Write Wizely

Yes... I vanished into thin air.

2007-04-29T16:32:00.000-05:00

Sometimes things happen in life.
I've been writing... reading and dealing with everyday life. I just got busy and forgot about this blog for a while.
I'm still around.
As a matter of fact, I'm probably ignoring this blog cuz I am revising.
My Sister Has AIDS should be on the shelves by late October.
The next in the series...the one I am working on now... called My Mother Has Lupus will follow (sometime next year)
My psychological thriller is on the back burner for now while I concentrate on getting through illustrations with a dear friend who is doing all the art for the two books mentioned above.

Life is okay...not great...not super...but okay.

Hope yours is too.

Hair Removal The Gentle Way

2007-03-06T22:28:00.000-06:00

We all have a friend who has a nightmare story about hair removal. Some people shudder at the thought of shaving or waxing their legs. I remember a day about five years back when I tried a product I'd seen advertised on televison. You've probably seen the commercials. They spread this goo on a guy with a hairy chest, take out a white towel and wipe away the hair. I was convinced. I bought the package.

I should have known it wouldn't work. I have fair skin and red hair. The hair on my legs isn't course so I figured I could go with the shortest time setting. I followed all the directions and not one single hair came off on my cloth when the time was up. I tried again and again. Five minutes later a few tiny hairs came off. The area I really needed help with was under my chin. I had about seven hairs that grew in under my chin and would get long. I didn't want to cut them so I tried the product. No luck at all. Two of my friends tried the product as well and found it just as useless as me.

I found a gentle way to remove unwanted hair. I went online, did my research and found the absolute best company; Natural Well Being.
I ordered Hair No More and found out it is one of the best products I have ever used. Yes, it is a little more expensive than what you buy at the local store, but it is worth every penny. It smells great, which you never find in a hair removal product. It doesn't itch or feel funny when you apply it. You can use it on your face, underarms, legs, bikini area or anywhere you want to get rid of unwanted hair. It is so gentle. It doesn't leave you with bumps or uncomfortable skin.

The next time you need to look great in that little black dress or wear a bikini make sure you reach for your Hair no More or one of the other great products for gentle hair removal available at Natural Well Being. They also have wax strips ( I tried those too) and products for ingrown hairs, and hair removal creams.
What more could a girl want?
For more information about these products go here:Home electrolysis

Motivation and Tools for writing

2007-03-05T07:06:00.000-06:00

Is your novel lagging in the middle (like mine)?
I've spent some time away from my project --giving it room to breathe and giving me some time to get inspired, motivated and to find some new writing tools.

Naturally I had a visit at the Emotional Toolbox. If you really get stuck and need advice and tools for moving your story along then pop on by the toolbox. Great stuff.

I started breaking down my story and the elements I thought I might be missing.

My heroine has a problem. *phew*
She has core beliefs that change throughout the story.
AHA--I found my weakness!
The inciting incident is not well defined. My supporting characters are not helping. I have sorely neglected them.
Here is where I need to FIX things.

So... I am back to work.

I hope all is well with everyone. I am writing, revising etc.

Little Girl Lost

2007-02-27T01:25:00.000-06:00

I'm going through a few transitions in my life. With my writing, my poetry and yes family. Needless to say you may see the results of these transitions in this blog coming soon. I feel the need to stretch my wings.
It is time to spruce the place up a bit.
With that said.... be on the lookout for a new header....a cleaner layout and some general cleanup of the links around here. I've grown weary of the little girl approach and want I am ready for some new digs.

I'm signed up for computer classes on web design. Those start Saturday. As of now I am working on Photoshop and will be learning Dreamweaver as well. Eventually I will be able to plan my own site with flash intro's and the whole works.

I wonder how much progress I will have made in three months?
We shall see.
Just in the seven lessons I have had in the graphics program I am learning by leaps and bounds. I would post an example but the images are in the wrong format for blogger.

ta ta

Yikes, the page is Blank

2007-02-23T00:19:00.000-06:00

Yikes. A blank page. What does it want from me?
Have you ever looked at a blank page and been completely filled with terror? I have. I'm working on a project. I cannot seem to motivate myself. That blank page keeps taunting me.
I know I'm not the only one. I see posts about writers struggling to get those first words out all the time. I stumbled across this ditty today about getting started writing.

If you are a serious writer you have probably faced the empty page staring back at you. At least once a week I come across advice from another writer/blogger on how to conquer it.
Weeding through the fluff, I found some of the advice helpful.
For instance.. this article caught my attention. Scott has a decent sense of humor and down to earth writing style. I like the guy.

The next time I am sweating bullets(and facing a deadline) I'll have to keep in mind a few strategies I came across in my reading.

Some suggest:

do something else for a while as a distraction
go running
pull out what is in your old junk pile and give it a good look-see
writing prompts
a twenty minute cat nap to freshen the brain cells

Well. I will have to let you know how the empty page looks in the morning.

Blogging Writers Make me Laugh

2007-02-22T09:03:00.000-06:00

I admit it. Sometimes when I should be writing I am perusing writer blogs. I love to read what other bloggers have to say on the subject of writing. I find some real jewels out there. Though PaperbackWriter is down south right now she has Tom filling in for her. The post for Monday had me laughing so hard I nearly... well...you know. If you have ever struggled with your protagonist or read a book with a predictable protag you should zip right over to her site and read away. It is a guaranteed laugh.

Apparently television makes for good blogging material as well. I can't count the number of blogs that mentioned *gulp* American Idol (a show I watched a few years ago for one season and cannot understand how this show is surviving season after season). Several blogs (see this post ) at Writer Unboxed. Beth Ann Allens Blog also discuss (at length) the Grey's Anatomy situation. Will Meridith survive?

Why do I mention these? As a writer I am interested in the characters, the way the story unfolds and so much more. Certain things just don't work. You cannot kill off a main character and get away with it. Oh, and.... when there is a serious crisis at a major hospital you don't drag all the doctors away from surgery, the ER etc.... for a dying/possibly dead intern!

uh-- duh.

Needless to say I have been quite amused in blog central this week. Get out there and check out what people have to say.

Five Steps to Gaining Good Writing Skills -Guest Article

2007-02-20T23:57:00.000-06:00

Five Steps to Gaining Good Writing Skills
The best way to start honing good writing skills is by learning to write good essays.
At its most basic, there are five steps to writing a good essay. These good writing techniques are skills that anyone can learn.
The first step is to choose a subject in which you have an avid interest. The point isn't so much that you can talk knowledgeably about it (because good research is part of good writing skills) but that you want to learn about it and your enthusiasm will show through. Let's assume, for instance, that you love working from home, so you decide to write an essay about telework.
The next step is to hone the good writing skills that let you narrow down the subject and come up with a specific topic statement. Telework is a very broad subject. You could talk about how to set up your own home office, how to convince your current boss to let you do your job from home, how to convert your dream into a work from home entrepreneurship, how to resolve impediments like invasive neighbours, computer security, meeting with clients and so forth.
Let's assume you've decided to talk about how you convinced your boss to let you work from home. Your topic statement might be "I saved my company $xxx last year by working from my home office."
Good writing skills involve clear but catchy topic statements that will entice the reader to read to the end of your essay. The next step is to answer the question why five or more times in the body of the essay. Tell the readers, for instance, why you wanted to work from home, why your boss finally okayed it, why it saved the company money, why you succeeded at working from home, why the nosy neighbors and your tiny tots didn't interfere and why you're more productive now.
The two most important good writing skills are the ability to begin your essay well, and to conclude it well. Your essay conclusion should summarize your key points and refer back to the topic statement. In this essay on telework, for example, you might conclude by saying, "My telework saves me the stress and expense of a lengthy commute. My employer is delighted with my increased productivity. Everyone wins with my telework."
If all else really fails then you could resort to hiring a Ghost Writer. But, before you do you should check out a few samples of their previous work and best of all get a recommendation from others.
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Peter Morgan has been in Internet Marketing in the UK for the last 7 years. He has developed a FREE online Article Writing, Publishing & Marketing system that enables internet 'Newcomers' as well as 'Experts', the ability to earn a recurring income from writing articles. GO TO: http://www.jvmembers.com

Giveaway of the Day

2007-02-20T23:29:00.000-06:00

Hey,
I have a new item. Giveaway of the day. Yes, I am participating with them to spread the word about programs you can get for FREE. Check out the link to the right. Each day there will be a new program you can try completely free. No strings attached.

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In other news....
I have been writing a lot lately and neglecting my blog. I'm in the revision stage with my chapter book. Once I complete the grammar edits and slight revisions I will be working closely with an illustrator to get exactly what I want for the cover and the six or seven illustrations needed to complete the book. I also need a photograph for the back cover so I have a lot of work to do in the next couple of months. I had no idea there were so many decisions to make. Yikes.
It is a lot of fun and a ton of work to get the book from my mind to the shelves of a bookstore.

Ebook coming out soon as well. I will try to update this blog in the next few days with some organization tips for revising and editing. Look for those!

Ta ta for now.

Is Self Publishing the Way to Go?

2007-02-03T23:00:00.001-06:00

Should you self publish your book? Should you consider places like Lulu.com? Why? Why not?

Let's look at some of the advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages-- (to some people)

No middle man, agent, laywer etc to cut into profits. Willing to publish just about anything --including those WITHOUT writing talent.
saves having to continue to apply to publishing houses
Can get your work out on bookshelves
Can make and sell copies for friends/family/co-workers/church/fundraisers

Disadvantages:

No laywer to help you out in a jam
submission process
most first time writers don't make any money 'till the 3rd- 5th book
lengthy and confusing contracts
everything costs extra

I am sure there are many more things to consider. For right now I wanted to get a few ideas on the page. I have a friend who asked me about self publishing and it got my wheels turning. I'll think on it....do some research and then write some more.

In the meantime....more snow, more cold and the phone lines are acting up. My DSL has been 60% reliable for the past 3 days. Hope this improves.

How to Spot a Poor Writer Guest Article

2007-02-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

How to Spot a Poor Writer
Copyright © 2007 Julie Ann Amos

You have a project to be written and you’re looking for a freelance writer. How do you know if the person you’re considering is a good writer or a poor writer? Besides the obvious things like poor spelling and poor grammar, there are other telltale characteristics of poor writing that you should learn to spot.

THE BASICS

The number one way to spot poor writing is by looking for the basics that we all (hopefully) learned in school. Poor spelling is an indicator of poor writing, as are poor grammar and poor punctuation. Even more worrisome, though, is that a writer whose work is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors is lacking in basic attention to detail.

Think about it for a moment – if a writer isn’t thorough enough to run a simple spell-check and grammar-check on their material, what else do they ignore or not give their full attention?

Another way to spot a poor writer is to evaluate other aspects of their work that impact the quality of the material.

READABILITY – there are software programs that evaluate this characteristic, but often it’s just as easy to gauge it by reading for yourself. Look for well organized material that flows smoothly and follows a logical progression of information.

ADAPTABILITY – a poor writer often has difficulty adapting to different writing styles or requirements. Look at writing samples with an eye toward seeing how well the writer adapts to different styles and topics.

APPROPRIATE STYLE – a poor writer will also have difficulty adopting a style that’s appropriate for the subject at hand. Pay attention to how the writer matches style with topic and note any incongruence or awkward pairings.

ORIGINALITY – a poor writer may lack originality in their work. This may show up as material that’s boring to read, or that just seems to sound like everything else you’ve read on a particular topic. There’s no hook or attention-grabber that catches your interest and invites you to read on.

COMMAND OF THE LANGUAGE – a poor writer will typically struggle with their command of the English language. This shows up as improper sentence structure or difficulty with proper verb conjugations, and is often seen in writers for whom English is not their primary language.

FIND A GREAT WRITER

One of the surest ways to hire a poor writer is to go with the lowest bidder for your project. It’s as true of writing as it is of other things – you get what you pay for.

We’re not suggesting you need to spend an exorbitant amount of money to get excellent writing. However, a great writer is rarely the least expensive writer, so don’t be scared off if the bids on your project cover a wide range of dollar amounts. And take into account exactly what you get for your money, including things like rewrites, edits, progress updates, formatting, etc.

A writer’s feedback and references are of the utmost importance. Look for someone who has client feedback that’s genuine rather than just a simple “good work, thanks” or something similar. A great writer will have a long list of testimonials that will give you a sense of their work quality and their reliability. Reliability is especially important because you don’t have the time to chase down a writer who has missed a deadline or neglected to send a scheduled progress report.

