Posts
I keep thinking that I'm going to do better at posting, and then Friday rolls around, and I just get so caught up in other things. It's crazy, and I should be working on the post more regularly. But I decided to go ahead and do a post today. It may ramble a bit, but I've been thinking about writing a lot lately, and reading.
We recently moved and there is this beautiful flower garden growing next to my front step. It was done by the person who lived here previously. We moved in the winter, and so I had no idea it was there, but then one day in March yellow tulips grew overnight and blossomed. They made me smile every time I'd go in and out of the door. Next all of these plants started growing in the same little plot. And I thought to myself I should really go ahead and weed. Not all of these plants are likely to be flowers, but I didn't. Because quite honestly I've never gardened, really never given it much thought, and I didn't know which ones to pull. So I let everything grow.
And I'm glad I did. I think a few of the plants are a bit overgrown, and could have used some weeding back earlier in the year. I don't know what most of the flowers are, but they are gorgeous. Pinky purples, yellows, and whites that blend together perfectly. Not to mention that they are arranged heighth wise so that the tallest plants are in the back, and the fronts ones are much shorter. It's like a staircase of flowers. Whoever planted the garden knew what they were doing, because it is beautiful and slightly wild looking, and it's okay that I didn't go back and weed out all the plants when I first did. I keep watching and waiting for new plants to bloom.
Now I do have an analogy to this when it comes to writing. I don't write entirely by the seat of my pants. I have the end in mind, just like the person who planted the lovely flowers out by my front step, but I'm not always sure which parts of my stories are the weeds, and which parts are the flowers. I'm a big believer in getting my story out and letting it grow before taking it apart and pulling the weeds. But it's got to grow a little bit out of control, and a little bit wild until it becomes the beautiful book that can put sunshine and a moment of happiness in someone's life.
I read a lot. On average I'm about a book every one or two days. And while sometimes I get so tired with what I'm reading, so discontent every now and then I find a book that speaks to me in the same way that those flowers make me smile. Sometimes it is a happy book that lets me totally escape the moment, or a book that makes me sit back and really think and consider my life. This week the book that stood out the most was Hold Still by Nina LaCour. This was a very moving story about a girl who is recovering from the suicide of her best friend. It was honest, it was raw, but it was not without hope. It was perfect in the balance of being truthful, but showing that there is hope and a chance to move forward.
I want to write books that give people that kind of hope. I may write a lot of fantasy, paranormal or dystopian books, but ultimately I want hope to be the message in the book. I've had times in my life where it felt like I ran out of hope, and looking for any way to get it back. I've also had times when I've been surrounded by it and grateful to be surrounded by people who care.
This spring that flower garden has been something that has given me hope. It's reminded me that things that we do now can help others later on. So here is to hope and passing it on.
Happy Writing!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Friday Five: Late or Early
1. There are weeks when things start piling up, and time that was set aside for writing just doesn't happen. Sometimes those are things you can really put aside for later ( you don't really need to be able to see the floor anyway--right? And really no one cares that my kids have worn the same clothes for three days straight), but some things require your immediate attention. A very broken arm by a child who believes that he can fly--well not really he just likes to jump off of high surfaces. He's been doing it since he could walk and climb, and I think I convinced myself that he wasn't capable of breaking himself. Sure he's had stitches, and he's bitten through his lip, but an actual cast for at least a month, possibly two never would happen. But it did and an entire afternoon I had set aside particularly for accomplishing something was eaten up by x-rays and setting and casts. Poor little guy. He was very brave.
2. Bedtimes are definitely getting later and later at my house. My oldest insists that she can't fall asleep without reading first. I'm glad that she reads, but once she's done she gets up and wanders the house. The boys just don't like to go to sleep, and they can be very cranky the next morning. I think it's time to get out the dark curtains again and put them up. It's the only way I've been able to survive summers since I've had kids. Why does it stay light until 9:00? Why?
