Writers Don't Have Blogs

Wild Decembers - Edna O'Brien

2012-02-12T09:56:00.002-07:00

You know that moment when you realize you've just witnessed genius? I just had one of those moments.

I've been trying to read this book for at least two years. It wasn't until I experienced a loss that I was able to relate to it at all. And now I'm devouring it in chunks I can barely swallow. This morning, as I read by the grey light of sunrise, I was struck by the author's absolute genius.

The book begins in a sort of distant third person. There's a girl and her brother, there's an old friend turned rival back in town, there's a dispute over land, the girl falls in love with her brother's enemy, the enemy, Bugler, has a fiancee living far away. Bugler accidentally kills the brother's dog. He wants to cut a road through land the brother owns, or the brother thinks he owns. The girl gives in too much, to the brother, to Bugler, to everyone around her. And then the fiancee comes back. And then the girl stops talking.

And then the book shifts from distant third person to first person, in the girl's voice.

When she stops talking, you hear her voice in first person. You see the world through her eyes, see what the people around her have done to her, the weakest one, because they're afraid of what she might do, what she might say; some are trying to make her say what they want to know, but she can't say anything because of what she does have to say. What she might give away. The damage her secrets could do, not that she'll be able to hide it for long. Her only option is silence.

And your heart breaks for her. On page 213:

All of a sudden she is clinging to me, breaking, sobbing. Why are we here, why are we here? She's howling it. Explain. Explain. No one can.

Is it the serpent. Is it that we love too much. Or is it that we don't love at all.

Amazing. I know it won't have the same impact it does out of context, but I hope it shows the lyricism of her prose and the depth of her words. Genius.

Ear Candy: Mat Kearney - Dancing in the Dark (Cover)

2012-02-07T21:51:00.004-07:00

I get up in the evening, and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the moring, I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired, man I'm just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help
(Chorus)
You can't start a fire, you can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark

Message keeps getting clearer, radio's on and I'm moving round the place
I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face
Man I ain't getting nowhere just sitting in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is

(Chorus)

You sit around getting older there's a joke here somewhere and it's on me
I'll shake this world off my shoulders come baby this laughs on me
Stay on the streets of this town and they'll be carving you up alright
They say you got to stay hungry hey baby I'm just about starving tonight
I'm dying for some action I'm sick of sitting 'round here trying to write
this book
I need a love reaction come on now baby give me just one look

Ear Candy: Sarah Jarosz - Tell Me True

2012-02-03T09:01:00.001-07:00

Ear Candy: Thrice - In Exile

2012-01-31T22:41:00.001-07:00

My heart is filled with songs of forever, a city that endures when all is made new, I know I don't belong here, I'll never, call this place my home, I'm just passing through.

Ear Candy:Mumford and Sons - Wagon Wheel

2012-01-14T10:02:00.001-07:00

Bob Dylan wrote this song, I believe.

Ear Candy: Mumford and Sons - Home

2012-01-02T07:52:00.001-07:00

2011-11-19T22:57:00.001-07:00

After putting some personal issues behind me (more or less), I'm back to writing again. It is strange, though, because I feel like I'm approaching the task much differently. I had been writing in a very linear way, concentrating on word count and moving the story forward. Now, I feel like I'm approaching the various sections of my book as, well, multi-dimentional. Maybe because these stories have been simmering in the crock-pot that is my brain on low for months, and now they've developed complexities I hadn't thought of the first time through. Maybe my brain just short circuited somewhere along the way and the new path it has to use to work is just different than the old one. We'll see. I have five or six characters with their own story lines and I just hit 41000 words and three of the five story lines are about to converge for the first time. It is like working with a 3-d puzzle, or composing for an orchestra or something, and trying to figure out who gets the melody, who gets the counter melody and who just gets to play a staccato note here and there for emphasis. I'm also working on transitions into chapters. It is fun. Well, back to work.

Ear Candy: Barcelona -- First Floor People

2011-11-11T07:26:00.001-07:00

"A Bloody Good Read..."

2011-10-29T10:34:00.002-06:00

Here is an interesting article on a recently found journal of Bram Stoker.

Ear Candy: Keane -- A Bad Dream

2011-10-06T23:13:00.001-06:00

Ear Candy: Ray LaMontagne -- Stay With Me

2011-09-08T20:44:00.000-06:00

Sometimes even busy doesn't help.

Ear Candy: Britney Spears - Gasoline

2011-08-21T21:45:00.002-06:00

And now for something totally different. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much I like this song. I'm pretty sure this would have gotten me beaten up in middle school. But every time I hear this song I can't help but dance.

Ear Candy: Otis Redding - These Arms of Mine

2011-08-13T09:21:00.001-06:00

Chaste hugs. All around.

Dirty Little Secret

2011-08-11T18:38:00.000-06:00

I usually treat my writing like a dirty little secret... you know, that thing you're mostly embarrassed about because once you tell someone they start asking all these pointed questions (like, "What do you write?" "Have you been published?" "Do you plan on being published?").

The nerve of some people.

It's PRIVATE. Of course I want to be published, but I also want to be very pleased with what I've written before sending it out to gobs of agents. And most people asking the questions don't even know what an agent is, for goodness sakes. Plus, correcting their fallacious beliefs, while tempting, takes entirely too much time.

And then they ask you the Most Dreaded Question Ever: So... what is your book about?

It is enough to make ya want to pop the ol' laptop into the microwave for a 2.5 lb defrost cycle and never write another word. Ever.

On the other hand, one could always use these little moments to polish the infamous "pitch." You know, the part where you try to explain your book with the number of characters allowed for a tweet.

Try it. Then maybe your dirty little secret won't need to be so secret after all.

Ear Candy: Amy Winehouse - Stronger Than Me

2011-07-31T08:34:00.001-06:00

Amen.

Ear Candy: Colin Hay - I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You

2011-07-25T21:14:00.001-06:00

Ear Candy: The Swell Season - Fantasy Man

2011-07-25T21:05:00.002-06:00

Ear Candy: Florence and the Machine - Hardest of Hearts

2011-07-22T08:33:00.001-06:00

Panic in the State of Bozeman

2011-07-15T21:10:00.000-06:00

The title doesn't make any sense. I'm well aware. There is a little story I wanted to share. About today.

The day seemed to be going pretty well. Woke up, cooked some pancakes for the kids, did some exercise, readied kids for their swim lessons, packed up lunch, and then got everyone into the car. The low fuel light was on. This wasn't a big deal -- I figured I could fill up after lessons on my way out of town. Costco. Gas is cheaper there. Right? Remember this logic. It is important later in the story.