SO WHERE DO YOU GO TO FIND A GREAT WRITER?

The internet is filled with freelance writers and freelance writing marketplaces so stick with reputable sources. Look carefully at the fees associated with marketplace sites, too, because these extra charges can quickly add to the overall cost of your project.

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Julie-Ann Amos is an international professional freelance writer/author and consultant. She runs a resource for those in need of freelance/ghost writers worldwide. For more information on her writing services visit http://www.exquisitewriting.com

Build Your Self Esteem by Tim Maher

2007-01-31T12:41:00.000-06:00

Build your Self Esteem, a starter guide to self improvement

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may like to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These dart pins will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won't even remember. Don't let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which dart pins should you avoid?

Dart Pin #1 : Negative Work Environment. Beware of "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy environment that is.

Dart Pin #2: Other People's Behavior. Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

Dart Pin #3: Changing Environment. You can't be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for a while, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve ourselves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

Dart Pin #4: Past Experience. It's okay to cry and say "ouch!" when we experience pain. But don't let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart Pin #5: Negative World View. Look at what you're looking at. Don't wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of the worst situations.

Dart Pin #6: Determination Theory. The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn't mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people's experience, so you'll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you may want to wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn't come down from heaven and tell you – "George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self."

In life, its hard to stay tough specially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life's options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing a bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change'. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Armor or Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem, your starter guide to self improvement.

Tim Maher is an Irish native living in England for many years. He is interested in personal development in all its facets and has read many books on this topic. It is an interest that is fed by listening to audio seminars when possible. His website can be found at http://www.magillaudiobooks.com

OUCH...I fell down AGAIN

2007-01-22T23:23:00.000-06:00

Can you say KLUTZ? I think they have a picture of me next to the word in the dictionary. YEP. I fell again. On the ice/snow. Now the whole ankle/ligaments and all are involved. No cast can fix this. Going to the doc tomorrow.

Not a happy camper. Walking is a nightmare. Or should I say hobbling as I cry?

Oh ouchies.

I'm revising. Yes.

Getting a book ready for publication. A book you say?

Yep. It has been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

It needs to see the light of day.

It is a chapter book for 4th-5th graders. It is being mailed out to an editor tomorrow.

I can hardly believe it myself!!!! The book is tentatively called "My Sister Has AIDS" and is a fictionalized account of my twin sisters experience. The age is changed and I have taken MANY liberties with the story for dramatic purpose and to make it kid friendly but the characters are based on the relationship between us two twins and the choices she made that ended up causing her to become HIV positive and ultimately causing her eventual death.

I wrote the book while in college for a class. Everyone said get it published. It sat on a shelf. Then my sister got worse. I showed her the book and asked her permission to publish it. She agreed. She died in 96.

I began writing other things and left the book on the shelf. Well, it is no longer gathering dust!!!

Now that the ball is rolling I am hard at work on the next in what will be a series.

Next I need to find an illustrator. Then, I will be working with someone on layout, and of course the editing, creating my cover...and so many other decisions. Deadlines are being created. For ME!

Oh, I wanna see my book on shelves. I made a promise to my sister about this book before she died. It is gonna happen. *holds breath and pinches self*

More details soon.

Oh, we still have tons of snow here.

Snow Across The Plains

2007-01-20T23:36:00.000-06:00

Did someone order snow? Well we got some here!
Between last night and today we have 6 inches of fluffy white snow on the ground.

Beneath that we have a layer of melted off snow and about 2 inches of ice that never got a chance to melt. We had to clear off the front porch twice today just so we could open the door.

Now, it is snowing harder than it has all day. We could be snowed in by morning. Yikes.

So, what else is new?

I'm hard at work on an e-book. Nearly done!
I cleaned up all the files on my computer -- took me over a week.
I organized all my email accounts and folders as well
I had a lovely visit with my father
My ankle is broken-- a nasty fall on the ice. Yuck
I've submitted a book of poems for publication

Keep warm. Keep writing. See ya soon.
I promise to visit blogs again as soon as humanly possible.

My father is visiting from Hawaii

2007-01-10T15:42:00.000-06:00

My father sails a 40 foot sloop called the Cirrus. His page all about his travels is here.

He has raced in the Pacific Cup several times.

Managing My Diabetes Through the Holidays

2007-01-04T12:01:00.000-06:00

I admit it, when I learned I had diabetes I had to change my eating habits. I like my carbs, a lot. I'm a gravy and mashed potatoes girl. I also love my breads and biscuits. Changing has been a challenge. However, over the last several months, due to doctors orders I have faithfully followed a diabetic diet. (with two exceptions....Thanksgiving and Christmas)
Now I am not saying I went hog wild. I didn't have a bunch of gooey pies or anything like that. I merely allowed myself to eat the normal fixins.

At my doctors appointment around 10 days ago I still managed to weigh in 22 pounds lighter. Wooo Hooo. Discipline goes a long way. I want to cheat. I just tell myself that the candy and sugars could seriously hurt me. (as in death)
Works miracles. Suddenly the urge to put said candies etc in ones mouth lessens. Amazing eh?

It also helps to join a supportive Diabetes group. I have several diabetes informational links and groups listed to the right. Check them out. I added Diabetes Files today. Take a peek.

Welcome to the New Year

2007-01-01T12:56:00.000-06:00

I watched a Harpo and Chico Marx Marathon last night to ring in the new year. I'm not one to make resolutions but I did make one this year. It has nothing to do with diet or any of the usual stuff. I need to do things to keep my concentration from getting any worse.
I have started playing word games and puzzles to help with my concentration and short term memory problems.

It took me 65 minutes to get through a Mahjong puzzle the first time. Yikes!!! The second time through it only took 48 minutes. I hope it improves each time. Real arcade has great games. I don't care for the rock 'em sock 'em type, but I do like the word puzzles and mind games. They give away free trials and about every six weeks they give away full games. Try them out.

I'm taking a break from short stories and my novel until all the holidays are over and my family visits are done. Too many breaks make concentration difficult.
My father arrives on the 9th. We had a bit of snow yesterday.... I hope he is ready for cold weather. (he is coming from Hawaii)

After Christmas exhaustion

2006-12-28T23:12:00.000-06:00

I'm so tired. Christmas wore me out. I've been reading a few books, spending time with family and catching up on rest. I know I have neglected this blog...what can I say. My son was here, I've been loading a bunch of stuff on my new laptop and just generally trying to get recharged.
My father is coming from Hawaii on the 8th. I'm ready.

My Christmas was TODAY

2006-12-23T20:47:00.000-06:00

Stayed up till 2 am putting together a train for a toddler. Needless to say my eyes have been begging to close all day. The look on my grandson's face was priceless. His eyes were HUGE and his mouth dropped open as he said, "Oh choo choo" He didn't even want to open most of the rest of the presents. He played with the train set until the train started to slow down. Then he got out his adorable blow up punching gloves and proceeded to go around "bopping everyone" as they started drifting off in their chairs.

My son loved his sweaters and PSP handheld game with case and games. My daughter got hand made jewelry, scrapbooks of the babies, and clothes for job interviews. I got a new laptop from Dell. (woooooooooo hoooooooooooooo), a fabulous sweater and jeans which are 2 sizes smaller than last year due to my dieting.

I also got some great software and graphics manipulation software and a new thesaurus. Dana got porcelain clay, a new laptop, a world radio and tee shirts.

I cannot believe I didn't get a clock radio (even though I begged for one) I didn't get the new Holly Lisle book and the writing program I wanted. Oh well. No such thing as a perfect holiday.

I took a tumble.

2006-12-18T22:57:00.000-06:00

Yep, I'm a klutz. I fell down and couldn't get up. It wasn't funny. I'll be out of commission for a while. (picture me right now with an ankle the size of a cantaloupe) I'm sitting in my recliner with my foot propped on two pillows, in complete agony. Pain pills are NOT HELPING!!!

The only bright side to the picture is that my son is home for Christmas so I am one very happy camper. He flew in last night. Apparently Unlce Sam can only spare him for one measly week so he has to go back before Christmas day but I'll take what I can get. In the meantime, we are laughing at old jokes and he loves the babies. (I'm not sure he likes the noise level)
Jaden just adores him. He bounced up onto his lap and shouted ---Unlce Maffyoooooooo.
I've been showing him the pictures of Matthew on the walls for a couple of months now getting him prepared for the visit.

Matthew came home with gifts for everyone. He even had a fuzzy bone for the dog. The crazy thing... it didn't have a squeaky in it. Instead, it barked when you squeezed it. Boo Boo has been carrying it around the house all afternoon.
That's my son for ya! He even got a present for the dog. (smile)

Leave comments on wordpress account

2006-12-15T10:20:00.000-06:00

HUMBUG To BLOGGER BETA!!!!

Okay I have had it!!!
I'm switchin for real this time. Blogger and Blogger Beta cannot even leave comments for each other. If you want to leave me a comment and you get stuck go to my newly created wordpress blog and leave comments there.

Busy day today.... defrag needs done, hair is so shaggy a cut is long overdue, and my house needs a maid.... (not me) unfortunately I cannot afford a maid so I have to clean it!
Getting the Christmas decorations out of storage too. I'll post a picture as soon as I get the tree up.

10 Things Every Aspiring Writer Should Know

2006-12-14T11:15:00.000-06:00

10 Things Every Aspiring Writer Needs to Know

Your equipment is key. Keep it in good working order. Never be without a pen and paper. Keep a journal by your bed for notes about dreams. Try using a small tape recorder if you don’t want to have to jot things down in public. For people with arthritis this is a great alternative. They are very reasonable at Walmart and Best Buy these days, you can pick one up for less than $30.

Make time to write on a schedule. I write every day. If you treat your writing like a hobby it will stay a hobby. Treat it with respect. Write when you feel energized. Don’t squeeze in a few minutes every once in a while or you won’t be happy with your results.

Everyone experiences writers block at some time or another. Don’t allow yourself to stay stuck. Walk away from the project for a while. Introduce your character to a comic book character and have them go out to lunch. Do something to stimulate your mind instead of giving up or wallowing in pity. Ask critique groups for help. Do not allow yourself to be distracted for days and weeks by time wasters on the Internet. Find a new place to start the story and return to your problem area at a later time.

Never think you’ve learned enough. Keep reading about writing. Keep reading books in the genre in which you intend to publish. Every good author will tell you that practice is what it is all about. Even after having written four or five good books keep up the skills, keep reading and learning.

Find your own voice. Nobody wants to read a copycat book. You may love certain authors and even a particular genre. Make sure you adopt your own style. Give your writing your own recognizable flair.

Learn to proofread your work. Spell checking your writing is not enough. We all know how many errors get through both the spelling and grammar programs. Learn to recognize simple mistakes. There are tons of books, which can be quite helpful and should be kept within arms reach. Among these should be: a good dictionary or use an online version, of course the standard Strunk and White, a thesaurus to start. I also use some great tools at Reference Desk online and Library Spot.

Learn how and where to use commas . I know I struggle with this one. There are tons of resources available for learning proper comma usage. Begin by doing a Google search. I also have some links in my editing section. The old “put a comma in where you would take a breath” rule is not always the best policy. Read up on the issue. Decide for yourself. Remember that readers pause with every comma you insert into your writing.

Less is more. While wordiness might serve you well in descriptions it could lose you valued readers if they become bored. Simplify at all times. Most writers who suffer from wordiness actually have trouble with passive voice . If you don’t know this term it is time to look it up. OWL has the best handouts I’ve seen for explaining passive voice and active voice. One online course I took showed me how much I overused passive voice. I’m not cured yet. Try here for more information.

Keep your characters straight. Nothing says new writer louder than a story where the protagonist has blonde hair in the first chapter and is a brunette in chapter fourteen. Use note cards or a writing software program to keep track of all the little details. Make out character sheets on all characters. It will help later. Trust me on this one. As for the best software program; each person is different. I have tried several. Many I did not like at all. None of them write for you, however some are quite good at organizing notes, plot and characters along with other options.

Know where to begin. The hook is the most important part of your story. If an editor doesn’t like the first few sentences he/she will not keep reading. This is the same with many readers. Some readers ignore prologues. Get your reader involved immediately. Make them feel sorry for your character or hate them right away. Do not start with scenery. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I put a book down because it went on for six pages about how cold it was in Detroit. No kidding. I never would have guessed that without reading the book, NOT!