3. Zombies and werewolves--doesn't that just sound exciting. It does to me. And I love the characters more than any other characters I've written. So it is awesome. I can't wait to share that awesome with you. It's funny how excited I get about things. It really is true. Frankly my husband is tired of me talking about Jason. Jason's been on my mind a lot because he is the most difficult character I've ever attempted to write, and the story I'm telling is in first person, but Jason is not the narrator. So I know all this stuff about him that Lexy doesn't know and it's getting difficult. But progress is being made.
4. Somewhere in my life I switched from being a morning person to so not being a morning person. I don't know when it fully started, but honestly I think I can trace it back to my husband. Until we started dating I went to bed at 10:00 on weeknights--weekends have always been another story, and got up at 6:00. And now I'm up until at least 12 and if I didn't have kids in school, I think I'd get up at 9:00. But at least all three kids are sleeping through the night finally. That truly makes me happy.
5. Today i sorted laundry so I caught up on my T.V. I don't watch many shows. I have three Biggest Loser, Office and Glee. And then my husband watches LOST so I'll occasionally sit next to him and try to write while it is on. I gave up on it, but since the finale is Sunday I'll watch it. I've been so so on Glee lately. I don't know how I feel about a lot aspects of the show since they started back up. And The Office gotta love that.
Happy Writing!
2. Bedtimes are definitely getting later and later at my house. My oldest insists that she can't fall asleep without reading first. I'm glad that she reads, but once she's done she gets up and wanders the house. The boys just don't like to go to sleep, and they can be very cranky the next morning. I think it's time to get out the dark curtains again and put them up. It's the only way I've been able to survive summers since I've had kids. Why does it stay light until 9:00? Why?
3. Zombies and werewolves--doesn't that just sound exciting. It does to me. And I love the characters more than any other characters I've written. So it is awesome. I can't wait to share that awesome with you. It's funny how excited I get about things. It really is true. Frankly my husband is tired of me talking about Jason. Jason's been on my mind a lot because he is the most difficult character I've ever attempted to write, and the story I'm telling is in first person, but Jason is not the narrator. So I know all this stuff about him that Lexy doesn't know and it's getting difficult. But progress is being made.
4. Somewhere in my life I switched from being a morning person to so not being a morning person. I don't know when it fully started, but honestly I think I can trace it back to my husband. Until we started dating I went to bed at 10:00 on weeknights--weekends have always been another story, and got up at 6:00. And now I'm up until at least 12 and if I didn't have kids in school, I think I'd get up at 9:00. But at least all three kids are sleeping through the night finally. That truly makes me happy.
5. Today i sorted laundry so I caught up on my T.V. I don't watch many shows. I have three Biggest Loser, Office and Glee. And then my husband watches LOST so I'll occasionally sit next to him and try to write while it is on. I gave up on it, but since the finale is Sunday I'll watch it. I've been so so on Glee lately. I don't know how I feel about a lot aspects of the show since they started back up. And The Office gotta love that.
Happy Writing!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday Five: Looking for the Positive
1. This week has been full of ups and downs. It involved a car repair, walking in the rain and just general back and forth. Isn't it funny how things can swing from one side to another depending on what you hear. Fortunately this week I've had a positive attitude the entire week.Walking my son to preschool was a chance for exercise, not a burden. And we were blessed that though it rained throughout the day, the times I had to be out walking it was sunny. It was just that kind of week. We got a bit of bad news, but then good news would show up a little bit later to make up for it. So this week my glass was a little more than half full.
2. On the writer front, I still just don't know Jason very well. I don't know what scares me so much about writing him. Maybe it's the name. I've actually been friends with a few different Jasons. All nice guys. This Jason is a nice guy as well, but something isn't working. I may need to change the name. So I'm up for suggestions--seriously if you have any that'd be great. The other main character names are Lexy, and Kaden if that helps. On the other hand I've been able to work out some major information surrounding Jason and Lexy and their relationship to make it much more believable. Really neat stuff--still I can't seem to get inside of Jason's head enough.
3. I've already begun planning on how to entertain my kids over the summer. The goal is to wear them out as quickly as I can at the beginning of each and every day. I really want them to have a fun summer, soI'm going to schedule play dates, and take them to the parks. But we have to go out early, and be done by 11:00 or the heat will kill us. It should be a good summer.
