Counter intuitive things to be thankful for

Yes I'm doing a Thanksgiving blog: surprise surprise. But since I can't seem to do anything in a standard fashion, I thought I'd mix things up a bit. Things that I'm thankful for that perhaps I shouldn't, or just that seem counter intuitive.

I am thankful for:

Being laid off.
Being divorced.
Being virtually homeless.

These surely aren't things most people would categorize in the thankful category but for me they all represent one thing: Freedom (I can hear Mel Gibson screaming it...yeah it's that important to me too.)

This freedom from the daily grind, mortgages and rent gives me the opportunity to write and explore the world. It enables me to give writing and traveling a chance.

I know this wouldn't work for everyone--hello, I have a huge freaking family and friends that live all over the country and want me to come visit them. But for anyone that wants to travel and is laid off--see how much you can do without and see about taking trips on the cheap.

There are a lot of websites out there for people who don't have spread out friends and family.

Google couch surfing, caretakers gazette, travel writing, house sitting. Heck, even writers who work from home or write when they aren't working a regular job need a break from reality or their own space--even if it is house sitting down the block or in the town over.

www.caretaker.org
www.couchsurfing.com
www.couchsurfing.org
7 Things You Should Know Before Becoming A Digital Nomad
Travel full-time for less than $14,000 per year


Some of these have an annual fee--but that's to keep the riff raff out :-P


Video: Maybe if I lived in this house I'd be more prone to stay in one spot.

Things I learned while in Missouri

While bff's equal muse from a distance, up close and personal is another story.

My bff, CoD, is a wonderful inspiration from afar. She helps push me through rough patches in writing and is my sounding board. This is all over the internet and phone, since we live about 9 hours from one another. However, this past month I've been in her home state of Missouri visiting with her. And what have I gotten done? Barely a days work. Come to find out, hanging out with her is much more distracting and I can't get anything done. How in the world did I convince myself this would be a writing sabbatical?

Missouri is a seriously mouse having state. (How I learned that I'm not afraid of mice)

Now I grew up in a farm town in Michigan and had a field in front of the house and woods in the back... yet the extent of my rodent experience was seeing a shrew at work and not until age 27. Then enter Missouri... and it's mouse freaking central. The house I'm staying in--a nice, well kept home. And there is a mouse. It scurried across the kitchen floor and under the cabinet. I didn't flip out, just thought it was kind of cute. Few days later... saw it running through the living room--still no freaking, just generally wanted to admire its cuteness..

But next... ahhh.... here in lies the true test of my non mouse fear having self. Enter: late night, home by myself. And I have to pee. I walk down the very dark hallway into the bathroom. Un zip, and pulldown. Mid squat (yes, I do love a great visual) something dark runs past my peripheral vision. I freeze. Two weeks ago I found a giant spider in that bathroom. I am totally not getting caught with my pants literally down when trying to erase the world of that spider's life. The dark thing moves again--it is a mouse. So I finish the motion of my squat and relieve myself. I calmly watch the mouse scurry under the vanity and under the tiny gap below the door. I finish, wipe, flush, wash my hands and don't think twice.

That Dollar General has everything you will ever need:

Food? Check.
Chocolate? Check.
Twilight Candy? Double fucking check check checkity check check.
Feminine products? Check.
Brand Name Lash-lengthening mascara? Check
Twilight the boardgame for half the price of Target? Check.
Local curmudgeon to discuss local allergens and turkey feather disasters? Check.
Allergy medicine? Check.

Tattoo prices really do vary so check around if you don't have a certain artist you want.

In addition: decently priced tattoo artists will totally make you wait on them. The appointment time is merely a suggestion to them--but a commandment for you. Don't be late, but bring something to keep you entertained when you arrive on time. Be prepared to wait.

That I truly do have a soul mate out there--it just isn't a romantic one.

CoD and I are both very private people. We're antisocial even... and yet I can spend every day for a month with her and keep looking forward to more. I can read her moods--even through a text message. We are linked by the alignment of the stars, cosmic fish, tea leaves, runes, the throwing of the bones and the skinning of the cats (okay I made the last one up... at least I hope I did) Anyway yeah--we are some seriously linked mofos and neither one of us have ever had a friendship like this before. I like to think of it as fate--but maybe we are just two awesome chicks who finally got what they deserve--an even awesomer (yup I said it) chick to hang out with.

That when you take the screams of terror out of horror movies--they sound a lot like porn. (As heard through a wall)

(This also goes for a lot of video games) Knock Knock, anyone home? *heavy breathing* Hello...? *thump thump thump* *heavy breathing* *footsteps, creaky door opening* *gasp* *yet even more heavy breathing, moans, little squeals of surprise*

Video: This may be what I feel like after I leave Missouri in a few days...

First scene of Book 1: Inevitable

The response has been nil on the writing prompts so I guess I won't give them anymore. Boo!

The following is the opening scene from Book 1 of the Just Sam series: Inevitable

~~~

Every time I'm about to find something incredible, my body takes over, even when my mind knows it should proceed with caution. The scent in the air changes and my vision narrows to see nothing but the dirt before me. I know what lies beneath the layer of soil will more than likely ruin my career, but the smell of pine overrides the trepidation I should've learned well in the rainforest. Nothing makes the single mindedness go away, except to dig my fingers in the ground and ride it out until I discovered what wants to be released from the earth.

Forgoing the brush, I wiped away dirt with my fingers. I gently swirled away the sandy Florida soil, but my fingertips chilled despite the warmth of the earth. I knew I was close. Whatever is buried in this place needs to be touched by a human hand, not a synthetic bristle brush. It didn't spend centuries buried in secret to be treated with the plastic indifference of today's scientists. Archaeologists typically know better.

The dirt moved out of my way so quickly it was as if we were of the same mind. Tingling fingertips made me slow down. Close, we were so close. My hands hovered over the dirt, lying in wait.

“Carlos, grab the camera will you?” I hollered. Carlos, my number two on the dig, was a local worker. Initially, I'd been mad at Orson Naston, my boss, when he gave me all untrained workers, but I found that eager learners were better than workers improperly trained. Short and stocky, Carlos's appearance echoed the rest of the immigrant crew, save his slicked back pompadour. His fluent English is what set him apart and made him the preferred second in command.

He ambled out of the trailer, camera in hand, ready to document the impending artifact. I knew it was here. We were close, better to be prepared now then have to wait to unearth it because the camera sat in the work trailer.

“You find it, Mees Rojo?” Carlos's eyebrows waggled as he used his nickname for me, Miss Red, based on my hair.

“I don't know about it, but I suspect that I'll find something shortly.”

“I know it, Rojo, you found it.”

I stared at my hovering hands, now slightly shaking and tingling with pinpricks of static electricity. “Time to find out what it is.”

“Camera is ready.”

I lowered my hands to the dirt and pushed it away in a sweeping motions to side. Most archaeologists use a brush at this point, but I wanted to be the first to touch it. When it was time to remove it, I'll use a brush. Slowly a white protrusion emerged from the soil. My hands swept the dirt away in a flurry with more and more white appearing.

A gust of wind blew a rogue lock of hair across my face and obscured my vision the moment before I could see the artifact. Wiping the lock away, two deep holes stared back at me from a large animal skull. Pinpricks danced along my skin and I shivered at the intense pleasure pain feeling of the discovery. I stroked the slim bone between the eyes.

Rolling green hills, steep cliffs, deep rivers, tall ships, cold weather and forever to run. A wolf. I was a wolf and I was being hunted.

My rapid breathing snapped me out of my daydream. I breathed out surprisingly cold air from my too tight lungs and I did a double take at the skull. It was a wolf—but it was too big. Way too big. Too big for a Dire Wolf even.

It shouldn’t be in Florida at this stratum. Hell it shouldn’t be anywhere at any strata level, but it most definitely should not be here, by me. And yet I knew if something virtually unheard of or impossible were to surface it'd be right where I was.

I closed my eyes and wished it away.

“Mees Rojo, a dog! You found a dog… Mees Rojo?”

I tipped my head up and looked Carlos in the eye. He was close, especially for a skull so large. The only giveaway that it was a wolf over a dog was the size of the teeth compared to the skull. Domesticated animals didn't need teeth so large.

“Is dog, right?” His eyebrows bounced and his chest swelled. This was his first dig and the first find he was a part of.

“Close, a wolf.” I pasted a smile on my face. I could be excited for him, I swear I could, but I couldn’t help but feeling dread. All I kept thinking was, “Fuck, not again.”