Most of these tips may be things you already know. Keep them in mind while you write. When I first started out I printed out advice. I had helpful tidbits taped all over my desktop monitor. I had a longer version of the rules every writer should know. Now, I look back and laugh at how little I knew.

Technorati Tags:Ten Tips+ Aspiring Writers, guidelines for newbies, writewize suggests, fiction advice

Did I mention being in print?

2006-12-12T18:25:00.000-06:00

Several months ago a little mouse friend of mine told me about Cats Meow, an ezine for writers and readers. I sent off a few short stories and poems. Getting an email saying your story will be in an upcoming newsletter is a great feeling. Actually having the issue come out and seeing your name and story printed on the web page feels like heaven. So, today the issue is out. Check out my two poems and my Lupus story here.
Naturally, you are looking for the stories by Kay/writewize. I cannot believe there is a slight problem with the web address on the ezine but I'm still thrilled.
I'm nearly finished with an ebook I've been working on in secret as well. More details soon. It is for aspiring writers.
Bring on the comments. I'm so happy!!!!!

Oh, I actually risked germs and illness to go to Walmart today. Yes me.... (the one with a compromised immune system) I bought a few Christmas gifts and some address label stickers so I could reprint new ones for a project I am working on. Also picked up "The Devil Wears Prada". I've heard it is very good.

Technorati Tags:writing, personal, in print

Workshop generating fantastic ideas

2006-12-11T20:39:00.001-06:00

Wowsers, the muse is awake. Thanks to the lessons in the workshop ebook I bought. Did I mention how cool it is? My fingers are getting numb from typing so much. I need more programs to keep track of my notecards and ideas.

I had NO IDEA there was a formula for determining how many scenes you should have per book, per chapter and per character. Thanks Holly. Read the section about Book math.

I ventured further into the book and checked out Lazettes information on short stories. She really breaks it down and lets me know WHY my short stories have not done well in contests and have been rejected lately. Yep, apparently I stray from the topic a bit too much. In a novel it is okay to explore the idiosyncracies of the character. In a short story there just isn't time to stray. I have no trouble with obstacles. My problem is pulling away from those obstacles and travelling down the path to ideas that aren't necessary for a short story. Danger is necessary. Thanks. I tend to forget that! It seems so simple. I get tied up and lost in all the details. I guess I'm really a novel writer. Short stories make me feel limited. Yet I want to write a few and feel successful.

The more of the workshop I read the more I realize I am doing things right. I have been all along. I think writers doubt themselves more than people in other fields. We work alone. We sit facing a computer screen or writing on paper and we have relatively little feedback until our project is finished or nearly finished.

If you were raised like me you thrive on feedback. What do I do? I meet with other authors. I go to workshops when I am able to schedule it and afford it. I read a lot of books and author blogs. Holly Lisle has an entire site devoted to helpful articles and information for aspiring authors. There are hundreds of other places to find people and resources if you are just starting out. I have some resources listed in my Links sections and Resources sections and several other authors in my Writers Blogroll. Check them out.

Technorati Tags:resources, Holly Lisle workshop, writing ideas, short stories

Writing Workshop E-book Splurge

2006-12-10T15:46:00.000-06:00

<<===== I bought this today! Lucky Lucky me!! Yep, I meant it when I said I intended to return to some serious writing. I let myself fall into a pit of doubt and let my writing falter. Over the last few days I've been pulling out some of my favorite books to inspire my muse. Nothing seems to be working, so I thought a bit of a crash course or workshop was in order. Hey, if you want one, all you have to do is click the link here or at the top right of my page and you can order the ebook for only $6.00.
For an ebook of over 250 pages you just cannot beat the price.

I think by now, everyone who reads my blog on a regular basis (uhhh that would be Beth Ann) knows I simply adore Holly Lisle. She is one author who shares her knowledge with other aspiring writers and helps them by putting out a lot of free information on her site.

I have heard great things about Lazette, and of course she is involved with the wonderful Vision ezine which no writer should miss, so I feel I am in capable hands.

Naturally, I glanced at the Table of Contents as soon as I downloaded it. I cannot wait to read the chapter on grumpy writers. Holly wrote that one. (of course) I'm also quite interested in the chapter which will tell me if I should really let my book die or if it is salvagable. I will have to keep ya'll posted on that issue.

Technorati Tags:writewize , writing more, workshop +joy

Word Painting Gets Me Thinking

2006-12-09T14:52:00.000-06:00

I’m currently reading two excellent books for Fiction writers. Rebecca McLanahan’s Word Painting –A Guide to Writing More Descriptively and the ever so wonderful Lawrence Block (must have manual for fiction writers) Telling Lies for Fun and Profit which has an intro by Sue Grafton. I’ll discuss the Block book at a later date.
Both of these books are must haves. Buy them, borrow them, and check them out of your local library or whatever just, Please READ them!!!

I’m on Chapter Six in Word Painting:
Bringing Characters to life through description.
Rebecca talks about moving past the mere “christening” of the character. The naming of the character is the easy part. Now they need to begin to breathe. Are they plump, or middle-aged, do they wear saggy socks? Be sure to “look at the character through the eyes of other characters”. Wow.
Makes me want to go back to my Silent Darkness novel again. Ditching a project after so much effort was the wrong choice. I’ve invested in my characters. I’ve given them life. I’ve delved into my protagonist’s inner world. I know how she thinks, what she likes and dislikes, what she eats for breakfast and what kind of laundry soap she uses.

Rebecca tells us to be careful about physical descriptions. If we go too far the reader may be overwhelmed and not know what to focus on. I’ve felt that way a few times when reading fantasy novels. She goes on to discuss the character’s environment and surroundings.

“Characters reveal their inner lives-their preoccupations, their values, lifestyles, likes and dislikes, fears and aspirations- by the objects that fill their hands, houses, offices, cars, suitcases, grocery carts and dreams” (page 126) .
This woman makes me want to pick up my pencil and write!!!

On page 11 she gave a list of The Rewards of description which just made my day

(can you tell I love this book? (look for it here at amazon)

Technorati Tags:word painting, writing fiction, books +buy

Trying to get back on track with writing

2006-12-08T21:53:00.000-06:00

I know I've been a little "off topic" lately. It has been a rough few months. Well, I need to get BACK ON TRACK WITH WRITING. I've let my health issues get me down, and I've procrastinated, goofed off and been blog surfing too much. This all has to stop interfering with my writing time.
I finished all my medical tests. Yep, I survived the colonoscopy (for those who aren't sure what that is....)yesterday and an abdominal sonogram today so I'm FINISHED with medical crap for the next few months other than an appointment to talk about all the results. If someone else wants to do an IV on me I think I'll scream.
From now on all the medical junk will only be in my stories.

Oh, I made the cutest Handprint Christmas Wreath and fingerprint Holly Wreaths this morning. You can find the patterns to make lots of fun Crafts here.

Technorati Tags:colonoscopy, Christmas crafts, toddlers, handprint wreath

I need Strength Today!

2006-12-06T11:47:00.000-06:00

Man I wish I could crawl under something. I'm prepping for a colonoscopy today. YUCK!

I have to stay on a clear liquid diet all day. No real food, just green jello and chicken broth. I found this Tarot card test at Beth Ann Allen's Blog

You are Strength

Courage, strength, fortitude. Power not arrested in the act of judgement, but passing on to further action, sometimes obstinacy.

This is a card of courage and energy. It represents both the Lion's hot, roaring energy, and the Maiden's steadfast will. The innocent Maiden is unafraid, undaunted, and indomitable. In some cards she opens the lion's mouth, in others she shuts it. Either way, she proves that inner strength is more powerful than raw physical strength. That forces can be controlled and used to score a victory is very close to the message of the Chariot, which might be why, in some decks, it is Justice that is card 8 instead of Strength. With strength you can control not only the situation, but yourself. It is a card about anger and impulse management, about creative answers, leadership and maintaining one's personal honor. It can also stand for a steadfast friend.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Cookies, Cookies Cookies

2006-12-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

I have a recipe for diabetics who like cookies.

Low-Sugar-Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Recipe courtesy of Hershey's ~ 3 dozen)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup sugar granulated sugar substitute
to equal 1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons Hershey's Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons skim milk
1/3 cup Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 375°. In medium bowl, beat butter, and sugar substitute until well blended. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or just until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Per 1 cookie: 50 calories, 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 5 g carbohydrate, 5 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium
Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

These taste GREAT and do not have a diet taste. They are also great for diabetics like ME.
Remember, not all people can eat holiday goodies.

Hey, check this out. Kinda funny.

Bear with me through my changes...

2006-12-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

I bet you noticed a few changes... How could ya miss 'em!!! LOL!
Hang in there while I figure out how everything works and get all my old links and such back up and running.

Reading, Writing and Snow.

2006-12-04T11:28:00.000-06:00

Where Things Stand :

I put the novel on the back burner and have been doing some ghostwriting.
If anyone ever asks me to write 20 keyword articles on one subject again...
remind me to SAY No. (or just shoot myself and put myself out of misery fast)
I've been reading more aricles, ebooks and resources on "how to" write, flesh out characters, plot and get writing accomplished.... Funny thing. I'm not writing much.
I need to snap out of this Depression. (the pills aren't working)
Ick, I have a colonoscopy on Thursday. More information than you wanted eh?

Anyone else feel like a snowball fight?
I wanna go Christmas shopping. Kinda hard to do when you have less than $63 to your name.
Humbug.

Technorati Tags:update, depression, snowball fight, flat broke

Snow Makes My Holidays Feel Right

2006-12-03T17:38:00.000-06:00

I say Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. I'm a California Girl transplanted to the Midwest. I simply adore newly fallen snow and it isn't Christmas in my heart without loads of the fluffy white stuff all around. Humbug to others who disagree.
Christmas is going to be very different around my house anyhow. Most people are out hitting all the shops. Around here, I don't have two nickels to rub together. I sent out cards to people who I know are worse off than me. I'm an "Angel". I send greetings and cards out weekly to shut-ins. People who have chronic illnesses (uhhh, kinda like me) I started doing it to cheer myself up. I did it to make people smile.

I serve meals to homeless on holidays. This year, earlier in the year.... I was turned away. YOU HEARD ME RIGHT. TURNED AWAY. WHY, you ask? Well, someone at the shelter was afraid I might FALL DOWN and hurt myself. Okay, I use a cane. I am disabled. Is that any reason to tell a well-meaning volunteer to go away when they come to HELP others?
I was in shock.
I may not have two nickels to rub together, but I have always given to others. ALWAYS.
I believe in GIVING. It is the reason we have Christmas (or whatever else you may celebrate)

I have always donated and or given to:

warm clothes and blankets to shelters
toys for tots
adopted a family (even it it wasn't much)from the Walmart Angel Tree
put money in the Salvation Army Kettle

This year is the first year I haven't been able to do these things. I feel awful. It just hasn't been possible. I've barely been able to pay my own heating bills.

So, my one wish this year has been for a white Christmas when my son comes home. I know it is a hassle for some people when they travel. I know. I won't have a stack of presents under my tree. All I want for Christmas is snow, and a few days to hug my son before I have to give him back to Uncle Sam.

Technorati Tags:Christmas, snow, Giving

A litte Meme today

2006-12-02T17:36:00.000-06:00

What is your occupation? Writer-former teacher- Disabled-mom- grandmother-enough??
2. What color are your socks right now? white
3. What are you listening to right now? the washing machine
4. What was the last thing that you ate? a mint
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Heck no. I might hurt someone.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue My grandsons fave and mine!!
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My foster daughter.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I swiped it! (shhh, don't tell)
9. How old are you today? 44 and still kickin'
10. Favorite drink? Good ole fashioned water
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Chiefs Football
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Ewww-- don't have to do that. I'm a redhead.
13. Pets? yep, adorable doggie.
14. Favorite food? Chicken Alfredo
15. What was the last movie you watched? You, Me and Dupree.
16. What was the last book you read? I just started "Bad Idea" (won it online)
17. What do you do to vent anger? Stop talking
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Lego's
19. What is your favorite season, fall or spring? Spring
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
21. Cherries or blueberries? Cherries I guess.
22. Do you want your friends to blog you back? I guess.
23. Who is most likely to respond? Beth Ann
24. Who is least likely to respond? I dunno.
25. Living arrangements? Uhhhh a house--
26. When was the last time you cried? While watching Brokeback Mountain.
27. What is on the floor of your closet? a whole lot of boxes and stuff
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Lorrie
29. If there was a fire in your house what would you take with you? my grandson, my laptop, my dog.
30. Favorite smells? Chocolate.
31. What inspires you? words, art. love.
32. What are you afraid of? not much.
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? plain...or with cheese.
34. Favorite dog breed? Poms, like mine.
35. Number of keys on your key ring? 1, to my house. I cannot drive.
36. How many years at your current job? 7
37. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
38. How many states have you lived in? 4 I think,
39. Favorite holidays? Thanksgiving.
40. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? nope

Technorati Tags:meme, pomeranians, personalca-pub-8946403269643967

World AIDS Day

2006-12-01T14:32:00.000-06:00

I CARE DO YOU? WORLDAIDS DAY DEC.1, 2006

Today marks World AIDS Day. President Bush has called upon United States citizens to remember the , "39 million people living with the disease around the world". How could I forget?
Yes folks I have been touched by it --PERSONALLY. My twin sister Died of ARC- AIDS related complex on March 17, 1996. She had been HIV positive for around 13 years. She lived in S. F. California. She used IV drugs and lived her life on the streets for years. She engaged in risky behaviours for years. She shared needles with other homeless people when she shot up heroine, and she had unprotected sex when AIDS was spreading fast through S. F. She also had a boyfriend (who later became her husband) and he engaged in these same risky behaviours.

