Lessons picked up from other writers

I used to avoid reading for pleasure while I was writing, in the fear that (a) it would take too much time away from writing and (b) other author's styles would somehow seep into my own writing. (a) is not really an issue lately, since I write every day at lunch and just know that I can't read during that time. (b)? Not worried so much about that, since I started writing in my own kitchen-sink style.

So I've been reading. And I've discovered that there can be a wonderful symbiosis between reading and writing, when you're writing every day. Though I don't pick up author's styles, I do notice what's succeeding, and what's not, in their books, and I try to note those lessons for my own work. Here's what I've learned from the last 3 books I've read/am reading (yes, I'm still reading HP. About halfway through).

--From Trangressions, by Sarah Dunant: Don't answer the central question of the book two-thirds of the way through. I really didn't care if I ever picked it up at all after that point--the rest was just floppy plot, of no interest. And make sure that the story delivers on the promise implied by the book's jacket. I was (obviously) quite disappointed in this one.

--From Vicki Pettersson: Pay attention (probably on later drafts) to every word, every phrase, you put on the page. There probably is a fresher, more character-specific way of describing something than the first phrase you clunked down. Vicki is a master of original descriptions and turns of phrase, and I love that in her writing.

--From the latest Harry Potter: Complexity is okay. It's also okay to not explain everything for your readers; let them guess. Let them figure it out. Allude to things they don't really need to know about, but the characters do. All this makes for a detailed, real world. Also, let characters speak as they really would, with pauses and awkwardness and occasional swearing. (I did know this, but it's great to see it in print again.)

(forgot) Whadjya eat? Child and I were on our own, so she got to choose. Grilled cheese sandwiches, cantaloupe (her absolute favorite), and veggies with ranch dressing. :)

There!

Whew. That was not easy. But I'm happy with the new blue look. What do you think?

In the...

Yes, I'm trying out pink. I was bored with green, and must change colors regularly.

Don't know if I like it yet...tomorrow I may go blue instead. :)

Oh, and...um, fix my links. And my wordcounter. {gentle head-bang}

In praise of editors

Gary Kamiya has written a fabulous piece in today's Salon called "Let us now praise editors". Fellow editors, go get a day pass and read it, and revel in the unusual appreciation.

Writers, go read it twice. {s}

What I did for my weekend

I did not go to a midnight Harry Potter party on Friday.

Instead hubby, Child, and I went to an amazing dance performance in Helena. Artisan Dance is a cool ballet company that hosts professional dancers from all over the country every summer for a workshop, then puts on a performance at the end. We saw it last year, and knew we had to go back again. Wow. During some parts I was leaning forward in my chair, hands clasped, trying to just be closer to it, it was SO good. Ahhhh. Ballet bliss.

Not to worry, though, I had my Harry Potter waiting on the porch for me when we got back on Sunday. Of course I'm only about 100 pages in right now, so I'm going to have to studiously avoid all blogs, newspapers, TV, and radio for about a week until I finish. DO NOT TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS! :)

I just glanced at Google Reader this morning and saw about three people whose first lines were "So I just finished Harry Potter..." Yeah. So not going there. I would've brought the thing to work so I could read faster, but I have too many other things I'm supposed to be reading/writing here...

Hope y'all had a fabulous weekend!

Whadjya eat? Leftovers; haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. But on Saturday we had an awesome dinner. I had TWO margaritas (good thing the restaurant was right next to the hotel, eh?). We shared an appetizer plate with shrimp "purses", fried scallops, onion rings, and jalapeno poppers. Then I had a salad with bleu cheese dressing, bread, and my entree: pork chops cooked in peanut oil, topped with pineapple and coconut sauce, and baked potato. Dude. I couldn't even touch dessert.

The big reveal...um, sort of

I've seen a couple of rants lately about critique partners & groups, and how to deal with or give criticism. I've even talked about this subject myself, long ago in blog-land terms. I'm extremely interested in this topic, and I'm about to get more interested. Why?

In the fall, I will start research for my Master's thesis: "Online Critique of Creative Writing: Best Practices from OWLs to Blackboard"

That's right, folks. I'm gonna be researching YOU. The gist of the thesis is that I'm looking at how critiques of fiction writing are handled in different online venues: structured critique forums like Compuserve's Exercises, or the related book critique site; small, private critique groups; critique partners, usually two people who crit each other's work; and online writing labs. I'll be comparing how critiques are handled in these places with traditional methods of critique in the creative writing classroom, and try to apply my lessons learned to (a) help writers and (b) help teachers of online creative writing courses.

I'm just working on reviewing the current literature right now, but soon I'll start pegging sites for research, and beginning to set up studies and surveys. So all you authors in the crowd, please gear yourselves up to be tapped to help. :)

Oh, and keep those rants coming. I'm taking notes. {eg}

Whadjya eat? Leftover turkey slices, cornbread, corn-on-the-cob (me) and sliced tomatoes with dressing (them), and cottage cheese. A nice cool summer meal. Still baking in the 90-degree heat, up here...

Weird yesterday

Yesterday I came down with some sort of random stomach illness, and had to bolt home at noon. (I'm perfectly fine now.)

You'd think this would give me lots of alone time to write, right? Not really. I spent about 2 hours on the sofa watching Along Came Polly for the second time (my hubby asked why, and I said "because it was on." Yeah, I wasn't feeling well.). Then I took a nap for a while. Fortunately the nap helped, so I did manage to scrape out 428 words just before everybody got home. Still on schedule, with the bonus words I did this weekend.

Life, eh? Never what you expect.

Whadjya eat? Since I was all normal by dinnertime, I made my originally planned meal, one of our standards: vermicelli with roasted asparagus and tomatoes. Perfect for summer; I serve it cold. We had a fresh fruit salad (peaches, blueberries, and strawberries) with.

A bonus day!

I'm sitting here in Hastings, because it's 100-frigging degrees outside, and we don't have air conditioning. No one does here--we all just suffer through the few days a year when it's hot, because it's just not worth it. But so far we're baking this summer!

Anyway, Child is at her sleepover, and hubby agreed that we could go to a climate-controlled bookstore so we could have iced coffee and I could write. (On a weekend!!! luxury!!!) I added a new scene, about 500 words, and am very happy. Made my weekly goal, up over 37,000 words.

Can I say--oh, just one more time--that I love writing this book? I love this book. Happy happy yay yay.

Okay, enough euphoria. Soon we'll go back out into the 100 degrees, but we are going out to dinner tonight, and then to our play.

Life is sweet today. :)

Whadjya eat? Pizza out. Too hot to stay at our house. Tonight, dinner out again. As hubby said, maybe someday we'll feel like cooking and eating in our house again, but not tonight. {g}

Oh, I forgot...

Whadjya eat? Grilled chicken rubbed with ginger and garlic (and a teensy bit of light olive oil), packaged Asian salad with orange sesame dressing (my favorite), and fresh fruit. The chicken was a bit drier than it should have been, and didn't taste as strongly as I'd like. More fresh spices next time.

The night before we had quesadillas with leftover steak inside, and fresh-made guacamole. But now the fridge is getting into serious leftover mode. I'm thinking we might eat at the carnival tonight, and have leftovers tomorrow...

Kicking ass

YES! A kick-ass 1150 words today, which _almost_ catches me up completely for missing Tuesday. I could've kept going if I hadn't had to get back to work. :) It was a good scene too (I think), relationship-building/fight. I love writing arguments, for some reason. Fortunately Jenna has lots.

Other news:

--Child is back at Grandma's during the day, so we're in our routine again. Have I said how much grandmas rock?
--We're going to the carnival tonight. Wa-hoo!
--Child is doing HER first sleepover at her best friend's house this weekend, and hubby and I therefore get to go to a grown-up play together. Excitement all around.
--Apparently we purchased an evil, homicidal fish. I told you before about how our big gourami (privately nicknamed Psycho) killed our poor tiger barb, his tankmate. Well, Child picked out two lovely neon tetras on Monday as replacement. Ahem. Psycho chased, harassed, pecked, and then killed one the first day and the second the next day. I am no longer fond of Psycho.