~~~

And now onto the video! This is a very good reenactment of what CoD and I have been up to while I've been here in MO!

Drive to Missouri: $110 Motel for a month: $500 Quality time with BFF: Priceless

Writing Prompt:

I didn't know what to do. Is there a social protocol for when someone's face starts falling off right in front of you?

Update on me:

I am on the road again--imagine that, wanderlust again. Jack Kerouac ain't got shit on me. ;)

I am currently in Missouri with my BFF CoD. She is my muse and helps me edit my work as I write, so you'd think I'd be getting a shit load of writing done right?

WRONG!

Come to find out, hanging with your BFF is a lot more fun than living in a world of my own making--a world of magic and shit ton of hot guys mind you. We've been hanging out every day, every waking moment and some sleeping ones (bff slumber parties are a must) are spent together. And yet, I'm not sick of her one bit--not even remotely, I think it just gets more fun as we go on.

We have gotten some things done however. She's been a wonderful sounding board and we've plotted some excellent changes for the rewrite of book.

Speaking of the rewrite--is it technically considered a rewrite if you write it from scratch... from a blinking cursor on a blank page? Plus the plot is changing, have a completely new villain etc... Me thinks I'm writing a brand new book and the old version was just a glorified outline--a very in depth outline.

Also on the writing front: I'm attempting NANOWRIMO again. http://www.nanowrimo.org/ or National Novel Writer's Month. It is a writing community to help you write a novel--or at least 50k words of one in one month's time, the month of November. I did it in 07 and successfully completed the word count. I fear this year I won't make it. Hell, it's day 4 and I still don't have the amount of words I needed for day 1. Ugh! So many fun distractions!

I hope to catch up soon. At the moment I'm filling in changed plot details in parts I've already written. That could explain my less than stellar word count, but no excuses, hey?

It really comes down to this: my first priority here is hanging with my bff, not writing. I thought it would be different and that I'd get a lot done, since she is my muse, but alas, it isn't meant to be.

Ya know what is meant to be? Never ending idle conversation that is entertaining as hell. Not to mention the private jokes, secret bff language, the straw face, loudly singing oldies in restaurants, dancing like zombies and twilight drinking games. Oh and hot guy pics on the internet!

Should I feel bad that my first priority isn't writing? Probably. Do I? Hell no. I have a limited time with my BFF and I plan to make the best out of it. Am I still making time for writing though? Yes I am, not much, but I am.

So I'm having a blast and being semi-productive. That isn't so bad is it?


The video: A friend of mine brought this to my attention and surprisingly I think it looks great. I tend to dislike zombie movies (cause I'm afraid of them) but this one just tickles my fancy.

Finding your voice, how to write and how Nike got it right.

Writing Prompt:

I looked into the green glass of the bottle in front of me and saw the one thing I never wanted to see reflected there.

Now onto the blog:

I'm probably not the best person to blog about how to write. My theory is basically "Just do it" and work out the kinks as you go along. This is a very long way to go about things but in the end I think it is the most creative and allows the writer to be the most true to themselves.

We have housewives trying to write, homeschool moms trying to write, professors, athletes, lawyers, secretaries, social workers, garbage men and hell, that poor soul who cleans at the porno booth is probably trying to write too.

What do all of these people have in common?... besides writing? Probably nothing. Which is why I'm going to say that most "how to write" programs and articles aren't going to work 100% of the time. (I'm guessing most don't work 50% of the time)

What will work however is this... the good ole guess and check method.

You are blindly searching in the darkest room (so it doesn't really matter that you're blind, but if a miracle cure comes along for blindness---yeah, still not gonna help, so suck it up) for the elusive mistress called the muse. Let's say you finally find it...that one idea that inspires you to write--that still isn't good enough. You can be inspired all day long, but if you don't know how a story is told, then you're just as screwed as when you were grasping nothingness all by your lonesome. (You better have been grasping nothingness otherwise you were in that room for reasons I don't want to know about, but I do know who to call to clean up!)

So how do you learn how to write if not from a writing program. From college?

College is an option I suppose but I don't think they are any more likely to produce good writers than any other program or article is. Why? Well because they teach you how to write by having you learn the rules.

Well that doesn't sound so bad does it. There you go, in black and white print in a text book is how to be a good writer.

WRONG! It tells you how to be a technical writer and it may even tell you how to write like other people, but it doesn't show you how to write like YOU! And good writers write like themselves. They've taken the time to get to know how they want a story to be told, and they've committed to it, even if it isn't by conventional means.

So how do you learn to write like yourself?

First off you need to know how stories are told. The best way to do this is to be immersed in stories. Watch movies, read books or anything that has a story line to it. Now here is where you want to be careful. There are "tricks to the trade", if you will, about plot devices and when certain things should happen in a story. They work for people, but I don't like being limited. Watch and/or read the stories, but don't feel like you have to copy them. Don't watch them like they are a checklist or a roadmap for a story. Just watch them for enjoyment. They more stories you surround yourself with, the more your inner story teller will emerge.

Next you have to find your voice. Typically the voice depends on the nature of the piece. An essay/term paper will be different from a poem, or a news article, or a fiction piece.

Per Wiki:

Writer's voice is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice was generally considered to be a combination of a writer's use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). Voice can be thought of in terms of the uniqueness of a musical voice. As a trumpet has a different voice than a tuba or a violin has a different voice than a cello, so the words of one author have a different sound than the words of another. One author may have a voice that is light and fast paced while another may have a dark voice.