Back then, in the early 1980's people didn't know a lot about why a lot of men were dying. They didn't understand the IV drug use connection. When I first heard about AIDS, I knew one day I would get a call from a morgue saying my sister was dead. I knew she would have the disease.
Sure enough, she told me about four years before her death that she had AIDS. She lived on the edge in her teen years and it was her rebellion that led to her death. She ignored the voice of reason.

When you think of all the HIV positive people in the world, or the people who have died. Think of ways you can protect not only yourself. TEACH others. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN. Teach them to practice SAFE SEX. Teach them NOT TO USE DRUGS. Make sure they understand!
My children knew that if they did those things they could end up like Aunt Diana. They knew they could get sick and DIE. It is very serious. Children need to know. If you need to know more about AIDS please check out some organizations. Google the word AIDS. Call your health department.
Here is the Wikipedia article on AIDS

Technorati Tags:World AIDS day, AIDS awareness, sister, AIDS knowledge

Did you finish NaBloPoMo?

2006-11-30T16:05:00.000-06:00

Well did ya?
If you did, then you get one of these.
You know what to do. Right click and Save as.

Miss Snark Got Dissed- Ouch.

2006-11-30T13:09:00.000-06:00

If you've been reading Holly Lisle's diary site this week you may have noticed a little blip that led you to an ongoing debate at the site of Jenny Cruise. Apparently Miss Snark overstepped her boundries in a review and it is all the talk in blog land. Yep. Everyone seems to be weighing in on the subject. If you look at the comments you will see that most people seem to agree with Jenny.
I've never linked to Miss Snark. (you will note, I don't have a link to her site in my Resources section....I find her site a bit too much for my taste) In my humble opinion, she generalizes far too much. However, if you look at her site counter, she must be doing something writers like because she has tons of loyal repeat visitors.

Jenny had this to say," there was a definite God-I’m-amazingly-brilliant tone throughout"
Ouch! I hope I never say anything to tick her off. However, if I do...I want HER on MY SIDE.

P.S. I found the resource page I was looking for. Great stuff for writers
She has an amazing amount of programs and freeware you can download there. Check it out.
I have personally tried several items. Love 'em.

Oh, and we are in the midst of a snowy day here. We expect 10 inches. Yep...you heard me right.

Technorati Tags:Snark+ dissed, resources, snow

Plaza Lights will wait for better weather

2006-11-29T19:09:00.000-06:00

I've been looking forward to seeing the Plaza lights for a while now. I got up this morning all excited about it. Then the sky opened up and down came the ice pellets. It rained, sleeted, thundered, and generally was a slushy, icy cold and miserable day outside.
No Plaza light visit for me.

I spent the day working on some articles, continuing to organize my computer and watching my adorable grandsons.

Oh, and I am completely frustrated! While I was blog surfing the other day I came across a great site. It had a ton of freebie s for authors. This site had shareware programs to play with photos, text pad programs, utilities, screen capture programs, dictionaries, and so much more. I can't find the blasted site now. Yes, I know about using History to find sites I visited. Well, it didn't help me. This site has a whole page of freebies. I wanna find it so bad. I need your help people. Please let me know if you know the page. It ends up with the ywriter programs as the last ones to download. All the programs are in alphabetical order.
Please lead me to the page.

Does Spam Flood Your Email?

2006-11-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

Yikes, my computer spit tons of emails out and I almost got lost under the pile. I keep resetting the filters and yet the spam persists. What is the deal? Who keeps sending all this JUNK EMAIL?

Wading through email wastes time and keeps me from my creative process, yet is also kept me from thinking about my novel for a few hours. For that I guess I am grateful.

One a lighter note, I spent time today working on a new assignment. I am writing 20 artilces I've been commissioned to write as a ghostwriter. The pay is decent since it comes right before Christmas and my son will be coming soon and then my father.

I also got my Christmas cards out today... I will spend tomorrow getting those ready to mail.
So, all in all I am getting past the depression of ditching my novel. Thanks for the feedback folks It helps.

Technorati Tags:anti spam, novel, WIP

Writing makes me Happy.

2006-11-27T15:30:00.000-06:00

My twenty month-old grandson has a new saying. "Playdoh makes me happy" He runs around saying this. The only problem is he likes to EAT the playdoh. EWWWW.

Now for me. I like writing, writing prompts, writing exercises and workshops, writing sites and other writer blogs. Okay... I am completely obssessed with anything having to do with writing and writers.
Yep. I'm a little nutty. What can I say?

Blog Browsing for fun

2006-11-26T23:18:00.000-06:00

When your nose is stuffed up and you just ditched the novel you've been working on for several years, what do you do? Go Blog browsing of course! Yep. I spent the day browsing funny blogs and vegging out on the couch.
I bought something from a Yahoo auction and organized my folders. Pretty sad eh?
Perhaps I'll be back on track soon.
Look for my resource section to be beefed up soon now that I am more organized.

Technorati Tags:Blog browsing

Novel Changes may be in order.

2006-11-25T14:50:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking of changing my novel into a novella or even a series of short stories. This is a serious decision. Reading up on characters and plot has lead me in this direction. My main character is based a little too much on ME. Everyone says NOT to do this. The realization of my mistake has brought with it a huge rush of depression and great doubts. Do all authors feel this way? I've been sick with this horrid cold for over a week and I wonder if my brain is just too muddled to make a decision right now.

Oh, and my blog went wacky on me yesterday. So life is kindy screwy right now. I think I'll just go back to bed.

Technorati Tags:psychological thriller, novel, WIP, depression

Something screwy going on with blogger

2006-11-24T15:05:00.000-06:00

I tried to put this silly image in my blog and suddenly my blog disappeared. I found some template of an old blog and things went wacky from there. I'm not sure this post will even appear today. I'm going back to bed.

My house smells good today!

2006-11-23T14:54:00.000-06:00

I'll give you a big hint...I'm not cooking. I will be eating a great meal though. Lucky me. My caregiver has had the turkey cooking for several hours now and it smells like we will be eating soon. She just put the rolls in the oven. Her homemade rolls are so mouthwatering I am ditching the diabetic diet today and going all out. Yep, that means pumpkin pie, pecan pie, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams and the whole mess of fixins.

It is Thanksgiving. I have earned the right to cheat on this special day. I've been so good. I've lost a bunch of weight over the past two months.
So, enjoy your holiday. If you live somewhere that it is celebrated.
Oh, I hear the baloons at the Macy's parade were a bit bothered by the wind and had to fly fairly low. Sounds dangerous to me.

Technorati Tags:thanksgiving, holidays

6 Quick Tips for Nano Writers

2006-11-22T16:15:00.000-06:00

By now you are either well into your Nanowrimo book and feeling good...OR
you fell behind and you are beating yourself up for not meeting your goals.
Let me give you some advice.

Not everyone can write on command. Writing a book in under 30 days is grueling. We all have lives to live, jobs, children and commitments. If you didn't make your goal, don't let it get you down. Trying, writing words on paper is more than many "so called aspiring authors" will ever do. Give yourself credit for having tried. (Pat yourself on the back)

2. Give your protagonist a tragic past. This gives the reader something to identify with and works well to give you a lot to write about. Oh, if you don't know what a protagonist is, you are in serious trouble this late in November and you should consider browsing the Nanowrimo forums for the rest of the month and drinking soda or coffee as you find ways to waste time.

3. Check for character consistency. Does your character have blonde hair in one scene and then you accidently call her a brunette four chapters later because you were so tired when you were typing that you forgot what she looked like. Do a "find" for the word "blonde" or the word "brunette" this can be a lifesaver.

4. Dont edit until you think you are finished writing. Editing slows down the writing process and makes you go backwards. I've found myself actually erasing pages when I stop to edit pages or scenes.

5. Keep supplies handy in every room, in your purse, and anywhere you think inspiration might hit. I write down ideas at night when I dream about my characters. I keep a notebook in my purse, and I have pens and paper in every room (yep there too...) of the house.

6. Don't be afraid to write scenes out of order. Most of the experts I've heard from have said it is good to "know what your ending will be". I've written mine already. Perhaps that is why I'm stcuck in the middle. However, I like knowing the ending is already written.

Technorati Tags:nano, advice+ writer

Every Kiss Begins With Kay

2006-11-21T20:00:00.000-06:00

Argggh. Are you tired of the commercials yet too? I know I've seen enough Christmas commercials already. Couples kissing. People shopping. Blech! What happened to Thanksgiving? It seems to have disappeared in the minds of the big companies and the corporate world. My next door neighbor put his tree up last week. Yep. He has a tree in his window with blinking Christmas lights. I want to scream. What the heck happened to waiting until after thanksgiving to start with all the lights and ornament stuff?
Every other word is about some "special deal" or how you can "wrap up the wow". Well what about people who live on a limited income? What about people who have to pay their personal property taxes in December? What about people who can barely afford to feed their families? This is a stressful time of year for them.
yes, I am in one of those groups.... or should I say all of those groups)
Good News though..... My son is coming home for Christmas. Yes, the US NAVY has a heart. He has one week leave. He told them how sick I've been and he gets to come home for a visit. I'm so happy. I haven't seen him since last Christmas. Happy Dance.

Technorati Tags:christmas, commercials

5 reasons I'm not ready for Christmas!

2006-11-20T22:07:00.000-06:00

1. Quite frankly the stores seem to skip Thanksgiving and that really ticks me off.
2. Personal property taxes are due at this time of year in Kansas. (Humbug)
3. Who wants to shop right now? The malls are a zoo.
4. The reason for the season has been completely forgotten.
5. I'm too poor.

I think I'm cancelling Christmas this year.
Yep. That's my idea. I'm going to ignore Christmas. No presents. No cards. I'll save a bundle. I won't get stressed out and I won't have to cook a huge meal. Sounds like a plan.

Technorati Tags:Christmas, humbug

Funny stuff

2006-11-19T18:43:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you need a break from writing.
I took one this afternoon. While perusing sites I found some cool places to play.

What can I say? Go here to make your own.
I was goofing off and checking out other writer sites when I came across the generator site and found this gem. I spent about a half hour just playing. You know you want to play too.

At the generator site you can make your own:
vinyl record George says
concert ticket Condi says
official seal Arnold says and much more!

The cool thing is.... you can type in your own message, pick your pose and in some cases the colors. You can email these images or use them on websites or whatever. Total fun. I didn't get ANY writing done today. I've decided I cannot write until this horrid cold/flu is over. My mind is not working well enough to plot out characters and contribute to any work in progress.

Technorati Tags:generator site, fun, writing<

Comic Relief And Cursing

2006-11-18T21:19:00.000-06:00

Yawn. Check out those teeth eh? Couldn't even keep my eyes open for comic relief. They are doing a show to raise money reubuild after Huricaine Katrina However, I did catch a bit of it while typing out this entry. Somehow I had it in my head we were watching CBS. I nearly fell over when the cursing started. I mean you just don't hear that kind of language on regular TV. This guy was going on an on about something I couldn't type here without a "R" rating. And somebody bleeping every other word. Turns out the show is on HBO. Of course. You can say "kitty" (substitute word) as many times as you want on HBO.

