100,000 word book. I'm glad I'm not the only writer who has to write organically. My short stories are always that way; why did I think novels would be any different?
Back to work, polishing and rewriting.
The editors and agents held a panel discussion on Friday night after dinner and I enjoyed hearing the "other side" of the writing business. It's a funny thing: writers and publishers are dependent upon each other. Why is there such a big gap between them? Thank God for agents and editors! I didn't hear anything new from the panel, but it gave me a chance to get to know them each a little better. For instance, I found out that they're all human and not, in fact, superheroes. This cut the intimidation factor back quite a bit.
After agonizing over my pitch for a week, I finally decided to trust my own instincts. I found a short pitch that included the main plot points, encapsulated a bit of the tone of Err Apparent, and sounded like something I would say. I didn't trip over the words. The best news was that my appointment was with my first choice: Kevan Lyon of the Sandra Dijkstra Agency (The Sandra Dijkstra Agency!!! Diane Mott Davidson! Lisa See! Amy Tan! Need I say more?). That made my day. I'd already researched the SDLA and just needed to know how to get an appointment. So obviously, I was anxious to get an appointment with Kevan Lyon. Of all the editors and agents at the conference, she was THE fit for me considering Err Apparent is an urban mystery with a strong romantic element and Falling Short is a mainstream women's fiction with a small romantic element.
I realized rather quickly that it must be difficult for Kevan to remember any one person she sees at these group appointments. She immediately put us all at ease, and I breezed through my first pitch without any trouble. One drawback to the group pitch is you really don't get a chance to get to know each other at all. All I have to go on is the way she portrayed herself during the editor/agent panel and the few minutes during the group pitch.
She didn't do anything hideous; come to think of it, that's pretty much all she can say about me, too. Which is good.
I'm giving myself a week to polish the first 50 pages (again) and rewrite my synopsis. Currently, the synopsis is written as a series of notes for myself, so I have a bit of work to do to turn it into good reading material. As soon as I send that off, I need to finish the revisions to Err Apparent so I can start on the novel I pledged to write at Cherry Adair's Write the Damn Book challenge. Since Falling Short is going to take a complete rewrite (what else is new?), I figure it's the perfect book to write after Err Apparent is off to my trusted beta readers.
Motivational tip of the day: Cherry Adair said, "If you can't write a page a day, what the hell are you doing at this conference?" I have soooo many ideas for other stories, so it's tempting to start something new, especially after a conference when you feel like anything is possible. Work on three novels at once? Sure! Why not? Alas, I make notes and write random scenes to save for later.
November is coming...NaNoWriMo...Allison Brennan made me feel better about the way I write my novels. She said it takes her 300,000 words to write a 100,000 word book. I'm glad I'm not the only writer who has to write organically. My short stories are always that way; why did I think novels would be any different?
Back to work, polishing and rewriting.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
ECWC Conference
I'm off to the Emerald City Writer's Conference in the morning. An entire weekend, devoted to writing! I get to stow my other hats in the closet and just be a writer. Wow!
This week, I've been working on my pitch for Err Apparent. Had I known the pitch would be so difficult to write, I'd have started a month ago! I think some writers find the pitch or query very easy to do, but for most of us, it's agony.
to be blunt, it's been a learning process for me. I've had to think about what is at the core of my story, and what makes my story unique. I'm a panster, not a plotter, so I don't have a detailed outline or long synopsis. I have...well, I have the story. What else do I need? LOL!
With the help of my WIP group (Writers in Progress), my one-sentence blurb has gone from "an urban romantic mystery about a woman who works at an art gallery who is framed for the murder of a wealthy gallery client" (blech) to "Framed as a murderer, gallery assistant Rebecca Allyn needs to redraw the lines between herself and her politician father, and paint the cop she dare not love out of the picture."
You see what I mean about the learning experience ;)
This week, I've been working on my pitch for Err Apparent. Had I known the pitch would be so difficult to write, I'd have started a month ago! I think some writers find the pitch or query very easy to do, but for most of us, it's agony.
to be blunt, it's been a learning process for me. I've had to think about what is at the core of my story, and what makes my story unique. I'm a panster, not a plotter, so I don't have a detailed outline or long synopsis. I have...well, I have the story. What else do I need? LOL!
With the help of my WIP group (Writers in Progress), my one-sentence blurb has gone from "an urban romantic mystery about a woman who works at an art gallery who is framed for the murder of a wealthy gallery client" (blech) to "Framed as a murderer, gallery assistant Rebecca Allyn needs to redraw the lines between herself and her politician father, and paint the cop she dare not love out of the picture."
You see what I mean about the learning experience ;)
I'll try to post my two-minute elevator pitch, but I keep changing it - again, with the help of the WIPpettes.
Off to pack and tweak my pitch and then try to get some sleep. Conferences are so exciting! But I will miss my dear friends Madison Leigh and Viansa Blake. They were so much fun at the NECRWA conference.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
These things sneak up on you
The revisions are going much more slowly than I'd hoped, but I should give myself some credit for all the muddling-through I've done. I now have 8 chapters that are clean and revised to the plot changes. Considering what I've gone through since May, I guess I should give myself a bit of grace. But I discovered that there was something getting in my way of the revisions: ME.
See, I guess I didn't give myself any time to actually absorb the losses of my parents. I kept skimming over the emotional drama, focusing on what needed to be done. I kept myself busy, in family life and writing life, working on the plot of my novel, honing character goals, zooming in on the conflict and story arc. All very good avoidance techniques. I've LOOKED like I was handling my losses. I've talked about handling them, but I just kept going and going and going and finally, I couldn't cope, emotionally. Classic, huh?
Today, I feel like I'm getting my life back together. Funny thing is, I wasn't aware that it was falling apart. Being a writer, I wrote my way through it: I opened a vein and bleed on the page. It helped.
My first hurdle was to accept that I am not ready to find an agent to sign with and that's not the end of the world. I imagine it's okay if I use the group agent appointment as a learning experience, a practice run, a place to learn about the business end of the craft. I'll ask if it's okay to pitch my story, just for practice.
I'm very excited to be attending the Emerald City Writer's Conference Oct 10-12th! Everyone I've met from the GSRWA has been delightful, funny, enthusiastic, and successful --- ohmygosh these writers are driven! They are a motivating bunch. I don't write romances (although my stories all seem to have a relationship at the heart), but if you want to learn the business of writing and selling novels, the best place to start learning is to become a member of RWA and start attending chapter meetings and conferences. These writers know the ins and outs of the craft, and they are the most welcoming and FUN bunch of writers you'll ever meet.
See, I guess I didn't give myself any time to actually absorb the losses of my parents. I kept skimming over the emotional drama, focusing on what needed to be done. I kept myself busy, in family life and writing life, working on the plot of my novel, honing character goals, zooming in on the conflict and story arc. All very good avoidance techniques. I've LOOKED like I was handling my losses. I've talked about handling them, but I just kept going and going and going and finally, I couldn't cope, emotionally. Classic, huh?
Today, I feel like I'm getting my life back together. Funny thing is, I wasn't aware that it was falling apart. Being a writer, I wrote my way through it: I opened a vein and bleed on the page. It helped.
My first hurdle was to accept that I am not ready to find an agent to sign with and that's not the end of the world. I imagine it's okay if I use the group agent appointment as a learning experience, a practice run, a place to learn about the business end of the craft. I'll ask if it's okay to pitch my story, just for practice.
I'm very excited to be attending the Emerald City Writer's Conference Oct 10-12th! Everyone I've met from the GSRWA has been delightful, funny, enthusiastic, and successful --- ohmygosh these writers are driven! They are a motivating bunch. I don't write romances (although my stories all seem to have a relationship at the heart), but if you want to learn the business of writing and selling novels, the best place to start learning is to become a member of RWA and start attending chapter meetings and conferences. These writers know the ins and outs of the craft, and they are the most welcoming and FUN bunch of writers you'll ever meet.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Totally random thoughts
Sorry - I've sort of filled this in throughout the last two days as time permitted. I think I'll leave it as is, even though it's rough and raw. Enjoy!
There's a gremlin following me around. Everything electronic that I touch is doomed to failure and I blame MySpace.
I bet you think I'm kidding.
Ever since I first created a MySpace page, I've been plagued with computer troubles. I can't visit MyPage without having MyComputer lock up. I get viruses every time I try to update the page or reply to messages. Friends and relations have no troubles with their pages, but mine is evil. I'd blast the sinister thing into the MySpace graveyard if I thought I could do it without toasting another hard drive.
So my beautiful new computer - the one I bought after MySpace burned up my last laptop - is crippled. I love my HP Pavilion Notebook PC, but I'm thinking seriously about a Mac. I am so darn sick and tired of viruses. Every time I get hit with one, I lose at least a week of writing. I can't sync my Blackberry to my PC because the software won't load. I can't load my new Zep CD on my iPod. Outlook Express freezes up on me half the time, so I shut down and restart and get the same messages over and over. I can't run a virus scan without removing and reinstalling my virus software every time. And on and on and on. It never ends!
But on to other things :)
The Emerald City Writers Conference is less than a month away. I'm so excited to be attending this conference! Last weekend, I attended my first ever GSRWA meeting and all I can say is -WOW! What a great bunch of writers! I say that not just because they've all been fun to get to know, but because there are so many productive, successful writers in the group. I find it very motivating to hear what's working for other writers, how they've persevered through the submissions process and succeeded. One writer said, "Whew! And I thought writing was hard!"
Normally, fall is a productive time of year for me. I've been going through the motions, but not getting as much done as I'd like, probably because there are some days when I still feel like I'm on autopilot. On the way to the parent/child book club today (yes, I started that up again even though I'm loaded down pretty heavy as it is) my daughter Hannah started crying about missing Grampa and I joined in. And all day Monday, I had to field the question, "How was your summer?" I totally wasn't prepared to answer that yet.
I volunteered to be the team parent for my son Sean's football team. It's a small job, but to me it's huge. Taking on anything right now is huge to me, but I have to get out there and do it. Life goes on. I also attended a PTA meeting tonight. With both parents' illnesses last year, I could never fit a PTA meeting into my schedule. This year, I want to be involved. Sean is a great student and loves going to school. My goal with Hannah this year is to teach her the self-discipline a good student needs.