In creative writing, students are often encouraged to experiment with different literary styles and techniques in order to help them better develop their "voice". This aspect varies with the individual author, but, particularly in American culture, having this asset is considered positive and beneficial to both the writer and his or her audience.

So how do you find your voice? There's no real magic answer here. It all comes down to being patient really... Your voice will develop and emerge the more you write. Don't force it, don't emulate other writers (some people suggest you do this but I believe it will just lead you to being a one trick pony with an unoriginal trick--fruitless.) Just tell your story. Your voice may change over time as you learn more about writing and storytelling. Grow with it, accept it and don't force it.

Why am I telling you to throw all the rules out of the window? Aren't they useful?

Yes. They are useful, but I find that discovering them on your own as you learn to write is more successful than fretting over them. Rules of writing are meant to help, but they are NOT the end all, be all to what good writing is. If you have a paragraph that is passive--don't freak out, it isn't the end of the world. You don't have to stop and nit pick at it until it is so actiony you can't stand it. Sometimes you just have to use "to-be" verbs. There. I said it. To Be verbs are a necessity. Look I used one right there and the sky didn't fall on my head.

Consensus: Find yourself, how you like a story to be told, your voice, then learn the rest.

This is basically a "Shoot first, ask questions later" type of deal, except no one dies but bad writing and sketchy characters.

You can't be taught how to find yourself or your voice, but you can learn the rest. However, if you fret over the technicalities--you may lose yourself, your talent and your creativity in the process. Tread carefully writers!


And now it's video time!!!! This has nothing to do with anything...

I present: Jerry Springer meets Animal Planet...

Controversy and how it can make you a better writer

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about how I was going to post writing prompts/challenges every week, then I completely forgot about it! How terrible is that? Granted the response was nil, but still, I really should've followed through.

So here you go, the writing challenge of the week:

To help with a pitch to an agent/editor write a haiku about the plot of your novel

Standard format for a haiku is: 5-7-5 syllables.

Now onto the blog....


Controversy:

Per Wikipedia: Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion, but sometimes the allegation that a matter of scientific fact is no better than opinion or even religious belief, as in the controversy between evolutionary biology and Creationism or Intelligent Design.

There are some people in this world who have no opinions, and in the rare event that they do, they refuse to express it. These people are in the minority. The vast majority of people in the world have opinions, like expressing them, occasionally arguing about them, and seek out people of like mind.

We're dealing with the vast majority of people, these are, after all, the people we write books for.

Oh there are some authors out there who write for the literary elite, the highfalutin of the world, those who strive for the most existential of information... so existential in fact that I highly doubt they glean it themselves. However, this blog is not for those people. This blog is for the masses, or rather the authors who want to write for the masses. Sales figures tell us that genre fiction reigns supreme and I write genre fiction. I have a feeling that the majority of the people drawn to my blog, and to an author who writes about vampires and werewolves, feel that genre fiction is where it's at, the cat's meow if you will.


Therefore kids, we're dealing with the masses and their need to pick a side.

People want to favor a sports team, prefer pepsi over coke, usually vote either democrat or republican. They have a favorite game of the year, the one that involves the biggest rival of their team. They are Pro-life or Pro-choice. Hell, they could even debate great taste vs less filling.

Noticing a theme? A dilemma that involves only two choices seems to be the one that most people fight the hardest for.

Let me give you a few examples from my genre, Urban Fantasy.

Werewolves vs Vampires
Team Jacob vs Team Edward (Twilight series)
Eric vs Bill (Southern Vampires series, aka Sookie Stackhouse series)
Violence vs Sex (Talking mainly about the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series)

and last but not least... (not Urban Fantasy)
Joe vs Ranger (Stephanie Plum series)


But how can this help with writing?

Well first off, it helps in this way: You can't please all the people all the time.

Fans who love a series and/or book are allowed to hate a character, even one you, as the author, think is likable. There are several series I read that I flat out hate the main character, who coincidentally, is also the narrator. You can't really get around that, but if the story is good enough, if the world is developed enough, you love it so much it doesn't matter.

Fans will pick a side, some like a brooding male, some like the happy go lucky sort.

So writers, don't feel bad if someone hates a character or a plot choice. It doesn't mean you are a bad writer. It can mean you've done something right. You've created a character or a plot device that elicits a strong feeling in someone, so strong in fact that they feel the need to express it. That is what writing is all about.

Maybe you should have your characters be on two different sides of the same coin--let your readers choose sides. Let your fans take solace with one another and pit themselves against one another, not only is it good for business, but it makes for interesting conversation between books.

Controversy in books makes their effect last longer. It sticks with the reader. The key to this is that there can be no right answer.


However, controversy is not just about choosing sides, sometimes it is about appropriateness.

A lot of humans are uncomfortable with something "too real" in a book. And of course by real, I mean that in a sense that is usually negative. A very real scene from the perspective a child molester let's say. I know I'd feel uncomfortable writing AND reading that, but it will be memorable.

An example of an "appropriateness debate" from Chris Crutcher's novel Whale Talk. Georgia is a therapist and Heidi is a young biracial girl. The narrator is a young man, new on the scene.

In a calm voice Georgia tells me I'm supposed to tell at Heidi for letting the black dolls in the house, and I finally piece together from Heidi that I'm also supposed to find them one by one, scream at Heidi for letting each one in (Get these nigger babies out of the house! They Stinky!) [...] I am caught for one moment in mid-scream but Heidi screams, "GET THESE GODDAMN FUCK NIGGER KIDS OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!!"

I'm sure all of you can see the controversy in this piece, add to the fact that this book is Young Adult fiction and available in public school libraries... well that's just unacceptable... to some people. The language is not the kind that is appropriate for this day and age, however, that doesn't mean that people don't use it. You see Heidi is a biracial girl and her stepdaddy is racist and uses this language around her, and makes her feel all kinds of worthless. No wonder she needs a therapist huh? Uncomfortable to read? Sure. Poignant? Hell to the yeah!

This book was challenged (what I like to call a modern term of being banned and burned, it's like a lynch mob with tar and feathers knocking on the door of the book's house.) by parents in a city in my home state of Michigan.

To me poignant equates excellence. I realize that some people don't find this book to be poignant, but the controversy here is: poignant vs inappropriate. Actually, the only reason I knew about this book is because I heard the above excerpt being read at a library event about how to stop the nonsense of banning books. "Challenging" it led to me reading it. I guess it's true what they say, "There is no such thing as bad press."


In summation...

Controversy is good for writers because:

It makes books memorable.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up. I know that's what I strive for as a writer, and as a reader.

And the video... and I just came upon this and it not only features my favorite character in the series (Yay Team Jacob!) but I'm excited for the movie as well...

A new clip from New Moon.

Overcoming Perfectionism as a Writer

As some of you may know, I am completely rewriting book 1 of the Just Sam series.

I'm doing this for several reasons:
1. I'm a better writer now and editing is proving to be impossible
2. Samantha's voice has changed in my head
3. It is the first book I've ever written and I've worked some kinks out in my style
and most importantly...
4. It has glaring plot gaps

The fourth is most important to me because this the first book of my open ended (still under debate) series. This is the foundation for my whole series, and essentially my whole writing career.