Whoopie said something about a simulcast on TBS. I can just see the scrambling to bleep out all the cussing. Yikes.

Sleeping nearly 20 hours a day right now. I guess my immune system needs to replenish. I hope this changes soon. I'd like to be able to function again.

Technorati Tags: comic+ relief

I think I finally figured out how to do Technorati tags. Wow!

Anti Spam Software

2006-11-17T15:37:00.000-06:00

Have you checked out any anti-spam software lately? Are you tired of SPAM taking over your email box? I have several email accounts and quite frankly I use my filters effectively but I still manage to see an awful lot of spam every day. I'm thinking about investing in a decent anti spam program like Askimet. I'll be asking Santa. My CA security center charges me extra to use the anti spam so I haven't uploaded it. Instead, I use a freebie program. Holly Lisle uses the Askimet and swears by it. I cannot make up my mind.
It must be exhaustion from wading through all the SPAM in my email. LOL.

I thought I would add the randomizer as well. Please leave a comment if you stopped by.

Technorati Tags:anti spam, personal

Hotmail is down. Yuck.

2006-11-16T10:17:00.000-06:00

What on earth was I thinking? My advice for today... set up an email account that does not rely on a free service to log in. I cannot even read my email today. HOTMAIL is down. I keep getting a silly refresh message. Yeah, when do I get to read my email?
Thank goodness I have 5 other accounts. Too bad none of them are related to my writing.
Well, live and learn. I will be changing my email immediately.

Technorati Tags:hotmail

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and tired

2006-11-15T10:47:00.000-06:00

That is it! This cold or whatever is taking over and it has me as its hostage. I'm not happy about this. Beth (my protagonist) is on strike, the dog needs a bath, the dishes are piling up in the sink, the laundry basket is overflowing and I cannot seem to function except to blow my nose and cough endlessly. I've had it!
I'm climbing back into bed until Spring. Don't wake me.
Humbug.

Technorati Tags:illness, protagonist

More conflict

2006-11-14T23:42:00.000-06:00

After the initial conflict I got stuck. The rising tension is where I'm struggling. Beth isn't experiencing enough trouble. Yes, she is stressed out, but she needs to have one bad thing happen after another. See the graph.
[Materials from Pedar Hill's site again]
I realized I needed more catastrophes. I need to raise the stakes. Beth has to be near the end of her rope or my readers won't route for her. I need them to be praying for her to be hoping she wont give in to the darkness. I need my readers to identify with her and hope for her. Her goal has to seem unreachable at this point. She has to seem beaten. Then, and only then can I introduce the denoument. The Black moment. The instance where Beth will draw upon all her inner strength....all she has learned up until then and then she will use it to defeat (ooops....no telling) Well you get the idea.

Technorati Tags:Pedar Hill, writing , WIP, protagonist

1st page of my novel

2006-11-14T23:37:00.000-06:00

In the Silent Darkness

January 1977
Suspended in a hazy place in time, eyelids heavy as the morning fog over the bay, senses not quite awake, the young girl stirred. Far from her comfortable warm bed, her bare
foot scraped along a dirt floor. A damp, penetrating cold surrounded her, creeping
deep into her bones.

Her mind searched in those last frantic moments before waking. What’s going on
here? Rubbing her eyes and moving around as she did most mornings, she found
things were wrong. All wrong, in fact.

Her sheets must have come off in the night. Moaning, with her first tenative
movements, she fumbled for the blankets to cover her ice-cold arms. Finding none
puzzled her only to a degree. As she shifted, every muscle cried out as if she fought
evil spirits in her sleep. Perplexed at the dirt collecting under her fingernails, her
eyes fluttered open again trying harder to shake the morning cobwebs loose.

Then, a feeling of dread flooded her heart. Piecing together fragments of the previous
day brought some clarity to her morning horror. She was not tucked safely in her bed having a nightmare. Oh God. It’s not my imagination. I’m really awake. It wasn’t a
dream.

Panic, oh I can’t panic. What do I do now? What mother could lock their eleven-year-
old in the cellar? Why? Why me? Am I really so horrid? Does anyone know I am here? When will she let me out? Wont they miss me at school?
Oh God, please let this be over soon.
I’m afraid.

Tripping and fumbling many times in the darkness, not a speck of light to guide her,
she half-walked, half-crawled along the rough cement wall to connecting wall of the
single car garage. In less than a moment, her elation over finding the rough, wooden doorway in her dark hell-hole, was replaced. A hurried examination of the padlocked
door found it secure as expected.

Turning around she’d almost stumbled over the bottom stair leading up to the kitchen.
No chance she’d get out that route. She’d heard the lock engage last night. Right then, a biting cold set in every muscle and joint as if the warmth had been sucked up the stairs with Kathryn’s final slam of the door.

Still the optimist, she’d crept toward the steps several times, only to stop on the first or second step, gasping for air, fear causing her to hyperventilate. The only other way out, through a side door, seemed miles away. Not a sliver of light illuminated her path to freedom.

Shoving, kicking and pulling at the door proved fruitless. It had been blocked. Always thorough, her mother, Kathryn left nothing to chance. Unable to escape, Beth shifted
her focus to lighting up her private hellhole.

Finding the string to the only light in absolute darkness had been an achievement.
Oh thank God. Light. The devastation nearly knocked her over when the peaceful
yellow glow didn’t appear. Feeling around on her tiptoes she’d discovered the bulb
missing. You rotten bitch!
Each frantic beat of her heart pulsed above her right brow. Ker-thump.
Ker-thump.

Tears welled up in her eyes. Struggling to control her emotions she let her mind
travel back to the last few words her mother screamed at her in those brief seconds
before slamming the door.
“I will not have a common criminal living in my house!”
“But… but…”
“Criminals regularly served time in dungeons. I sentence you to the dungeon.
Remove your clothing. Everything but your panties and tee shirt.”

Sobbing uncontrollably she’d stripped down to her underclothes. For the first hour
she’d thought her mother would break down. No, not in Kathryn's world. She would
open the door when she was good and ready and not before. After waiting for her mother for what seemed like hours, Beth gave up waiting, she slumped down on the ground,
began talking to herself and ended up crying herself to sleep.

No. Kathryn had been deadly serious. She’d carefully laid out rules for Beth as the
resident criminal: Absolutely no noise, no attempts to escape and of course, Bethcould never mention this “punishment” to a living soul.

Beth knew trying anything would yield nothing but serious regret. For now, with no
plan to escape, and no idea how long she would be imprisoned in a darkness deeper than midnight, her heart and thoughts raced as it slowly sunk in.

I need to go to the bathroom. I hurt everywhere. I’m starving. God, are you there?
I’m so afraid. Please help me. Her empty stomach growled. Sitting as still as a stone monument, she heard noises above her. She strained to hear, yet could distinguish
nothing more than mumbles.

The silence began to work on her, stealing pieces of her soul, draining away her
confidence, her strength, and her convictions. Frustration and rage erupted inside her. Terror and adrenaline coursed through her veins.

Frantic and discouraged, she plunked onto the dirt floor. A peculiar musty smell wafting
up as the dirt settled. A smell she already hated. Alone, she rocked and whimpered,
her face buried in her hands. Warm salty tears slid down her scratched and tender skin. Trapped in the silent darkness, her body shuddered.

end

Technorati Tags:WIP, 1st page

Novel Structure

2006-11-14T23:18:00.000-06:00

Seems I'm not the only author struggling with my first novel. In the past few weeks I've found so many aspiring authors I've lost count. I stumbled onto a site tonite that had an interesting impact so I thought I would share what I found.
You introduce the reader to the setting, the characters and the situation (conflict). Plot Point 1 is a situation that drives the protagonist from their "normal" life toward some conflicting situation. This is what the whole story is about. (ideas and image are from Pedar Hill's site)

Basically, Beth (my protagonist) is facing her past. She will confront Kathryn (the antagonist) in California (her worst nightmare) be kidnapped again, overcome her fear of death, her fear of relationship failure and living alone the rest of her life.... She will ultimately face off with her captor Kathryn in a life and death struggle (resolution)

My question is this: Is the story at all interesting? Does it sound too much like a Lifetime movie? Will anyone want to read it? Do you?

I'm Live at my domain.

2006-11-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

http://www.writewize.com
My New Domain.

Well, my new site is certainly NOT finished. I linked it to this blog. Let's call it a good start.
By house... I mean my domain. Yep. The long awaited site. Go here to see it.
I have resources, writing links, markets, etc. What I don't have yet is a way to put ads and webrings. So, I'm keeping this site until I figure things out.
I also plan to link articles from article city and ezine articles.com back to the site.

I sold a few articles to a ghostwriting service. Now I wonder who got rich from that venture?
I will give you a hint-- It wasn't me. Yeah, I found the articles easy enough. I can do a Google search just like anyone else. I know my own words. The guy is making big bucks linking my stuff back to a site where he sells something. Ooohhhhhhh. That made my blood boil.
I had "sucker" plastered all over my forehead on that one. Not again though. Not again.

Not feeling so good

2006-11-13T11:09:00.000-06:00

As you can see by the uhhhh graphic, I don't feel so good. I slept yesterday. I turned down a writing gig. (gasp) Yep, I did. Called the doc this morning and re-scheduled an appointment so I could crawl back into bed. I look a lot like that image.... sad to say.
I think Holly gave it to me by osmosis. (just kidding hon)
See everyone soon.
Oh, the creative process seems enhanced during high fevers. Try it sometime. Weirdest thing.

Dreams helped my character.

2006-11-11T21:34:00.000-06:00

I'm worn out. This lupus flare-up is kicking my tail. I slept most of the day and I am still tired. All I want to do is sleep. My body needs rest. I'd like to say I've been pounding away at the keyboard...but I haven't been. I can barely keep my eyes open.

Too bad. I did record some great plot ideas though.

I figured out what to do with Beth.
My dreams helped me. I have the ending, and the first 8 or so chapters I kept getting stuck in the middle. Two new characters introduced themselves to me in my dream last night. They told me who they were, what they needed to accomplish, why they bothered to show up, and how long they needed to hang around. Pretty cool eh?

One of them is a complete stranger--she meets the girl when she goes to the hotel bar for a little "liquid courage". The two start talking and drinking... they spend two days and nights together doing really crazy things and facing fears. They help each other face parts of themselves they never thought they would face.

The second "new" character is Penelope. Originally I thought she would play an extremely minor role. As it turns out, this character craves attention. She has begged me for more exposure. LOL. I don't want to give too much away. *should add about 80 pages*

Found this jem at Typing Chimp

2006-11-11T00:00:00.000-06:00

This article uses quoted work from Typing Chimp
Using Stress to reveal your character:
"Once you know your character's inner workings, it's easy to bring out these qualities when they're in a tough spot.

Characters change or act differently when under fire. A tough cop can suddenly break down and cry or a meek librarian can leap into battle. What happens to your character in tough situations? "

Tip #1:
Know your character's arc. Where is he or she going? Is she going to overcome some weakness or slip further down into mental instability? When the first signs of trouble arrive in the story, we may see a glimpse of which direction the character is going in his or her arc. For example, a weak-willed sloth may get motivated to help someone, pulling a child from a burning car. The other option is to go the complete opposite way in the arc so we see a glimpse of them in a state of complete unhealthiness. For example, a weak-willed sloth may watch frozen while the car burns. Either option relates to where the arc is going and both add drama and conflict to the story.

Tip #2:
As a story progresses, the tension level generally increases. This ascending tension level creates changes in the character. Lower levels may cause a character to slip further down the scale into unhealthiness. For instance, a shy guy who can't overcome his shyness may find himself in front of the whole school and suddenly passes out or can't speak. Higher levels will usually drive a character to face these fears to be able to get out of the stressful situation, thereby curing the problem. For example, someone who has been in denial about something may be forced to face the truth. This is exactly what is happening in my own WIP right now. I cannot believe I found this article at this exact time. It feels like fate that I read it right now. It is kind of eerie. I needed to read it. The help it provided cannot be measured. I bow down to typing chimp.
Or, if the same shy guy from above suddenly learned terrorists were about to attack the school, he may make a stand and grow very healthy, very quickly--which leads to a more pronounced, definitive arc. He was heading that way anyway, the stressful situation helped him move more quickly down the road.