There is absolutely no closure for a random post like this! LOL if this were a draft of a story, I'd wad it up and toss it in the recycle bin!
There's a gremlin following me around. Everything electronic that I touch is doomed to failure and I blame MySpace.
I bet you think I'm kidding.
Ever since I first created a MySpace page, I've been plagued with computer troubles. I can't visit MyPage without having MyComputer lock up. I get viruses every time I try to update the page or reply to messages. Friends and relations have no troubles with their pages, but mine is evil. I'd blast the sinister thing into the MySpace graveyard if I thought I could do it without toasting another hard drive.
So my beautiful new computer - the one I bought after MySpace burned up my last laptop - is crippled. I love my HP Pavilion Notebook PC, but I'm thinking seriously about a Mac. I am so darn sick and tired of viruses. Every time I get hit with one, I lose at least a week of writing. I can't sync my Blackberry to my PC because the software won't load. I can't load my new Zep CD on my iPod. Outlook Express freezes up on me half the time, so I shut down and restart and get the same messages over and over. I can't run a virus scan without removing and reinstalling my virus software every time. And on and on and on. It never ends!
But on to other things :)
The Emerald City Writers Conference is less than a month away. I'm so excited to be attending this conference! Last weekend, I attended my first ever GSRWA meeting and all I can say is -WOW! What a great bunch of writers! I say that not just because they've all been fun to get to know, but because there are so many productive, successful writers in the group. I find it very motivating to hear what's working for other writers, how they've persevered through the submissions process and succeeded. One writer said, "Whew! And I thought writing was hard!"
Normally, fall is a productive time of year for me. I've been going through the motions, but not getting as much done as I'd like, probably because there are some days when I still feel like I'm on autopilot. On the way to the parent/child book club today (yes, I started that up again even though I'm loaded down pretty heavy as it is) my daughter Hannah started crying about missing Grampa and I joined in. And all day Monday, I had to field the question, "How was your summer?" I totally wasn't prepared to answer that yet.
I volunteered to be the team parent for my son Sean's football team. It's a small job, but to me it's huge. Taking on anything right now is huge to me, but I have to get out there and do it. Life goes on. I also attended a PTA meeting tonight. With both parents' illnesses last year, I could never fit a PTA meeting into my schedule. This year, I want to be involved. Sean is a great student and loves going to school. My goal with Hannah this year is to teach her the self-discipline a good student needs.
There is absolutely no closure for a random post like this! LOL if this were a draft of a story, I'd wad it up and toss it in the recycle bin!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Energized by productivity
It's amazing how energized I feel when I get some writing done.
With all the demands on my time, I often feel as if I have to "steal" writing time. Part of me thinks that's a mommy-guilt stereotype, but there is always an element of truth to stereotypes. I am definitely not a stereotypical wife, mom, sister, friend, daughter, etc. so I can't imagine I'd follow any stereotypes. Still, one can't ignore the element of truth: my family is my first priority. I can't just pretend they don't exist, and usually, I don't need to. We coexist peaceably, the wife and mommy and writer and me.
However, something about this past summer's emotional turmoil made it hard for me to assume my writerly role full time, or even part time. My writerly self barely existed. So here I was, ready to get back to the novel, and my life had revolved around everyone else and all the things that needed to be done for 3 months. Getting my writing time back was not easy. I had to physically remove myself from my family in order to get anything done. I had to put my foot down and make it known that I WAS WRITING!
Let's hope the transition is complete and I don't have to do that again. Although, I must admit, it was fun to go sit in the B&N Cafe, sip a mocha, and do nothing but write. I could get used to that....
With all the demands on my time, I often feel as if I have to "steal" writing time. Part of me thinks that's a mommy-guilt stereotype, but there is always an element of truth to stereotypes. I am definitely not a stereotypical wife, mom, sister, friend, daughter, etc. so I can't imagine I'd follow any stereotypes. Still, one can't ignore the element of truth: my family is my first priority. I can't just pretend they don't exist, and usually, I don't need to. We coexist peaceably, the wife and mommy and writer and me.
However, something about this past summer's emotional turmoil made it hard for me to assume my writerly role full time, or even part time. My writerly self barely existed. So here I was, ready to get back to the novel, and my life had revolved around everyone else and all the things that needed to be done for 3 months. Getting my writing time back was not easy. I had to physically remove myself from my family in order to get anything done. I had to put my foot down and make it known that I WAS WRITING!
Let's hope the transition is complete and I don't have to do that again. Although, I must admit, it was fun to go sit in the B&N Cafe, sip a mocha, and do nothing but write. I could get used to that....
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Hello, Old Blog
I'm trying to get my old routines back after the crazy summer I've had. We're gearing up for the school year, I'm rushing to my self-imposed deadline, and I'm still (of course) going through the process of grieving. But life is good. More later.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Goodbyes
It was bound to happen. The events of the last 5 months caught up with me and I could not figure out what to say on my blog.
I still don't know what to say. I guess I'll free-write and see what happens.
My mother Sarah died on July 14th. I flew to Mexico on the 15th. After spending the first night tossing back tequila shots in Mom's honor and waking up with a brutal headache at 4:30 in the morning, my sisters and I spent a week at Mom's house.
Her house was hollow without her there. I experienced my first intense moment of loss.
We boxed, sent, donated, signed, arranged, informed, and planned: all the things we are still in the process of doing for our father's affairs, and, sadly, still going through for my sister's husband. There are so many little things to take care of when someone dies. My brother stopped in now and again (he and his wife stayed at a hotel). We began the process of mourning together. Don't get me wrong: we had some great laughs, my sisters and I, but we all decided we're getting sick of this end-of-life business.
We don't want to be "strong" anymore.
Sisters are a blessing. As I said to a friend of mine in an email, those of us who have sisters know how truly wonderful it is to be able to love someone unconditionally. My sisters and I have had our differences but they've never marred our love for each other and seldom interfered in our relationships. In the past 5 months, we've leaned heavily upon each other. Sisters are there for each other, period.
One of the reasons I haven't posted on my blog is because I've been troubled by someone's very rude behavior during this difficult time in my life, behavior that was hurtful. Over the last week, I've asked myself many times what I should do about this person and I keep arriving at the same conclusion: let it go and move on. I don't need negativity in my life. I'm sad to see the relationship dissolve, but one thing I've learned is that my contentment is not dependent upon the actions of others; it lies within me.
With the negativity behind me, and the grieving resumed, I was finally able to get in a good chunk of writing time today.
I still don't know what to say. I guess I'll free-write and see what happens.
My mother Sarah died on July 14th. I flew to Mexico on the 15th. After spending the first night tossing back tequila shots in Mom's honor and waking up with a brutal headache at 4:30 in the morning, my sisters and I spent a week at Mom's house.
Her house was hollow without her there. I experienced my first intense moment of loss.
We boxed, sent, donated, signed, arranged, informed, and planned: all the things we are still in the process of doing for our father's affairs, and, sadly, still going through for my sister's husband. There are so many little things to take care of when someone dies. My brother stopped in now and again (he and his wife stayed at a hotel). We began the process of mourning together. Don't get me wrong: we had some great laughs, my sisters and I, but we all decided we're getting sick of this end-of-life business.
We don't want to be "strong" anymore.
Sisters are a blessing. As I said to a friend of mine in an email, those of us who have sisters know how truly wonderful it is to be able to love someone unconditionally. My sisters and I have had our differences but they've never marred our love for each other and seldom interfered in our relationships. In the past 5 months, we've leaned heavily upon each other. Sisters are there for each other, period.
One of the reasons I haven't posted on my blog is because I've been troubled by someone's very rude behavior during this difficult time in my life, behavior that was hurtful. Over the last week, I've asked myself many times what I should do about this person and I keep arriving at the same conclusion: let it go and move on. I don't need negativity in my life. I'm sad to see the relationship dissolve, but one thing I've learned is that my contentment is not dependent upon the actions of others; it lies within me.
With the negativity behind me, and the grieving resumed, I was finally able to get in a good chunk of writing time today.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Stepping Stones
I've stalled posting on my blog for weeks. I told myself I was waiting for things to calm down a bit, but I suspect I've not posted because I've wanted to avoid going through emotions I'm not sure I'm capable of expressing.
From the 19th to the 26th, I was in Mexico with my mother. I've posted before about her cancer. Our visit this time was bittersweet: we found a fulfilling end to our relationship. Through the simple act of caring for her physical needs during these final days of her life, she and I bonded in a way that can only happen when you've stripped away all the aspects of this earthly life until all that remains is the fact that life ends. Things that seemed important fall away, and you have only the love and the need to ease pain.
As I write this, I'm waiting for the call from one of my sisters or my brother, telling me that her suffering is over. I think that's why I've put off posting on my blog, although I don't know why. Finality, maybe? Closure?
Just 4 weeks ago - a few days after my father's death -my mother sent me an email about my father's memorial:
"I will miss having your dad here in this world, too. We were married for 22 years, and a lot of those years were good years. And as I told him, I would always love him for giving me 4 marvelous children. Without him, you 4 wouldn't be here."
She asked me to share these words at my father's memorial. On the 25th, my two sisters arrived in Mexico to help me with my mother's care. I returned home to Seattle late at night on the 26th in order to prepare for my father's memorial service. On the 27th, my sister Nancy was at the Mazatlan airport, boarding the same flight my brother Michael took to Mexico to be with our mother. Nancy and Michael shared tears and touched their hands on the glass separating the international arrivals from the departures. Michael and his wife Patty are there to say their own goodbyes and to help my sister Kathy who had requested to be with Mom at the end.
So on Saturday, June 28th, the day that would have been my father's 81st birthday, we held his memorial services. Nancy and I were there in body, Kathy and Michael were there in spirit, and we were surrounded by our family members and our closest friends. The service was beautiful. In her homily, Mother Cynthia captured everything the four of us had rambled about in meetings and emails while we we planned the memorial. After the services, I felt lighter and happy from the joyful celebration of my father's life.