The kids had their swim lessons. Afterward we went to the park across the street for lunch. Nutella sandwiches for them, lentil salad sandwich for me (it's good. I swear). Then the kids ran off to the play on the playground and I took our massive dog for a quick walk around the park to let him relieve himself on every standing object in sight. Every single one. First a tree, then a rock, then a sign post, then another fifteen or twenty trees. It baffles the mind how much liquid a hundred-pound dog can hold. This is also important for later.

At the park, five or six dogs were off leash (I'm a rule-follower; my dog is always on his leash. This is partly because he's a hundred pound Anatolian Shepard and he's a little intimidating until you get to know him, it is also partly because I don't want to have to chase after him if he decides to go AWOL). One of the dogs sauntered up to my giant dog and started sniffing. Then he started nipping. And then growling. My dog growled back and stepped between the aggressive dog and me. His tail stopped wagging.

And then he peed on me.

Hot, yellow, stinky pee shot in a direct stream right onto my leg. It ran down my leg and pooled into my flip-flop.

The other dog skedaddled. I tried my best to wipe off the offending liquid onto the grass. But, hey, it wasn't that bad. We were going to go swimming in a few minutes and I could rinse it off in the shower. No big deal.

So I rounded up the kids and headed back to the car to get my purse to get the money to go to the pool. The purse was easy enough to find, but its contents were sorely lacking: as in the wallet that was the key to a shower and gas for the car was sitting at home on the coffee table.

So -- penniless, gas-less, and peed-on, I tied up the dog and headed to the pool. To ask to use the restroom.

And they let us swim anyway.

And then we made it back home without getting stranded on the side of the road.

And we later also made it to a gas station without getting stranded.

And, in the end, we still had a pretty good day.

The end.

Ear Candy: Joshua Radin - You've Got Growing Up To Do

2011-07-12T16:49:00.001-06:00

Saying Something that Hasn't Been Said (or why I'm not blogging much)

2011-07-11T16:59:00.002-06:00

There are plenty of writing blogs. Like, hundreds of them. Thousands. MILLIONS!!! (You get the picture). Many of these writers are published (which, besides a couple things in High School and some Letters to the Editor, I'm not), some of the blogs are written by publishers or editors. All of these people have written posts on Passive Voice and Sagging Middles and Hooks and Voice and all other things applying to writing.

This doesn't leave me a lot to work with, I'm afraid. And I hate feeling overly redundant.

So, I'm going to keep posting things that inspire me (most things happen at my tumblr account http://writersdonthaveblogs.tumblr.com), including music and whatnot... and then if something really strikes me or I hear of a publishing opportunity, I'll post that.

Ear Candy: Kind of Like Spitting -- I Know You Heard Me the First Time

2011-07-08T20:45:00.000-06:00

I talked to an old friend of mine today... made me remember this song. It is a little rough. Here's another song:

Ear Candy: Lady Gaga - You and I

2011-06-27T22:34:00.000-06:00

Lady Gaga does country?

I didn't know either. She's versatile. And I like it.

Lucas Miller: Prologue, Take One

2011-06-13T22:46:00.002-06:00

When the wax melted from Icarus’s borrowed wings and the rows of feathers caught flame, it was largely the fault of Icarus himself. One might discuss the quality of the wax or the lack of a flame-retardant covering for the feathers, but, in the end, his demise was an operator error.

When Lucas Miller caught fire, he was, simply put, in the wrong part of town.

Ear Candy: Colour Revolt - 8 Years

2011-06-08T17:50:00.000-06:00

This is another tune that uses a few inappropriate words. I love it still. Colour Revolt has a very raw sound in this song and I absolutely love the lyrics: One man's limo is another man's hearse.

I really want to write a short story illustrating that. I wonder if it could be done? Surely. Perhaps not by me, but surely someone could write it. Surely.

Daily Word Count Goal and Tumblr

2011-05-31T22:01:00.000-06:00

For the good news: I wrote a page today. I spent a good amount of time yesterday outlining. I have story swimming around in my head, nice round main characters, secondary characters almost fleshed out, a beginning, middle and end to the story. And now comes the patience part, where all those ideas need to somehow make it coherently from mind to paper. Piece by piece. And this time, I swear on my life, I'm going to get the tone right from day one. I will not write it if it is not in the tone I want it.

Because:

I got to the point with my last finished novel in the editing stage where, again, I'm finding that I just don't like what I have. That I wouldn't pick the book up to read it if I saw it in a store. That is a pretty depressing thought, ya know? The tone at the beginning is wildly different than it is in the middle. And it just isn't a solid enough story to spend that much time deconstructing and reconstructing. If I wouldn't buy it, why the heck am I spending so much time on it????

So I'm going to write the book I absolutely would be drawn to if I saw it on the shelf, the one that Amazon would "recommend" to me. That's what I'll work on. I've got two of 'em. Shouldn't be too hard to keep myself busy.

Also: http://writersdonthaveblogs.tumblr.com/

A collection of inspiring images and thoughts.... hopefully inspiring. Inspiring to me, anyway. Enjoy

Currently Reading: George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire

2011-05-28T18:49:00.000-06:00

I would never have picked up George R.R. Martin's series A Game of Thrones were it not from a recommendation I read on someone's blog. Unfortunately I can't even remember which blog it was... but, that is beside the point. Hooked. Hooked is the point. I am completely hooked into this story. The world-building is so intricate and fascinating, the characters are so deep and real, the conflicts so genuine... hooked. For someone who hasn't been able to concentrate past the first 20 pages of a book in over a month, being 500-some-odd pages into it and excited to pick it up in the evenings is a testament to this book's awesomeness. If you're looking for a great epic read, pick it up.

Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, 1824 - 1907. Scientist, resting on a binnacle and holding a marine azimuth mirror

2011-05-27T17:33:00.001-06:00

Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, 1824 - 1907. Scientist, resting on a binnacle and holding a marine azimuth mirror, a photo by National Galleries of Scotland Commons on Flickr.

Getting out of this Hole

2011-05-27T17:25:00.000-06:00

I had a serious breakthrough this morning. One of the manuscripts I'd put on hold (because I knew that my skills weren't quite up to the task when I first started outlining it) suddenly popped back into my head with a scene so vivid and real I could smell it. Smell it. I am excited to start writing again.