A new experience

This morning Child is here at work with me for a couple of hours, and then we'll take off for home. She's sitting right next to me coloring at the moment. For some reason I thought this would mean she'd not be talking to me constantly, but I was wrong. {g}

It's okay. I like her talk. :)

It'll be a challenge to fit writing in today, though...I've got 700 words as my daily goal...

Whadjya eat? Napa Cabbage Salad. It was good for a summer evening--though not great. Child didn't like it much and made a scrunchy face. I served it with sourdough bread with homemade garlic butter (yum) and fresh nectarines and plums. Child liked those parts just fine. {g}

Next

Hokay. I finished the rewrite of the first half (yay) and wrote 500 new words today.

One thing I discovered in the rewrite, though--I'm, er, closing in on the climax much quicker than I thought. Like...soon. I think this book might not make it to 65,000 words. I'm guessing, from the way it's going right now, that this first draft might come in at around 50k. Around 140 typewritten pages.

I'll have to investigate a little and see if that's fair length for a YA book--it seems awfully short to me. And I could probably expand a little on second draft. But to keep it tight...well, I don't know. We shall see. For now I'm keeping focused on the story, and what the story needs, and we'll do a full wordcount at the end.

Interesting, though, eh? You learn something new every book. :)

The just do it, stupid talk

There have been a lot of inspirational posts in blogland lately.

Alison Kent started a challenge called "Seventy Days of Sweat" to help people push through their novels by September. Diana Peterfreund took up that challenge, and gave herself (and everybody else) a serious bitchslap talk today. Stephanie Tyler wrote about how you make time to write, no matter what.

I totally agree. I'm proud to say that even though I was home with my daughter Thursday and Friday, home for the 4th and home for the weekend--which negates my usual writing hour at lunch on workdays--I wrote every day. I got up an extra hour early to write for two of those days. (Unfortunately this particular strategy didn't work out as well as I'd hoped. Child popped up the second she heard me the first day, wanting to know why the heck I hadn't woken her. I told her why. The second day she let me write for 15 minutes before getting up. {g}) The other days I just told her that I needed some writing time, and she did "homework" while I did writing, and I wrote next to her while she watched TV in the morning. Yes, I CAN do it.

Unfortunately the word count isn't bounding up, but that's because I'm editing this week. I am adding new scenes to replace cut ones, but it's not fast. I'm on page 61 of 87 pages, though, and it should go fast from here, and then I'll get into the new stuff (yay).

I'm not participating in the challenge above just because it doesn't meet with my current goals. However, I am still sticking tight to my own personal challenge. At least 10,000 new words a month, finishing the draft in September. That counts this month too, even in spite of the editing, so I'll really have to push through to get to my 45,000. I do my own form of sweat. :)

I do very firmly believe in the sentiments of the other bloggers. If you want to write, you make time to write. Period. Yes, you may not be able to make as much time as you want to, and different people make different sacrifices that work for them. But you make goals for yourself, and you find the time somehow. If you want it. You know what? I want it.

What'djya eat? Last night it finally cooled off a bit, so we had warm food for the first time in a while. Mouth-watering turkey slices from a pre-cooked deep-fried turkey (OMG, yum. Child said "My tummy likes this so much that it's growling for more!"). I served that with Swedish lingonberries, which are rather like cranberry sauce. We also had peas and twice-baked potatoes (also pre-prepared, not by me. What? It's too hot to really cook.)

Slash!

I'm {cough} down another 2000 words in wordcount.

This is depressing because you know I want to keep that sidebar going up, making progress toward my goal of being DONE with the first draft by Surrey. However, I _knew_ that the stuff I cut out today had to go. It was weak, weak, weak. I didn't like it when I wrote it but I let it stand as a placeholder because I wasn't sure what else to do. Well, I think I've got a better line now, so out it comes. Fortunately tomorrow I get to add words, and try out the new subplot(s).

Eeep, except I'm not going to be at work for the next 3 days, so I don't have scheduled writing time. Guess I'm gonna have to make time some other way and get the word count back up!

A tag!

Renee tagged me--it's been so long since I've blogged regularly that I've very nearly forgotten what a tag is--so look! A post!

(In general, I've just been too life-occupied to post much lately. Summer is busy time, and add on re-working Jenna, reading a very engrossing book, and {ahem} ignoring my thesis work, and poof! No blog time. Oh, did I mention WORK? And holiday/vacation stuff?)

Anyway, on to the tag. 7 random facts about me.

{fingers lightly tapping the keyboard while I stare at the screen}

The problem is, what don't you already know? Hmmmm. {tap. tap.} Screw it, let's just go.

1. I like to swear (see above), and seriously had to clean up my mouth when I had a child. (ooops, my Dad reads this blog, but oh well. It's true. Sometimes swearing just makes you feel better.)

2. In college I wrote some mighty horrible poetry. Some day I will drag one of these out and make you all laugh. Or, more likely, not.

3. I walk like a duck, from many many years of ballet. I also turn my feet out when I stand, and sometimes idly point my toes or even stand on my toes without realizing I'm doing it.

4. I am a natural mimic, and cannot carry on a long conversation with someone with a different accent without starting to unconsciously imitate it. This has gotten me into serious trouble when people think I'm making fun of them.

5. I'm short-ish, and nearly all of my friends are tall. For some reason this surprises people when they meet me after knowing me online. (yes, you, Julie. And Kreekie. And Daryl. And...oh, all the rest of you.)

6. I have recently discovered that I really, truly like bellinis. And mojitos too.

7. When I started college I intended to be a comparative psychologist, and work with dolphins. Or maybe chimps; I hadn't decided. I quickly discovered that the Animal Science major at UC Davis is NOT about that at all. On the upside, I know my grades of beef and how to castrate a sheep, should that ever be necessary.

Done! I guess I'm supposed to tag 7 people, but that's an awful lot, especially since Renee already tagged several of the ones I know. {frown} Lessee:

Rose
Sara
Deb
and Jen.

That'll do. Guys?

The dreaded edit

Well, I started revising the first half yesterday. I'll admit I was scared. I spent almost half my lunchtime yesterday staring at the printout, working myself up to start it. Why?

Mostly just a basic fear of what I'd find, I suppose. That I'd read it and realize it was all horrible, or that I'd have to slash most of it out, and my carefully built-up word count would dissolve overnight.

Yesterday I only did 2 chapters (see above about half of lunch hour), but I ended up adding words. It was kinda fun after all. I just expanded some scenes, tweaked them, made them deeper. Today I hit the big slash, and had to take out about 1500 words where I've completely revised the plot. Fortunately I've added about 950 back in so far, and am in the midst of an all-new scene now.

I don't know if I'll make it to my original goal of 34,000 by the end of this month, but I'll be close. And I KNOW I'm making it better.

Sometime when I'm not writing and not catching up on work I'll do a blog on our Winnipeg trip. Not today. :)

Whooooppppeeeee!

Wow, and whew.

I wrote 1066 words today. I'm at 50%. {beam}

I also came up with a ton of what-I-think-are-good ideas last night for deepening the world, for tying it (loosely) into existing spiritual concepts, for strengthening the themes. For making the beginning, which is currently a bloody, confused mess, truly kick-ass.

And I'm going to Winnipeg tomorrow for a week, for vacation and for Julie's wedding. I'm thinking as I'm at the halfway mark, it might be a very smart time to pause on the forward momentum and go back and do all that stuff I want to do to the first half before I proceed wrong-footed. Straighten it out and get all those issues sorted.