Pretty heavy stuff, right?

So rewriting makes sense.

However, I've started to rewrite the rewrite. This led my BFF extraordinaire, the illustrious CoD, to be concerned.

You see, she knows my habit/curse of perfectionism, and is afraid that I will fuss and never get anything finished. Unfortunately, this is a very real fear.

I feel I am justified in the changes I'm making, but I suppose, as a perfectionist, rationalizing isn't too difficult. So I've decided to take a deeper look into my perfectionism and see if my concerns about the book are well founded.

I started here: 5 Main Factors That Drive Perfectionists

The gist:

1. Fear of disapproval from peers or colleagues.
2. Lack of confidence and self belief, and fear of not being on par with others:
3. Fear of making mistakes and doing things 'wrong':
4. Fear of the consequences:
5. The quality of their thoughts, which are usually negative.

I suffer from 2 and 3 for sure. I think I am plagued by self doubt and this makes writing quite difficult. I mean hello people, I'm creating a whole freaking universe here... you can't do that with low esteem!

So after this article I've learned a bit about what drives me to keep fussing and fussing and fussing...

Now what to do about it?

I came upon this article... Overcoming Perfectionism in 8 Steps

I'll admit that parts of this article are a little too "touchy-feeling" "new-agey" "self-help" for my tastes. But one of the ways they list to overcome perfectionism struck a cord in me... and that is "Focus on the Big Picture"

Here is a quote from the article that really spoke to me as a writer...

Stewardship at work

Instead of fussing over everything at work, I would start assessing whether a particular task would make any huge difference in the bigger picture. If the answer was no, I would let it go. Versus driving myself endlessly, I embraced the mentality that work would never end and there was always the next day to continue working. That marked the first step where I started to become the steward instead of my own slave. At the same time, I developed faith in my co-workers’ abilities in their area of work and learned to delegate work out to them. This was my first step towards overcoming perfectionism.

The co-worker part isn't applicable to most of us writers, as writing is a very solitary task, but it could help with co-authors. Learning the lesson that the work will never be done... isn't quite as applicable to writers, as we must have deadlines... however it is important to realize that the work doesn't have to be completed in just one day. And for those of you who have day jobs and families, keep plugging away at it. It may take years, but if it's your passion, you'll find a way to keep writing.

What stuck out to me in this quote is looking at the big picture and seeing if whatever we were fussing over makes a discernible difference to the big picture...

Examples:
The correct word for the sentence.. not so much
Getting the plot and/or characterization for a book/series just right... hell yeah it matters.
Working out a integral plot detail... sure.
Fussing over it while writing a scene chapters before it... only for serious plotters (vs. the pantsers)

Writers are detail oriented people, we work on every punctuation mark, word and sentence of a story, but sometimes it's difficult to see the forest for the trees. We stare at a blinking cursor and one letter being typed at a time for most of the day. Sometimes it's important to take a step back and look around.

Does that detail have to be perfect now before I move on... not necessarily. But for some people, it's that detail that's holding them back from moving on, and it's different for every author. When you step back and look around, also look inside yourself, your motivation and your frame of mind about the current piece you are working on.

I'm looking at my motivation for my plot and character changes. Am I fussing nonstop because I'm being a nervous nelly and am afraid of failing? Am I not confident enough to continue on at this point?

Looking back at my fussing over book 1, I do feel justified. This is my foundation, my rock... I don't want to build it on shaky ground. You can't have a big picture without a canvas to put it on, and I'm creating my canvas right now. I've made good headway to the plot and the rest of the series is becoming clearer in my head.

Am I being fussy? Sure I am, but I'm also looking at the big picture and this needs to be done. This kind of fussing is important. This kind of fussing can make or break the future of this series. That's some serious big picture talk here kids.

So all of you writers out there... don't sweat the small stuff, don't get bogged down with detail (unless you're editing, and then heaven help you!) and take a step back every once in awhile. For writing is very much like pointillism, you can't see it clearly unless you remove yourself from it.

Video:

I searched around youtube for awhile and wasn't finding anything I wanted that related to the blog, so I went with an old standby--animation! My fave. This video is an interesting but of animation, since it was all painted on public buildings in Buenos Aires.

What an editor wants in a writer

I stumbled upon this blog today. As an author who is inspiring to be published, and for those of you out there like me, it's appropriate to take a minute and reflect on what an editor wants. Of course they want someone who can write well, but what about the social niceties of the business? We don't often hear about that.

Editorial Ass: What Makes a Dream Author

I should probably call this blog... If you liked Twilight you might also like... But I won't.

It's been awhile since I've posted about the books I like to read, YA Fantasy in particular. YA Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy specifically, have become quite popular of late and my previous blog with series I like to read has received many hits, so I figured I'd update it a bit.


Melissa De La Cruz: The Blue Bloods:

The basics: Set in New York City, in this world the vampires are high class socialites--models, musicians, artists, etc. The series follows Schuyler Van Alen, a quirky halfblood vampire from a family of dwindling riches, who is more than what she appears.

My take: A fun world to live in (who doesn't want to read about rich beautiful people?) and explains why models are skinny and creativity and success tends to run in the family. I find Schuyler endearing and down to earth.

The Books:

1. Blue Bloods
2. Masquerade
3. Revelations
4. The Van Alen Legacy (which I have yet to read because it just came out on the 6th!!!!)

PC and Kristin Cast: House of Night:

The basics: Set in Tulsa, OK, not a place you'd figure would have a school for vampyres, but it does, it has the House of Night. This series follows Zoey Redbird, a strong female character from a conservative family. In this series, vampyres are "marked" during their teens. They are still human at the time and are then sent to a vampyre school to learn about what they will become. Zoey's immediate family basically disowns her and she is left at the school with her changing body and lifestyle to figure out on her own--not to mention that she turns out a little bit differently than the other vampyres about to be changed.

My take: Great series written by PC and her daughter. Great characterization, plots, plenty of hot guys to drool over and bitchy chicks to hate... sounds like high school right? Right, but it's better because we have vampires, magic and a whole supernatural world to learn about!

The Books:

1. Marked
2. Betrayed
3. Chosen
4. Untamed
5. Hunted
6. Tempted (Coming out 10-27-09)

Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments

The basics: Also set in New York City, Clary Fray sees something she isn't supposed to see--a murder. The only problem is that no one else saw it, despite the crowded venue... Why? Because Clary is special, she can see demons. She is a Shadowhunter, she just doesn't know it yet. This world is comprised of humans, faeries, downworlders and the supernatural version of police--the Shadowhunters. Something attacks Clary's mom and the only person she can turn to for help is the murderer... or is he?

My take: A great world to live in, full of twists on stories and legends, my fave. I like the concept of magic in this world and that magic doesn't equate to being open minded, but boy, we wish it did, don't we?