Ear Candy: Florence and the Machine - Swimming

2011-05-20T21:57:00.000-06:00

I wrote something recently that used a lot of these themes... and then I heard this song and had a total "whoa" moment.

Fire and Water

2011-05-15T22:50:00.001-06:00

Cake, a photo by -RobW- on Flickr.

19th c. Vampire Disposal Kit

2011-05-13T13:07:00.000-06:00

Raises so many questions...

Kick A**

2011-05-09T23:26:00.002-06:00

I just watched Kick Ass, the movie.

Besides the crudeness (including, but not limited to language, violence, adult content, etc), I thought the movie was pretty awesome. I think what made it awesome was how it continually "violated expectations" (term stolen from Peter Orullian). The action sequences involving the girl were phenomenal (putting Kill Bill to shame), but it wasn't just that the action was good -- it was that they were performed by a girl, an eleven-year-old girl (or whatever) at that. It is not at all what one expects to see from such a darling little homicidal maniac. You also wouldn't expect to hear some of the words she said coming out of her mouth. Many words that I would be embarrassed to use. The language, however, I was braced for, due to the amount of publicity that particular aspect of the movie received.

What was even more unexpected, was the only part of the movie I covered my eyes for was the part where the dude was microwaved. Alive.

That was just sick.

Golden Hour

2011-05-09T13:13:00.001-06:00

Golden Hour, a photo by Derail6782 on Flickr.

God's House

2011-05-09T13:09:00.001-06:00

God's House, a photo by ill-padrino www.matthiashaker.com on Flickr.

Columns and Water (Explored)

2011-05-09T13:08:00.001-06:00

Columns and Water (Explored), a photo by Keith Moyer on Flickr.

_MG_0991

2011-05-09T13:07:00.001-06:00

_MG_0991, a photo by Gleb TARRO www.fotowalk.com on Flickr.

Beautiful. Just Beautiful.

2011-05-04T22:57:00.000-06:00

http://store.kaufmann-mercantile.com/

Ear Candy: Other Lives

2011-05-04T22:09:00.000-06:00

Wow. Sometimes following Riley Breckenridge's blog pays off. This is some fine music right here.

Cowboy

2011-05-03T16:43:00.001-06:00

Cowboy, a photo by running horse pictures on Flickr.

Ropes

2011-05-03T16:42:00.003-06:00

Ropes, a photo by *Chaz* on Flickr.

Ropes

2011-05-03T16:42:00.001-06:00

Ropes, a photo by sfPhotocraft on Flickr.

Vitamin D Struction

2011-05-03T16:31:00.001-06:00

Vitamin D Struction, a photo by alan_sailer on Flickr.

This is what it looks like... when milk explodes.

that place again

2011-05-01T08:44:00.003-06:00

that place again, a photo by hanne:: on Flickr.

it.

2011-05-01T08:44:00.001-06:00

it., a photo by hanne:: on Flickr.

Saturday Ear Candy: Glen Hansard - Say it to me Now

2011-04-30T21:35:00.002-06:00

Untitled

2011-04-30T18:36:00.001-06:00

Untitled, a photo by Fagu on Flickr.

BaronsHaugh-04106.jpg

2011-04-30T18:32:00.001-06:00

BaronsHaugh-04106.jpg, a photo by smd3000 on Flickr.

Its the annual cherry blossom moment (explored)

2011-04-30T18:31:00.001-06:00

Its the annual cherry blossom moment (explored), a photo by Sina Farhat on Flickr.

Have You Ever Felt This Way?

2011-04-30T13:58:00.001-06:00

This was originally found on Let The Words Flow and it was share-worthy..

Ear Candy: Mickey Champion - Bam-a-Lam

2011-04-28T20:49:00.001-06:00

Three hundred and forty-four years ago, I used to go to this little dive bar a couple blocks off the Santa Monica Promenade called Harvelle's. It was the kind of place that you wouldn't even know it was there... unless you already knew it was there. The bar was barely as wide as two school busses side by side, and only about as long. Against the back wall stood a small stage adorned with some sound equipment and maybe a drum set or a stand-up bass. Black and white photos of famous jazz musicians, some of them signed, making one think that perhaps they had, back in the glory days, performed there, were neatly arranged on the red walls. In front of the stage there was a small, usually sticky, checkered dance floor lined with greasy barstools and wobbly tables. The bartender was rude and made us pay for water... because we weren't there to drink much else. No, we were there to listen to a 4-foot-nothing elderly woman belt the most amazing blues we could find... and dance to it.

At first glance, she wasn't much to look at, certainly nothing that would draw a bunch of college kids and young professionals thirty minutes out of their way. She usually donned a shiny mu-mu type getup and wore some sort of matching hat. Her skin was wrinkled and peppered with age spots and her talking voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against hollow steel. But when the band started to play, the age melted from her and she would fill the entire room with the most soulful noise -- goosebump inducing noise -- I'd ever heard.

I don't know what happened to Mickey Champion, if she is still alive, if she's still out there singing somewhere... but I certainly appreciated those Wednesday nights.

Writer's Block... With a Twist

2011-04-25T20:55:00.002-06:00

Nothing.

That's how much I've written in the past two weeks. It isn't that the words aren't there -- it is the brain that is the problem. I think it went on either a vacation or some sort of emergency shut-down mode and has yet to reengage. It is like that 1996 hairdryer in the bottom drawer of the bathroom -- I keep trying to push down the yellow reset button, but the darn thing is stuck. Unfortunately I can't toss my brain in the garbage... much too messy. And the waitlist to find a replacement is rather long, or so I've heard.

I have, however, been full of song lyrics. Weird, right? Well, heck, why not write them down? Tinkle the ole ivories. Sing until my kids tell me to stop (it doesn't take long, trust me). At this point, I'll take what I can get.

The end.

RIP Chris Hondros -- Amazingly Written Article

2011-04-23T22:23:00.002-06:00

Chris Hondros, RIP: How my best friend died in a combat zone

Ear Candy: Lenka - Roll With the Punches

2011-04-22T20:37:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine from college plays horn for Lenka, so I was excited to check out her new release. This song particularly spoke to me this week.

Ocean Landscape

2011-04-21T14:27:00.001-06:00

Ocean Landscape, a photo by ►CubaGallery on Flickr.

Beautiful.

Ear Candy: Ray Lamontagne - Shelter

2011-04-21T10:23:00.001-06:00

I've tried to caption this song, to say something about what it means, but I can't. I could say something about accoutrements or crests and troughs, but I can't. I could say something about sharks and day-glow orange life-preservers, but I can't. And yet it somehow calms the waters and gives me some measure of stillness.