But we shall see. I'm also currently reading an already kick-ass book, so I'm a tad busy. Vacation, wedding, excellent read, writing frenzy.

It's all good.

P.S. If I don't post again--and I probably won't--I'll see y'all when I get back from Winnipeg.

Conversation notes

Conversation I just had with Child at dinner:

Child: Do you know what my bread just said to me? It told me to have bad manners. That's why I'm talking with my mouth full. {giggle}

Me (blandly): I'm a little bit concerned that your bread is talking to you.

Child: Why? {giggle}

Me: It's pretty unusual for bread to talk to people.

Child: Well, Belle has a talking teapot.

Me (after a pause): Good point.

And now for something completely different...

Happy Friday, all! Today we have a special guest blogger, one you've all heard me talk about (over and over and over and…). She wants to see what all the fuss is about for herself. May I present…Generosity Rayburn!

{angry throat clearing sound}

Er…sorry. May I present…Jenna!
_____

{little wave} Heya. It's Jenna, not…that other name. First, let me say this wasn't my idea, like I’m clueless and need to learn about blogging. I'm on MySpace every day. I'm 15. Hello.

I think Susan just wanted to see what I'd talk about if she let me out. Bwa-ha-ha.

Aside: I cannot believe how long it's taking her to write about me. Seriously. If she'd just listen to me for more than an hour a day, we'd be done already. I feel like I'm on "pause" all the time, waiting for her to come back and let me move on. Doing stuff is fun. Talking is fun. Hanging out with Neil is fun. Waiting? Not fun.

Anyway, when I am allowed to move (thank you), she's got me hopping all over the place. Joe's World, Montana. Joe's World, Montana. Improv class, lunches, the movies. The hospital.

No, I don't want to talk about the hospital.

Lots of stuff. Which I'm glad about, actually. Because if I didn't have all this—um, stuff—going on, I'd be bored out of my mind.

(Did I mention Montana?)

So. I guess that's it for now. She's poking me again and telling me not to give away any spoilers, so I suppose that's my cue to go pause again. Until lunchtime, when I get to go cause trouble some more. Bwa-ha-ha. And maybe I'll come back again and guest blog another time. Like when I actually have something to talk about?

Peace.

-----

Oh, and a fish update. {sigh} Last night one of the fish (let's call him Psycho) started viciously attacking the other fish (aka Defenseless). It wasn't pretty, with Psycho head-butting little Defenseless's battered body around the tank. Yeah. Fortunately Child didn't witness much of that, though I was a little shocked. Who knew about fish? In any case, Defenseless went to watery heaven or wherever they go, so we have one fish for now. We may add more (a different kind) after vacation. {sigh}

Happy...sad...happy...sad

I cleaned up the good scene from yesterday, and am still happy with it. Today's isn't as strong, but I'm still not quite sure where it's going to go...so I'll play with it.

I just got a work publication back from the printer that I worked really hard on. And it looks PERFECT! {happy sigh} I am so relieved.

It's sunny out today, so maybe I can convince hubby to go for a walk with me around campus.

Oh, and the fish? Yeah. The tiger barb is looking like it's not long for this world. We've been fighting ich since we got it, and we're losing. This morning I couldn't find him, and Child finally spotted him INSIDE a little decorative jug on the bottom that he shouldn't even fit into. I guess a survival rate of one out of two isn't bad. {cough}

Whadjya eat? Ah, now you'll start to see my pattern. Usually I grocery shop on the weekend, and Sunday/Monday/Tuesday I try out new stuff or make the real recipes. On Wednesday or so we start to use leftovers, or just have all-out leftover or simple meals the rest of the week. I guess I run out of steam. {g} Last night we had spinach salad, a cooked ham slice, and leftover couscous. I did spruce up the couscous (plain) with toasted garlic and pine nuts, just to make it at least a tiny bit flavorful.

wow

And then that turned into one of the best, strongest scenes in a while. Perseverance pays off, as always.

And if you haven't read it today, check out Da Momma's post on parenting.com. {sniff}

Argh

Humph. Struggling with the writing today. I don't know what the problem is, but it's annoying.

Actually, I do know what the problem is, I guess. I changed locations/scenes, into a "rest" moment, and I'm not really good at writing those. I need and appreciate them when I'm reading, but give me the middle of high action to write any day. {sigh} Or dialogue. I love to write dialogue, at least in this book.

What's your favorite bit to write: dialogue? action? description (pardon me while I ugh)? introspection?

Whadjya eat? We needed a light meal, so I made vermicelli with roasted asparagus and tomatoes, which is actually a Mayo Clinic recipe (healthy!). It's one of our favorites for summer; the asparagus is soooo good this way. I served it with parmesan toasted bread. Actually I'm never sure whether Child will eat this one--sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't--and last night she wanted her own food. Which is fine. We have mac-n-cheese leftovers. {s}

Yaki-SOBA

I managed to squeeze some writing in yesterday even though it turned out to be a lunch-with-hubby day, so it's all good. Mexican food _and_ progress on Jenna.

Today I've got to get my usual 750 words. Hopefully won't be a problem. I get to start today's writing with a kiss scene, the first one in the book. The girl's been a bit too busy for romance so far.

Whadjya eat?
Last night I tried a new recipe, Chicken Yakisoba. It was a bit more labor-intensive than my usual work night recipes, but basically it's chicken stir-fried with Napa cabbage, carrots, onions, and Chinese soba noodles. The yummy light sauce has sake (I used plum sake), soy sauce, and fresh ginger in it. Hubby had seconds and Child actually ate quite a bit before she had to be rescued with cottage cheese. {g} I'd make it again, though probably not often. (But Child and I had lots of fun saying "chicken Yaki-SOBA" over and over and over...)

Not sleeping, writing, and cooking

Child's first sleepover was great...without much sleeping, but I did rather expect that. I did NOT expect them to bounce back up at 6:30 AM all bright and bouncy, but apparently Child's Best Friend is an early riser. Usually weekends are for sleeping in, at least until 8:30.

We took a nap yesterday afternoon to compensate. Yep, me too. {still yawning}

When we weren't running around buying trees/cleaning/having our portrait taken/playing/making cookies etc. this weekend, my brain was on Jenna. I keep having those moments--you writers know them, hopefully--where I am SO excited about what this book could be if only I get it right. I know it's far from that in this first draft, but there are glimmerings. I even sat down and wrote a whole paragraph while the girls were busy playing in the other room.

As I've been into cooking for the past few months, I've decided to copy Sara's "what's for supper" feature, now that she's not doing it that way anymore. {g} Except I have to post what we had for dinner the night before, since I'm never absolutely sure until I make it. I'll call the new feature a version of a famous Butte phrase:

Whadjya eat?: I don't have a recipe to link to, since last night's dinner was straightforward and simple. We had lamb chops with mint-apple jelly, couscous, sliced tomatoes with balsamic vinegar dressing, and fruit salad (fresh strawberries, apples, black plum, and grapes). Child loves lamb chops with mint jelly, so this one's an easy sell. :)

Yay

I was excited yesterday because JENNA is really starting to take off on its own, in a direction I hadn't quite expected. Still within the same general plot, but new branches are shooting off all over, and I love that. I had a brief moment of wanting to run through the halls shouting "THE BOOK'S ALIVE" like Frankenstein.

Thankfully, I stayed behind my shut office door and ate peanut butter cups in joy instead.

I can't wait to get cracking on it today, to see what is revealed. One of the characters is telling a story I don't know yet. {s}

In other news, my writer friends have books popping out all over. My great friend kc dyer's new YA book, Ms. Zephy'rs Notebook, debuted yesterday. I haven't had the chance to read it yet, but you know I will as soon as possible. Sarah Beth Durst's first book, Into the Wild, comes out in two weeks--and that's already on my must-buy list. And Diana Peterfreund's second Secret Society Girl book, Under the Rose, comes out the end of this month. An embarrassment of riches, eh?

