He's My Boo

It's Wednesday -- puppy time:
My furry son is in deep love with a duck. Said duck no longer has any entrails of any kind -- just like the hedgehog who came before him. Sadly, Ducky is repeatedly subjected to Boone's romantic fantasies, which, thankfully will all end on October 14th with a little procedure we call "tutoring" around our house.

In writing news, I'm finally switching over to Courier font. (Big gasp!) Always a big fan of TNR, I'm getting sick of the conversion.. pages, words per page, etc. that has always caused controversy in our industry. So, I'm going with the old tried and true -- just as an experiment. It's super weird to see the ginormous lettering of courier on the screen. We'll see how it goes.

BTW, fascinating discussion of the writing "rules" over at Diana Peterfreund's blog (see link on the right) this week. Check it out.

My WIP is kicking along. Also, working on new YA proposal and a couple of adult chick lit ideas.

Meanwhile, as I hunch over my laptop...
In the valley here, the trees are brimming with new colors and the air has that crisp, leafy twang to it. I love that smell. The locals have finished canning (a friend of mine with a five month old baby confided to me last night that she had *only* canned 26 pints of green beans this year). I did freeze some blackberries I picked. That's about the extent of the foraging. Well, except for the gorgeous Johnagold apples on our trees at the front of our property. I'm wishing I had grown a pumpkin, though. I'm so craving some Thai curry-pumpkin soup. I'll be hitting the supermarket in the big town tomorrow, so I'll pick up a good ol' can of Libby's. Works for me. :)

Happy writing!

The Un-glamourous Life*

Can it really be the start of autumn already? Just seconds ago, I swear I was in a fabu dress at the ill-fated GH/Rita ceremony, ready for my close-up.

Hmm, signs that it's now the end of September:

1) Gained back the few pounds I lost leading up to RWA Nationals.
Not that I'm one of those who obsess about my weight, but hey -- I drank mega watermelon-smoothies during the month of July to look good. Now, all the cute stuff I bought for the trip has, um, shrunk in the wash... Stupid hot water detergent.

2) The apples are ready on our trees.
Yeah, so I don't can green beans, but I do make a kick-ass apple pie. Already baked my first one. Of course, my health-conscious DH has only had one slice. So... yeah, see number one above about the laundry problems.

3) School is back in session.
Love this one. Can't count the number of hugs I received my first day back teaching at the elementary. The kids have evolved so much over the summer -- especially the first graders now going into second. Huge.

4) The Pink Salmon are in.
Couple this with my DH's revamped website and our phone is ringing off the hook. Am forced to be nice and answer many, many, many fishing questions in the middle of writing intense YA scenes.

5) The Golden Heart application is in RWR.
Ack. Am still trying to decide if I'll enter again (probably will). Pushing ahead on my WIP so it will be ready in time.

Would love to do the Stiletto, too. But, I feel compelled to focus on my writing right now, so I may let that one slide by me. Still remember my odd conversations with Diana P. last year when she called to tell me I was a Stiletto finalist. I was like, "About time you called me. I was thinking something was off with the universe." Gah.

That kind of belief is a little scary. I really thought that my MS was the best I had ever written. But then, I didn't win the Stiletto and I was pretty crushed. Had to talk myself out of my dark, dark place. Then I got the call from Nikki B. telling me I was a GH finalist and I was rockin' again. This really is an up and down business. We emotional types get sucked into the drama big time.

I guess what I learned was to pull back and not get too invested in things. But, getting emotionally invested is what also makes me a good writer. It's that "heroic flaw" thing you always read about in books on writing. I so have that.

6) Good TV returns. Everyone is blogging about this. So, I'll add that good movies return to the theaters in the annual race to the Oscar deadline. Love the movies. Had originally wanted to be a screenwriter. (Took Syd Field's Screenplay with me on my H.S. graduation trip to Hawaii.) Funny how I'm right back where I started and frequently use that book during plotting snafus.

Okay, so I've rambled on. It's time to get back to my YA before the phone rings with some life-or-death fishing question. Batman has the batphone, right? So I guess we have the fishphone. Lovely.

HK

*With all apologies to Sheila E.

Have you ever seen a lab look like a sharpei?

On Friday, Boone and I went out to throw veggie scraps to the neighbor's cows. The little pup is still afraid but fascinated by bovines, so he hung back a few feet from the barbed wire fence. After I dumped the bucket of treats, the two of us made our way back down the trampled weed path to the yard.

And then, when we went inside, Boone's snout went all lumps and bumps. Of course, I thought this was some kind of reaction to his broken tooth from Thursday. The poor guy had snapped one of his canines on one of the myriad chewing choices around the yard. Metal chairs, firewood, lawnmowers... you name it, the kid tries to eat it.

I called the vet, who calmly assured me it was probably a spider bite and then told me to give Boone some Benaydryl. So I did. And the puffiness got worse before it got better.

Picture this tiny lab trying to play fetch (because physically he feels fine) only able to see through the tiny slits where his eyes used to be. I totally cried. I'm just that sort of sap, I guess.