Ladder of Abstraction

2011-04-18T11:04:00.001-06:00

In Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Writers by Roy Peter Clark, one of the tools presented is called “the Ladder of Abstraction.” The basic idea is that at the base of the metaphorical ladder of expression/understanding is concrete language. The tree has leaves. The ground is hard. At the top of the ladder exists more abstract thoughts/concepts. The tree was shelter to my heart. His soul was hard. In the middle is the language of bureaucracy—muddled words that sound important, but whose meaning is all but lost. Think of how politicians speak when trying to avoid stating their position (you’ll have to read the book for his excellent example).

As a writer, the goal is to use the entire ladder effectively—to work from one end of the ladder to the other. Hone your prose by starting with something concrete and, over the course of multiple sentences, turn it into something abstract. Start with the simple and use it to explain the complex. Take the tree, the bark and knots and aphids and chlorophyl and show how it is the perfect shelter for your character’s damaged psyche. Or something like that. Walk a mile over broken glass, each footstep more painful than the last, but save the why for the end. Or start somewhere metaphysical and use your paragraph to bring you back to the what of the situation.

Poached Eggs and Shortcuts

2011-04-14T08:45:00.003-06:00

We all take shortcuts sometimes. For instance, I've been poaching my eggs in the microwave for the past... forever. My mother was a master of microwave cooking. She could cook anything in the microwave (and often did so to the neglect of her other appliances). Some of those habits have passed down to me, although in strange and convoluted ways. I'll rise bread in the microwave. It sounds ridiculous, but when one is short on time...

A sideways comment, the threat of an email (which, though never received, probably warned about how microwave-egg-poachers cause cancer), and being told that there was a device that could keep said eggs from acquiring egg-drop soup characteristics rather than becoming balls of eggy-goodness and I am officially off the poached-egg shortcut.

My trial run was this morning. Two perfectly poached eggs the very first time. And do you know what else? It took the exact same time to cook the eggs as it did to heat the water for the coffee. Why have I been treating this shortcut with so much deference all these years? On top of having zero time inconvenience, the eggs actually tasted better. And it was really fun to use the new pan.

How does this relate to writing? Do your planning at the front end and don't microwave your research (and expect to have the best results). Chances are you'll be eating sub-par eggs and giving yourself cancer in the process.

Read This.

2011-04-13T12:47:00.000-06:00

Read this.

On Another Planet

2011-04-13T09:57:00.000-06:00

I feel like I woke up on some other planet this morning. What the heck is going on?

The Kind of Writing That Makes Me Drool (in a Good Way).

2011-04-11T17:35:00.001-06:00

So, I've had a bit of a writer-crush on Peter Orullian for a while. I've read some of the tidbits he's written for Tor's website and (drooling still) he's quite entertaining. I pre-ordered his debut novel, The Unremembered, from Amazon and now have it in hand. I've started the first page and (drool, drool, wipe off the keyboard, fan my face, drool) it is seriously my favorite kind of writing. I don't even care what the story is about (I'm sure I will eventually) -- I'm just hanging on every single word. I can only hope it continues to be so... drool-worthy.

Ear Candy: Thrice - Circles/ Jonsi - Animal Arithmetic

2011-04-08T12:59:00.001-06:00

This is how I feel RIGHT NOW:

We talk too much; We talk in circles
Till we’re all spinning round,
Reaching for rings on this merry-go-round.

The scenery spins; We call it progress,
But I’ve seen this all before;
When all’s said and done, we’ll wake up on the floor.

We set sail with no fixed star in sight.
We drive by braille and candlelight.

We’re building towers with no foundations,
Just stacking stone on stone.
Whatever it takes - mix our mortar with bones.

But true progress means matching the world to
The vision in our heads,
But we always change the vision instead.

We set sail with no fixed star in sight.
We drive by braille and candlelight.

And this is how I want to feel.

CJ Redwine Does it Again

2011-04-05T13:20:00.000-06:00

I'd like to direct your attention to CJ Redwine's blog The Last Word for a post that made my day today. She kicks so much tushy. Thanks for the inspiration!

Saturday Ear Candy: Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

2011-04-02T08:20:00.004-06:00

This song says a bad word. So if you don't like that sort of thing, please don't click. But really, who does give a %*@$ about an Oxford comma? I laughed. I hope you laugh, too.

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-04-01T12:56:00.000-06:00

Thank you Rachel Bateman for passing on the Stylish Blogger Award! I hope you and baby Caveman are having a wonderful day!

The rules of the award are: 1) Thank and link back to the bloggers who awarded you (done). 2) List 7 things about yourself. And 3) Pass the award onto more fabulously stylish bloggers.

Seven things?

1. If it hadn't been for the reeds, I probably would still play my oboe. I have a degree in Oboe. There was a time (seven hundred and forty-six years ago) when I really loved playing the oboe. And then I had to learn to make my own reeds. Making reeds is an entirely different skill-set than playing music. It requires dexterity of the hands and good eyes for selecting cane, and the ability to maneuver razor blades without severing one's appendages. Take a close look at my hands sometime. I have scars on almost every single finger.

2. I can't figure out how to do my own hair. I wear it in a pony tail almost every day because what I wake up with is pretty much what I get. My German friends make fun of me by calling me Strewwelpeter. And, yes. It is a fairly accurate representation.

3. I've been wearing the same pair of boots since 2003. (Although I do take them off to bathe and sleep). And if I ever find another pair like them, I'm buying a hundred pairs and calling it good.

4. This summer promises to be the year of the camping. I've got big plans to get out into the wild with my girls. I just have to collect the gear. No problem.

5. I was once told I could "Slop it to the hogs." At first I thought it was an insult, but apparently it means I can cook for large numbers of people with few ingredients in a short amount of time and come up with something edible. Okay, so the edible part might be debatable. But it does happen on occasion that I have large numbers of people to cook for -- and they never go away hungry.

6. Am I really only on six?

7. Jacket fetish. I have one. It includes knee-length and above coats of all kinds of fabrics in all kinds of colors. Buttons, mostly, but occasionally zippers and/or snaps. Structured, cargo, double-breasted, single-breasted. Cotton for spring. Wool for winter. Blends for everything in-between. It extends to the occasional vest and wrap as well. No ponchos.

Other Stylish Bloggers?

1. Amanda the Aspiring
2. The Mandigos
3. Damyanti
4. Amanda Borenstadt

Carpe Inspiration? Carpe Suggestions?