4. When we moved a few months ago we went ahead and got T.V when we had the Internet hooked up. This was to save us money, since we would get rebates back that would pay for the t.v. portion of the bill for a few months. I grew up in a cable free home. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. Most of my friends didn't have cable when I was young, so I didn't realize that I had missed out on so much until I was in college and people would talk about that show or this show. But I didn't really feel like I'd missed out on anything. So I'm torn on the whole T.V. thing now. I like having a DVR, but I was using Hulu to do that. Basically now we are trying to decide whether or not to cancel the cable. The kids like it, but I think they watch too much T.V. Rob is torn as well--since he is very media obsessed, but he's not positive it's worth the money, which is actually really something coming from him. We'll have to see what to do.
5. Strangely enough I started this post in the morning, and now it's midnight. So I guess I'm slow or something. But that's okay, as least it got written today. That's better than most things I've managed to try to do today.
Happy Writing!
2. On the writer front, I still just don't know Jason very well. I don't know what scares me so much about writing him. Maybe it's the name. I've actually been friends with a few different Jasons. All nice guys. This Jason is a nice guy as well, but something isn't working. I may need to change the name. So I'm up for suggestions--seriously if you have any that'd be great. The other main character names are Lexy, and Kaden if that helps. On the other hand I've been able to work out some major information surrounding Jason and Lexy and their relationship to make it much more believable. Really neat stuff--still I can't seem to get inside of Jason's head enough.
3. I've already begun planning on how to entertain my kids over the summer. The goal is to wear them out as quickly as I can at the beginning of each and every day. I really want them to have a fun summer, soI'm going to schedule play dates, and take them to the parks. But we have to go out early, and be done by 11:00 or the heat will kill us. It should be a good summer.
4. When we moved a few months ago we went ahead and got T.V when we had the Internet hooked up. This was to save us money, since we would get rebates back that would pay for the t.v. portion of the bill for a few months. I grew up in a cable free home. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. Most of my friends didn't have cable when I was young, so I didn't realize that I had missed out on so much until I was in college and people would talk about that show or this show. But I didn't really feel like I'd missed out on anything. So I'm torn on the whole T.V. thing now. I like having a DVR, but I was using Hulu to do that. Basically now we are trying to decide whether or not to cancel the cable. The kids like it, but I think they watch too much T.V. Rob is torn as well--since he is very media obsessed, but he's not positive it's worth the money, which is actually really something coming from him. We'll have to see what to do.
5. Strangely enough I started this post in the morning, and now it's midnight. So I guess I'm slow or something. But that's okay, as least it got written today. That's better than most things I've managed to try to do today.
Happy Writing!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Friday Five: Finally!
1. So I almost didn't do another Friday five this week. Shameful I know, but today has been one of THOSE days. I haven't showered yet, and it's 10:30. I didn't do it this morning because I was going to exercise, but things kept coming up, again, and again and again. The biggest of which was running Caleb, my five year old, in for a breathing treatment. He should be fine, and it's not the first time I've taken him in--though it has been three years. We are stocked up on Albuterol for awhile, and hopefully he won't need it. Talk about hyper!
2. Last week I gave myself the week off--completely off from my writing. The reason I was feeling a little burned out, a bit stuck and just frustrated in general. Was my plot not the awesome I thought it was? Was I overextending my current writing capabilities? That is still up for debate, but I came back, and I flew through some of my best first draft writing ever! So it felt good. I used to be afraid of breaks, but now I think they are good every now and then.
3. One of the best things about critique groups is how much you learn. I learn from reading and other people's work, and recognizing weaknesses and strengths. Sometimes it's easier to find a problem in someone else's writing, and then look to see if you have it in yours. I don't know if that makes sense, but I learn just as much from the critiques I give to others as I do from the critiques people give to me. It's great to stretch and work, and grow as a writer.