The Books:

1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes.
3. City of Glass


In conclusion: That's it for now folks. There are tons more that I enjoy, but that concludes my foray into YA Urban Fantasy for the night. If there are others that aren't listed here or in my other blog post of a similar nature: Ya-fantasy-thoughts-and-recommendations make sure to comment! Not only do I need to know about these great books, but so do my readers!

Video: LOST meets Twilight and... well and a little of everything else too! (Come on, it's LOST, like it's supposed to make any sense!)

Short but sweet

No, we aren't talking about me. Am I short? Yes. Sweet? Nope, more like walking plague at the moment. I woke up this morning feeling quite ill. I thought it was perhaps the rum and diets, or the strange shot someone bought for me, or perhaps even the jungle juice after the smoky bar closed but nope it's the plague. This plague has given me a new Indian name. I shall now be called Forever Running Nose.

So will this bog be stellar? Probably not. My dad mentioned to me that High Def channels are wonderful. I countered with, not if you have a Low Def brain. So I'm operating on Eco Friendly mode and all you Greenies out there will love me for it.

What will I blog about today?

Initially I was going to blog about Ghostwriting, as a recent opportunity has presented itself to me. However, I really don't have the brain power to extrapolate all I wanted from the copious amounts of websites dedicated to the matter. So instead, I will link a few here and perhaps over the next few weeks I will share my knowledge with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwriter

http://grumpyoldbookman.blogspot.com/2006/06/ghostwriting-for-beginners.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111511780

http://writingnonfiction.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_ghostwrite

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Started-As-a-Ghostwriter&id=391587

http://www.bookcatcher.com/articles/seven-useful-tips-to-ghostwrite-books.php

If anyone out there has tips on ghostwriting, by all means shoot them to me in a comment for all to read.

New blog feature for writers and a recap of my most recent travels

I'm instituting a new section of my weekly blog. I will be blogging a weekly writing tool. It could be a thought provoking question, a prompt, or other various writing exercises.

The prompts I like the best are ones that are a sentence or two to be included in your answer to the prompt. Feel free to change words around, use it anywhere in the prompt, or forgo its use and simply use it as the inspiration to get you writing. I'd love to see the response, so make sure to comment them to me! Also... if the amount of response is good, I will turn my prompts into a challenge and provide either weekly or monthly prizes to the winner, so spread the word!

September 23rd Prompt:

He strode across the lawn with one purpose, delighting half of the onlookers, and horrifying the rest.

All genres welcome!

Now... onto my travels...

Some of you may not be aware that I have been traveling on and off since February. I was laid off in January and have been jet setting ever since.

Feb-March: Oregon
March: Cincinnati and Manteca California
April: Michigan (home state) sick as a dog with H1N1 I swear!
May-July: California: Manteca, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz
July: Texas, Oklahoma
August: Michigan
September: Chicago, IL and Colorado/ Denver, Boulder and Estes Park

Here are a few perks of my trips!

Silver Falls, OR: How postcard-esque is that! I hiked 4 miles around Silver Falls up and down throughout the gorges and peaks of the region. This was the first waterfall I saw that day--not the tallest or the biggest, but I had to go out of my way to see it and am damn happy I did. It houses faeries, I'm sure of it.

And now for a different part of my Oregon trip. I love guns and a friend from Eugene, OR was happy to take me out to the middle of nowhere to shoot his handgun. He took pictures the whole time and actually caught a muzzle flash! How cool is that! This pic ladies and gents has not been altered, that is truly what a muzzle flash looks like. Oh yeah, and you get to see my kick ass gun shooting stance.

This is a picture from the tallest point in Oklahoma. This is where the deer and the antelope (read prairie dogs) roam. Home of buffalo and long horn steers. This is the range and many people call it home. I went out there twice in the span of a week. The next picture will explain why.




AHHH! Meers! Possibly the best burger I've ever had. This place is literally in the middle of NOWHERE in Oklahoma. You drive down a windy road, make a turn, and slam on your brakes because people are walking out in front of your car to go to this place. Some of the open spaces in the previous picture are Meer's Long Horn Steer grazing territory. This restaurant was voted to have one of the top 10 burgers in the nation by family owned businesses. It has been open decades (getting close to a century now.) Not only are their Meer's burgers delicious, but their peach cobbler and homemade ice cream is to die for. The restuarant started as a smallish building, and they added several shanty's onto it. Makes for an uneven floor, but I'm happy they added space! As a recovering vegetarian of 10 years, I stared at the Long Horn Steer head mounted on the wall, took a bite of my burger, and thanked it for having such a delicious cousin.



Estes Park, Colorado: Home of the rock formation Twin Owls. This is not the most scenic picture I took. Come on, I was in the Rocky Mountains people, majesty abounds in that place. But we've all seen picture after picture of the Rockies (and yes, it really does look that amazing) But the Twin Owls kind of stole my heart. They truly do look like owls all huddled up to one another and I'm a sucker for rock formations that look like things.


You may notice I don't have any pictures of California. I didn't have my digital camera and didn't have a chance to do much site seeing there due to other responsibilities. However, I did manage to make it out to Santa Cruz--talk about the epitome of a beach boardwalk town. It took us 2 hours to make it around the town twice (a small town) just to find parking. At one point we were on Beach Blvd and people walked,rollerbladed, meandered, skateboarded in front of us for 20 mins while we stood still. Santa Cruz, or Santa Carla as some of you may recognize it from The Lost Boys...

I can see the allure of trains

Currently I am riding on a train to Chicago from my hometown of Kalamazoo. It is only a two and a half hour ride, but here I am, actually going somewhere and I'm able to write. With my back to the engine, I only see where we've been. It's strange for a control freak who has a gun fighter mentality—back to the wall/corner and front toward the door—to like having their back to their destination, yet I find I trust the train. They are a sturdy mode of transportation and with the exception of the movie, The Darjeeling Limited, they can't get lost. They have a set destination, a clear path to their goal. I could use a little of that in my life.

It doesn't make sense in the realm of safety, but I like seeing where we've been instead of where we're going. I know that what I see is safe. Nothing extraordinary is going to pass my view until it passes that of others. I may hear the child behind me, who is playing his video game on low volume, gasp with excitement should something of interest pass us by, but I don't. Instead I hear the horn of the train, the shifting of the rails and my fingers pecking on the keys. The pecking could be my favorite noise, but I have to admit, the horn adds a nice touch.

I should travel like this more often. Trains are a forgotten mode of transportation here in the United States. Maybe that is why I feel inspired. I feel like I could be in Europe or traveling somewhere completely new. I've been on a train before, but I am a virgin train writer. I am a road tripper. I like to drive places, but I may have to reconsider.

A train is like the synapse in the brain. It is the electrical conduit that takes people from one place to another. This in-between space is also where creativity flows, at least for me. It flows through the cracks and you only gain access to it by having a few cracks in your exterior. A train only lets on passengers in certain spots. Creativity is much like that, make sure your frame of mind it set to embrace the creativity.