Tip #2:
As a story progresses, the tension level generally increases. This ascending tension level creates changes in the character. Lower levels may cause a character to slip further down the scale into unhealthiness. For instance, a shy guy who can't overcome his shyness may find himself in front of the whole school and suddenly passes out or can't speak. Higher levels will usually drive a character to face these fears to be able to get out of the stressful situation, thereby curing the problem. For example, someone who has been in denial about something may be forced to face the truth. Or, if the same shy guy from above suddenly learned terrorists were about to attack the school, he may make a stand and grow very healthy, very quickly--which leads to a more pronounced, definitive arc. He was heading that way anyway, the stressful situation helped him move more quickly down the road.

The article goes on to discuss dialogue--my weakest area. The one area I need to pump up and use more often to reveal more about my characters, to reveal more about the story itself.

Tip #3:
Dialogue is affected by stress. In most "modern" stories, talking a lot or rambling is seen as unhealthy, while not talking is seen as healthy (not always true in real life). At the lower levels of stress in the story, we might see a character's mind rambling, confused, and experiencing disorganized thoughts. Under serious stress, this same character may experience a moment of clarity no one expected, including herself. Whether you put such a moment of high stress early and deal with the fallout during the rest of the story, or later in the story where it would come in handy for the hero (or villain) is up to you.

Stress can be a TOOL for an author.
Thanks typing chimp I like your create a character page too.
I just can't afford your software. :(

I need to buckle down

2006-11-10T23:16:00.000-06:00

And write. My novel has been calling me. I've neglected it all week. (smack)
Beth is so desperate to get on to the next scene she appeared in my dreams several nights this week. Now, you know you are in trouble when your protagonist starts pestering you in your sleep.
Tonight we went out to dinner. We ate at Montana Mike's. It was so nice to go out. We talked over the dinner table for nearly two hours. It was fantastic. We need a better social life. I enjoyed our dinner.
I have a ton of writing resources to organize tomorrow for this site. (I'm almost ready to unveil the new site) Happy squeal.

Top 5 Things I'd Rather Do with my Blood Glucose Tester

2006-11-09T17:50:00.000-06:00

I don't know about everyone else, but I HATE poking my finger every day. When I'm sick my blood sugar goes all over the map. This kidney infection has my numbers jumping from 238 all the way to 68. I feel dizzy and tired. My body needs extra hours of sleep and I'm not sure I will feel rested again until the infection is gone. With NO immune system I'm not sure how long it will take to get over this stoooooooopid thing! GRRRRRR. Can ya tell I'm frustrated?????
Today is one of those "mad at Lupus" days. Go figure. I have six mouth sores, my arms are all rashy and I get dizzy every time I stand up.... what does all that mean... I am in yet another Flare up of my stinkin' Lupus. And I can blame it all on the dumb kidney infection.

Jab someone else with the lancet.
Eat chocolate. Oh rats I had to give that up.
Complain.
Think up lame excuses and forget to test. LOL
Count the freckles on my arm instead.

Unfortunately, none of those methods give me a record of my blood sugar so I have to test it the proper way. Gotta run.

MUST SEE BLOG!

2006-11-08T12:52:00.000-06:00

Um, Sorry if this offends anyone. After the late night voter results I just HAD to do this. The "voices made me do it" (just kidding)

Bloody Sunday Video
Be sure to turn on your speakers.

I'll be waiting with uh "baited breath" to see what he has to say at his press conference today.

In The Nick of time

2006-11-07T23:44:00.000-06:00

Phew. I'm posting late tonite cuz I had so much to do. Articles to write etc. The life of a freelance copy writer/ghostwriter/grandmother/concerned citizen etc...

So, I think I'm gonna try to hack this blog. I wanna make some changes. I get bored. If the whole thing looks like weird code in a few days, you will know why.

Does this thing have a spine?

2006-11-06T21:38:00.000-06:00

Why the shocked look? Let me explain. I went to an art show on the local college campus this evening. My caregiver is an art student. ( I think I may have mentioned it a few times but it is worth mentioning again)
So, here's the scoop.
The professors have a showing of their art each year. Tonight was the night. We dressed up and went to go check it out. When I say "we" of course I mean the grandkids, went with us. You just cannot walk out the door with these cuties. We dressed the boys in pin-striped pants, white shirts, and matching vests. To say they looked adorable is an understatement of the biggest kind.
We are milling about viewing art, gossiping, etc and of course every person there has to comment on how great the boys look. How awesome Jaden (the older brother) is and how big Dawson (seen in the picture) has gotten.

The resident Art Historian, a devoted dog lover who has no children had been eyeing Dawson all evening. She'd made the usual comments about his size and how cute he was. She went on the accuse Dana (my caregiver) of spoiling the young man by holding him 24 hours a day, when suddenly, with the slyest grin Dana offered Dawson up with open arms.
"Would you like to hold him"
" Who me"
"Sure, go ahead" Dana suddenly plopped Dawson into the professors arms.
She fiddled with the three month old for a few minutes trying to get his attention and make him smile then, with all honesty she looked around at the people gathered and asked them collectively, "Where's his spine?" She kept trying to gather him up and make him stand up in her lap. Everyone around bust out laughing. I actually had to sit down my knees got so weak.
The poor infant wiggled about in her lap like a rag doll. Thank goodness this fella has a good strong sense of balance and his neck was strong. She sort of held him like a sack of dog food.

I suggested she sit him down and clap his hands like "patticake" because it would make him smile and coo. He is seriously at that smiling stage. She practically had a cow.
"Ew, he had his hands in his mouth" ---

Now, I was really going to bust!!! Oh my gosh, you might catch a germ.
Overall, those moments made my night.

I mentioned I would blog about the whole situation and she didn't mind at all. Thanks you know who!
(names withheld to protect the innocent) LOL

Oh yes, I also got an email about this site today. Since it was art related I decided to share it.
Be sure to visit it and have fun. You will like it if you enjoy Jackson Pollack.

It felt good to leave the house. Exhausting, but good. Now I'll probably sleep for three days straight. The art.... it was worth the trip. Fantastic. I really liked two specific pieces. There was a painting of a woman in a bathrobe that was so lifelike. The other piece I flipped out for was a pair of glass flip flops. I have to admit I liked a lot of what I saw.

I missed seeing the work of a certain fiber art teacher. She knows who she is.

Please Vote

2006-11-05T22:41:00.000-06:00

Vote Please. It is a right, a privledge, and something we all need to do. Goodness knows I've had enough of a few things. I don't want to get all political here so I won't. HOWEVER....

won't you be glad when these ridiculous tv ads are over? I know I will.
aren't you ready for lower gas prices?
wouldn't you love to see a politician who doesn't smear his/her opponent?
don't you just dread the end of Oct/beginning of Nov television ads?
Do you wonder how they will screw up computerized voting results?
Don't you think we should all just write in "Snoopy for President"
forget a woman president--we may be headed for a doggie prez.... LOL

Amidst all the sex scandals of the world, pastors having sex, and buying drugs, overseas wars and arson fires I thought a little voter humor was in order.

*If I offended anyone I humbly apologize* Here at writewize the "Show must go on"

I promise to get back on the subject of WRITING ..... soon. (this kidney infection has my brain cells scrambled. I am sleeping a lot..... I'll be normal again very soon.)

The Case of the missing Post.

2006-11-04T23:34:00.000-06:00

Hey, I "aint" playin' no sad violin here. (how many mistakes can ya find in that sentence...or should we just go for the whole blog entry)?
I posted an entry about the horrors of footnotes vs endnotes and POOF....it is gone. Explain that one.
Did I post in someone else's blog? I don' drink so no funny biz was involved. Though I am under the influence of some new medications for this blasted kidney infection which has me sleeping an extra 5 hours during the middle of the day. One sec I am watching tv and then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So, you wannna be a writer?
Step1 --How many errores in this blog?
Step2 --Name soem resources on the Internet for finding jobs.
Step3--Sign and LINK to my blog (muwhaaaahhhaaa)
just kidding

But it wouldn't hurt. In about two weeks when I unveil my completed site I hope emerging writers will be pleased. Until then....... I hope everyone enjoyed the joke.

Redheads Rule the world

2006-11-03T22:46:00.000-06:00

It's true. The rest of the world just doesn't know it. Think back. If you have gorgeous red hair (like me) you probably endured horrific teasing as a child/teen/pre-teen/young adult and might still catch the odd comment now and then. Face it-- the rest of the world is just GREEN WITH ENVY!!!!!
I'm 44 and not a gray hair in sight. Most of my friends have been applying nasty smelly hair dye since their twenties. Not me. What you see is what you get. The color is natural BABY. God made this pretty shade. Oh, it has changed too. When I was a kid...my hair was the color of a copper penny. In my teen years it was a lovely auburn color.

In the summer it looked a little like wheat if I got a bit of sun. In the winter it would get a bit brownish auburn. You can probably still find me if you have really old Sears magazines and you look in the shorts and socks pages. Yep, you guessed it....I was a child model in another lifetime. It was my long legs they wanted. I also did a Campbells Soup commercial. To this day I cannot eat tomato soup. Blech.

Lately my hair is turning a bit dark reddish brown due to my meds. But...not gray. *evil laugh*
My little sister has a ton of gray and has to dye hers. Ha ha ha.

I spent the day doing HTML tutorials and sleeping. I did follow the randomizer to a few sites.
Thanks to those who came to mine and commented.
I can't wait till the kidney infection goes away and I start feeling better. I am dragging my sorry behind....
till later
ciao

Dumb people and the word "is"

2006-11-03T11:33:00.000-06:00

Are I the only one? <---------notice anything WRONG HERE. Have you noticed anything unusual lately? Do you pay attention to the news, television programs, public speakers, your neighbors, etc. Do you just cringe when they say, "is" instead of "are"? This week alone I kept a tally sheet next to me while I watched evening television. When I hit 30+ I hit the roof. What native tongue do we speak? This is a basic concept here. The verb --to be. But, go figure...our own president cannot figure out how to pronounce nuclear. You know nooo kle er Here is a tip. The dog is lying down. 1 object
The kids are playing outside. multiple objects Real frickin easy!!!!

Okay, soapbox lecture over!

Wordpress is calling my name

2006-11-02T23:34:00.000-06:00

I'm jealous. Other people who have WordPress can do things in their blogs that I just cannot do. They have the best plugins and things just seem easier. I regret the switch I made to Beta.
I found out I cannot even import all my posts over if I wanted to due to Beta and that burns my you know what.
so.... I have decided to move my main website to my new domain and link that to a blog at wordpress.
sigh.
Rough day today. I'm suffering through the third kidney infection in the last 3 months. My arms look like pin cushions from all the IV attempts they made in the ER trying to get blood and get an IV started. UGGGHHH. They finally got the IV going in the top of my hand (which hurts like a bugger now) and of course I have bumped it about 14 times today.

You've heard of bad hair days... Well I had a bad body day. Felt like crap.
No writing advice today.

However..... on the horizon. I am going through an email course and I do plan to start an ezine of my own in the next two weeks. So STAY TUNED.
My ezine will be up and running by Thanksgiving.

Had to add this.....just found it. ==================>>>>>

News of the Weird

2006-11-01T21:46:00.000-06:00

Just had to have my funnybone tickled today. I found some hilarious news items.
This one was in the Daily Telegraph in London (sometime in September)
In September, the headmistress of the Dvergsnes primary school in Kristiansand, Norway, proposed that boys be taught to urinate while seated, in order to reduce splashing and mis-targeting, which burden the cleaning staff, but many parents and politicians reacted bitterly. Said Vidar Kleppe of the Justice and Order party, "It's a human right (for a boy) not to have to sit down like a girl," adding that the school was "fiddling with God's work."

Oh, and then there is the one about the soccer coach who drew a smiley face on her stomach. The coaching association didn't approve of her "lifting her shirt" to make her 7 and 8 year old team member's laugh. It just didn't fit with their image.

Any time you need to laugh...just head over to your local newspaper or Google "weird news"
I had a chuckle.

Hey, happy NaBloPoMo and Nanowrimo.

Too Many Energy Drinks?

2006-11-01T10:43:00.000-06:00

I knew someone would do a study sooner or later. Kids are consuming too many energy drinks laden with sugar and other caustic junk. Is your pantry or fridge filled with Red Bull, Monster or even Gator Aid? The stuff is okay from time to time but kids don't need to drink it every day.

What to do when you are Bored

2006-11-01T09:47:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've been browsing a bit today. You get to see what I found.
Uncle Orson's Writing Lessons -- a must see.
Ten Mistakes Writers Don't See see if you make the same mistakes.
The Generator Blog a source for games and code generated fun.