On another day, when I'm not waiting for the phone to ring in the middle of the night, I'll post about seeing my uncle Dan again and my cousin Jim. I'm so glad they travelled from San Jose to Seattle to be at my father's memorial.
Each day of our lives has a purpose. The events of your day may be stepping stones to something you've worked hard to get to, a purpose of your own. But if it's your day to help someone else across the pond, embrace that day as well and live it fully. I believe that my purpose these past 5 weeks has been to help others along on their journey, and if I hadn't allowed myself to be distracted from my own goals, I would have missed so much.
From the 19th to the 26th, I was in Mexico with my mother. I've posted before about her cancer. Our visit this time was bittersweet: we found a fulfilling end to our relationship. Through the simple act of caring for her physical needs during these final days of her life, she and I bonded in a way that can only happen when you've stripped away all the aspects of this earthly life until all that remains is the fact that life ends. Things that seemed important fall away, and you have only the love and the need to ease pain.
As I write this, I'm waiting for the call from one of my sisters or my brother, telling me that her suffering is over. I think that's why I've put off posting on my blog, although I don't know why. Finality, maybe? Closure?
Just 4 weeks ago - a few days after my father's death -my mother sent me an email about my father's memorial:
"I will miss having your dad here in this world, too. We were married for 22 years, and a lot of those years were good years. And as I told him, I would always love him for giving me 4 marvelous children. Without him, you 4 wouldn't be here."
She asked me to share these words at my father's memorial. On the 25th, my two sisters arrived in Mexico to help me with my mother's care. I returned home to Seattle late at night on the 26th in order to prepare for my father's memorial service. On the 27th, my sister Nancy was at the Mazatlan airport, boarding the same flight my brother Michael took to Mexico to be with our mother. Nancy and Michael shared tears and touched their hands on the glass separating the international arrivals from the departures. Michael and his wife Patty are there to say their own goodbyes and to help my sister Kathy who had requested to be with Mom at the end.
So on Saturday, June 28th, the day that would have been my father's 81st birthday, we held his memorial services. Nancy and I were there in body, Kathy and Michael were there in spirit, and we were surrounded by our family members and our closest friends. The service was beautiful. In her homily, Mother Cynthia captured everything the four of us had rambled about in meetings and emails while we we planned the memorial. After the services, I felt lighter and happy from the joyful celebration of my father's life.
On another day, when I'm not waiting for the phone to ring in the middle of the night, I'll post about seeing my uncle Dan again and my cousin Jim. I'm so glad they travelled from San Jose to Seattle to be at my father's memorial.
Each day of our lives has a purpose. The events of your day may be stepping stones to something you've worked hard to get to, a purpose of your own. But if it's your day to help someone else across the pond, embrace that day as well and live it fully. I believe that my purpose these past 5 weeks has been to help others along on their journey, and if I hadn't allowed myself to be distracted from my own goals, I would have missed so much.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Err Apparent
I've polished the 7 pages and I'm working on the rest of the story now. And the best news of all is that I've found a better title. Art of Deception fit the first version of this story, before it grew up and became more three-dimensional. The new title fits this storyline. I'm very pleased to announce that the new title for my mystery is:
Err Apparent
According to my dictionary (American Heritage) heir apparent is defined as: an heir whose right to inheritance is indefeasible by law provided he survives his ancestor. Publishers usually change the titles that authors come up with, but I enjoy the play on words and the fact that the new title fits the plot: my main character is being punished for a mistake her father made.
I'll give the 7 pages another polish and then send it off to the contest.
Err Apparent
According to my dictionary (American Heritage) heir apparent is defined as: an heir whose right to inheritance is indefeasible by law provided he survives his ancestor. Publishers usually change the titles that authors come up with, but I enjoy the play on words and the fact that the new title fits the plot: my main character is being punished for a mistake her father made.
I'll give the 7 pages another polish and then send it off to the contest.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Learning to Walk Again
Last night, my sisters and I sifted through decades of my father's photos and that was just from one of his many large boxes of photographs. The experience was bittersweet. The memories and the decades of his life surrounded us. Yet how can the vitality and diversity of my father's life be depicted in something as two-dimensional as a photograph? There was so much more to the man than boxes of photographs can reveal to the world: the ups and downs of his life, the people he knew and loved, the dreams he held.
The task of presenting his life in photographs at the memorial seems daunting.
I'll be travelling to Mexico to visit my mom later this month. I feel the clock ticking away the time I have left with her, and with all I'm experiencing in mourning my father, I want to embrace the days she has left.
My house is a mess: the laundry and dishes and vacuuming and dusting have all seemed so unimportant, and the remodel work has been on hiatus. But I think my husband feels the same as I do: it's time to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other. Work and dreams and goals have all been difficult to concentrate on, but now they are welcome distractions. We're easing back into our lives, trying to figure out where we left off.
Madison Leigh encouraged me to look into a local contest. Thank you, Mad :) I'm polishing the first 7 pages of my mystery manuscript in preparation for the GSRW Emerald City Opener Contest. Even though the Emerald City Writer's Conference is in October, the deadline for the contest is only days away, so I'm brainstorming titles. The Art of Deception was only a working title - it fit the very first draft of the story. The revised version is so much better than the first draft that it deserves a more appropriate title.
So, 7 polished pages and a better title. First one foot and then the other.
The task of presenting his life in photographs at the memorial seems daunting.
I'll be travelling to Mexico to visit my mom later this month. I feel the clock ticking away the time I have left with her, and with all I'm experiencing in mourning my father, I want to embrace the days she has left.
My house is a mess: the laundry and dishes and vacuuming and dusting have all seemed so unimportant, and the remodel work has been on hiatus. But I think my husband feels the same as I do: it's time to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other. Work and dreams and goals have all been difficult to concentrate on, but now they are welcome distractions. We're easing back into our lives, trying to figure out where we left off.
Madison Leigh encouraged me to look into a local contest. Thank you, Mad :) I'm polishing the first 7 pages of my mystery manuscript in preparation for the GSRW Emerald City Opener Contest. Even though the Emerald City Writer's Conference is in October, the deadline for the contest is only days away, so I'm brainstorming titles. The Art of Deception was only a working title - it fit the very first draft of the story. The revised version is so much better than the first draft that it deserves a more appropriate title.
So, 7 polished pages and a better title. First one foot and then the other.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Say It Again
I spent the week with my father. He was in the hospital, about half an hour from my home. In 2004 - he would have been 76 then - he needed a pacemaker. In December 2006, he needed a mechanical valve. This time, he needed an ICD, which is a pacemaker and a defibrillator.
Sure, he wasn't happy about being in the hospital. Who is? He was preoccupied with work even though he wasn't feeling good. He wanted to be home with his dog, Tasha. He was angry and frustrated part of the time.
But there were times when we talked to pass the time. He told stories and he laughed and he let the nurses and techs tease him. And there were times when we simply sat and didn't talk at all.
His heart was just too weak, though, and the congestive heart failure too strong. He died last night.
It's cliche, but I wish I could go back to my last conversation with him. He wanted to call his work crew and let them know he wouldn't have any jobs for them this coming week. I told him we could call them Sunday or Monday, but right then he needed to rest. I held his hand and tried to comfort him. But I wish I could have a do-over and say something different.
So I'm going to say it all now:
Thank you for being a loving father. Thank you for setting a good example of how a strong faith in God can help a person find peace and happiness in life and help them gain perspective and a healthy dose of humility. Thank you for telling me you love me, for believing in me and cheering me on, and for being my biggest fan. Thank you for wanting to be a part of my life. It's such a simple thing, to love another person, yet relationships can be complicated. With you, it's easy. Thank you for loving my husband. For loving my children. For admiring me for homeschooling. For allowing me to care for you when you're sick. I admire you, Dad, because you accept your faults and you forgive me for mine. I love your bad jokes. I love how you always sound so happy to see me or to hear my voice on the telephone. I appreciate that you respect me enough not to sugarcoat anything: your honesty shows how much you believe in my strength. I love you, Dad. I'll miss you so very much.
Sure, he wasn't happy about being in the hospital. Who is? He was preoccupied with work even though he wasn't feeling good. He wanted to be home with his dog, Tasha. He was angry and frustrated part of the time.
But there were times when we talked to pass the time. He told stories and he laughed and he let the nurses and techs tease him. And there were times when we simply sat and didn't talk at all.
His heart was just too weak, though, and the congestive heart failure too strong. He died last night.
It's cliche, but I wish I could go back to my last conversation with him. He wanted to call his work crew and let them know he wouldn't have any jobs for them this coming week. I told him we could call them Sunday or Monday, but right then he needed to rest. I held his hand and tried to comfort him. But I wish I could have a do-over and say something different.
So I'm going to say it all now:
Thank you for being a loving father. Thank you for setting a good example of how a strong faith in God can help a person find peace and happiness in life and help them gain perspective and a healthy dose of humility. Thank you for telling me you love me, for believing in me and cheering me on, and for being my biggest fan. Thank you for wanting to be a part of my life. It's such a simple thing, to love another person, yet relationships can be complicated. With you, it's easy. Thank you for loving my husband. For loving my children. For admiring me for homeschooling. For allowing me to care for you when you're sick. I admire you, Dad, because you accept your faults and you forgive me for mine. I love your bad jokes. I love how you always sound so happy to see me or to hear my voice on the telephone. I appreciate that you respect me enough not to sugarcoat anything: your honesty shows how much you believe in my strength. I love you, Dad. I'll miss you so very much.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Say it
As writers, we pull emotions into our writing from experiences - our own and by placing ourselves into the hearts and minds of others, sometimes strangers and sometimes people who never existed at all. Emotion on the page transforms a story from a succession of words to reality in the writer's mind and therefore in the reader's mind. We imagine what it must be like to experience tragedy or comedy; we walk into a different world and picture the sights and sounds; we project ourselves into the future or the past or perhaps just the next town over. But mainly, we envelop ourselves in the emotions of characters we've created, a strange mix of people we know and people we imagine.