4. So there has been some crazy news this week. The fireball that flew over the midwest (you've got to watch the footage), the ash cloud shutting down travel in a large part of Europe, another earthquake, (well two actually, though one was quite small in comparison.) And I can come up with three to four plot ideas for each one of them. Wow! Awesome stories too. The thing i like to remember that these events aren't much except for the way that they affect the people. Choose a few, throw them into the scenario and bam the perfect story plot.
5. And now I'm off to get to know my zombie. His name is Jason, he is seventeen years old. He likes the color blue, and his favorite sport is football. He works out on a regular basis and he is madly in love with Lexy. But he is also infected. Let's see what I can come up with.
Happy Writing!
2. Last week I gave myself the week off--completely off from my writing. The reason I was feeling a little burned out, a bit stuck and just frustrated in general. Was my plot not the awesome I thought it was? Was I overextending my current writing capabilities? That is still up for debate, but I came back, and I flew through some of my best first draft writing ever! So it felt good. I used to be afraid of breaks, but now I think they are good every now and then.
3. One of the best things about critique groups is how much you learn. I learn from reading and other people's work, and recognizing weaknesses and strengths. Sometimes it's easier to find a problem in someone else's writing, and then look to see if you have it in yours. I don't know if that makes sense, but I learn just as much from the critiques I give to others as I do from the critiques people give to me. It's great to stretch and work, and grow as a writer.
4. So there has been some crazy news this week. The fireball that flew over the midwest (you've got to watch the footage), the ash cloud shutting down travel in a large part of Europe, another earthquake, (well two actually, though one was quite small in comparison.) And I can come up with three to four plot ideas for each one of them. Wow! Awesome stories too. The thing i like to remember that these events aren't much except for the way that they affect the people. Choose a few, throw them into the scenario and bam the perfect story plot.
5. And now I'm off to get to know my zombie. His name is Jason, he is seventeen years old. He likes the color blue, and his favorite sport is football. He works out on a regular basis and he is madly in love with Lexy. But he is also infected. Let's see what I can come up with.
Happy Writing!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Contest!
I know I've been missing in action. I gave myself some time off to get refocused. So expect a good post from me on Friday. In the meantime, here's a great contest that you may want to enter. It invovles critiques of queries and pages, twizzlers and books. Should be fun! Go check it out at Sarah Wylie's blog.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Contest and Bojangles
First I wanted to share a great contest over at Moonrat's blog Editorial Ass, which is a 20 page crit. Her blog is great, if you don't already follow it, you should. I'm sure that her critique would be a huge help to anyone in the midst of submitting/writing a novel.
And I wanted to explain Bojangles to my non-Southern readers. It's a fried chicken store, that specializes in Southern style food. Like sweet potato pie, sausage biscuits, gravy and biscuits, and other stuff. They have dirty rice, which is spicy rice. As adventurous as it all sounds, all I get is the Chicken Strip snack pack. The chicken strips are a bit spicier than any I've ever had, and the honey mustard sauce is the best that I've had. Plus the biscuits are good--really good and I don't normally like biscuits.
Anyway go enter the contest!
And I wanted to explain Bojangles to my non-Southern readers. It's a fried chicken store, that specializes in Southern style food. Like sweet potato pie, sausage biscuits, gravy and biscuits, and other stuff. They have dirty rice, which is spicy rice. As adventurous as it all sounds, all I get is the Chicken Strip snack pack. The chicken strips are a bit spicier than any I've ever had, and the honey mustard sauce is the best that I've had. Plus the biscuits are good--really good and I don't normally like biscuits.
Anyway go enter the contest!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday Six
1. Since I missed posting yesterday, I'm going to give you six wonderfully random bits of information. Well I don't know about wonderful. I missed posting yesterday because my daughter missed her bus, and then I ran, and ran, and ran. And then we ended up visiting family. Basically yesterday was a no computer day and I didn't get much done. I did catch up on sleep while we were on the road.