And in other other news, my girl is hosting her best friend for their first-ever sleepover tomorrow night. I'm a teensy bit Mom-nervous, but mostly I'm just looking forward to it. I love Child's best friend, and she's always fun to have over. What's all night? :)

And the fish are still alive. Yay.

Miscellania

Things I've learned over the past week:

--Setting up a fish tank for the first time is rather a blur of filters, and conditioners, and correct plants, and correct heaters, and what to do when.

--When the instructions say "heater must be completely submersed before being plugged in", they mean it. Or the bloody thing doesn't work.

--Once I've broken a heater {ahem} I become instantly neurotic about the new one I bought to replace it, convinced that it's not working properly. I may even run home during the day to check that the fish aren't burning up.

--The little bubbly fountain I bought for my office is cool, and is indeed relaxing. It almost wipes out random thoughts about fried fish.

--I really am the mom of a big KID now. She'll be in kindergarten in the fall. As of today, I'm even a soccer mom. {gasp}

--Dead Witch Walking is a good, funny book. But I get way different looks reading that, or Vicki's books, than I did reading historicals. I love this, and this fact alone would make me want to read more.

--I can write 700 words a day steadily if I concentrate on it. I'm still on track for finishing the first draft at least of JENNA by Surrey, and pitching the sucker.

--My friends rock.

Whew

Note progress meter












----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

{big grin}

A...little...bit...further

Well, that was a scraper.

As is well known in writer's circles, you should write every day, even on weekends, to keep momentum going. As is probably known among my blog readers, I don't. With Life and all, I usually devote weekends entirely to family, and come back to the WIP on Monday. Mondays are subsequently a little harder to get into the routine. Apparently Tuesdays are worse! Sheesh. I spent most of my writing time staring at the thing, trying to pull at least 400 words from my brain. I finally got it, barely (well, 487, but who's counting {g}). This is an incredibly short writing week--tomorrow I have lunch with hubby, and Friday is Child's end-of-school picnic--so I only had today and Thursday to get to my 25,000 goal for May. I. will. do. it.

On other things, we had a fabulous all-weekend getaway to Missoula, including really fun things like shopping, playing at the Children's Museum, and throwing rocks into the river. I think the last was my favorite.

Sorry

Sorry for not blogging, but my head's been down with the writing, and I just haven't felt like it. My goal was 24,000 by the end of this week (almost 4,000 words in a week, which is fabulous for me), and I will easily make that.

I have been soaking up everyone else's blogs and emails and all, so keep it up. I'll get back to blogging eventually. For now, I'd rather stay focused on the writing. {s}

I wonder...

It hit me this morning, the perfect word about raising kids. In fact, I think this word was made to describe the experience of raising kids.

Wonder.

In that first moment, when you hold your first baby in your arms, wonder overwhelms you. Look at the little toes! The pink, squashed cheeks! The tiny swirl of hair! It is completely amazing that this...person...grew inside you, and is real.

And the sense of wonder really doesn't stop. You hang over her, entranced, as she sleeps. Breathing! Snoring! Then as she takes her first steps, toddling straight into your arms. As she says her first word. As she writes her own name. As she goes to school, as she learns to swim. If you're anything like me, you're constantly struck by how cool, how wondrous, all of these achievements are, day by day.

But there's the other kind of wonder too, and that's an equally huge part of being a parent.

I wonder what she'll be when she grows up?
I wonder if she'll like to read, like me?
I wonder what she's doing at school today?
I wonder how she can behave like that, when we've had this discussion before?
I wonder if I'm doing the right thing?

When I signed up for being a parent, I hadn't realized there'd be so much uncertainty, so much doubt. Sure, there are all the jokes about wishing they'd come with a manual, and the sober advice that they're all different, and you have to make up new rules for each one. But I had no idea that I'd constantly be wondering if I was making the right choices, doing enough, saying the right thing. Or worrying about her even when she's not with me (especially when she's not with me).

I'm not really looking forward to the teenage years, when my central worry might be "I wonder where she is right now?". Fortunately, I also expect there will still be some of that other kind of wonder--the amazement kind, at what an awesome kid I'm raising--to balance it out.

More

Yay, I made my goal for today! Over 20,000--30%. Must keep on at this pace tomorrow. I'm into the real meat of the story, so this part's pulling ME along.

Of course yesterday I also decided that I had to change a major plot thing, or rather cut it out--there's just too much going on. But it won't be too painful at this stage. {s}

Now for some tea!

Catching up

I just got my grades in: all As.

You're shocked, aren't you?

{listening}

Hmmm. Not hearing a lot of shock out there. You're all hiding it well. {g}

Better yet, I got in (for me) a passel of words today on Jenna, including the start at least of the most difficult scene so far. Poor girl. My goal was to get over 19,000 today, and I did that; tomorrow's goal is to get over 20,000. I'm not sure what will happen plot-wise from there, but overall is 25,000 at LEAST by the end of May. With mini-vacations and all factored in, I should be able to do that.

Yay.

Last weekend was great fun. We had two 5-year-olds over for a playdate on Saturday, which was amazing. I love watching them all play and squeal together. Then Sunday we did a Mother's Day brunch with my mom, and Child and I made pink-frosted sugar cookies together, shaped like butterflies, cats, ducks, flowers, and stars. Awesome.

Yesterday hubby and I went to a funeral which touched me deeply, and made me want to live a better life and help others, like this woman had. She was a lovely, caring woman, and taken too soon. Then I went and rolled in the grass with Child, which is the best medicine for anything.

Onward!

Done!

And may I have a big WHEW.

All done with grad school work for the term--turned in my 20-page + paper, finished my presentation, and we chose a candidate from my search committee. Next week should be back to sanity, Thank God.

Also it will be back to Jenna. I've managed to scrape a few words here and there, but starting Monday I'll get back to a regular schedule. I'm almost at a big scene, so it's good timing. And I made myself cry on a little scene I wrote today, which is always a good sign that I'm putting passion in. {s}

I'm so happy that I'm free! Woo-hoooo!

Update

Sorry no posts. There will likely be no new posts this week, until this craziness is over and I can lift my head above the whirlpool again. This week I will be:

--interviewing candidates for a faculty position
--sending a publication to the printer
--proofing another publication from another printer
--presenting my final thesis/paper proposal to my grad school department
--writing and turning in my final report/paper for my class (100% of my grade)
--dealing with the repair shop, where one of our cars is currently languishing
--other things as they come up, and they will.

Something must give, and it's blogging. So see ya later, chicas! :)

The Summit

This is what I'm doing today and tomorrow. Yep, hobnobbing with August Busch today, Robert Rubin and Ben Bernanke tomorrow...but right now I'm at my desk on a brief lunch break after volunteering as lunch support for the 2000 guests. Whew.

Pacing

You'll note that I've slowed down the writing pace considerably the past few days. I'm not giving up my goals, but I am taking a little bit of the pressure off myself--at least until this grad school term is over in 2 weeks. We have SO much going on right now, in all aspects of Life, that I was freaking myself out entirely. And when I started beating myself up on IM about not making my 10,000 words this month goal, a good friend pointed out that this book is not supposed to be about pressure, but about fun. So I lightened up a little for now. Still writing every day, just not pushing as hard. The overall goal is still to finish this draft by Surrey, and I still believe that will happen.

Back to the craziness...

Haiku

And my blog haiku, courtesy of this site:

opposite side of
what jenna looks like the life
still here just hiding

A pretty good summary of the theme. {g}

Princessing

Child has decided that each day this week she is going to attend preschool dressed up as a different Disney princess. Actually it started Sunday--she went to the store as Sleeping Beauty, complete with crown and bracelets. Yesterday was Cinderella (blue, of course).