2011-04-01T11:04:00.000-06:00

I've been writing like crazy recently. It is a fantastic break from real life. Yes, escapism at its best: too much whiskey, coffee, foodie-cravings and late-night writing cram-sessions.

What I really need are a couple good book recommendations. I'm struggling through Pathfinder by Card (100 pages in and I'm still bored out of my mind), the third in the Outlander series (I loved the first, and have been less than luke-warm about the second two), Love and Summer by Trevor (Irish literary fiction. It is fantastic, but a little like staring at a still-life so far). I'm re-reading Sunshine by McKinley and enjoying it much more the second time around (dense backstory doesn't even begin to cover it).

Suggestions? Please, for the love of Pete, give me a few good suggestions.

Saturday Ear Candy: Righteous Brothers -- Unchained Melody

2011-03-26T09:13:00.000-06:00

This is one of those songs that remind me of my childhood. Maybe it was because my parents listened to the oldies station in the car and we had a Righteous Brothers greatest hits CD that was often blasted over the home stereo system. When I came across this live recording of it, I just had to share.

In an age of auto-tune and lip syncing, this just blows me away. He's obviously an incredible musician. Hopefully we as a society with get back to enjoying that calibre of singing (one can dream, right?).

Oooh, OOOH! I have something helpful to blog!

2011-03-22T19:57:00.000-06:00

Just ran across Critter Connect, a source for connecting writers with other writers/critique partners/etc. Phoenix (who does query critiques in conjunction with and also separate from Evil Editor) has set it up and it looks like something useful! Especially for those of us in need of some good eyes. Fresh eyes. Non-refridgerated eyes. Tangentially motivated eyes? Is it bed time yet?

Feel

2011-03-21T10:12:00.004-06:00

There is something about writing a story that is different than other types of art forms. And yet there is something similar as well. One comparison that keeps springing to mind is jazz. If you've ever been to a really great jazz concert, you'll know what I mean. There is something that transcends the charts, passes through the words, and turns what would have been ordinary into something that gives you chills. It is so easy to pinpoint why something is not working, but it is almost impossible to figure out what gives something that spark that makes it extraordinary. Music, writing, painting, even relationships sometimes... It is easier to see the flaws in the average than it is to define what shoots through you like a bolt of lightning and stays with you like a good meal or a scar that doesn't seem to ever heal quite right.

Saturday Ear Candy: The Frames - Mind's Made Up

2011-03-19T09:39:00.000-06:00

Newest obsession: The Frames. I watched the movie "Once" and haven't been able to stop listening to The Frames since.

Writing Samples

2011-03-15T10:59:00.000-06:00

I realized today that I've been writing about writing here for quite some time, but that I've never posted any piece of writing that I was particularly proud of or that I'd polished... so I added the first chapter from my SF/F WIP to the sidebar under "Writing Samples." Feel free to check it out, if you'd like.

Finding the Time and What to Do With it Once You've Found it

2011-03-14T17:21:00.000-06:00

I'm still slogging through the edits of this MS. I usually can find an hour in the afternoon (read: the television babysits the kids for an hour. And, no, it doesn't make me a bad mom. It's just an hour) and an hour after I exercise in the evenings. The problem is: it isn't enough time!

I've been editing this MS for-ev-er.

I feel like my writing chops have dwindled to little shriveled specks of what they used to be -- because I'm not creatively writing at all. I haven't written a word in my other WIPs in way too long.

And what do we do when we see a problem? We fix it. That's what.

So, I'm going to try to find a sitter once a week for the kids and use the time to write. Unfortunately (see previous posts), my favorite writing spot has been closed... I'll need to find a new place, maybe a coffee shop or something. And devote that time to new words. New words on a different manuscript. Get that SF/F sidebar widget to move up a little.

I like this plan. I'm going to start carrying the notebook for that WIP with me again to jot down ideas as they occur to me. Then by Thursday (or whichever day I get "off") I'll already have a plethora of ideas to choose from. 3 hours won't be enough. It will be awesome.

So if I get 2 hours of writing in a day, I might have to pull the exercise back from 1 hour to 45 minutes to get myself to bed on time (and still have time to read a bit at night), the kids still won't be watching too much TV after we get home from work, and I'll be making progress on something new. It would be nice to pitch a polished book at a conference this year. (I should probably turn that one into a goal, too)

Saturday Ear Candy: White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

2011-03-12T17:23:00.001-07:00

Love it. I love how the video has so much motion it is almost mesmerizing. I love the simplicity of the arrangement. I love that they have two percussionists. Good stuff.

Our Town's Borders is Closing

2011-03-08T16:27:00.000-07:00

Our town's Borders is closing. It probably doesn't seem like such a big deal to those big city folk out there. I've lived in a couple big cities -- if you didn't like one store, you could find a different store of the same type within driving distance. Well, I live in a small town. 40,000 people (when school is in session) and then I live another 10 miles outside of town (in an unincorporated part of the county).

It was so nice to be able to go to a bookstore, settle in with a nice mocha or cup of tea and type to my heart's content without someone bugging me. It was really nice to read a couple books with the local book club there. It was just a relaxing place to be.

The only other bookstore that we have (that I know of) is right next to the movie theater. It is always super-crowded and is NOT a place you can sit and write.

I know Borders was a chain store and a lot of people don't like those and wish that the mom and pop's bookstores would make a comeback, but I'm going to miss our Borders (where, yes, I would occasionally splurge on a hardback novel because I was so appreciative of the atmosphere).

Fat Tuesday Ear Candy: Tennis - Marathon

2011-03-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

I like this song.

Editing: on Tone

2011-02-20T23:00:00.001-07:00

One of the biggest problems I'm finding as I edit this manuscript is inconsistencies in tone. I have one character that has, well, emotional problems. Scratch that. All of the characters have emotional problems, but the two main characters deal with their emotional problems in different ways. Conflicting ways. And I use a close third-person perspective for both of them. What I struggle with is how to keep the overall tone the same while giving both characters their individual voices.

I think one way that this can be accomplished is by a consistency in the setting. If both characters are aware of their surroundings (even if they might notice different things or notice the same things in different ways), it will give the story some continuity.

Another way would be to make sure the transitions between the shifts in perspective are very clear and precise. The reader would become familiar with the voice of the character over the first few shifts, and so long as the transitions are good, the shift shouldn't be overly jarring.