I find a closed mind has very little creativity. Although to be fair, I think a completely open mind would leave one a little aimless—being constantly bombarded with ideas with no direction. Humans need limitations. At least I do. I need to have a goal, even if it is a hazy blob in the far future. I lay down my tracks toward the destination and I travel as far as I lay. The more planning I do and the more consistently I write, the more track I have and the farther I travel, the more defined my goal becomes. Sometimes I lay my track a little off course and I have to steer it back. Sometimes I run into a hill and have to decide to take the extra time and effort to plow through it, or if going around it will be better. Your track, very much like a train, has to be purposeful. You can't lay bits and pieces of track all over the place and expect to get anywhere. A clear set path, albeit sometimes curvy, is the way to go.

A clear path however doesn't mean to shoot straight through to the end. A train, much like your creativity needs to be fueled. A train needs passengers to go someplace. So stop every once in awhile and pick up a few creativity passengers of your own. Let them ride as long as they want, but give them a chance to hop off when they've gone as far as they want to. Feed them in the cafe car and let them be the conductor for awhile, especially if it is their first train ride.

About the video:

I couldn't find any videos I liked about trains, so I moved into looking into ones about brain synapses, but honestly, the animation of how they work is flat out perverse. So then I decided to look up videos about being creative. I came up with this... and it is perverse... or is it?

Finding yourself is overrated

I'm going to get a little new agey on all of you here. Prepare yourself as you deem necessary.

I am a Virgo. Yup, the Eternal Virgin, which can basically mean we have a giant rod stuck up our asses from time to time. However... there is something else that softens this critical quality that we Virgos have. It's called being a mutable sign.

Per Wikipedia:

In astrology, the mutable signs (also called common signs or bicorporal or double-bodied signs) are a subgroup of the zodiac. They are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. The mutable signs straddle two temperate zone seasons, encompassing an inherent duality in its symbolism.

In the tropical zodiac, mutable signs coincide with the times of change in the seasons. They are associated with change and versatility. Individuals born under the four mutable quality signs are thought to be adaptable, impressionable, sharp, sympathetic, communicative, resourceful and restless, with a gift for seeing both sides of a situation at the same time and an immense desire for knowledge, variety and new ideas. They supposedly adapt very well to new situations, possess much flexibility, seldom have any particular agenda and are perfectly happy to fill in an assigned role. However, they are also said to be inconsistent, changeable, nervous, indecisive and irresponsible, with a tendency to get wrapped up in tiny particulars. There is also a certain duality associated with all the mutable quality signs.


So what does all the gobbledygook mean? It means that we Virgos tend to take on traits of those around us. In a sense, parts of our own personalities are muted and are replaced with our friends, family members, coworkers etc.

You know those girls in high school that would change what music they listened to or the way they dressed based on the guy they were dating...?? Yeah. It's like that.

Sounds kind of horrible right? Never really being yourself and always being a chameleon to the people around you? Sure it has its moments and I must say that I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I really was. I spent years hating that I didn't know if I really liked something, or if it was because a friend liked it, or a boyfriend. I constantly questioned myself. The conclusion? This behavior is part of who I am. I definitely have my own tastes, even if it takes me awhile to figure it out. And really, what is so wrong with enjoying something for a time because someone around you enjoys it or because you want to find common ground with someone? Also, I've found that it doesn't apply to those who are closest to me. I don't take on traits of my best friends or my family members. I think I understand them well enough that the curiosity gene in me doesn't activate itself.

There are a lot of pluses to being mutable. We get along with a wide variety of people. We can be quite empathetic. We experience, and truly enjoy varied hobbies, tastes, subject matters etc.

It is particular useful for writing. Writers, fiction writers in particular, have to really get inside someone's head. It's a natural occurrence for those of us who are mutable signs. We spend the vast majority of our lives being parts of other people in order to understand them and relate.

So as a writer I saw that finding yourself is overrated. Finding and understanding other people on the other hand is wildly fascinating and helpful.

Mute Karaoke. Who needs standardized sign language anyway?

A writing critique group: To join or not to join?

I'm torn about whether critique groups are right for me. However, perhaps some of my experiences will help you, as a writer, to make your decision.

Critique groups have done the following for me:

-Clued me in to the mechanics of writing: i.e. my passive writing at times

Not only passive writing, but adding more sensory description, improper sentence structure, grammatical elements, shown me where I can improve my technique or voice.

-Critiquing the work of others is valuable.

It shows you different ways of writing. Seeing the way others write, can help you identify what your style is, and what you like and don't like. It can also help you vary the way you word sentences and your structure. This is invaluable to me as a writer.

-Being around other creative individuals, in particular writing fuels my own creativity.

Whether you're bouncing ideas off one another, or simply inspired by their idea, I find being around other writers fills me up. I enjoy living in a world of words and it's nice to share that with someone, or many people.

My negative experiences with critique groups:

-Getting bogged down with negativity.

Becoming wrapped up in their opinions and preferences instead of what's best for my book.

-Not having readers in my genre.

Urban fantasy has its own jargon and there is a general level of understanding by most readers. Urban fantasy allows for a larger word count and I believe, a slightly more patient reader where mystery is concerned. This doesn't translate well to a mainstream fiction writer.

-Not finding the right mix of people.

I do think that these groups can be quite effective, but I think that the group has to be just the right recipe of people for it to really shine. Personally I have found one reader who is always willing to read my novel as I write it. She is invaluable to me and if I had a whole group of her in a group I'd be there in a second. However I don't.


So my consensus on my experiences? Well I took a break from my group for quite a few months, but I recently joined back up. I do like being around them. For now I am only critiquing their work. I'm not sure the members are right for my work, they don't read my genre and don't particularly like it.

A word of caution: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however that doesn't make them right. Even if more than one person agrees, their opinion or suggestion may not be right for your book. As a writer you have to have a thick skin, but you also have to have a very clear sense of your story, or it could be all mucked up like a pot of soup with too many cooks. Beware.

This has nothing to do with the blog except that I've been listening to it repeatedly over the last few days as inspiration for my writing. Enjoy!

Fuck you Frog

Okay, let me first point out that this blog in no way discriminates against the French. Lol It, indeed, is truly about frogs--you know the slimey, beady eyed, throat billowing frogs.

Also... this blog is not connected to Fuck you Penguin, nor is it a homage. I am not talking about how cute frogs are, or how they are trying to take over the world... okay I lied about the last part.

They are trying to take over the world ladies and gentlemen. How do I know this, you ask? Well it's simple really.

I was born and raised in Michigan, and I can't recall seeing frogs or toads except a handful of times. Is it possible that perhaps as a precocious young thing, I wasn't quite as observant--sure it's totally possible--HOWEVER (you knew it was coming) As a girl who wasn't too fond of snakes, worms or anything deemed slimy--I would totally remember having seen them around and their ick factor.

Okay so, growing up--nary a toad or frog.

Then I moved to Florida. Frogs weren't that rampant when I lived in a suburb--we had beetles and lizards there. However, then we moved to a swampy area... That is ground zero of the frog invasion... Every morning I'd wake up to little froggy suctiony foot prints on my windows--and a few dried up carcasses in the kitchen--suicide mission for reconnaissance I'm sure.