Today she came out of her room in a yellow spaghetti-strap summer dress. In Montana. In April. For those who don't live in the North, that means it could be 60 degrees, or it could snow at any moment. ("But Mommy, I'm Belle! I have to Only Wear Yellow! See?" {shows me her Belle underwear, with Belle indeed only wearing yellow...a yellow off the shoulder evening gown and long gloves. Hmmm. It could be worse.})

We compromised. She wore a yellow short-sleeve shirt under the dress, and navy blue tights that she claims are invisible anyway, because--look--if she bends her knee you can see the skin through them, so no one can tell she's wearing tights. I love rationalization, don't you?

But she did get to wear the gloves.

I can't wait to see what we've got on tap for tomorrow...

Yuck

And a step back...

I had to cut out the whole bit of stuff I wrote on Friday--900 words. It was just awful, draggy, and horribly boring. I saved it in a file called "yuck.doc" in case I should ever want any of it...but I doubt it.

{sigh}

Keywords I hadn't thought of

Keywords people have used to land on this site recently:

--homemade tinkerbell cake
Sorry, my friend, you're not going to find that here. I buy from a bakery, all the way.
--getting to know you email
Yeah, that one traveled all over the place, didn't it?
--susan adrian, wi
Is there one in Wisconsin? I'll have to go check that myself.
--writer's tale
Yes, baby! Name recognition!
--booty blogspot
Or not.
--bunk saggy springs
??
--and one of my regulars: intercultural communication crash movie characters
Yes, I help other students with my informative {cough} comments. Who knew?

Note the little "25%" in the progress bar over there to the right. I'm just saying.

The end of TASTE

Approximate conversation in my household last night:

I'd finally gotten everything done, put Child to bed, and had been able to collapse on the sofa and dive into TASTE for about half an hour. Hubby had been at a work thing. Key rattles in the door.

Him: "Hi, honey, I'm home!" (Not actually. Something more along the lines of "Hey.")

Me, nose firmly in book: "Mmm. Mmm-hmm. Oh, hey."

Him: {conversation about function}

Me: "Wha?" {dragging eyes up from page for half-second} "That sounds fun."

He wanders around for a while. Him: "Where's the mail?"

Me: {pause, pause, pause, turn page} "Table."

About 5 minutes later. He trips over one of the many obstacles Child has kindly left out, and I have not picked up. Him: "What IS all this?"

Me: {waving a dismissive hand, still not looking up} "Toys."

He stares at me for a couple of minutes. Him: "What are you, a voracious reader?"

Me: {reverently, pinching the rest of the text with my thumb and finger} "Twenty pages left."

He sighs, looks at me again, then sighs again. Him: "I think I'm going to take a bath."

Me: "Yay! I mean...okay."

And...I finished. Yay.

Accomplishments

In the past few days I/we (hubby) have accomplished:

• Finished the final version of my thesis proposal (okay, I'm going to do one more spit/polish in the morning), including a lovely annotated bibliography with 27 articles
  
• Got up over 15,000 words on Jenna, with a goal toward 20,000 at the end of April
• Paid our taxes (whew)
• Bought new kitchen and bathroom sinks
• Bought and delivered $200 worth of snacks for our "snack week" of preschool
• Restrained myself from auditioning for a play, even though I wanted to, because it totally would mess with our schedule
• Booked a mini-getaway for hubby and I to Seattle in May to see a Padres/Mariners game
• Booked our vacation to Winnipeg in June for a certain person's wedding {g}
• Booked two overnight trips to Missoula in May, on different weekends, to see (a) a ballet performance and (b) the Lipizzaner stallions (can you see now why being in a play in May is not a reasonable thing?)
• Helped Child make and "bind" her own alphabet book
• Attended our semi-annual parent/teacher conference
  
• Managed to go shopping and buy new clothes for Child AND me (yay)

However, amidst all this I have not...quite...finished TASTE. Maybe tonight. I have a feeling it's gonna mess with me before it's all over, so it won't be easy reading. :)

Goals today:

--add 750 words, up to 15,250 (and break the 15,000 barrier!)
--finish my thesis proposal, which is due tomorrow for 50% of my seminar grade (ack)
--work stuff that must be done

I'll post later once I make these goals, and mark off some other accomplishments I've managed lately as well!

Feeling Green

I've been reading a book by a wonderful writer. The pace is excellent, drawing me through each chapter delicately but persistently, never letting go. The characters are deep, rounded, and passionate, as vivid as my husband sitting next to me. I can see each of them and understand them, without being able to predict what they'll do next. The word choice is clear but original, with metaphors that make me alternately nod my head with the perfection of the image and laugh along with the narrator. It's fabulous.

And it's given me a horrible case of Writer's Envy.

You know the saying about imitation? I think envy is really the sincerest form of flattery--if you can call something you never admit to sincere.

Because you don't want to admit to it, even to yourself, do you? You know, as a writer, that comparison is the quickest blood-sucker of confidence. Once you start envying, the shine comes off your own work and your own ideas. You start the whirlpool thought process: I can never write like that. Why even bother? I should just hang it up now, start a fan club, and be done with the whole farce. Down and down, around and around, until every word of your own writing sounds like crap and you're sucked down to the bottom, wallowing in self-pity and envy.

So you have to not do that--but I think every writer does, unless they have an ego the size of Alaska. Even the ones you idealize, and the ones I idealize, have felt just exactly that way when reading someone else's work. It's really that way with every endeavor. When I was dancing I used to feel the same kind of envious awe watching a great pirouette, or grand jete. So instead of avoiding it altogether you have to be able to recognize the whirlpool for what it is and drag yourself out in time, or get your friends to throw you a lifeline.

Me, I emailed the writer directly, told her I was going to fly down and kick her ass myself if she ever told me again that she was "lucky" to be published, because she was just That Good. And then I whined a little. But I don't recommend that in most cases. {s}

I do recommend that the next time you find yourself in the throes of Writer's Envy you read, and contemplate, her response to my whiny email: "That's bullshit. About you not being able to write like whatever. You'll write like you, which is great. So there."

So there.

And of course, the writer is Vicki Pettersson. And the book is TASTE OF NIGHT.

Who are the authors who make you feel green?

Kurt Vonnegut

A day of silence, today, for Kurt Vonnegut's passing. He was one of the great ones who inspired me to write--and he was a fabulous, crotchety, funny old guy besides.

Rest in peace, Kurt. Or better, for you, go have fun now, and keep 'em lively up there.

Progress and flying monkeys

Hmmm. Almost a week since I last posted here...sorry about that.

On the other hand, it does seem to be a pattern that I don't post much when the writing's going well, and it still is. So maybe I'm not sorry.

My goal is still to get 10,000 words a month on Jenna until it's done, and I'm doing that. I'll be at 15,000 by the end of this week, and keep on going. I've been having all sorts of convolutions with how I think the plot should go, my mind twisting this way and that way and back, but I think I have a handle on it now--I can actually see in a vague way all the way up to the climax. Have no idea what will happen with the climax, but I don't want to yet!

I'm also realizing that this is a "thin" first draft, and I'll have to go back and plump it up the second time around. I'm just so eager to find out what happens, I'm whipping through with very little description/development/worldbuilding. But I know enough to realize those things will need to be added, so I've just been making notes to myself in my writing journal and moving on. Momentum, ya know. I wonder how long this draft will actually turn out to be--likely shorter than 70,000! I may have to adjust my scale on the side as I go...(doesn't that seem like cheating?)

Oh, and since I'm not sharing text yet, I'll share another picture. Wanna see what the villains in Jenna look like?

[photo removed because of all the weird searches I get for this picture from Mattel...]

Okay, not really. They're worse than that. Gave you a shiver, though, didn't I?

Getting to Know You...