I also find that the more I got to know my characters, the more definite their individual voices became. This means that by the end of the first draft, the characters' voices were very distinct, as opposed to the beginning of the manuscript, where they had very little personality at all. I could pretty much take the first three chapters and throw them in the trash (or move them to the "trash" folder, as the case may be). And I did. Mostly.

So, in regards to tone: how does one take a manly-man, who is racked with guilt over his involvement (albeit minimal) in the death of his One True Love, and keep him manly and attentive while hunting, let's say, a squirrel. Squirrels aren't exactly manly, but in the environment, they're the only thing around to eat. The tone must remain serious... and yet the character is wrestling with a rodent.

It is a conundrum, I tell you.

Comments? Suggestions?

Saturday Ear Candy: White Lies - Strangers

2011-02-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Another one of the albums that is in heavy rotation in my play list. A grip would beg me to stay. There you go.

Editing that Pesky First Draft

2011-02-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm slogging through my first draft of my latest completed novel. There is nothing like reading through your work and wondering, "What the hell was I thinking?"

Yes. And it happens once about every other page.

That's all I have to say about it at the moment. Maybe I'll have something more insightful to write in the morning.

Let's hope.

Saturday Ear Candy: Local Natives - Who Knows, Who Cares

2011-02-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I love this song more every time I hear it. Local Natives - Who Knows Who Cares

Putting a Manuscript onto a Kindle From Scrivener While Bypassing Amazon

2011-02-03T08:48:00.001-07:00

So, Scrivener. It is the best thing since sliced bread. Having just been in Germany, and having had to slice the bread myself, I can truly say that sliced bread is bad-ass. Scrivener is even more bad-ass.

If you haven't dropped the whopping $45 for this program (less if you participate in NaNo) go to the link above and download the free trial. I promise you, it is worth your time. You have my money-back guarantee.

So, in the Scrivener export settings, they have a way to download your document into a .mobi format -- but they, for some unknown reason, make you go through Amazon to do it. That was just a little too much for me. Now, what I'm about to describe to you is probably more complicated. Fair warning.

If you have a Kindle you *should* have the program Calibre as well. This is a nifty little program that allows you to convert your ebooks into different formats (as long as they are DRM free)...(there are some add-ons that allow you to strip the DRM, but please don't do that unless it is for your own personal use. We writers work hard and get paid little, so please don't make it even harder, okay? Okay.) It is super simple. You load the book. You convert the format. Easy as pressing a button. Literally.

Now, from Scrivener, when you have the manuscript you'd like to transfer ready to go, go to File > Compile. Choose the Novel format in the top drop-down menu. Then choose .ePub format from the second drop-down menu. (I know that seems counter-productive, but go ahead and try the .mobi format, if you'd like. It sends you to Amazon to download the program and gets fairly complicated.)

You have the .epub format on your desktop (or wherever you save your files). Open your Calibre program, upload the book, choose "convert file" from the menu at the top, and it will automatically convert it to an .mobi file. You can then send it directly to your device or save it to the desktop and drag and drop it into your Kindle folder (the Kindle has to be attached for this to work, of course).

Obviously if you have a Nook or other ebook reader that takes the ePub format, you can skip Calibre all together (though you should still have it, because it is really helpful sometimes). If your e-reader takes a different format, simply choose the format you'd like to transfer it to.

You can export your Scrivener ms to a PDF, but I find the PDF hard to see, especially on the smaller Kindle and you can't adjust the font size (or have it read your book to you, which it will do in the .mobi format).

Adventures Across Germany 2011

2011-01-28T03:39:00.001-07:00

Right now I'm sitting by a window and drinking a nice hot tea. The sun is shining against the side of my face (I still want that eInk screen for my computer, btw), and I'm looking out over the red-tiled roofs toward the spire of a 600-some-year-old church. I'm in Osnabrueck, Germany and it is wonderful. I'd forgotten how great Germany is. There are, however, some small differences between Germany and America I'd somehow erased from my memory.

For instance: Last night I went out for a nice dinner to a fancy-ish Spanish restaurant here in town. I got a little dressed up for the occasion. Nothing quite says "chic" however, than stumbling the entire way to the restaurant because your high-heels keep getting caught between the cobblestones. I did somehow make it to the restaurant unscathed -- but just barely.

Another small difference: Germans don't typically have clothes-dryers. That means you really have to plan when you'll wash your clothes... otherwise it might be a day or two (or three, if it is raining) before they're ready to wear. Note to self.

Also: The UPS truck, you know, the big brown one that's only purpose is to deliver packages? I saw one here. It was a Mercedes.

And the last one: German food = inexpensive. Really, you can get some very decent food at the supermarket very inexpensively. Maybe 30 Euro a week for two people. Clothes, however, are an entirely different story. A decent pair of jeans will run over a hundred Euro -- easily. Shoes are the same. There is no Target 50%-off rack here.

Saturday Ear Candy: A Silent Film - You Will Leave a Mark

2011-01-15T23:38:00.000-07:00

It is still Saturday. I remembered to do my Ear Candy. I'm having a very proud moment right now.

A Silent Film is an up and coming band from the UK that is just fantastic. I love their piano-driven rock, seriously masculine vocals and great lyrics. Enjoy!

What's in a Name: Naming Your Characters

2011-01-15T23:33:00.001-07:00

How important are your characters' names? For whatever reason, this topic has been coming up over and over again in my reading.

I tend to use fairly generic names. Sometimes I'll use whatever name just pops into my head. Some people are crazy (C.R.A.Z.Y.) about names. They think of names like some people think of their astrological signs (which, if you are one of those people, this week was probably pretty rough for you. Sorry.). They look for meaning in things that, well, sometimes, ahem, have... hummmm... perhaps less meaning than some people might think. Like those celebrities that name their children Bogart Che Peyote or Sage Moonblood. Not that Sage Moonblood is a bad name. It just would work better for a Faerie than a person. I'm sure she or he will grow up to be a totally well adjusted adult. Totally sure.

Okay. Okay. I'm way on the other side of the pendulum. Too far. So today I took a look at some of my character's names. I had an Irishman in one of my WIPs named Finnegan. I also have read three books recently that had MCs that were named Finnegan or some derivative thereof. Could I find a different name? Could I spend some time researching Irish names and their meanings to find one more appropriate for my MC?

OF COURSE!

And so it goes.