Back to present day--Michigan: In the last few weeks my mother has had toads invade her car. They crawl in to the part where the door opens by the hinge, and there they lie in wait. You open and door and there they sit--intimidating at first--then you just wait.

I laughed off my mothers paranoia. It was just a toad, come on, how bad could it be?

Then I drove her car.

There I was, minding my own business in the afternoon driving my mom around while we went shopping and voila! A toad appears when I open the door. It can't be, they've only shown up in the morning, and here it is, the middle of the afternoon... and yet there it is. I was okay, until I mom told me to knock it off and leave it in the parking lot.

Then I got to thinking, as I'm wont to do. What if it hops on me when I'm trying to knock it off? (Yes I know, I do have a girly side, but I hide it from myself until it rears its blonde, curly Q'd, pink clad, head in the worst of moments) Or worse, what if it hops in the car and then jumps on me while I driving.

I decide to ignore the toad.

Okay my mom's car is infested with toads--not big deal right? She's recently been on vacation and rained quite a bit there so a few hitched a ride--no biggie.

EXCEPT!!!! When they were on vacation and I housesat; I spotted a frog perched upon a glass decorative ball on a planter on the front steps.

Now.. onto me (we know that's what's most important anyway right? This is MY blog afterall.) The past two times I've driven my van... (Let us pause here so I can set the scene for you... I drive not just any van, but a giant conversion van. A 1995, white Ford Econoline 150--complete with queen size bed, dvd player, tv, party lights and yes... a dust buster.) A frog and/or toad has hopped on to my windshield and conveniently (I say it's planned) stayed right below the line of wipers.

Two different frog/toads, same spot. I suspect a frog language transmitter exists in the spot on my van where the windshield wiper fluid comes out. The fluid is blue, and everyone knows blue is a very good conductor.

Now here, ladies and gentlemen, is where I point out our weakness-our MAIN WEAKNESS-- where the frogs are concerned.

They are not bugs. They won't just crunch and lie on the ground in a neat little pile when you step on them--no--they squish. There may even be some sliding around on the flesh, guts and blood should you accidentally step on them. We, as humans, really don't want to get so messy.

I know, for if the toad and/or frog had been in the sights of my windshield wipers, I don't know that I would've used 'em.

We are doomed.

Like all good writers I am susceptible to peer pressure

Okay the whole first half of the title is a big fat lie. I have no right to lump myself in with the greats and I have no idea what they are susceptible to, but it sounded good, didn't it?

My BFF extraordinaire and coincidentally the Cheerleader of Doom (CoD)decided it would be best for her to blog on a specified day so that she can amass a readership. Brilliant idea I think. Unfortunately, brilliant ideas mean that I must follow them too.

I know it's a great idea and I know I should do it, but damn it I'm just afraid of commitment lately (can that apply to blogging?) I mean really, how can you schedule creativity... (Yes I know I am trying too hard)

My vain attempts at talking my way out of this aren't working.

Seeing as I'm blogging right now and it's Wednesday I guess this is as good of a day as any. However, I will preface my future blogs by saying this: My definition of Wednesday is not the standard definition. I have until approximately 5 am on Thursday to blog and it still counts, seeing as that is when I typically go to bed. So I guess check on Thursdays then lol

See you in a week! Oh and don't forget to check out the CoD's blog. http://cheerleaderofdoom.blogspot.com/ She blogs on Fridays!

This needs to be shared and celebrated

I don't have a whole lot to say, as this piece speaks for itself. I will say this art form is incredible and I am quite inspired by this. It is profound. It makes me feel full and yet lacking at the same time. I feel happy, yet want to cry as well. To me, conflicting feelings are always a good indicator of amazing creation.

I salute you, Kseniya Simonova.

Talents I wished I posessed

I'd like to believe that with practice and patience, all things are possible. But perhaps that isn't the case? Or perhaps I just don't have the damned patience to make it possible?

While my patience with others is limited, patience with myself is downright nonexistent.

I'd love to be able to not only play a musical instrument, but compose music as well. And yet I wasn't born a prodigy, therefore I do not pursue it.

I've love to tool around on a skateboard and do tricks. And yet, here I am, uncoordinated.

I'd love to sing and have a beautiful voice that even sounds nice without accompaniment. Yet, I'm afraid I may have my father's tone-deafness and have never really pursued it.

I'd love to dance and be able to express emotions with every part of my body. And yet, here I am... out of shape and inflexible.

Are some of these things possible--sure... but maybe if I were a different person. Oh but you think that with practice I could do these things.

Perhaps you are right, but I will never practice. My self confidence, or lack thereof--or perhaps we should call it pride, won't let me. It won't let me fail--and that means falling, hitting a bad note, or not finding the right key.

I will say that I am getting better at opening myself up to embarrassment. Or at least that's how I think of it... or at least how I used to. I don't see showing the world my faults quite as embarrassment anymore. However, I'm not willing to show the world ALL my faults yet.

I am still unwilling to fall, to hit the wrong note, or to dedicate the time needed to play an instrument. Physical and creative faults are still too close to home to expose to the world.

I have made progress. I am willing to admit I am wrong. I am more fully able to say I'm sorry.

I'd say these are big ones to have conquered. They deal with interaction with others. Being a loner, sometimes I forget the need for other people, but I do need them--desperately in fact. So having managed to make fun of myself, to admit I'm wrong, or that I simply don't know the answer is a big step. And this step makes it easier for me to have something I desperately need.

Besides... perhaps writing is the only outlet or hobby I need right now. Everything else would just take time away from it, no?

Okay here is a motivational speaker. I'm sure this is helpful and says good things, but I can't get over how open his eyes are and how high his eyebrows stay all the time. Let's not even talk about him teleporting across the screen with youtube magic.

Cruel or funny?

Should the chance at a joke overpower my empathy? Probably not, but it did today...luckily my mom is used to it.

Sometimes I'm such a brat.

My dad went to take out the dog on a commercial break. I was eating a Dove chocolate... you know the kind with sweet little messages inside? My message said "Share a chocolate moment with someone you love."

I read it aloud, then passed a chocolate to my mom, who smiled.

Then I said "Give that to Dad when he gets back."

My mom's face went to an expression we like to call the "Russian School Teacher Face" I'm sure you can imagine a strict Russian woman--now make her a hard assed school teacher... yeah that's the face.

My mother calmly placed the chocolate over where my dad was sitting. I laughed and told her of course I was kidding and tried to hand her another chocolate. She'd have nothing to do with it. It took a second to convince her to take it but she did.

However, she wouldn't touch it with her hand. No, she extended her cane (Yes I'm even more evil cause now I'm being mean to my mother who has a cane) and I had to balance the candy on the cane, then she had to keep it balanced while she brought it back to herself... All without looking at me.

Then my dad comes in, she tells him the story and he laughs at what I did. He says "She was just happy she didn't have to take the dog out."