2. In order to motivate myself to write my Zombie/Werewolf novel super fast, I'm mailing one chapter at a time to my darling sister. She's not a writer, and is wonderful at telling me good job, and I want the next chapter, and telling me that I'm being a slacker when I don't get a chapter to her. Sometimes it helps to just have someone to be accountable to, but I feel like by letting her read it, I'm not ruining writing the whole first draft without anyone seeing it, because she's not sending me comments back. Does that make sense? I hope so, because it does to me.
3. I really enjoyed Elana Johnson's posts on how to get more traffic to your blog. Anyway, you should totally read the series. I enjoyed them, and I think she had a lot of really good points. I blog and write for another site that is not related to writing, and I some of what she says over there. I know I need to do it here, but I really need to figure out a way to find the focus. Sometime soon it will start.
4. This week I've learned about swords, fences, guns and other things I never once thought that I'd ever need to know about. I was fascinated as I watched my nephew load a Nerf shotgun, and the way the bullet casings would fly out on to the ground, and pulling the muzzle (if that is even the right part of the gun) up before shooting. It made me picture things differently, and also think about how I describe certain things in person. It also made me decide I need to go pick up a real sword somewhere and hold it. And maybe pretend to fight someone. I've done it with a plastic sword with my boys, but I think a heavy sword would make a difference in the fighting.
5. Looking back at what I've written this week, I'm still so excited about this story. I'm still in love with the story idea, and the entire plot, and the whole triangle, and all of the little things that I'm uncovering, but even more exciting I feel like that I'm a much better writer than I was. It makes me want to rethink everything I've written. So that is exciting. Of course I don't have any feedback, but it's okay to love my story at the beginning. I'm sure that I will hate it several times along the way.
6. I'm going to go and eat me some Bojangles. The first time my husband brought me out to North Carolina, he made me eat some Bojangles. This was a time when I was eating hardly any meat, but man it was good. I'm getting ready to go more vegetarian, and I really think that Bojangles is something that I'm going to miss. I could eat it every week, just like pizza, but fortunately I don't have one close to my house. I love their chicken strips and honey mustard sauce!
Happy Writing!
2. In order to motivate myself to write my Zombie/Werewolf novel super fast, I'm mailing one chapter at a time to my darling sister. She's not a writer, and is wonderful at telling me good job, and I want the next chapter, and telling me that I'm being a slacker when I don't get a chapter to her. Sometimes it helps to just have someone to be accountable to, but I feel like by letting her read it, I'm not ruining writing the whole first draft without anyone seeing it, because she's not sending me comments back. Does that make sense? I hope so, because it does to me.
3. I really enjoyed Elana Johnson's posts on how to get more traffic to your blog. Anyway, you should totally read the series. I enjoyed them, and I think she had a lot of really good points. I blog and write for another site that is not related to writing, and I some of what she says over there. I know I need to do it here, but I really need to figure out a way to find the focus. Sometime soon it will start.
4. This week I've learned about swords, fences, guns and other things I never once thought that I'd ever need to know about. I was fascinated as I watched my nephew load a Nerf shotgun, and the way the bullet casings would fly out on to the ground, and pulling the muzzle (if that is even the right part of the gun) up before shooting. It made me picture things differently, and also think about how I describe certain things in person. It also made me decide I need to go pick up a real sword somewhere and hold it. And maybe pretend to fight someone. I've done it with a plastic sword with my boys, but I think a heavy sword would make a difference in the fighting.
5. Looking back at what I've written this week, I'm still so excited about this story. I'm still in love with the story idea, and the entire plot, and the whole triangle, and all of the little things that I'm uncovering, but even more exciting I feel like that I'm a much better writer than I was. It makes me want to rethink everything I've written. So that is exciting. Of course I don't have any feedback, but it's okay to love my story at the beginning. I'm sure that I will hate it several times along the way.
6. I'm going to go and eat me some Bojangles. The first time my husband brought me out to North Carolina, he made me eat some Bojangles. This was a time when I was eating hardly any meat, but man it was good. I'm getting ready to go more vegetarian, and I really think that Bojangles is something that I'm going to miss. I could eat it every week, just like pizza, but fortunately I don't have one close to my house. I love their chicken strips and honey mustard sauce!
Happy Writing!
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