Inventive Business Cards for Writers

2011-01-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've read a lot about authors needing business cards -- especially when going to conferences or when promoting your work. I found a great link on hand-made business cards that seemed like a very professional and inexpensive way to make a great impression. Using this method you could instantly update any and all information as it changes instead of having to re-order cards when something changes. You could add works published as they are published. Who knows, maybe even get that elusive agent's attention. Check it out!

Link to SEO Basics for Bloggers

2011-01-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Many of you out there have blogs, many of you wish to have more readers reading said blogs. I just read a post by Tiana Smith on SEO Basics for Bloggers that I found very specific and helpful, especially in explaining how and why to use the different techniques. I hope it helps!

Ear Candy: Carla Bruni - Quelqu'un M'a Dit

2011-01-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

I just love this song.

One Hundred Words for One Hundred Dollars Blogfest

2011-01-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

I thought this sounded like fun and a bit of a challenge. The challenge? Write one one hundred word sentence and like it enough to post it. Here goes:

Those faceless black-clad wraiths, the silent self-styled protectors with their illegally acquired sniper rifles trained on their enemies, those men that functioned entirely outside the law, and steadfastly refused to admit even the law’s validity, emitted a certain buzz, a tangible confidence that came from their refusal to acknowledge any authority outside of their own and a rebellious air that mixed with a seriousness stemming from illegal weapons and secret plans; that, and they acted with an absolute deadly certainty that had germinated and grown over centuries of abuse and oppression by those that sought to enslave them.

New Years Resolutions

2011-01-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a little anti-New Years resolutions. I'm kind of anti-anything-you-do-because-the-date-tells-you-to. Like Valentine's day -- I'd rather get flowers on February 13th, because then I'd know the flower-giver didn't feel obligated. Like birthdays -- I'd rather get a present for no reason in the middle of June. And sheesh, why write a list of things down for "resolutions" just because the date changed over. I mean, you'll just lose the list and forget about it until New Years Eve of next year when you'll wrack your brain to remember last year's goals, and then hope you might have accomplished one or two by accident. I'm more a fan of setting goals when the mood strikes.

Well, I was more of a fan of that until I read this post by Maggie Stiefvater which has certainly inspired me.

Lately I've been dealing with the fear in my life -- the fear of change, the fear of failure, the fear of really pursuing my dreams and what that might mean -- and Maggie stinking blew me out of the water. My favorite quote (which was just a side note in the article) was "Drive it like you stole it."

So, I'm going to work on my resolutions for this year -- and they're going to be good.

Architect v. Gardener

2011-01-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was reading this article and the interviewee, instead of using the dichotomy of pantser v. plotter used a much more appropriate dichotomy that I hadn't heard before but that I like much better. He used architect v. gardener.

"And I guess your query gets a little at the question of am I more an Architect or Gardener type of writer (to borrow George R. R. Martin’s metaphors)—architects being those writers who plan it all out meticulously in advance vs. gardeners who plant something and watch it grow, perhaps shaping a bit."

I don't know who George R. R. Martin is (although you could place a pretty safe bet on my looking it up later this afternoon), but I like the metaphor. A lot.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:46:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones! I certainly am!

Writing Again... Phew!!!

2010-12-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am officially writing again! I pounded out a scene from one of my many WIPs and made some great progress! I'm so excited! Exclamation point!

Here is something I've been ruminating over (on? does one ruminate on something? at something? Ah, whatever) for a while: how much do all those blogs we read influence what we write?

There is some definite bloggy-style going on out there. I. mean. come. on. Do we need periods after every word in a sentence to make it funny? Or how about how we use UPPERCASE to emphasize the word we would emphasize while speaking? Or even how we use extraneous punctuation?!?!?!?!?!!!!!

I find it slipping into my writing all. the. time. :-) Yeah. I suppose I edit out the emoticons in that first post-"the-end" read-through, but I see it in finished novels quite often too. And they always emphasize the wrong WORD!

This problem will only get worse as those poor children who have grown up in the age of texting and micro-thoughts of 140 words or less grow up and decide to try and write books. I'm interested in seeing exactly how this will all play out. They'll probably rebel and send in manuscripts typed out on typewriters salvaged from vintage shops and change out the spools from black ink to Barbie pink to give their sentences the extra oomph. And someone will make a gazillion dollars coming up with special colors for the vintage typewriter spools. Madness. MADNESS I SAY!!!*&$^(@)!!!

A bit of Translation

2010-12-05T16:33:00.002-07:00

I studied abroad in Germany in college and actually ended up with a fairly decent ability to speak German. Granted, my English sentence structures (and chronic combining of smaller words into larger ones and willingness to capitalize improper nouns) have never recovered. In one of my German Literature classes, I read quite a few works by the author Ricarda Huch. She also wrote poetry. This is one I find particularly beautiful.

Nicht alle Schmerzen sind heilbar, denn manche schleichen
Sich tiefer und tiefer ins Herz hinein,
Und während Tage und Jahre verstreichen,
Werden sie Stein.

Du sprichst und lachst, wie wenn nichts wäre,
Sie scheinen zerronnen wie Schaum.
Doch du spürst ihre lastende Schwere
Bis in den Traum.

Der Frühling kommt wieder mit Wärme und Helle,
Die Welt wird ein Blütenmeer.
Aber in meinem Herzen ist eine Stelle,
Da blüht nichts mehr.

-Ricarda Huch

Not all hurts can heal, because some slither
deeper and deeper into the heart
and while the days and nights expire
they become stone.

You talk and laugh, as though nothing happened,
as though they vanished like froth
Yet you feel their oppressive weight
until you dream.

The spring comes again with warmth and light,
the world becomes a sea of petals.
But in my heart is a place,
where nothing now blooms.

I'm not great at translating. The German is much prettier than the English. :-)

Ch-ch-ch changes...

2010-11-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

My life is currently in a bit of an upheaval -- which makes focusing on my writing a challenge. As I sort through what I want my life to be, where and how I want to spend my life, my characters and books have taken a back seat. But hopefully not for long! In two weeks I'm taking the kids out to my mom's house for the holidays. It will be the longest "vacation" we've ever taken, and I'm really excited about it. Somewhere in there I plan on finding the motivation and state of mind to get back to writing and finding interesting tidbits to share with y'all.

Unmotivated.

2010-11-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have been less than motivated as of late. I think some of the personal things I'm dealing with right now are eating up more of my brain power than when life sails more smoothly, therefore leaving me with fewer synapses to focus on my projects. Even my coffee has failed me. Sigh. I am, however, caught up on world politics and local tragedies and am single-handedly supporting iTunes and various perfumeries, so hey, life isn't all bad.