Which I'm supposed to email, but I'm going to do it as a meme instead. Though if anyone really wades all the way through my answers, I will be shocked. {g}

Welcome to the 2007 version of getting to know your friends. What you
Are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire email and paste
it onto a new email that you'll send. Change all the answers so they
apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including
the person who sent it to you. Put your name in the subject line. The
theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your
friends, if you did not know them already.


1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:03 am

2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Music and Lyrics

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Good Night Show on PBS Sprout
(well, it's the only one I watch regularly)

5. What did you have for breakfast? Shared cereal with Child

6. What is your middle name? Adrian (Ha!)

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican

8. What food do you dislike? Green peppers

9. Your favorite chip? Salt & Vinegar, totally

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Um. I listen to Pandora
Radio and Yahoo Radio. Maybe 8 1/2 Souvenirs.

11. What kind of car do you drive? Honda CRV

12. Favorite Sandwich? BLT

13. What characteristics do you despise? Meanness

14. What are your favorite clothes? My hot pink cardigan and jeans

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Tahiti

16. What color are your eyes? Green. Okay, hazel

17. Favorite brand of clothing? Brand?

18. Where would you want to retire? Pacific Northwest, maybe. Or Hawaii.

19. Favorite time of day? Evening

20. Where were you born? Long Beach, CA

21. What is your favorite sport to watch? Baseball

22. Who do you think will not send this back? I have no idea!

23. Person you expect to send it back first? We'll see, won't we?

24. Pepsi or Coke? Don't drink soda

25. Cats or Dogs? Neither!

26. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl.

27. Pedicure or manicure? Neither. My nails are never done, either set.

28. Do you prefer funny or mushy cards? Funny

29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone?
Nah, I brag enough already.

30. What did you want to be when you were little? A dancer

31. What do you have in your trunk right now? Trunk? Who the F has a
trunk?

32. What is your best childhood memory? Christmas mornings

33. What are all the different jobs you have had in your life? Geez,
how much time do you have? General categories: salesperson, pet
caretaker, cold caller, bookstore clerk, bookstore manager,
copyeditor, production editor, web manager, editor. Okay, I skipped
some.

34. What is your favorite Holiday? Christmas

35. What is your favorite dessert? Orange cake. No, chocolate. No,
ice cream. No, orange cake.

36. Favorite Get away? San Diego

37. Ever been to Africa ? No

38. Glasses or Contacts? Glasses now (it's too dry here for contacts)

39. Ever been toilet papering? Yes

40. Been in a car accident? Yes

41. Favorite day of the week? Sunday

42. Favorite restaurant? On the Queen Mary (yeah, I don't get to go
there a lot)

43. Favorite flower? Poppies

44. Favorite movies? 40s movies, esp. romantic comedy

45. Favorite Past time? Writing! Playing with Child. Reading.

46. Favorite ice cream? Pralines & Cream from Baskin Robbins

47. Favorite fast food restaurant? Don't eat fast food at all

49. From whom did you get your last email? Kreekie

50. Sandals or tennis shoes? Sandals

51. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
I wouldn't. (I know, I sound like a prig, but I AM when it comes to
money!)

52. If the speed limit is 60 what is the fastest you will drive? 80

53. What is your bedtime? 11 or so

54. Whose response to this are you most curious about? Everyone....

55. Last person you went to dinner with? My hubby

56. What are you listening to right now? "Let's Do It" by Ella Fitzgerald

57. What is your favorite color? Forest green

58. How many tattoos do you have? None

59. How many people are you sending this Email to? I'm blogging it, baby!

60. What time did you finish this email? 8:39 am

Word Choice

Transcript of actual conversation with Child last night. Remember that Child just turned 5 years old.

Child: "Look, Mommy, did you see that? I'm shaking my booty!"

Me: {boggling}

Child: {giggles} "Did you see? I'm shaking my booty, my booty! Do you know what a booty is?"

Me: {faintly} "Yes..."

Child: "Isn't that funny?"

Me, trying to think faster than the molasses pace I'm managing so far: "You know, 'booty' isn't really a nice word."

Child: "Like butt?"

Me, who has fought several battles over 'butt': "Exactly. It's not a word we should use outside the house. What's the word we should use for that with other people?"

Child: {giggles again} "Bottom!"

Me: "Right, good."

Child: "Booty, butt, bottom. Booty, butt, bottom. You know, they all sound the same! Booty! Butt! Bottom!"

At this point I bent over to pick something up off the floor.

Child: "Mommy, now YOU are shaking your booty!"

Me, giving up....

In which I am surrounded by famous people

Wow, very cool news is all around me:

--Vicki Pettersson's second book, The Taste of Night, popped onto the shelves at the end of last week. I haven't talked about it yet because I still haven't gotten my grubby hands on a copy (grrrr), but soon, my friends, soon. It promises to be truly kick-ass.

--Another forum friend, Jo Bourne, had her book accepted by Berkley a while back...and it's already on Amazon! I can't wait to read this one either.

Add these to the friends I saw performing in our Symphony this weekend, and the friends who are playing guitar and singing at our local coffeehouse on Friday, and I am overwhelmed by all the talent surrounding me.

I'd better get myself in gear too, eh? :)

Jenna

I'm still moving along. Got my poem done, my presentation done. I'm snail-like in my progress on my grad projects, but at least the snail does get there eventually. Crossed 9500 words on Jenna today, so I'll get 10,000 by end of March to meet my goal. Yay.

You know what's funny? It took me the better part of 4 months for me to get 9500 words on Book 2, which is roughly where I stopped. It took me 39 days with Jenna. A better pace by far. {g}

My new working title is "The Weirdest Thing about Jenna", though I'm sure that will change.

And though nobody did ask, I'm going to post a picture of what Jenna looks like, since she's taken over my head. She's just about 3 years older than this picture, but it's a pretty good likeness for a stock photo. {g}

Miscellania

It's 45 degrees outside right now, but it's HOT in my office. I have both windows open and a fan blowing about a foot from me. I do wish when it's warm outside they'd turn the frigging boiler heat off. {roast}

In good news:

1. I had an excellent weekend. We went on a shopping trip to Bozeman on Saturday, and came back with piles o' clothes (I'm sporting a very cute shirt right now, polka-dotted and springy), new pillows, and a fish tank for Child. We'll pick up the fish this week, yay.

2. It was 70 degrees in Bozeman on Saturday, and the aforementioned 45 here today. It is sunny and balmy, and the bulbs are coming up and the trees budding. We don't usually have spring in March here, but it's nice.

3. I managed a bit more on JENNA today. Should be able to accomplish the 10,000 by end of March with no problems--5 days and 1130 words remaining. I also wrote a good draft of the poem I have to produce for an April 1st deadline (a local artist/writer collaboration project) on Friday. Finally.

4. I got my haircut on Thursday, into a layered bob kind of like the avatar look. It makes me feel all different and ready for warmer weather. Bonus: when my hair is that short, it bounces up and gets curly. I always forget this when it's long. {g}

5. Hubby and I squeezed in watching THE PRESTIGE and HOLIDAY over the past few days, and I loved them both. THE PRESTIGE is very reminiscent of THE ILLUSIONIST, and yet just different enough. Both totally fooled me, though. Why can I never see the twists? I told my husband that I'm the perfect movie/magic/hypnotism subject. I always see what they want me to see. {sigh}

Things I'm not thrilled with:

1. Term is over in a month, and I've left my grad school projects to the end. I started last week (again, finally) but it's taking longer than I'd hoped. I'm going to be putting in some major hours these next couple of weeks. Yuck.

2. I have to read a chapter on "Contesting the Objectivist Paradigm" and present it in class on Wednesday. Bleagh. Can you tell I'm more into writing than grad school this term?

3. I am extremely sleepy.

On balance, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I just have to kick myself in the butt to do the grad school stuff. Of course it's hard to kick oneself in the butt when one is extremely sleepy, but will try.......