I've had plenty of emotional experiences to pull from lately.
Last week, my husband and kids and I traveled to Mexico. My mom wanted to see them one last time. She's nearing the end of her battle with breast cancer. It's hard to imagine that my mom, so real in front of me, so THERE, could possibly not be here in the near future. Cancer isn't a part of who she is; it's an ailment that has pushed its way into her life and invaded her body. An unwelcome guest. An intruder. It's not who she is and it doesn't define her. I want it to go away and leave her alone. But it won't. It's an alien using her body as a host and eventually it will win.
It may take her body, but it won't take my mom away from me, not in the real sense. She will always be a part of my life. All the experiences we've shared, the good and the bad, all that's formed our relationship, will forever be part of me. I am the youngest of her 4 children, and I see her in each of us. What's strong and true in Mom is evident in the way her children are facing the remaining time with her, in how we are banding together and reinforcing our bonds, in how we can laugh and feel the sorrow and the joy of this time.
My siblings and I live near each other in the Seattle area while Mom lives far away in Mexico, a distance that has been difficult for all of us. The demands of job and family here at home add further difficulties. But when I'm down there, it all melts away. I shuck the guilt and the responsibilities slowly, day by day, until all that remains is me and Mom and a peace that makes words unnecessary, but I speak them anyway. Just to let her know one more time.
I've had plenty of emotional experiences to pull from lately.
Last week, my husband and kids and I traveled to Mexico. My mom wanted to see them one last time. She's nearing the end of her battle with breast cancer. It's hard to imagine that my mom, so real in front of me, so THERE, could possibly not be here in the near future. Cancer isn't a part of who she is; it's an ailment that has pushed its way into her life and invaded her body. An unwelcome guest. An intruder. It's not who she is and it doesn't define her. I want it to go away and leave her alone. But it won't. It's an alien using her body as a host and eventually it will win.
It may take her body, but it won't take my mom away from me, not in the real sense. She will always be a part of my life. All the experiences we've shared, the good and the bad, all that's formed our relationship, will forever be part of me. I am the youngest of her 4 children, and I see her in each of us. What's strong and true in Mom is evident in the way her children are facing the remaining time with her, in how we are banding together and reinforcing our bonds, in how we can laugh and feel the sorrow and the joy of this time.
My siblings and I live near each other in the Seattle area while Mom lives far away in Mexico, a distance that has been difficult for all of us. The demands of job and family here at home add further difficulties. But when I'm down there, it all melts away. I shuck the guilt and the responsibilities slowly, day by day, until all that remains is me and Mom and a peace that makes words unnecessary, but I speak them anyway. Just to let her know one more time.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Field's End Conference Report
The Field’s End conference differed from the NECRWA in that it was more relaxed which I didn't think was possible. The energy at the RWA conference was palpable. Everyone was so happy and chipper and hyper (oh, wait - maybe that was just me). Here, they were relaxed and chatty. People mingled and chatted, authors and editors all milling about and asking you what you were working on. One woman I spoke with about the two novels I’m working on said something along the lines of, “So often, writers finish something and send it off before they've even had a chance to let the story ripen and find its true potential. It's in the rewrite that the real story is discovered." Her comments made me feel so much better about my year-long revisions! I honestly think my stories weren’t ripe yet, because as I’m revising, I’m discovering a deeper, more meaningful story. Not just fluff and words on the page.
There were maybe a third of the people at this conference as at NECRWA. Maybe that's the only difference in the feeling and mood between the two conferences, because the people at the RWA conference were just as nice...but I think at this one, pretty much everyone there was a writing success story or an independent agent or independent editor or a noted columnist or radio personality or SOMETHING.
One breakout session I attended was so awesome, I could have gone home right after and gotten my money's worth. Jennifer Louden's "Writing Naked (With Your Clothes On): How to nurture your creative truth, romance your muse and get the work done" was - I swear - directed right at me. She's a motivational speaker and her workshop was SRO. I filled 6 pages of standard sized notebook paper. One thing that really resonated with me was her comment not to focus too much on or worry about the market, that there is no HEART in that. She spoke about writing from the heart - and how to GET to your heart, which she calls finding the truth in your writing. She had us free-write, and I discovered some things about my own motivations toward writing. A wonderful moment of self-discovery! But the most valuable things she gave me were steps to take, ways to get my butt in the chair and make my time productive, even if it's only 5 minutes or 15 minutes. A very, very good session and thanks to her, I’m finding ways to write every day!
During the Page One workshop, 11 pages were read and critiqued, but none of them were mine.That's okay, though. I still learned from the session. One thing that ticked me off was some people did not follow the guidelines posted on the website for submission which was one page double spaced. Some people got a good 500 words in there whereas those of us who followed the guidelines could only fit 250-300 words. But that's life. Not everyone follows the rules. Most of the pages read were very well-written, yet there was always something that could be better. I agreed with most of what the 2 critics said, and when I disagreed, it was because there was a great amount of diversity of story types and obviously, just two critics will be limited in their ability to critique based on their genre preferences. They definitely had an element they were comfortable in, and just making the workshop open to "fiction" was too broad a scope for the two critics. There was a stage actor/radio personality who read the pages aloud for all of us to hear. The critics both admitted that reading it was different than hearing it, but I wondered if they could have/should have asked for a second reading. At any rate, what I heard the critics comment on were voice, character, scene, and action. They wanted a distinct voice, an immediate character to relate to, for the opening page to be scenic, and for something to happen. All obvious expectations. However, when a page was in first person, they jumped on voice. When it was in third, they jumped on the action or the setting. I think there's a lesson there.
All in all, a good day, very unlike the fun I had with Mel and Jen, but worth the trip and an enjoyable time with my friend Ellie. We had a lot of laughs and we’re both fired up. I'll end this long missive with a quote from Roy Blount Jr. who was quoting someone else but I didn't catch the name:
"A blank page is God's way of showing us how hard it is to be God."
There were maybe a third of the people at this conference as at NECRWA. Maybe that's the only difference in the feeling and mood between the two conferences, because the people at the RWA conference were just as nice...but I think at this one, pretty much everyone there was a writing success story or an independent agent or independent editor or a noted columnist or radio personality or SOMETHING.
One breakout session I attended was so awesome, I could have gone home right after and gotten my money's worth. Jennifer Louden's "Writing Naked (With Your Clothes On): How to nurture your creative truth, romance your muse and get the work done" was - I swear - directed right at me. She's a motivational speaker and her workshop was SRO. I filled 6 pages of standard sized notebook paper. One thing that really resonated with me was her comment not to focus too much on or worry about the market, that there is no HEART in that. She spoke about writing from the heart - and how to GET to your heart, which she calls finding the truth in your writing. She had us free-write, and I discovered some things about my own motivations toward writing. A wonderful moment of self-discovery! But the most valuable things she gave me were steps to take, ways to get my butt in the chair and make my time productive, even if it's only 5 minutes or 15 minutes. A very, very good session and thanks to her, I’m finding ways to write every day!
During the Page One workshop, 11 pages were read and critiqued, but none of them were mine.That's okay, though. I still learned from the session. One thing that ticked me off was some people did not follow the guidelines posted on the website for submission which was one page double spaced. Some people got a good 500 words in there whereas those of us who followed the guidelines could only fit 250-300 words. But that's life. Not everyone follows the rules. Most of the pages read were very well-written, yet there was always something that could be better. I agreed with most of what the 2 critics said, and when I disagreed, it was because there was a great amount of diversity of story types and obviously, just two critics will be limited in their ability to critique based on their genre preferences. They definitely had an element they were comfortable in, and just making the workshop open to "fiction" was too broad a scope for the two critics. There was a stage actor/radio personality who read the pages aloud for all of us to hear. The critics both admitted that reading it was different than hearing it, but I wondered if they could have/should have asked for a second reading. At any rate, what I heard the critics comment on were voice, character, scene, and action. They wanted a distinct voice, an immediate character to relate to, for the opening page to be scenic, and for something to happen. All obvious expectations. However, when a page was in first person, they jumped on voice. When it was in third, they jumped on the action or the setting. I think there's a lesson there.
All in all, a good day, very unlike the fun I had with Mel and Jen, but worth the trip and an enjoyable time with my friend Ellie. We had a lot of laughs and we’re both fired up. I'll end this long missive with a quote from Roy Blount Jr. who was quoting someone else but I didn't catch the name:
"A blank page is God's way of showing us how hard it is to be God."
Friday, April 25, 2008
Workshops and back to work on the novel
The workshops at tomorrow's Field's End conference look to be informative, and I'm motivated to hear from the variety of presenters. This conference caters to writers of non-fic, fic, and poetry, so it will be much different than the RWA conference that I attended earlier in the month. I'm aiming to attend the following workshops:
- Jennifer Louden: Writing Naked (with your clothes on): How to nurture your creative truth, romance your muse, and get the work done. (Note: Devlin ought to enjoy this one ;))
- Suzanne Selfors: Finding Your Genre. This one interests me because I'm writing both a mystery and a women's fiction.
- Page One: Fiction; with Laura Kalpakian and Alice Acheson, moderated by Sheila Rabe. During the Page One workshop, the presenters will pull from first-page samples anonymously submitted by workshop attendees and critique before the group. I will be submitting the *current* first page of Falling Short, but they don't get a chance to critique all of the submissions.
Beyond the world of conferences and workshops, I've made progress on Deception. Presenting the first page of Falling Short to my critique group has been constructive and it's fueled my interest in that story as well. I can't continue to bounce back and forth, however, so I am determined to keep at Deception until I feel it's ready for a full MS review. With family commitments and all, I've made embarrassingly slow progress since the first of the year.
On a personal note, I adopted a new exercise schedule when the spring weather finally arrived. It's been a long road to wellness since my adrenals gave out in May of '05. This past week I've been rather sore but thankful that I can push myself a little further each day. For the first time in 3 years, I'm hopeful about getting in shape.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
One thing leads to another
At the NECRWA conference, I had the opportunity to chat with Susan Wiggs (http://www.susanwiggs.com/). Susan is the author of many books, one of them Table For Five, which I just read and enjoyed so much I immediately passed it along to a woman sitting next to me on the airplane. Susan is from the Pacific Northwest, too, and she encouraged me to look into Field's End, a conference in our area.