What is bad, however, is my progress on editing Outlaws. I'm still in the first chapter. It just might take a while to finish this bad boy.

Thursday's Saturday Ear Candy: Mumford and Sons - After the Storm

2010-11-11T08:50:00.001-07:00

This wasn't the song I wanted to share, but the song I wanted to share has the f-word in the chorus... ahhhh, censorship. Still, Mumford and Sons is my newest obsession. Enjoy!

On the Importance of Outlining

2010-11-09T12:50:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I'm still in non-Nano land for all intents and purposes, I am however still struggling through my edits from last year's Nano. It's painful, to say the least.

I've already axed the first few scenes, as they were mostly me trying to get a feel for the story and the characters. Now, however the story needs a new beginning... like, the whole thing. The entire first third of the novel needs to be rewritten in the same tone/with the same characterization as the latter two-thirds. I also need to remove the info dumps and reveal the info in smaller spurts. Yeah, AND I need to do this while not accidentally leaving out any pertinent information.

Sigh. If I hadn't been in such a hurry to get through the book last year, I might not be digging through such a huge mess... then again, even this messy draft might not have been written, and then where would I be? I still wish I would have outlined the novel first, done my character development beforehand. The more I write, the more important the outline seems to be.

Redirect to Publication Opportunities

2010-11-03T20:30:00.000-06:00

I found this list of publication opportunities over at Not Enough Words. There are some I'd not yet heard of. Check it out!

Saying No to Nano

2010-10-28T07:57:00.001-06:00

Although I enjoyed doing NaNo last year, the more I think about it, the more I don't think I can handle it this year. With the spouse gone and three kids (the oldest not yet four) to take care of, it just doesn't seem fair to anyone to lock myself away and/or stay up late for the word count. Plus, if my house gets any messier, I just might crack.

So, good luck to all you NaNoers. Write something good!

In the meantime, I'm going to keep plugging away at my first round of edits on Outlaws and learn all I can about Guerrilla warfare -- for accuracy's sake, of course.

How Much Research is Enough?

2010-10-16T19:13:00.001-06:00

I just read the first book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. It was free on Kindle and I thought I'd take a peek.

Well, shoot. It was good and so long, I couldn't put it down, but I also couldn't finish it in one night! I'd heard about it here and there, I knew it was well-liked as a general rule. I tend to shy away from sex-heavy books and "romance" in general, but as anyone who has read the book knows, this isn't your average romance (for example: take the 15000+ Kindle locations; an average book has between 4000 and 7000 locations).

From a writer's perspective, there were a few things that impressed me:

1. The use of dialect in the dialogue. At first I was a little annoyed, but she kept it up throughout the entire book -- which was impressive -- and after the first few hundred locations, it became almost second nature to read. Impressive.

2. The humor. I was literally laughing in public reading this. Hours later I would think about something that happened and laugh again.

3. Sex with a purpose. Almost all the sex scenes had a purpose... even when I started to think, gosh, all men in this book are out to rape and pillage, those scenes had a purpose. She also didn't pull any punches -- I mean ANY punches. I thought for sure at the end, she would leave it up to the reader's imagination, but, nope. We got every single excruciating detail (I need to work on that. I tend to pull my writerly punches).

4. The world-building. I would forget completely that I was a 21st century digital girl in the midst of the story. The comparisons were good to: she would give a modern day reference and then a 18th century reference. Within the context, it made complete sense. I felt like I was there.

That leads me to my question: how much research is enough? Or, really, how little research can one get away with?

Often times I find myself writing a story and fact-checking as I go. Other times I write something and figure I'll check the facts in edits. But this story was so steeped in its world, she must have done the work prior to writing... I'd almost bet money on it. My problem, though, is: when you're just getting the feel for a story, how do you dive into it so thoroughly? I mean, research could eventually exhaust you. You could get so deep into the research that the book doesn't get written for ten years!!! So, how much is too much?

I don't know. Do you?

Bulls-eye, Or Lack Thereof

2010-10-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

Photo credit: Leslie Williamson

Sometimes we don't hit the bulls-eye on the first try. Sometimes it takes a few hundred darts and a sore arm.

I've decided (I think) to do NaNo this year (though I'm still wavering. I just started edits on Outlaws and would like to iron out all the research I've been putting off for those details that need to be woven into it. I've ordered a bunch of books on highly sensitive topics and I've probably been put on some sort of government terrorist watch list because of it (I SWEAR it is for research, my FBI friends)). However, I think I've finally decided what to do with my first novel:

SCRAP IT.

Yeah. It was too far from the bulls-eye to even consider letting it be read by a professional. It doesn't totally suck, but it just wasn't what I wanted it to be. That's okay. It was my first try. I learned A LOT from it. I learned all about adjectives and the passive voice and semi-colons and plotting and character development and layers and motivation. But it just wasn't what I wanted it to be. So, yeah. I scrapped it.

I did, however, glean a little insight on the story I was trying to tell. The story I told skirted the story I wanted to tell -- because the real story is a hard story. It is a sad story. It is a story that might not have a winner at the end, might not have good triumph over evil and everyone walk into the sunset for their happily ever after.

Today I began outlining the story I meant to tell and I just wanted to give a few insights I had while working on it.

First of all, when the characters are fully-formed before the first point on the outline is written, the outline will be much better. When we give our characters MULTIPLE motivations, their actions will make more sense. The girl likes boy, but if boy represents a deeper need, an underlying motivation (like getting out of a bad situation) it makes the story more interesting. If the boy is actually her best friend's boyfriend and unavailable, it ups the interesting factor. It gives her motivation to do well in English, because he's going to the best creative writing school next year, only she needs a scholarship if she'll ever be able to afford it... so she must try to get a scholarship.

Does that make sense? I don't set my alarm because I like getting up early. There is always an underlying reason for what we do.

Second, I've written as a pantser, but I am plotting this novel very carefully. One huge change I've noticed in my plotting is that I'm not plotting events, I'm plotting character development. I'm choosing where my characters will be emotionally in each chapter (or scene) and the plot is supporting and guiding these changes. (Does this mean I'm beginning to learn how to write character-driven fiction? I thought the day would never come!!! ) Doing this helps me decide which plot points are going where -- and arranging them by effectiveness instead of by the order in which they pop into my head. This is also helping me delay the inevitable in regards to the relationships in the book, which is hard for me.

I think it's progress.

In any case, I'll *probably* see ya'll at NaNo pounding this bad boy out. No pun intended.