The Writing Journal

Confession: This is Vicki's method. After she told me to try it four or five times, I finally did. And it works so well, I'm going to pass it on to you. Try it. Don't make me tell you five times. {g}

After I decided to put TMT under the bed, I had no idea what I wanted to do next. I wanted to try something I was enthusiastic about, something that included all the elements I love. But you've all heard this before. The part I haven't talked about is the Writing Journal.

Yeah, revolutionary, right? A journal. Like no writer has ever tried a journal before...that's what I thought. But then Vic explained that she wasn't just writing her daily life experiences. It's more than that--it's a way of freeing yourself to talk about the character, to get into the character, without worrying about the precious words.

So here's what you do. When you sit down to write, open a journal file. Do a paragraph or so about how you feel, what's going on around you, life. Then just start to type about your character. What is she doing right now? What situation is she stuck in? How is she feeling? Put in any authorial notes you want. Write what you changed last time, thoughts you had about the world/setting, ideas you're thinking about. Jot down those niggly ideas or questions you have. Do you need to expand that scene with Joe? Does this part feel flat? What could happen to make it more interesting? Suggest something off the top of your head, then explain to yourself why that won't work, or is cliche. Suggest something else. Think with your fingers. Then...go write the scene you're thinking about.

This works SO well for me. It allows me to brainstorm and avoid wrong turns before I take them. It allows me to get into the character, to think about all the intertwined threads of what's going on with her so I don't lose track of any. It allows me to work things out without worrying about which words to use.

I also insert pictures all over my writing journal. This is what I think Jenna looks like. This is what I'm imagining Joe looks like. Here are pictures of the setting...and then I can go back to those at any time.

I did this every day for a week or two before I started actual writing on JENNA, but by then I was so itching to start the writing I was ready to go. And I'd already thought of and rejected several possible plot options, in favor of more interesting ones. Now I don't do it every single day, but I do several times a week, and any time I feel stuck on where's the best place to go next. It's a fabulous--and simple--tool.

Ready to try it yet? If you're stuck at all, or you're just ready for a new idea, try it out.

Oh, and did I make anyone curious as to what Jenna looks like? {g}

The Life

Still here, just hiding. Livin' life, which is rocking pretty hard right now, so I'm trying to enjoy every minute.

Yesterday Child and I had an unexpected day off together, since her school decided to go ahead with their planned Ski Day. Um...it's been 60-65 degrees for 3 weeks, with no storms. Anything left on the slopes will be pure ice. And I'm not sending a preschooler to ski on ice, sorry.

So I was Super Mommy, and invited her best friend over for a playdate in the afternoon instead. Man, it is so cool to watch your kid be that happy. The two of them were giggling like fiends for 3 hours straight, playing dress up and 'chicken pox' (?), and playdoh meal-making and Angelina Ballerina and I don't even know what all. I was also selfishly hoping that I'd have time to write while they were playing, but I only managed 100 words in between being Miss Lily and Mom and the sister who did not have chicken pox. And that's okay--I have enough sense to know that word count and even writing are not always the most important things. {s}

However, I'm back to it today (trying to resist the Spider Solitaire urge, but that's another story), and will get up over 8000 at least.

Oh, and I found a wonderful, perfect post on "How to Write the Book of Your Voice" by Julie Leto. YES yes yes. Writers, go read it. This is the realization I've been coming to these past few weeks. (Thanks for the link, Diana)

Why, you ask?

You know why I haven't been blogging so much lately? Because I've been writing. Jamming on writing, and having a ball. Watch that bar over on the side go up, every day. My goal is 10,000 words by the end of March...but that may be conservative; I've written about 4000 good words since Thursday, which is super kick-ass for me. If I get 10,000 words by next week I won't complain, and I'll just keep going.

Yeah, baby.

Oh, and I also haven't been blogging because I have a blecky cold. My head feels roughly like a Mylar balloon at the moment, and that's without medication. Which may account for the euphoria. Hmmm.

Quote

Quote from STORY by Robert McKee:

"So...ask: What's my favorite genre? Then write in the genre you love. For although the passion for an idea or an experience may wither, the love of the movies is forever. Genre should be a constant source of reinspiration. Every time you reread your script, it should excite you, for this is your kind of story, the kind of film you'd stand in line in the rain to see....Be honest in your choice of genre, for of all the reasons for wanting to write, the only one that nurtures us through time is love of the work itself."

YES. This is complete validation of my recent switch, and of the work I'm doing now. And I am loving it, the characters and the voice and the story, and I think it shows in the work. Yes.

Are you writing in your favorite genre? Are you writing about what's important and interesting to YOU?

Busy busy

This was an odd weekend--I was out and about doing stuff all over the place, and hardly saw hubby at all. {frown} However, it was all good stuff:

--Took Child to a birthday party, and spent most of the time hanging out with the cool group of parents, drinking red wine (yes, we all were) and eating whatever was put in front of me. Oh, and assisting with the Dora adventure, painting, and lunches as need be.

--Went to see a local production of Bye Bye Birdie--and they blew my socks off. Small theatre, all local people, but they did a fabulous job.

--Went to a writing class with Patricia Briggs (latest book is Blood Bound) Friday and Saturday nights. A lot of it was a bit on the basic/beginner side, but she was a kick to talk to, and she had some good insights. And how cool that we have a NY Times Bestseller in our little town!

Sunday night we made an error in judgment, and gave in to Child's request to buy her a copy of Disney's Peter Pan. She'd seen it last summer at a friend's house, and I had good memories of it, so we thought it would be okay.

Ack. Sooooo many things in that movie that I really would rather she didn't see. Hubby and I first raised our eyebrows when Tinkerbell was bemoaning the size of her hips. Then came the bumbling, idiot dad figure who no one listens to--we really try to avoid that stereotype. Then Captain Hook shoots a guy for no reason, and John says that "Injuns" are "cunning, not intelligent", and do I really need to talk about "Why the Red Man's Red?"

Sheeesh. As hubby said, "A lot of things have changed since that movie came out, for the better." We did let her watch the whole thing, but I'm thinking one day this week we might have a talk about Native Americans....{shaking head}

In writing news, with all the other stuff I was unable to write over the weekend, though I kept trying. I am itching itching itching to get back to it today. Got about 2000 words on Thursday and Friday, so we'll see how well I do today. Hurrah!

The Persephone Story

Thanks for answering, guys!

I was trying to remember when I first heard this story, and suddenly flashed back to a book I read as a kid...with rather vivid pictures. {shudder} No wonder it stuck in my head. Anyway, the basics as I remember them (I might have bits wrong, but this is the gist. Afterward, I'll see, just for fun, how close I got to the original.

Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, also known as Mother Earth. One day she's out picking flowers with her mother and is captured by a great bull, who takes her down to the underworld and transforms to his real form, Hades--the God of the Underworld. He wants Persephone to be his wife and stay down there, and he offers her food and drink. Now somehow she knows that she shouldn't eat or drink anything, but she's so hungry, she eats 6 pomegranate seeds.

Meanwhile Demeter is searching the earth for her daughter, and is furious when she finds out what has happened. She demands Persephone back. Hades smugly tells her that Persephone is his--she's eaten at his table and is therefore bound to him. Demeter admits this is true...but because she only ate 6 seeds she only has to stay there for 6 months of the year.

So poor Persephone goes back and forth between being above ground with her mother and being the forced wife of Hades, half of the year with each. And while Persephone is in the Underworld her mother mourns...and we have winter.

Good story, eh?

This version is a bit different than I thought...she only stays there a third of the year, and there's no bull.

The wikipedia version covers some different versions of the myth. I'm still not seeing anything about the bull, so maybe that was a weird version I saw...

Pomegranates and Persephone

Here's a poll, of sorts:

Without looking it up, how many of you know the story of Persephone and the pomegranate seeds?