I did, and I'm registered. Susan, it was your pictures that sold me! Who can resist such a beautiful setting? (To find out about this conference, go to http://www.fieldsend.org/).
My friend Ellie is going to attend with me. It didn't take any arm-twisting. All I did was email her the conference info and she called and said, "I want to go!" I'm looking forward to spending the whole day with Ellie. It's been...gosh...since my Tyler days...? *Snicker* are you wondering what my "Tyler days" were? Hint: Tyler was tall, dark, full of himself, and terrified of my husband.
That was fun :) On to my writing ~
I'm applying the work I did a few weeks ago, where I nailed down some elements of the plot that desperately needed to be nailed down. KEY elements, like whodunit. Writing a mystery is not like writing a more literary story where the plot is character-driven (my other novel is women's fic). While it was fun writing a mystery and being in the dark myself, I fear I've wasted an awful lot of time. And words. A few of the changes I made dovetail right into the existing MS; others require a bit more work, but that's okay. I keep telling myself that I don't have to get every word PERFECT on this draft, but then I linger and agonize over scenes, trying to figure out why it doesn't resonate the way I want it to. I need to stop lingering and just get the changes down and into this draft and THEN go back and rework the scenes.
One more thing: the world may be getting smaller thanks to the internet, but it can't overcome the distance between me and my writing friends. The drawback to belonging to an international writing group is that the face-to-face meetings are few and far between. Instead of being filled with gratefulness for the opportunity to meet two of my longtime internet friends - which I should be - I'm feeling the empty, lifeless air of the miles that separate us.
Maybe a trip to Starbucks will fill that void...
I did, and I'm registered. Susan, it was your pictures that sold me! Who can resist such a beautiful setting? (To find out about this conference, go to http://www.fieldsend.org/).
My friend Ellie is going to attend with me. It didn't take any arm-twisting. All I did was email her the conference info and she called and said, "I want to go!" I'm looking forward to spending the whole day with Ellie. It's been...gosh...since my Tyler days...? *Snicker* are you wondering what my "Tyler days" were? Hint: Tyler was tall, dark, full of himself, and terrified of my husband.
That was fun :) On to my writing ~
I'm applying the work I did a few weeks ago, where I nailed down some elements of the plot that desperately needed to be nailed down. KEY elements, like whodunit. Writing a mystery is not like writing a more literary story where the plot is character-driven (my other novel is women's fic). While it was fun writing a mystery and being in the dark myself, I fear I've wasted an awful lot of time. And words. A few of the changes I made dovetail right into the existing MS; others require a bit more work, but that's okay. I keep telling myself that I don't have to get every word PERFECT on this draft, but then I linger and agonize over scenes, trying to figure out why it doesn't resonate the way I want it to. I need to stop lingering and just get the changes down and into this draft and THEN go back and rework the scenes.
One more thing: the world may be getting smaller thanks to the internet, but it can't overcome the distance between me and my writing friends. The drawback to belonging to an international writing group is that the face-to-face meetings are few and far between. Instead of being filled with gratefulness for the opportunity to meet two of my longtime internet friends - which I should be - I'm feeling the empty, lifeless air of the miles that separate us.
Maybe a trip to Starbucks will fill that void...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
NECRWA Conference
For my first conference, I couldn't have chosen a better conference to attend. The workshops applied to all genres: going deeper with point of view, setting as metaphor, weaving in backstory artfully, critiquing, the business of writing. The guest speakers were witty and insightful. Everyone was approachable. And meeting my friends? Well, that was worth every penny spent.
What I found at this conference was validation. To describe the validation in cliche: Writing is a lonely business. I can't think of a better way to describe it. Like all other writers, I pour my heart and soul onto the page and hope that someone will enjoy the words I've conjured into (hopefully) living, breathing characters. Publication is wonderful, as are critique groups, for making you feel like a real writer, but a conference makes you feel like you're part of the writing community.
More later. I still need to process all that I experienced! The fun with my friends, the professional input, the increased motivation...there's just too much to fit down in one post.
What I found at this conference was validation. To describe the validation in cliche: Writing is a lonely business. I can't think of a better way to describe it. Like all other writers, I pour my heart and soul onto the page and hope that someone will enjoy the words I've conjured into (hopefully) living, breathing characters. Publication is wonderful, as are critique groups, for making you feel like a real writer, but a conference makes you feel like you're part of the writing community.
More later. I still need to process all that I experienced! The fun with my friends, the professional input, the increased motivation...there's just too much to fit down in one post.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
NECRWA Conference
ONLY ONE MORE DAY!
It feels like I've spent days getting ready, from making arrangements for the kids for while I'm gone to deciding what shoes to wear with my LBD.
It feels like I've spent days getting ready, from making arrangements for the kids for while I'm gone to deciding what shoes to wear with my LBD.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
On the road
The NECRWA conference is next weekend! I'm getting excited. I'll be travelling all the way across the country on Monday and staying with my writing friend Madison Leigh. Another of the members of our international writing group will be joining us at the conference. Mad and Jen and I have been busy emailing about our upcoming visit.
This will not be the first time I've travelled alone since my adrenal failure in May of 2005, but it will be the first time I've travelled alone to somewhere I've never been. You would think travelling to a foreign country on my own would have been the more intimidating experience, but there are a few aspects of this trip that have me a bit nervous. I'll be flying into Providence, renting a car, and driving to my friend's house in Massachusetts. Eek! But I'm a big girl, and I have a GPS navigation system with my friend's address already plugged in. Right now as I sit in my house in the Pacific Northwest, it tells me I have 2,454 miles to my destination.
On the aspect of writing, I have not done much of anything. I feverishly scribbled down the start of a longish short story, the one my muse handed to me when he should have been concentrating on one or the other of my novels in progress. To say that this short story is outside of my usual would be an understatement. Near as I can tell, this one takes place in the late forties or early fifties and is set in a tropical climate, most likely somewhere in South America. And it begins with the aftermath of an earthquake.
I think I'll let that story simmer for a while and get back to my mystery.
This will not be the first time I've travelled alone since my adrenal failure in May of 2005, but it will be the first time I've travelled alone to somewhere I've never been. You would think travelling to a foreign country on my own would have been the more intimidating experience, but there are a few aspects of this trip that have me a bit nervous. I'll be flying into Providence, renting a car, and driving to my friend's house in Massachusetts. Eek! But I'm a big girl, and I have a GPS navigation system with my friend's address already plugged in. Right now as I sit in my house in the Pacific Northwest, it tells me I have 2,454 miles to my destination.
On the aspect of writing, I have not done much of anything. I feverishly scribbled down the start of a longish short story, the one my muse handed to me when he should have been concentrating on one or the other of my novels in progress. To say that this short story is outside of my usual would be an understatement. Near as I can tell, this one takes place in the late forties or early fifties and is set in a tropical climate, most likely somewhere in South America. And it begins with the aftermath of an earthquake.
I think I'll let that story simmer for a while and get back to my mystery.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Devlin, the evil muse
My muse is evil. Faithful blog readers will remember that I dubbed him Devlin. His recent actions have given me vindication for my choice of a name.
He's engaged me in a short story when I should be concentrating on taxes, or at the very least, I should be concentrating on my novel. Thus far, I don't think it's a very good short story, either. If he's going to interrupt me, the least he could do is tempt me with something better.
Before assailing me with new characters, Devlin allowed me an exercise from the book Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot by Peter Dunne. Though this book is for screenwriters, much of what Dunne has to say applies to novel writing. I thank my writing friends Celine Shinbutsu (Writing from Japan) and Madison Leigh for the referral to this book. (Both of their blogs are on my link list.)
Celine and Madison encouraged me to try the 3 sentence summary exercise from Emotional Structure for The Art of Deception. I did, and this is what I came up with:
One of Rebecca Allyn's art gallery customers has been murdered and homicide detective Erik Thorne put Rebecca's name at the top of his suspect list. But Erik appears to run hot and cold whenever Rebecca sees him, and she has to scramble to prove her innocence while at the same time fighting her attraction to him. When the case against her unveils past wrongs by one of her family members, Rebecca finds out she must rely upon the very man she wants to run from.
Devlin then allowed me an exercise from Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. Funny how I always return to that book. I highly recommend it to my writerly friends. Emotional Structure is new to me, and I'm sure I will find it quite useful, but Plot and Structure is a book I cannot do without. I applied Bell's "L-O-C-K" method to Deception and ferreted out plot details that needed to be found. I can't post the results of that exercise here as it contains spoilers for the story, but the result of my efforts was a one-page summary.
I'd like to apply both of these exercises to my other novel Falling Short as soon as I finish the taxes. And finish Deception. I'd sure like to have the mystery done before I continue Heidi and Dave's story.
What I find most haunting about my muse is the fact that he insists on being heard when I have little opportunity to follow him. Where is he on those days when I need him? Why does he insist on showing up when I need to concentrate on something other than my writing?
He's engaged me in a short story when I should be concentrating on taxes, or at the very least, I should be concentrating on my novel. Thus far, I don't think it's a very good short story, either. If he's going to interrupt me, the least he could do is tempt me with something better.
Before assailing me with new characters, Devlin allowed me an exercise from the book Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot by Peter Dunne. Though this book is for screenwriters, much of what Dunne has to say applies to novel writing. I thank my writing friends Celine Shinbutsu (Writing from Japan) and Madison Leigh for the referral to this book. (Both of their blogs are on my link list.)
Celine and Madison encouraged me to try the 3 sentence summary exercise from Emotional Structure for The Art of Deception. I did, and this is what I came up with:
One of Rebecca Allyn's art gallery customers has been murdered and homicide detective Erik Thorne put Rebecca's name at the top of his suspect list. But Erik appears to run hot and cold whenever Rebecca sees him, and she has to scramble to prove her innocence while at the same time fighting her attraction to him. When the case against her unveils past wrongs by one of her family members, Rebecca finds out she must rely upon the very man she wants to run from.