Check these out! Have fun, learn something. Make a button like I did.

Nano Begins!

2006-11-01T08:56:00.000-06:00

Well, I made a decision. I just cannot do Nanowrimo. Uggh! I've decided to do the Blog version instead. My health has been a serious factor.
I spentMonday night and Tuesdaymorning in the Emergency Room. It wasn't pleasant.
I have another kidney infection and that kicked in another bout of colitis. I must say that morphine by IV does help with colon pain. I was so out of it yesterday I don't remember much except the evening.

Got a writing gig!

2006-10-30T23:14:00.000-06:00

Freelance world...hold on. Here I come. I got a gig to write 5 articles 400-500 words each on Thank You notes. Hmmm. Have to write them by Friday. Already have 2 of them finished. Not a bad deal on the pay either. (yeah, much better than writing for free)

Looking forward to Trick or Treat

2006-10-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! My grandson is 19 months old. We bought him the cutest Tiger outfit about five weeks ago. Then, he went through this growth spurt. Yechhh! We tried the outfit on him with sweat pants underneath and the headpiece tried to strangle him.
Off we went to the store. Sixteen bucks. Ouch. We found the cutest Tony The Tiger costume. He looks GReeeaaat in it.
I will have to post pictures as soon as possible. His baby brother is going as an ice cream cone.

Now, I have to wait a couple days. I want it to be NOW.

Move to new Domain Imminent....

2006-10-27T00:32:00.000-05:00

I have been plugging away! Yep. Building a new site is hard work. I must admit, HTML is not the easiest thing in the world. What does it mean? It means Hyper Text Markup Language. Oh, and the choices you have to make! I could have just picked a template and thrown together a site. But, I'm not that easy to please. I like things MY way. I'm plugging away at it. Fairly soon I will have it ready and then I will launch it and make a big deal about it. For now, I am spending about 16 hours a day working on it.

A smiling addiction

2006-10-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

I found this priceless video quite by accident. Apparently it won at the Granger Film Festival this year. The whole thing was sponsored by Lightcast Media. It was made by a church group out of Georgia. The sad thing is that it is all over YouTube and nobody is giving it the PROPER CREDIT.
At first I thought it was kinda cute. Then I watched it and realized it was sorta sad. The tune sticks with ya. Go watch it for yourself and decide.

Getting Work in Freelance

2006-10-25T14:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am. After months of hard work learning how to craft better articles, better short stories and even poetry. I've taken the plunge. Paying markets...watch out. Here I come. Sure, that big Courage word still hangs around and beats me over the head a bunch. It won't win though. Perserverance is my middle name. There are more magazines and ezines out there to submit to than there are rejection slips. I've joined a few groups to help along the way, and I just signed up for a new four week course on article writing.
Never give up, never surrender. Oh, and yes, my behind is firmly in this chair and my fingers are about raw from typing. Julie Ann Amos of Exquisite writing just sent me a database page to fill out so she could determine what writing jobs I qualify for and I look forward to seeing my email fill up with freelance opportunities. Go to her site and sign up and you could be feeling this good.

Here is the site link.

Freelance Writing Organization - Int'l.
Thousands of no charge writing resources.
http://www.fwointl.com

Breaking Elmore's Rules

2006-10-22T00:54:00.000-05:00

Why is it that writers have such hard and fast rules about writing the all American novel? Okay, I agree we should keep our use of the exclamation point to a minimum. My adherance to Elmore's 10 rules stops there. Most of his rules are more like guidelines. For example: Don't start a story with weather. I can't even count the number of books I've read where the whole first page related to some dark storm and how spooky the trees or forest were.
I'm wondering if he read any of these books.
Yes, a great many of his rules are very good. He has advice on keeping tight sentences, and not modifying verbs.... most rules I've heard from any good writer. I just get stuck on a few. Check out his site.

Sheesh, I need to get to bed. I was up half the night last night with my 3 month old grandson and here I am typing away tonight. More on writing rules tomorrow.

Courage, Fear and Writing

2006-10-21T21:52:00.000-05:00

Is there a trend among emerging writers lately? It seems several of the bloggers who are new to Nano this year have expressed serious doubts and fears on the Forums at the nanowrimo boards. I've openly struggled with courage issues in this blog and with several of my writing friends and groups. According to Holly's site, even the best of writers struggle since writing is a lonely profession and as she points out in this article... we are selling ideas from our mind, to complete strangers.

She's right! Talk about your tough sell. It makes me wonder how I picked writing. Except I felt natural with a book in my hands as soon as I could hold one. I also wrote everything I could from the age I could write my name. I wrote my first full length poem (that was decent) when I was nine years old and I never stopped my love affari with words.

I'm embracing my fears. I figure the best way to get over what scares me the most is to educate myself. My biggest fears at this moment all center around staying stuck in the middle of my novel. How am I helping myself? I am focused on moving the plot forward.

I needed to back away from my character focus and look to fix the plot of my work in progress. The plot had a few holes in it. How could I patch the holes? If I could patch the holes I figured the character issues would be resolved along the way. Sure enough, I stopped stressing and I seem to have built up steam again. I think putting the project in the desk drawer for 7 days did wonders as well.

I spent some time doing grandma things and didn't look at my pages for several days. The power outtage helped a lot in that area. Fresh eyes have helped. I'm less stressed out and more productive.

Oh yeah, tomorrow is the Maple Leaf festival in Baldwin City Kansas. We've gone every year for the past 16 years. It rains about every five or six years. Looks like this year is going to be one of those soggy and cold years. I was really looking forward to the festival and seeing old friends. I hope the sun makes an appearance.

Every year, this clown directs traffic at the main intersection after the parade. I don't know how he has the energy. The festival wouldn't be the same without him. I hope the weather clears so we are able to go without freezing our booties. I like to shop for Christmas things at the festival. I'm not sure why I'm so broke this year!

Trying Nano again this year

2006-10-20T16:25:00.000-05:00

Last year I got quite a bit done on my psychological thriller by signing up with National Novel Writing Month. I had some fairly severe health problems and did NOT win the 2005 version because I just couldn't meet the word count. I'm not letting that stop me. I've signed up for Nano 2006.
I plan to work on a YA novel. I'm not sharing much more for now as it is in the planning stages right now and I've changed my mind about the title, plot and characters for this four times already! (go figure)

I've hooked up with the same Kansas group from last year.
I've downloaded several writer freebies.
cleaned up my computer files and organized my computer
studied up on a few of the basics
stocked up on food items (healthy ones)
cleaned up all the corners of my house so I can essentially ignore it for a month! LOL
cleared my calendar

I hope I'm ready. I can only do my best. Wish me luck.

Missed everyone during power outage.

2006-10-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

I'm so happy to be back in the land of the bloggers and the electronic world. I had an amazing week. Monday morning, due to a lot of wind and rain.... a small branch fell on my power lines and knocked out the main line to my house. Amidst squabbles as to whether the landlord or the electric company would be responsible for the bill, we finally got an electrician out to the house and discovered the real cause of the problem.

Three days later we finally got our electricity back. Have you ever sat around for a couple days without electricity twiddling your thumbs? Each passing moment I wanted someone to get out to my house and DO something. Once the problem got solved I plugged my trusty computer back in and found my modem had been fried in the process. GRRRRRR! So, another call to have a tech come to the house. $122.00 later and I have a new modem (which has a crummy 90 day warranty) I cannot believe they can charge that much and only guarantee it for a lousy 3 months. This puppy better last a few years!!!

I have to admit, I rely on the Internet for my freelance career so the money was well spent.

It is time to catch up on my blog reading, my tons of email and so much more. I'm just happy to be back.

Expect few changes around here!

2006-10-14T17:06:00.000-05:00

Hold onto your hats folks. I plan to make some changes around here. After the writing conference last week, I decided it was time to present myself in a better light. The good fairy was blessed me when I wished on a star, so I purchased my domain name! (Woo Woo).

I should be switching over to the new host in the next week or so.

I also have A LOT of material to share from the workshops and chats I attended. So watch for a new LOOK! I will have lots of links to share resources etc. I will be changing to a slightly different format that I hope will be easier to browse through. :)

Watching the Daily Show with your Toddler

2006-10-13T13:10:00.000-05:00

Image from Comedy Central Website

Ready for a Funny Friday? Try watching The Daily Show with your toddler. Oh my goodness! Yes, laughter will ensue. Last night, while watching the show, my eighteen-month-old grandson Jaden decided to pay attention to the television in an attempt to avoid falling asleep. As John Stewart did his comedy bit ripping G. Dubya to bits and making fun of his Rose Garden Press Conference, my grandson began to imitate the Prez. He waved his arms about gesturing in the "Dubya" manner and had us all in stitches. Someone once happened to mention the word "Dumb Dumb" and so every time Jaden sees good ole' Dubya he shreiks "Dumb Dumb" and points to the Prez. Hilarity ensues.

I know, I know. Not very patriotic. But hilarious as all get out at 11:30 at night. I 'bout peed my drawers I laughed so hard. He must have said "dumb dumb" about 19 times in a row during the broadcast while Stewart discussed issues and continued to show pieces of the press conference.

Hey, at least we didn't teach him a "bad" word. It could have been much worse. I know I'll get tons of comments on this one so bring 'em on. It was just harmless fun.

Amazing presenters at online conference

2006-10-10T19:23:00.000-05:00

I've been attending an online writing conference for the last couple of days. I have to admit this is a SUPER idea. The chats with the presenters have been AMAZING! Some of the presenters like Jan Verhoeff have provided invaluable handouts which I will be able to use to help with my dialogue problems. Another one, Betty Dobson, gave a talk on poetry which was very enlightening. Her website is great too.

I'll have a closer look at my handouts and see what I can add here. (of course I will give credit where it is due)

Linking to other writers and blogs

2006-10-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

I've been doing my fair share of blog reading. Yep, I'm guilty. I comment on some. I'm not shy about using my identity on the web. After all, I don't expect anyone showing up at my doorstep. I haven't exactly given out my home address. I don't give out my last name and I'm polite. I believe in politeness.

Recently, I've noticed I have a few readers. I'm not even sure Google has me listed yet. (crosses fingers and wishes on every available star) I'm hoping some of you will want to LINK to my site. I've added a new widget. Go down the left side, below the Blogs I read and you will see a box where you can add your site. I will Gladly go to your site and read what you have to say. Most likely I will add you to my links and we will have increased both of our readerships.

By the way, I did have someone send me a note about the colors so I made yet another change. I hope this makes things a bit easier on the eyes. It is weird for me to get used to the links all being on the left now.

Did you know that Barbara Streisand used the F word at her concert last night? Apparently a proffessional heckler really laid it on thick about Bush and she dropped the word at him cuz' she was in the middle of a song and he hit a nerve. Here's the story!

She's on tour and she had an impersonator do a skit. I saw a bit of it on the news a few days ago, it was hilarious. Someone didn't think it was funny and she said, "Shut the (expletive) up!" drawing wild applause. "Shut up if you can't take a joke!" (direct quote from MSN News)

Oh, only Barbara.

Acceptance letter means Happy Dance!

2006-10-09T23:11:00.000-05:00

I got an acceptance email today! No, it isn't about my novel. Not yet. I will have a story published about my Lupus and how it has impacted me as a person/writer in an ezine in December. It will also showcase two poems. Yes, I know there are people out there who just don't get the whole poetry thing and who are turned off by poets. However, I have my foot in the door and I'm happy so let me do my Happy Dance and don't rain on my parade.

I'm still hard at work on my novel. Still struggling with plot, adding characters and the sluggish middle, but this sure brightened up my email box tonight. I couldn't physically do the dance myself so I brought in some help from Snoopy. I hope ya'll don't object.

Oh, and by the way. I completed my chapter book for middle-school aged kids a few years back and it has been gathering dust on my shelf ever since. I've been too afraid to send out any inquiries. I mean how do I market a controversial book about AIDS to school kids?

Well, I am going to figure out a way to do it. My spirit was renewed today. Amazing what one acceptance letter can do for you.

Happy Dance. Happy Dance.

I will provide a link when the ezine comes out on December 10, 2006.

Writing is my life. I knew there was a reason I got up every morning. Yipee!

P.S. The first few chats of the online writers conference were GREAT. I learned a lot and got invited to submit to an anthology. Check out the links for presenters here.

In The Silent Darkness --My novel.