I'm curious, as I refer to it in the book, and I was surprised that my husband didn't know it. It's not a problem as I explain...but I'm wondering how well-known the story is.

I changed the right-hand menu a little. In the final step of severance, I took the Murderess excerpt link down--it was time. I'm not working on that book anymore. And I put up a progress bar for the new book, currently titled "Jenna". My goal--thanks, Vic {g}--is to have the first draft done by Surrey, at the end of October. I wrote 1100+ words yesterday (yay, me). I can make that.

Science Fair

Guess what, y'all? After ONE WEEK on the shelves, Scent of Shadows made #82 on the USA Today Bestseller List. Wow! Congrats, Vicki!

Back to your regularly scheduled blog:

On Tuesday, I participated in the regional Science Fair for 5th-8th graders, as a judge for 7th/8th grade behavioral science. (No laughing, please--I was a psych major, if briefly.) I also had to choose the winner of my department's award for best board presentation overall.

I'd never judged, or even participated in, a Science Fair before, so this hormone-soaked competitive atmosphere was a bit new to me. Kids lounged under tables, listening to ipods or reading thick fantasy books, until I walked by with my clipboard...and then they leaped to their feet, smiling anxiously, mentally preparing their speeches. I kept telling them not to worry, at which point most of them would mumble "okay" and drop instantly to their lounging positions again. Very Strange.

I listened politely to all 12 groups of kids in my section explain their experiments. Some were quite impressive and well thought out--and some raced rodents through tubes for no apparent reason. But I'd finished my group and the other judges weren't done, so I took the opportunity to wander the whole hall to decide on the overall prize.

I was feeling pretty cocky and grown-up, walking through aisle after aisle. Look at me, I'm a JUDGE, I thought. I'm a professional, working woman. Some of you might even look up to me.

And then I got a tap on my shoulder.

I turned to find a 7th grade boy, in white shirt and dress pants, about 2 inches from my face. He was surrounded a few paces back by a circle of similar boys. They all snickered simultaneously, and I suddenly wondered if this was that dream, where I forgot to put any pants on.

"I like your badge," he said, and they all laughed again. I blinked. I looked down at the "JUDGE" badge pinned on my chest, a simple tag with a little icon of a judge in one of those plastic covers. It was exactly the same as all the other adults were wearing. How on earth do I react to this? What is the appropriate cool grown-up response?

"It's hot, isn't it?" I said, with a knowing smile.

His turn to blink. Then, emboldened by his friends watching, he continued. "It's shiiiiiny," he said, and they all turned, like a school of fish, and walked away.

I have no idea what this little episode means...or whether it was particularly good judgement to say "It's hot" to a 7th-grader. But I must remember this when I'm writing about 14-year-olds.

Small Pleasures

I am currently listening to Julie Andrews sing "Edelweiss"...and it just makes me smile all over.

Yes, that is all for now; I just felt like sharing. I _did_ have something I wanted to blog about, last night, but it's been completely escaping me all day...

The envelope, please

And the super-cool zodiac pendant goes to...

DANNE!

Congratulations, Danne! E-mail me with your "sign" (or the one you want on the pendant, anyway).

Thanks for entering, everyone--and even more, thanks for supporting The Scent of Shadows! It was a kick to see photos from all over the U.S. and Canada.

Don't forget that Sara's contest is still open, until March 30th!

More...

From Sara at Cole's in Lindsay, Ontario:

Today's the day! But you still have time...

You've got till noon mountain time to enter your picture. Here are 2 more sets--and I hear more are coming!

From Diana, at a Borders in Silver Spring, Maryland ("a nice front of store display"):
From Julie, at Hastings in Butte, Montana:


Note that she seems to be getting a lot of displays and face-outs. Yay!

At noon I'll do a random drawing, and announce the winner shortly thereafter. Good luck!

Books meme

And a quick meme I got from Stephanie, because I found it interesting:

Look at the list of books below: *Bold the ones you’ve read* Italicize the ones you want to read* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)

2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)

3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)

5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)

6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)

7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)

8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)

9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)

10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)

11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)

12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)

13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)

14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)

15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)

16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)

17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)

18. The Stand (Stephen King)

19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)

20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)

22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)

25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) Alternate TBR

27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)

29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)

30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)

31. Dune (Frank Herbert)

32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)

33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)

34. 1984 (Orwell)

35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)

37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)

38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)

39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)

40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)

41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)

42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)

43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)

45. The Bible

46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)

48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)

49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)

51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)

53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)

54. Great Expectations (Dickens)

55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)

57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)

58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)

59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)

61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)

64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)

65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)

66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)

68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

69. Les Miserables (Hugo)

70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)

72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)

73. Shogun (James Clavell)

74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)

75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)

77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)

78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)

79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)

80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)

81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)

82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)

83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)

84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)

85. Emma (Jane Austen)

86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)

87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)

88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)

89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)

90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)

91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)

92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)

93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)

94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)

95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)

96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)

98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)

99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)

100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I've read 43/100. Mostly for that English degree...it was interesting to me how many I really just don't want to add to my reading list, though. It's too big already!

And from Canada...

From Pam, captured at Chapters in Pointe Claire, Quebec:



Pam has a doozy of a story behind it, too. I've begged her to let me post the story here, but we'll see.

Back to reality

Another Scent sighting, from Davis-Kidd in Memphis. Thanks, Erin!

REMINDER: You only have until tomorrow, noon mountain time, to send me your picture and enter the contest. Details here.

We had an excellent weekend. Saturday was Date Night, and hubby and I went to see the movie Music and Lyrics (thumbs-up), to dinner, and then to see a marionette show. Yep, puppets for adults. Seriously, this man was amazing...the marionettes were so very lifelike in their movements, in the exquisite detail of everyday actions. As a writer I would do well to understand human actions as well as he does.

And Sunday we slept in late, then picked up Child and went swimming at the Hot Springs. Ahhhhh, the life.

Must go work now. Perhaps more later, after writing at lunch!

Hello...

FTD update: They still suck. But after 3 10-minute+ calls, they at least gave us our money back. Good thing, as when I got home yesterday all the flowers were completely dead. The left is a photo of the bouquet he tried to buy for me. Somebody suggested I just print it out and put it on the wall. :)

This morning I got to hear the governor of Montana speak on energy resources for an hour...dayamn the man is a good public speaker, and very smart and capable. Watch out presidency in a couple of years.

Ya know, I was thinking this morning that this blog's been on the boring side lately. Sorry about that, if so. I've been having some inner journeys {g} and haven't been very social as a result, even online. We'll see if I can be a bit more open as we go along here.

In other news, I just received a photo from Linda, from B&N in Reston, Virginia:


Reminder: Y'all have until Tuesday (noon my time) to send me a picture, to enter for the cool zodiac pendant grand prize. Send 'em in!

Another picture...and holding

From Barnes & Noble in Lincoln, Nebraska:

Thanks, Jen! Who else has a bookstore and a camera?

I had a super-cool, amazing quote from STORY picked out to post today...but I forgot to bring the book to work. Ah well. I'm such a tease. You'll get it...um, another day.

In other news, I'm currently on hold with FTD.com, because they suck. My wonderful husband ordered flowers for my birthday FIVE days in advance, and the idiots decided to ship them instead of using a local florist. So my poor flowers came from Denver, to Memphis, to Great Falls, to Billings, where they got stuck in a snowstorm and did NOT come for my birthday. He was Very Sad. When they did come (yesterday) the bouquet and vase were not even close to what he ordered (beautiful orange and red roses), and they were all brown and kinda smelly. Did I say that FTD.com SUCKS? So now I am calling to tell them that no, I am not "very satisfied with this gift and that it has arrived in excellent condition". I've been on hold for 10 minutes so far. Grrrrr.

However, I must remember to still be pretty pleased that he sent me beautiful roses for my birthday....even if it didn't work out quite right.

Send me your pictures!