Devlin then allowed me an exercise from Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell. Funny how I always return to that book. I highly recommend it to my writerly friends. Emotional Structure is new to me, and I'm sure I will find it quite useful, but Plot and Structure is a book I cannot do without. I applied Bell's "L-O-C-K" method to Deception and ferreted out plot details that needed to be found. I can't post the results of that exercise here as it contains spoilers for the story, but the result of my efforts was a one-page summary.
I'd like to apply both of these exercises to my other novel Falling Short as soon as I finish the taxes. And finish Deception. I'd sure like to have the mystery done before I continue Heidi and Dave's story.
What I find most haunting about my muse is the fact that he insists on being heard when I have little opportunity to follow him. Where is he on those days when I need him? Why does he insist on showing up when I need to concentrate on something other than my writing?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Writing while life is in progress
In the midst of a hectic time for homeschooling, some sad and happy family events, home remodeling, and tax season, I've hardly had time to think about my writing. I had to make a choice: let go of the story or shirk my responsibility. The writing had to be set aside and eventually I became detached from my story.
Now is when my writing buddies are the salve for my pains. One ruthless friend helped me fill in the holes in my plot. A practical friend mentioned an exercise from a writing book that summarizes your story to help you gain focus. And a brave yet determined friend went through said exercise with her own story at the same time I was doing mine; her encouraging feedback has fueled my determination. I'm still working on the summary (you know it has to be perfect for me to move on), but it's giving me a better foundation for Deception and a desire to use the same exercise for Falling Short. The point is the story is fresh in my mind now. Probably any exercise would have done that, but not any group could have provided that kind of support.
Writing groups and/or writing buddies can be inspiring and supportive, or they can be a drain on your creativity. I'm fortunate to be among the inspiring and supportive. There are numerous writing books available -trust me, I have my own favorites - but when you lose your grip on your story, you need a good slap across the face and a shove in the right direction. Who better to do that than your writing buddies?
In the "Bummer" column: I received the results of a contest I entered, and my story "The Painting" was not among the winners, the finalists, or even the honorable mentions. Ouch. Time to set it aside for a while and think about what is missing from the story.
Onward ho! I have writing students waiting for critiques, homeschooling lessons to plan, airline reservatiosn to make, taxes to file, a variance report to fill out...oh, and a story to write :)
Now is when my writing buddies are the salve for my pains. One ruthless friend helped me fill in the holes in my plot. A practical friend mentioned an exercise from a writing book that summarizes your story to help you gain focus. And a brave yet determined friend went through said exercise with her own story at the same time I was doing mine; her encouraging feedback has fueled my determination. I'm still working on the summary (you know it has to be perfect for me to move on), but it's giving me a better foundation for Deception and a desire to use the same exercise for Falling Short. The point is the story is fresh in my mind now. Probably any exercise would have done that, but not any group could have provided that kind of support.
Writing groups and/or writing buddies can be inspiring and supportive, or they can be a drain on your creativity. I'm fortunate to be among the inspiring and supportive. There are numerous writing books available -trust me, I have my own favorites - but when you lose your grip on your story, you need a good slap across the face and a shove in the right direction. Who better to do that than your writing buddies?
In the "Bummer" column: I received the results of a contest I entered, and my story "The Painting" was not among the winners, the finalists, or even the honorable mentions. Ouch. Time to set it aside for a while and think about what is missing from the story.
Onward ho! I have writing students waiting for critiques, homeschooling lessons to plan, airline reservatiosn to make, taxes to file, a variance report to fill out...oh, and a story to write :)
Monday, March 10, 2008
New faces, lots of love
February is over and I'm rather happy to see it go. 'Nuff with the sadness. March has been very good so far. Alan's memorial made for a wonderful day, one I won't likely forget. The forecast was rain but we had sunshine and fair temps. Lots of love, lots of laughter. And I am blessed with two new arrivals to the family.
First is our new dog, Frederick Von Zack the 27th Junior, otherwise known as Fred E. (Don't ask.) He's a loveable, scruffy, mixed breed 5 year old with good manners and a happy disposition. At times, I find myself thinking of Sadie when he looks at me with all that love and trust. His paw print is already indelibly etched upon all of our hearts.
The second is the birth of my new niece, Berlin Rae, brought into this world by my husband's baby brother and his wife. Berlin is TINY! 6lbs 6oz. We thought she might be born on leap day but she decided to wait until March 3rd. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well. I'm going to meet Berlin on Tuesday and I can't wait to hold her. Um, and give my brother- and sister-in-law hugs :)
Finally, March has brought the return of Devlin, my muse. Perhaps all he wanted was a name.
First is our new dog, Frederick Von Zack the 27th Junior, otherwise known as Fred E. (Don't ask.) He's a loveable, scruffy, mixed breed 5 year old with good manners and a happy disposition. At times, I find myself thinking of Sadie when he looks at me with all that love and trust. His paw print is already indelibly etched upon all of our hearts.
The second is the birth of my new niece, Berlin Rae, brought into this world by my husband's baby brother and his wife. Berlin is TINY! 6lbs 6oz. We thought she might be born on leap day but she decided to wait until March 3rd. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well. I'm going to meet Berlin on Tuesday and I can't wait to hold her. Um, and give my brother- and sister-in-law hugs :)
Finally, March has brought the return of Devlin, my muse. Perhaps all he wanted was a name.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Saying goodbye to my brother-in-law
Alan Wesley Batchelor
August 18, 1958 to February 21, 2008
Alan passed away in his home in Sultan on Thursday, February 21st. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his three adult sons Bryan, Andy (Cyndi), and Brad, his granddaughters Lily and Andrea, his mother Nina, and his sister Diana. He was preceded in death by his father Al. Family members and his many friends will remember Al for his loyalty and his laugh. During their nearly 30 year marriage, Al and Kathy lived in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and recently Sultan, making lifelong friends everywhere they went. Al worked as an automotive technician for many years and as a truck driver for the past 8 years. He was quick to help his friends with their car troubles. Al had a passion for Harleys and billiards, and he adored his granddaughters. A private memorial will be held in his honor on Saturday, March 8th.
August 18, 1958 to February 21, 2008
Alan passed away in his home in Sultan on Thursday, February 21st. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his three adult sons Bryan, Andy (Cyndi), and Brad, his granddaughters Lily and Andrea, his mother Nina, and his sister Diana. He was preceded in death by his father Al. Family members and his many friends will remember Al for his loyalty and his laugh. During their nearly 30 year marriage, Al and Kathy lived in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and recently Sultan, making lifelong friends everywhere they went. Al worked as an automotive technician for many years and as a truck driver for the past 8 years. He was quick to help his friends with their car troubles. Al had a passion for Harleys and billiards, and he adored his granddaughters. A private memorial will be held in his honor on Saturday, March 8th.
Alan, are you riding your "Bagger" in heaven? Playing pool? We sent Yahoo and Zuni up to play with you.
We miss you.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Chop-chop!
Remember how in touch I was with my story just weeks ago? And how I took a little time off from writing to get my bearings after putting my dog down? Well, my muse has escaped. I've been looking everywhere for him. The most he does these days is linger in that moment between awake and asleep and whisper sweet plot changes in my ear. (To which of course I quickly stumble to the computer and enter on my manuscript. You ought to see my surprise the next day. I've been feeling a bit like the shoemaker.)
Time to take matters into my own hands and show my story - and my muse - that I mean business.
I've printed off the first third of the manuscript and I'm rearranging the scenes until I find the best way to work in the plot changes. You know, the ones my muse has been whispering in my somnambulent ear. Once I determine how to launch the story properly, I'm off to the middles with my motive, method, and opportunity list. I intend to damage to the reputations of my characters. Sully their names. Cast suspicion upon them.
If you should see my muse, please tell him that while I appreciate the insights, I'd prefer he called upon me during normal business hours.
Time to take matters into my own hands and show my story - and my muse - that I mean business.
I've printed off the first third of the manuscript and I'm rearranging the scenes until I find the best way to work in the plot changes. You know, the ones my muse has been whispering in my somnambulent ear. Once I determine how to launch the story properly, I'm off to the middles with my motive, method, and opportunity list. I intend to damage to the reputations of my characters. Sully their names. Cast suspicion upon them.
If you should see my muse, please tell him that while I appreciate the insights, I'd prefer he called upon me during normal business hours.
Monday, February 18, 2008
46 ODD Things
Here’s a fun meme I received via email from Madison Leigh (see my blog list).
50 ODD Things about you! Feel free to copy this to your blog and fill it out or email your answers to a friend. Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!
1. Do you like blue cheese? I used to. Haven’t had it in years. What ever happened to Roquefort?2. Have you ever been rock climbing? Nope. I’m terrified of heights.
3. Do you own a gun? Nope.
4. What flavor do you add to your hush puppies? What the heck is a hush puppy? I thought that was a brand of shoes…
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? After having several surgeries and one life-threatening illness, I don’t fear doctor appointments. Rather, I’ve learned the value of finding a good doctor.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I don’t think about them. Well, until now. I don’t eat them very often.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Used to be White Christmas but now I’m not in the holiday mood until I’ve seen Love, Actually.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Though I had to switch to decaf, I still don’t go without my coffee in the morning.
9. Can you do push ups? The girlie ones.
WHERE’S #10??? Anyone who knows me knows that I’d notice that #10 is missing!!!! Am I supposed to make up my own question? Doesn’t this bother anyone else???
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring.
12. Favorite hobby? Writing and reading, if you can call those hobbies. They’re more like life-sustaining activities to me, much like breathing. So maybe I should say crochet…
WHERE’S #13??? Very funny. Someone’s trying to mess with my OCD tendencies.
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Sorry, what was the question? I’m still hung up on the missing #10 and #13.
15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I’m impatient.
16. What's one trait you like? I'm open and honest.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment...1. Ghostbusters is on TV again?? 2. Where did I put my cup of tea? 3. I had a thought, but then my daughter asked me something and I forgot what it was.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. What did I do yesterday? Oh, right. I bought nothing yesterday.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Decaf coffee, herbal tea, water.