Ugh. My poor mother. My Papa and I are two peas in a pod.

Trouble writing the troublesome

I'm having a hard time writing a scene. It's an action sequence which normally I don't have a problem with--however something bad is happening to Samantha in this scene. Maybe that's why I can't see it in my head...because I don't want to? Maybe I can't/won't/don't want to put myself in her place?

As a filmmaker, I'm quite visual. I see everything first before I write it on the page. I can't see this. I can't see the movement, the blocking--what will make it the most suspenseful? Nothing is coming to me. This is frustrating. Before when something like this happened I was able to write the action and throw in the emotion later, but that isn't working. The scene in blind to me.

All I see are the treetops swaying in the swamp. Nothing else is happening. I know that all kinds of horrific scary things are happening on the ground, or will be shortly, but those damn trees just keep swaying and nothing else happens. It's like I'm a DVD with a big ole scratch on it. I'm stuck on a scene. You can move to the next scene just fine, but you'll miss that important scene which explains all the ones after it.

I don't think I can write the scene after without knowing what exactly happens in this one first. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

This scene is rather new to me. I just came up with it a week ago or so. Maybe it needs time to percolate in my brain pan a bit more.

I go through this phase occasionally

Every few years or so I get this urge to contact old friends. It tends to be different friends every time. I wonder what stars align, hormones rise, or parts of my brain start working again to make this happen.

While Facebook is potentially the worst time suck in the world, it is making keeping tabs on old friends and reconnecting that much easier. So while it forces me to plant raspberries on Farm Town every 2 hours (Gotta be a good capitalist and get that mansion!!), it also enables me to scratch this itch.

In this case I am reconnecting with someone I haven't seen in 11 years. Unfortunately it's been longer than that since we've been friends. I had a habit of being surly in high school and I'm sure that affected a lot of my friendships.

Okay, now onto the funny video. I couldn't stop laughing at the video from yesterday, but today's could be even better.

Run for your lives...

The Gauntlet has been laid in front of me.

Damn, good news doesn't last long. Here I am, thinking I'm being all good and shit by blogging (it wasn't almost two years since my last blog ya know--hint hint) but that wasn't good enough. NOW I have to blog everyday. (no promises, that was sarcasm)

You see ladies and gentleman, I have someone who is my whip cracker. I am not the whipping boy, no, I deserve the whippings, the beating, the verbal assaults--yes even the name calling. I entrusted them with a job to get my butt in gear.

Don't ya hate when that comes back to bite ya?

So this is my blog today. I blog to honor the whip crackers behind every author. Those who are willing to take a little of their own backlash for the greater good. Those who are willing to don pink pom poms, short skirts and the garish striped socks.

Of course I'm speaking of the Cheerleader of Doom.

Check her out, support her, because she supports me. Or just go over there and give her a hard time for me. Keeps things interesting. :-P

LMAO....

Good News!

It hasn't been a whole year since I last posted. It's only been 7 months and some change. Oh happy day!

Some of you keen, savvy readers may have wondered what the last post, the crossroads was about. Some of you may believe that is has to do with something personal, decisions I need to make in my life... well duh.

So what was it about and what path did I choose? The answer: I haven't yet. I'm still at that crossroad and I have a feeling that standing here too long is rather like staring at a word for too long--it loses all its meaning and goes blurry. Since the last post I've had an almost infinite amount of possibilities present themselves to me. I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure I like that the world has infinite possibilities. What happened to the good ole days when a woman's options were limited? (A joke people haha.)

Okay so the crossroads I was/am at is this: I was laid off in January. This was a good thing. I wasn't happy in that job and realized that a corporate setting isn't good for my inner Chi. :-P

So being jobless in the worst state for joblessness in the union--Michigan, is a tough place to be. What did I decide to do about it? Why I decided to travel the country. I've been to the west coast three times, been to Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma twice and am now back in Michigan. Let's not even talk about how many airports I've been to in the last six months.

I've found that travel suites me very well, but it'd be even better if I had my own space at these places--so the conclusion? I'm going to finish writing my damn books, sell them for exorbitant prices and travel the world in style.

Ahh but what does that entail? A helleva lotta work is what.

Update on the book(s): Book 1 is being completely rewritten. I've scrapped the first version (while enjoyable I'm a different writer now and rewriting proved impossible.) So far I am thirty two pages deep and am looking forward to wading through the swamp that is my brain and finding more pages.

I've also started to twitter. @sandratuttle for all of those tweeple who tweet out there. Find me!

I've been in steady communication with my CoD (Cheerleader of Doom, BFF and muse extraordinaire) and this has helped me with my writing and brainstorming greatly.

But what about food? Bills? What about money? Ahh yes, the sensible, rational people out there want to know what I'm doing in "real life" to survive. Well I'm on unemployment and am looking at several options. Some include jobs, but not jobs that make any money. I'm looking at Americorps and the Peace Corps. Others involve me going back to school. I'm currently looking at Library Science or Educational Technology, but honestly, that could change at any moment.

So that's the update on me.

While you wait for my next edge of your seat blog you can watch this great dance with a kick ass song.

State of Flux

A woman comes to a crossroads, but isn't a perpendicular four way intersection. No roads here travel straight with clear directions. No, even the road behind her is skewed with twists, turns, hills, valleys, over hanging low branches, logs to jump over... she can't see where she's been and sometimes she feels like she was never there at all.

There is only the present, only the crossroads. The crossroads that has numerous options, and many that veer off the main ones. Which one to choose? No path is clear, and none stand directly in front of her.

Should she choose the one with the hill first? Should she start on a difficult trek and know that eventually the hill will peak and then it will be easy sailing? Or perhaps the hill ends on a cliff...

Does she take the lane with fog, obscuring all but a pretty daffodil glowing beacon yellow in the mist?

There is one that goes straight as far as the eye can see, but it appears to end before it should. The horizon lays beyond the end of the road. What does that mean? Is it a short path? Will she have to back track? Is there something at the end or does it veer like the others? If something does lie at the end of it, what kind of something is it?

There is a rocky path, she can see it twisting and turning and believes she sees another portion of it further up the mountain it circles. Up top a mountain lion screams and pounces into the thicket. Shivers zip up her back and down her arms to the tips of her fingers. She dances the tips on her jeans to mimic the tingling after it has fled.

The way closest to dead ahead, but slightly off center appears to be down hill, a sharp decline for she can only see a small portion of the path. The way looks clear and smooth, but past experience has told her that smooth sailing isn't always such, and the downhill doesn't reap the best reward.

What direction does she pick? Even as the writer of this, I don't know, but I suspect the rocky path with the mountain lion. Why? Well perhaps because at least one of the dangerous is known... but I think it is more likely that she actually felt something when looking at that path. Shivers ran up her spine--whether they were fear or excitement I don't know, the two are closely linked, but this woman at the crossroads doesn't want apathy. She likes adventure, a challenge, but she also wants to feel--to live, and feeling is living to her, even if its bad... it's an experience that she wants, and she wants it all.