2006-10-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

I'm excited. People are actually reading my blog. Okay, only a few, but it is a start and it makes me feel great when people send me notes telling me I have something to add to the writing world. (Can you say --Cloud 9)? Yipee!

Beth is the protagonist from my current WIP. She grew up in a highly abusive home. Now, she is a radio personality for a local radio station, is involved with an artist ( Patrick) she met at the Public Library and wants to become serious about this relationship. Old fears and feelings keep her from opening up about her past, her family and her life. After serious debate she decidedes to go to California (from Kansas) to face her past. The book meanders through her feelings and is done in flashback from the moment she steps on the plane. The reader experiences some of her worst moments since her adoption. They see her punishments, her struggles with being shy and different. The book cuts back and forth from the trip and checking in to a hotel, to being a child and teenager.

I''ve written the beginning of the story and the very climactic ending. Here's the rub.

I"M STUCK in the MIDDLE. GRRRR. I need Inspiration!

My initial plan was to have her confront her mother, have her mother lock her in the cellar as she had done once in Beth's past. This time, Beth has her purse over her shoulder and is able to call the police and FBI. There is a whole plot to rescue her going on outside while the mother, Kathryn disolves into madness inside the house, all the while threatening to kill her once estranged daughter Beth.

Some of those details are worked out. Sorta. My characters thus far are only these main characters and a few brief encounters with people at an airport counter. Can my book survive with these 3 main characters? I thought about and have tried adding a therapist without much success. Beth calls him from her hotel room and talks out some of her fears as she goes into a severe panic. I worry I have too much emphasis on her state of mind and her panic state for this to fly.

Do all author's feel this concerned when writing? Gosh I hope so.

Walks with a cane

2006-10-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

That kinda sounds like my Sioux name, huh. "Walks with a cane" Well, there are a few people out in the real world who need to pay just a little more attention to those of us who use canes, wheelchairs, crutches, etc. I mean opening doors is Not such a big deal. Bumping into us or knocking us over IS! If I see someone who has trouble walking I do my best to help out. I always did as a child and young adult, and to this day I find myself holding doors for other challenged people. What makes it HARD for others to think of this? What is so hard?
Does that silly cane make people sooooooooooo uncomfortable? Our symptoms are not contageous. We don't bite (usually).
Be kind to everyone. That means any other person you meet. Use the manners you were raised to have.

Do the Newbie Writer Research--don't whine!

2006-10-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

Some people say they were born to write. I get that! I've been writing stories of some type since I could hold a pencil. Here is my dillema. I put myself out here on the Internet a writer. Yes, I am trying to break into the Publishing world. I'm fairly new to it. I've written for years, I just haven't picked up a book in a store with my name on the front cover.

When I try my luck at the freelance job sites there is a huge amount of competition. Some other writers have several years of experience and a few books under their belts. I don't let this discourage me. (too much) I look for every opportunity I can find. I get my name out there, I network.

Then I end up on these discussion boards where I find the whiniest newbies on the planet. Some of them are giving the rest of us a BAD NAME. Come on. Go to the bookstore and buy a few books. Check books out of the library. Find some of the bazillion articles online about becoming a freelance writer. Do the research.
I find myself wanting to smack around a few of these newbies who want someone to spoon feed them everything.

Yes, I am struggling to compete for the jobs, the resources, the connections. I have more road blocks than many people. I cannot tell on a regular day if I will be able to stay awake and write that day due to my symptoms of my illnesses. I do what I can and plug along. I take my medications I eat right and I keep going.

I check out freelance job boards, I keep in touch with connections I have made through HARD work. I don't whine about it. (at least I hope people don't see me that way)

C'mon newbie writers.... join writing groups, get newsletters, create a website and make yourself known. Work at it. Just like I am. Nothing comes from nothing. Freelance contains the word "free" but it is hard work. Get to it and stop whining on the boards.

Oh Dear I need more Characters!

2006-10-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

I've known for a while I needed to add more characters to my current WIP. I really cannot work with only two main characters. Sure, I have around five other minor characters who appear for a page or two or even a scene here or there. In the scope of things my two main characters don't have enough supporting characters around them.

My protagonist has her therapist, but she only speaks to them on the phone. I need face-to-face characters.

She spends so much time alone in her hotel room, then alone in her car, and finally when she is kidnapped she will spend time alone in the cellar of the house. (thus the title "In the Silent Darkness")

How can I add more characters? So far she has only come in contact with people at the airport, and at her hotel. The people she sees are strangers and customer service type people.

The basic outline is that "she" is going home to face the ghosts of her past. Beth (she) must face her mother and find out why she abused her as a child? What had she done that was so wrong?

After 25 years away from home and any reminder of family she returns to the family home. Her abusive mother is now plump and grey. She no longer looks threatening. They reminisce and then her crazy mother ends up pushing her down the cellar stairs and bolting the door to her freedom as she locks her in the dark cellar.

I have the beginning written and the highly exciting ending written. I am STUCK trying to fill in the middle. Boy do I need advice and ideas.

Diabetes diets, energy, and me.

2006-10-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

Okay, so no more syrupy pancakes on Sunday morning for me. I'm learning. My blood sugar was 167 this morning. That ruled out anything remotely sweet. Protein was the order of the day.

Being new to all this, I went straight to my computer to see if yesterday's family blowout and all the STRESS could have been the reason for high reading. Sure enough, from what I read, cortisol gets released when you are angry or extremely emotional starting a whole string of events with your insulin and blood sugar. The site I went to suggests keeping a fairly calm lifestyle. Ha!

Okay, so the big question. I've had a few emails and I wonder about this. Should this blog be less personal? Do I reveal too much of me? Should it be more about writing?

I've been so busy with personal issues I haven't had a lot of time for my own WIP's (works in progress) My two favorite characters are being completely ignored. I have written some articles--mostly on arthritis, diabetic issues or other things to which I can closely relate, and I've been sending out poetry.

As an emerging writer (to the published world) I'm asking YOU, my readers, to let me know.

What do we do to stop stupid people?

2006-09-28T18:09:00.000-05:00

I am just horrified!!!! I had a VERY long day at the doctor's office today... a two hour drive both directions, totally scary news about possible liver damage and other possibilities and then they took 11 vials of blood for tests. Yep, I said 11. So, I come home and sit down to relax like the doctor told me to do. I'm drinking my water and I decide to do a little net surfin'.

Shock and horror. I found Kelly James Enger's site has been taken over by some MORON.

It doesn't actually show any pictures but it has links to offensive words. I didn't click anything because I am not that type of person. I can only imagine what would come up. I wouldn't even venture to go there in my mind. Sicko!!!!

I want to report it to Kelly or someone, I just don't know how or who. Any suggestions?

Banned Books Week

2006-09-27T18:47:00.000-05:00

Hey, do you want someone telling you what books to read? I read whatever I like. I read the news, magazines, ezines, blogs, novels, and much more. This week I plan to stop by the library and pick up a banned book. You should too. Check out all the information at the American Library Association site for this years books and other info on previous books. It has everything you ever wanted to know about banned books and what it means to the youth of America. I don't want to lose my freedom.

I'm a Project Runway Junkie

2006-09-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

I know. I know. Not everyone likes fashion, or reality shows. I am not into the high fashion world. I just like to watch. I love the bickering. Watching it fascinates me. There have been so many scandals just this season. One designer got kicked off for using books and materials. Now, another designer might have cheated and had another person sewing for him. Wow, a big no-no. If you want more info on the show, it runs on Bravo. Quite frankly, I had my hopes on Laura or Michael winning. I think Uli puts out the same basic thing week after week and I cannot stand Jeff. (no it isn't the tatoo's or his language) I don't care for his fashions.
I think Michael consistently puts out GREAT looks. His coffee filter dress on episode one was my favorite and several of his designs have been my fave since.

So, if it is Wednesday night. Set your Tivo or DVR or televison. I do.

Kick-starting my muse

2006-09-27T11:26:00.000-05:00

Many established authors have been known to have trouble with writer's block at times. I hear it is normal. What about emerging writer's? Yes, we struggle with our muse as well. I've been writing since I could hold a pencil. I wrote my first complete poem at nine years old, and published a piece in junior high school. Yet I still struggle at times with empty pages.

During those times I have strategies. Sometimes I use story starter prompts from several books I own like: Writers Idea Book by Jack Heffron, or Pocket Muse by Monica Wood. I have a whole collection of books, and I get some prompts by private email from groups I have joined. Sometimes I even using writing prompt sites like this one at Writing Fix or this one I found on an author site.

For me, there are extra complications due to my illness and all the medications I take. I have troubles with short-term memory and concentration. I blame some of it on the illness itself and some on the liver functions which really messes with my ability to process information. When my functions are really out of whack--Like they have been these past few months-- it is difficult to get anything done, let alone write sentences that are coherent.

Thankfully, I see the hepatologist tomorrow!!!!! I hope we start to get everything back to normal so I can start to see my muse more often and have to rely on my strategies less and less.

If you have troubles, feel free to share them in my comments section.

Wanting

2006-09-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

Photo credit http://wynnwhitephoto.com/triangular_rocks_c.jpg

Last night I fought sleep. Why? I found myself wanting. I want my blog to be more. I want to be accepted into the community at large as an accredited writer. I've spent the last nineteen years writing my heart out on bits of paper. Poems, stories, chunks of life I've savored. All of these adding up to major wantings.
Well most writers do something. I've been submitting to small press and contests. The hard part is waiting to hear back. I want people to know I exist.

DooWop Music on PBS

2006-09-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

Last night we watched the best show on PBS public television. It was a Doo Wop special. We got to go back in time a bit to see all the Doo Wop music from the 50's and 60's.

I felt like I stepped into a transporter. Some of the older performers came out and did their renditions of : "Earth Angel" "I Only Have Eyes For You" and several other of the best of Doo Wop.

If you love these songs like I do....pop on over to Http://www.pbs.org

Bindi Pays Tribute to her Father Steve Irwin

2006-09-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

We have all been saddened by the recent death of Steve Irwin the "Croc Hunter"
In the following video his eight year old daughter pays her tribute to her father.

Health Update

2006-09-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Well, the new medication was not great. My liver functions were so highmy rheumatologist called me after only four days on the new pills to tell me to quit taking them. PHOOEY!!!

Then, I started feeling like my back hurt all the time. It felt like my kidneys were on the attack (something that scares the bloody heck out of any Lupus patient). I dragged myself to the doctor only to find out I had a raging kidney infection and my colitis had flared up. Great! Just what I needed while I was NOT ON a immunosuppressant. Great time for my body to be sick. More medictions, drink cranberry juice and try to feel better.

Did the bad news stop there? NOPE. The doctor also found my blood sugar had been too high as well. Now, I get to prick my finger twice a day and keep track of highs and lows. I also have to regulate my sugar intake and work to eliminate excess carbohydrates as they turn to sugar in the body.

Doc says, "Relax, try meditation"

Hummmph! You don't wanna know my response.

Can writing heal the soul?

2006-09-19T18:59:00.000-05:00

Can writing heal the soul?

Every day someone puts out another self-help book, article or e-book. We all browse through them at a bookstore or even online. I'm thinking of writing one about my journey from a healthy, busy schoolteacher to someone at home on social security with Lupus.

I write short stories and poems all the time. A lot of my writing has to do with my life and experiences. So, yes I belive writing heals.

As I struggle through my illness (which has taken a serious turn for the worst in the past two months) I find writing, blogging and sharing is about the only thing that makes me feel I am healing within.

MY ADVICE: Go with your heart. Write when the need arises. For me, that means daily.

Guides for Writers

2006-08-22T23:26:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned anywhere yet that I simply worship Jenna Glatzer? Why? Well the girl knows how to say what she needs to say, with brevity and make it highly interesting.
I think I've scoured the Internet a zillion times looking for every word she has ever written.
Some writers BORE me. NOT HER!!!

She lays out what she wants to say and I can drink it all in and absorb what I am reading.
I cannot give the girl any higher praise. If you are new to writing. Read everything she writes.
Start here. This guide goes through all the beginner steps for freelance writers. She talks about the Big Idea, Researching markets, everything. She teaches you how to use time wisely and not waste it.

I admit, I go back often!!!! Oh, and she has her own web domain. Her site is also bookmarked. I visit often. She has written several books on writing. She also wrote Celine Dion's autobiograhpy, and she has a weekly podcast. What can I say.... Jenna rocks!
The journey of one freelance writer as she begins learning the process, submitting fiction and gaining entrance to the writing world on the Internet.