20. Current worry? Just one? LOL! Um, my biggest worry would be my parents’ health.
21. Current hate right now? Hate? I don’t hate many things. I guess I’d have to say mud-slinging politicians (are there any other kind?) and violent crimes, not necessarily in that order.
22. Favorite place to be? Home, though I’m looking forward to my travels this year. Both upcoming trips are important and, although I don’t like to travel, I want to spend time with the people I’m going to be traveling to see.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? First of all, I didn’t bring it anywhere; it arrived without my help. But I did RING it in with my husband, children, and our good friends and their children. It was perfect.
24. Where would you like to go? To the top of the NY Times bestseller list. Guess I better finish those novels I’m writing…
25. Name three people who will complete this? I don’t want to put pressure on anyone.
26. Do you own slippers? Several pairs!
27. What shirt are you wearing? A brown t-shirt, and a dark green fleece pullover. It’s after midnight. How come I’m not in my PJ’s???
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Blech. Nope, I prefer flannel or the usual cotton.
29. Can you whistle? Yes, but I’ve never been able to do that ear-splitting whistle, you know, the one that can be heard blocks away, and I’ve always wanted to know how to do that.
30. Favorite color? Boy, that’s tough. I love different colors for different situations. I like green. And blue. And that warm, dark, rich brown that’s sometimes called espresso.
31. Would you be a pirate? I’d be afraid of offending someone. And I don’t want to steal anything. I like the rebellious spirit of my romaticized version of pirates, though, like the Johnny Depp kind of pirate.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually something I just heard on my i-Pod, and my taste in music is so eclectic, that could be anything from Old Blue Eyes to and old Zeppelin song.
33. Favorite girl's name? I can’t choose just a name; I have to know the character behind the name. For that reason, I love so many girls’ names that I can’t list them here.
34. Favorite boy's name? Ditto from #34, but I must say I’m particularly fond of Vern :)
35. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing. I hate having anything in my pockets.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? My son. He misconstrued something he heard on TV and we were both laughing.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Huh? I don’t remember any sheets that I had. They were always white, I think. I was the youngest of 4 kids and so far as I know, my mom never went out and bought any trendy sheets that had cartoon characters on them or anything. A girl I knew had a pink canopy bed and I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Injury…hmmm….do I have to go there? There are so many to choose from LOL! I broke my right wrist twice and my left once or twice (I’m pretty sure I broke both two times); I’ve broken fingers, toes, my nose, and a bone in my foot…but probably the worst was when I got run over by my own ATV. Not only was that humiliating, I couldn’t move for days. Oh, wait! When I was in grade school I had broken ribs. That hurt every time I breathed.
39. Do you love where you live? Yes! I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3, but one has no reception. The kids use it for video games.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Oh, that would have to be a Tilley, for sure.
42. How many dogs do you have? Ouch. This question makes me sad, because I just put my old dog Sadie down. I miss her very much.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I know of. My husband loves me, but it’s been years since he had a crush on me :)
WHERE’S #44??? I was finally over the missing #10 and #13 and suddenly, there’s no 44!!!
45. What is your favorite book(s)? You’re kidding, right? I can’t choose just one! From classic to contemporary, spanning the genres, there are just too many to name.
46. What is your favorite candy? I like salty snacks, usually. If I want candy, I reach for something chocolate, I guess. My dad gets me these fabulous truffles from a store in Seattle called Chocolati.
47. Favorite Sports Team? Seattle Seahawks! I also like the Seattle Mariners.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? What kind of morbid question is that? I’d rather the people who knew me and loved me chose a song. I’ll be happy where I’m at; funerals and memorials are for the living.
WHERE’S #49??? This really should be titled 46 ODD Things about me!
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I thought about my dog, Sadie. Hey, after 16 years, it’s hard to break the habit of caring for her.
50 ODD Things about you! Feel free to copy this to your blog and fill it out or email your answers to a friend. Learn 50 things about your friends, and let them learn 50 things about you!
1. Do you like blue cheese? I used to. Haven’t had it in years. What ever happened to Roquefort?2. Have you ever been rock climbing? Nope. I’m terrified of heights.
3. Do you own a gun? Nope.
4. What flavor do you add to your hush puppies? What the heck is a hush puppy? I thought that was a brand of shoes…
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? After having several surgeries and one life-threatening illness, I don’t fear doctor appointments. Rather, I’ve learned the value of finding a good doctor.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I don’t think about them. Well, until now. I don’t eat them very often.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Used to be White Christmas but now I’m not in the holiday mood until I’ve seen Love, Actually.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Though I had to switch to decaf, I still don’t go without my coffee in the morning.
9. Can you do push ups? The girlie ones.
WHERE’S #10??? Anyone who knows me knows that I’d notice that #10 is missing!!!! Am I supposed to make up my own question? Doesn’t this bother anyone else???
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring.
12. Favorite hobby? Writing and reading, if you can call those hobbies. They’re more like life-sustaining activities to me, much like breathing. So maybe I should say crochet…
WHERE’S #13??? Very funny. Someone’s trying to mess with my OCD tendencies.
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Sorry, what was the question? I’m still hung up on the missing #10 and #13.
15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I’m impatient.
16. What's one trait you like? I'm open and honest.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment...1. Ghostbusters is on TV again?? 2. Where did I put my cup of tea? 3. I had a thought, but then my daughter asked me something and I forgot what it was.
18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday. What did I do yesterday? Oh, right. I bought nothing yesterday.
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Decaf coffee, herbal tea, water.
20. Current worry? Just one? LOL! Um, my biggest worry would be my parents’ health.
21. Current hate right now? Hate? I don’t hate many things. I guess I’d have to say mud-slinging politicians (are there any other kind?) and violent crimes, not necessarily in that order.
22. Favorite place to be? Home, though I’m looking forward to my travels this year. Both upcoming trips are important and, although I don’t like to travel, I want to spend time with the people I’m going to be traveling to see.
23. How did you bring in the New Year? First of all, I didn’t bring it anywhere; it arrived without my help. But I did RING it in with my husband, children, and our good friends and their children. It was perfect.
24. Where would you like to go? To the top of the NY Times bestseller list. Guess I better finish those novels I’m writing…
25. Name three people who will complete this? I don’t want to put pressure on anyone.
26. Do you own slippers? Several pairs!
27. What shirt are you wearing? A brown t-shirt, and a dark green fleece pullover. It’s after midnight. How come I’m not in my PJ’s???
28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Blech. Nope, I prefer flannel or the usual cotton.
29. Can you whistle? Yes, but I’ve never been able to do that ear-splitting whistle, you know, the one that can be heard blocks away, and I’ve always wanted to know how to do that.
30. Favorite color? Boy, that’s tough. I love different colors for different situations. I like green. And blue. And that warm, dark, rich brown that’s sometimes called espresso.
31. Would you be a pirate? I’d be afraid of offending someone. And I don’t want to steal anything. I like the rebellious spirit of my romaticized version of pirates, though, like the Johnny Depp kind of pirate.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually something I just heard on my i-Pod, and my taste in music is so eclectic, that could be anything from Old Blue Eyes to and old Zeppelin song.
33. Favorite girl's name? I can’t choose just a name; I have to know the character behind the name. For that reason, I love so many girls’ names that I can’t list them here.
34. Favorite boy's name? Ditto from #34, but I must say I’m particularly fond of Vern :)
35. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing. I hate having anything in my pockets.
36. Last thing that made you laugh? My son. He misconstrued something he heard on TV and we were both laughing.
37. Best bed sheets as a child? Huh? I don’t remember any sheets that I had. They were always white, I think. I was the youngest of 4 kids and so far as I know, my mom never went out and bought any trendy sheets that had cartoon characters on them or anything. A girl I knew had a pink canopy bed and I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw.
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Injury…hmmm….do I have to go there? There are so many to choose from LOL! I broke my right wrist twice and my left once or twice (I’m pretty sure I broke both two times); I’ve broken fingers, toes, my nose, and a bone in my foot…but probably the worst was when I got run over by my own ATV. Not only was that humiliating, I couldn’t move for days. Oh, wait! When I was in grade school I had broken ribs. That hurt every time I breathed.
39. Do you love where you live? Yes! I absolutely love the Pacific Northwest.
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3, but one has no reception. The kids use it for video games.
41. Who is your loudest friend? Oh, that would have to be a Tilley, for sure.
42. How many dogs do you have? Ouch. This question makes me sad, because I just put my old dog Sadie down. I miss her very much.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? Not that I know of. My husband loves me, but it’s been years since he had a crush on me :)
WHERE’S #44??? I was finally over the missing #10 and #13 and suddenly, there’s no 44!!!
45. What is your favorite book(s)? You’re kidding, right? I can’t choose just one! From classic to contemporary, spanning the genres, there are just too many to name.
46. What is your favorite candy? I like salty snacks, usually. If I want candy, I reach for something chocolate, I guess. My dad gets me these fabulous truffles from a store in Seattle called Chocolati.
47. Favorite Sports Team? Seattle Seahawks! I also like the Seattle Mariners.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? What kind of morbid question is that? I’d rather the people who knew me and loved me chose a song. I’ll be happy where I’m at; funerals and memorials are for the living.
WHERE’S #49??? This really should be titled 46 ODD Things about me!
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I thought about my dog, Sadie. Hey, after 16 years, it’s hard to break the habit of caring for her.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
In memory of my sweet Sadie girl
Today was a difficult day. I had to put down my sweet dog, Sadie. She was a sixteen year old Jack Russell terrier, and for most of her life, she was full of energy. We knew this day was coming; her health had been declining steadily in the last year and worsened over the weekend. I didn't want to see her in pain and I couldn't bear to see her waste away. She stopped barking two years ago, but she still had a full repertoire of vocal sounds. She found a way to communicate with me through little growls and whines. Over the last four days she just looked at me with sad, tired eyes and when I reached out to let her know I was there she simply sighed. Mostly blind and rather deaf, she would howl when I was not in the house. She followed me everywhere and depended on me to lead her where she should go. I think that's what made putting her down so very heartbreaking.
When is it ever easy?
I started missing her the moment she slipped away in my arms.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Results of P&E Poll
I forgot to mention, the results of the P&E poll are in!
- The Heat of the Moment tied for 6th place in the anthology category
- Devil's Breath tied for 14th place in the mainstream short story category
- Hear the Wind Blow tied for 5th place in the fantasy short story category
Thank you to everyone who voted, and congratulations to all the winners! You can see the complete list at http://critters.org/predpoll/tally.html
Confessions of a writer-in-progress
I have all these writerly thoughts swimming around my head. Character development. Story arc. Character goals. And every night I go to bed with one particular thought on my mind: Who killed Humbert Watson?
I've written this story once. It didn't work. I'm writing it again and I still don't know who killed Humbert Watson and why.
But I'm okay with that.
This story has evolved. The characters have evolved because I've let them evolve. That doesn't mean that what I'm writing now will end up in the final draft: it means I can explore the possibilities and let the characters lead the way. Sometimes that means I write a scene that has to be tossed. I've got plenty of those! But sometimes I stumble upon the direction the story needs to go, and that's exciting.
It's why I started writing, and why I love the craft.
I've written this story once. It didn't work. I'm writing it again and I still don't know who killed Humbert Watson and why.
But I'm okay with that.
This story has evolved. The characters have evolved because I've let them evolve. That doesn't mean that what I'm writing now will end up in the final draft: it means I can explore the possibilities and let the characters lead the way. Sometimes that means I write a scene that has to be tossed. I've got plenty of those! But sometimes I stumble upon the direction the story needs to go, and that's exciting.
It's why I started writing, and why I love the craft.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Judge a Book by the Cover
My, it's been a while since I last updated my blog. I've been busy with L-I-F-E and whining about not getting enough writing time. I get a few hours here and there but not enough to keep me happy. I sense a day-long writing session coming up. You know, one of those days where I don't even get dressed all day, I just sit at the computer and get lost in my fictional world.
Great news! The cover for my e-book, Hear the Wind Blow, is being featured on Nikki Leigh's blog. http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/2008/01/hear-wind-blow-by-janelle-dakota.html Check out Nikki's blog to learn more about her and her book promotion ideas. Thank you, Nikki!
Preditors and Editors: Last time I checked, Hear the Wind Blow was tied for 5th place; Devil's Breath was tied for 14th. The official results will be posted in February. Thank you to everyone who voted! You can see the tally at http://critters.org/predpoll/tally.html and the final results will be posted at http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/perpoll.htm
Great news! The cover for my e-book, Hear the Wind Blow, is being featured on Nikki Leigh's blog. http://judgebookbycover.blogspot.com/2008/01/hear-wind-blow-by-janelle-dakota.html Check out Nikki's blog to learn more about her and her book promotion ideas. Thank you, Nikki!
Preditors and Editors: Last time I checked, Hear the Wind Blow was tied for 5th place; Devil's Breath was tied for 14th. The official results will be posted in February. Thank you to everyone who voted! You can see the tally at http://critters.org/predpoll/tally.html and the final results will be posted at http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/perpoll.htm
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Blog goals, life goals
Things I'd like to do with my blog:
- Learn how to post book covers on my blog like I can on MySpace so I can have a stack of "tiles" that represents my reading pile or what I've read so far this year.
- Learn how to make an active link with html. For instance, have a line that says, "If you want to buy my book, click here" and the words click here are the underlined link. That's cool.
- Try having a guest blogger. Preferably one of my favorite authors.
- Settle on a bio that reveals my goofy, obsessive, lovable self. I find bios as difficult to write as cover letters. Hopefully, I'll get over that someday soon.
- Occasionally post a scene from one of my WIPs. I'm hesitant to do so because of publishing rights. Publishers want the work to be unpublished and to not have been read by more than X amount of people. If portions of it are on the Internet, any number of people could have read it already. I think excerpts must be okay, though, because I see a lot of them on writer blogs. But it feels odd to always talk about my writing on my blog and never share any of it.
This time of year, my thoughts gravitate toward orderliness and organization. Perhaps it's from spending so much time indoors? This year I've taken the orderliness and organization to heart and decided to eliminate activities that drain my energy or rob me of my writing time.
I'll let you know how that works.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Vote for my stories on Predators & Editors!
My short story, Hear the Wind Blow, has been nominated on Predators and Editors. It only takes a minute to vote. Will you please cast yours?
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstorysf.shtml
And...The Heat of the Moment, the Echelon Press LLC anthology that contains my short story, Devil's Breath.
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/antho.shtml
And finally... my short story, Devil's Breath.
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstory.shtml
All you have to do is follow the links, scroll down (to Hear the Wind Blow, The Heat of the Moment, and Devil's Breath, respectively), enter your name and email address, and click submit. You'll receive a confirmation email and your vote will count once you confirm it. Voting goes from January 1 to midnight, January 15th (GMT).
Your vote is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstorysf.shtml
And...The Heat of the Moment, the Echelon Press LLC anthology that contains my short story, Devil's Breath.
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/antho.shtml
And finally... my short story, Devil's Breath.
http://www.critters.org/predpoll/shortstory.shtml
All you have to do is follow the links, scroll down (to Hear the Wind Blow, The Heat of the Moment, and Devil's Breath, respectively), enter your name and email address, and click submit. You'll receive a confirmation email and your vote will count once you confirm it. Voting goes from January 1 to midnight, January 15th (GMT).
Your vote is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Conference update
I'm officially registered! I'll be going to Massachusetts in April. I'm so excited!!! I've never been to the northeastern states, and I get to meet one of my long-time online writing buddies for the first time. Way cool!
Deception is coming along very well. I have over 8,000 words on this draft so far. But I'm anxious to get back to Falling as soon as possible. I feel guilty, like I'm cheating on my characters. At the very least, I'm neglecting them. How rude of me, especially considering that those particular characters were productive in December, even though I was not :-)
I've really, really enjoyed the break from routine that the holidays provided. So much so that I'm not ready to go back to the normal routine. I thought about kicking and screaming, but I've never been good at tantrums. My daughter has a science class tomorrow and basketball on Saturday, my son goes back to school on Monday, and my daughter's homeschool classes resume on Monday. Our busy week includes a play at the Seattle Children's Theatre (The Neverending Story), piano lessons, orthodontist appointments, and evening meetings. So it wouldn't matter if I had a tantrum, I'd still be thrust back into Life As Usual.
What that last paragraph leads me to believe (she says with dawning realization) is that I need to take a look at how I spend my time and why I dislike my usual routine so much. Duh.
Deception is coming along very well. I have over 8,000 words on this draft so far. But I'm anxious to get back to Falling as soon as possible. I feel guilty, like I'm cheating on my characters. At the very least, I'm neglecting them. How rude of me, especially considering that those particular characters were productive in December, even though I was not :-)
I've really, really enjoyed the break from routine that the holidays provided. So much so that I'm not ready to go back to the normal routine. I thought about kicking and screaming, but I've never been good at tantrums. My daughter has a science class tomorrow and basketball on Saturday, my son goes back to school on Monday, and my daughter's homeschool classes resume on Monday. Our busy week includes a play at the Seattle Children's Theatre (The Neverending Story), piano lessons, orthodontist appointments, and evening meetings. So it wouldn't matter if I had a tantrum, I'd still be thrust back into Life As Usual.
What that last paragraph leads me to believe (she says with dawning realization) is that I need to take a look at how I spend my time and why I dislike my usual routine so much. Duh.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
First blog post of 2008
In between making merry with my friends and family over the past two days, I took down the Christmas decorations, cleaned house, and got busy on The Art of Deception. I also made a few notes on Falling Short which resulted in a minor change that will have a big impact. It's funny how a small change in one character can effect so much. Like looking through binoculars and shifting the view just slightly - a little closer, a little farther away - and suddenly so much more comes into focus. I am excited to be having some "yes!" moments in my writing.
Those of you who are near and dear to me know that I need fistfuls of Starbucks and loads of patience in order to partake in the Great American Pastime known as shopping. I loathe shopping. For myself (when and only when I must do so) I go in with a purpose, grab what I need, and get out. Unless we're talking about a bookstore; then, I can spend hours perusing and it takes superhero-willpower to keep from spending my mortgage payment on the latest releases. My daughter, by some fluke in the gene pool, is a true shopper: she needs to explore every possibility before making a decision. My idea of hell. So yesterday, I had a plan: daughter had a gift card to spend at a store within walking distance of my house. Solution: send her with teenage girl next door, follow along a few minutes later to check on them, and spend the time browsing the aisles of Barnes & Noble! I thanked said teenage girl for having the patience to wait while daughter tried on every article of clothing at Old Navy. It was a win-win situation, especially since I had B&N gift cards to spend.
She spent her gift card, snagging bargains and coming away with a cool sweater, two hip new shirts, and a cozy pair of slippers. I bought only one book: The 2007 Best American Short Stories, edited by Stephen King. And a venti-decaf-nonfat-one pump chocolate-mocha :)
Those of you who are near and dear to me know that I need fistfuls of Starbucks and loads of patience in order to partake in the Great American Pastime known as shopping. I loathe shopping. For myself (when and only when I must do so) I go in with a purpose, grab what I need, and get out. Unless we're talking about a bookstore; then, I can spend hours perusing and it takes superhero-willpower to keep from spending my mortgage payment on the latest releases. My daughter, by some fluke in the gene pool, is a true shopper: she needs to explore every possibility before making a decision. My idea of hell. So yesterday, I had a plan: daughter had a gift card to spend at a store within walking distance of my house. Solution: send her with teenage girl next door, follow along a few minutes later to check on them, and spend the time browsing the aisles of Barnes & Noble! I thanked said teenage girl for having the patience to wait while daughter tried on every article of clothing at Old Navy. It was a win-win situation, especially since I had B&N gift cards to spend.
She spent her gift card, snagging bargains and coming away with a cool sweater, two hip new shirts, and a cozy pair of slippers. I bought only one book: The 2007 Best American Short Stories, edited by Stephen King. And a venti-decaf-nonfat-one pump chocolate-mocha :)
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