He's all better now, and in a way, he seems more lovey to me. Maybe he realizes I'm the one who's going to take care of him when he gets sick. Or maybe he's just becoming part of the pack.

In writing news -- got to page 100 on my WIP and then promptly killed a three page scene from the first chapter. So, technically, I made my page goal for the week.

Trying to move forward with a "spirit of adventure" instead of focusing on the tough business things right now. New ideas are tugging at my sleeve, but I've forced myself to take a few notes and then get back to work. Funny how the bigger-better-faster ideas always pop for me between page 50-75.

Anyway, this week I'll try for twenty five pages on my WIP. I'm well into the plot and subplots, so I have lots of middle to write.

What are your goals for the week?

Boone's Bite

Have you ever seen a lab look like a sharpei?

On Friday, Boone and I went out to throw veggie scraps to the neighbor's cows. The little pup is still afraid but fascinated by bovines, so he hung back a few feet from the barbed wire fence. After I dumped the bucket of treats, the two of us made our way back down the trampled weed path to the yard.

And then, when we went inside, Boone's snout went all lumps and bumps. Of course, I thought this was some kind of reaction to his broken tooth from Thursday. The poor guy had snapped one of his canines on one of the myriad chewing choices around the yard. Metal chairs, firewood, lawnmowers... you name it, the kid tries to eat it.

I called the vet, who calmly assured me it was probably a spider bite and then told me to give Boone some Benaydryl. So I did. And the puffiness got worse before it got better.

Picture this tiny lab trying to play fetch (because physically he feels fine) only able to see through the tiny slits where his eyes used to be. I totally cried. I'm just that sort of sap, I guess.

He's all better now, and in a way, he seems more lovey to me. Maybe he realizes I'm the one who's going to take care of him when he gets sick. Or maybe he's just becoming part of the pack.

In writing news -- got to page 100 on my WIP and then promptly killed a three page scene from the first chapter. So, technically, I made my page goal for the week.

Trying to move forward with a "spirit of adventure" instead of focusing on the tough business things right now. New ideas are tugging at my sleeve, but I've forced myself to take a few notes and then get back to work. Funny how the bigger-better-faster ideas always pop for me between page 50-75.

Anyway, this week I'll try for twenty five pages on my WIP. I'm well into the plot and subplots, so I have lots of middle to write.

What are your goals for the week?

Getting Naked in Public

Last night, my regular writing group got together at the town's latest greasy spoon (they come and go like dollar stores around here) after a long summer off. Our group is comprised of three retired ladies, two young mothers, and me and another 30-something.

Every Monday night for the last five years, we read our chapters aloud and then do verbal critiques. Some of us want to change to a silently read, written critique, pass the chapter around the table format.

Okay, some of us is me. Through other channels, I have a "written critique" partner, so that's not why I'm pushing for the move.

Two summers ago we used to meet at a cafe with an outdoor patio. At the time, I was working on an adult Chick Lit story. And it was my turn to read...um...the scene that takes place at a fetish club.

See, the heroine is duped into taking her blind date to a nightspot where people clothed in body paint, live snakes, leather biker outfits, and my favorite, giant plush animal costumes abound. She's formulating a plan to leave without looking like a big dork.

Now, I wrote it to be funny, yes. Did I write it to read it out loud where other patrons of the cafe's patio could hear? Er, no.

Um, did I mention it was in first person? As in, "The giant panda's hard-on poked me in the back."

About half-way through my scene, a couple at the next table actually got up and moved away! I was too shocked to yell out, "Okay -- this is fiction people!"

Another time, a oldish couple seated around the corner from our group popped over to say they were *ahem* inspired after hearing a love scene from my friend's western romance. Eww.

All the more reason for doing a written critique, or for finding a less public place to read aloud. But in a town this small, there just aren't many places that would work. See, we get hungry reading, so they have to serve french fries and Diet Coke. And pie. Definitely pie.

Maybe we'll keep looking. Our current greasy spoon has only one big table smack dab in the center of the room. Talk about being in the town spotlight.

At least writing YA there's less a chance of getting embarrassed reading aloud. Although, maybe I could work in that fetish club scene if I....

Struggling Out of the Cocoon

Sometimes in this business, it's easy to get discouraged. Writers deal with rejection at all stages of their careers. And then there are the days filled with doubt which you have to battle through -- those days when you think life would be so much simpler if you could only give up your story habit.

But there's a dogged determination inside writers that keeps us going. Also, the knowledge that you'll go crazy if you're not writing (a fact my husband can attest to) and that eternal hope that around the next corner lurks the sale, the inspiration, or the whatever-you're-lacking-at-the-moment.

I've been thinking about this story I heard once:

A man watched a chrysalis struggling inside its cocoon. Worried about the creature, the man decided to cut it an escape hole and end the poor thing's suffering. Of course, the half-formed butterfly dropped out -- and without the strength to fly, died within minutes.

In writing and life -- the struggle makes us grow. Beating our wings against the obstacles makes us strong.

And all that testing prepares us to fly.

Baby Bonding

I'm about to have a retro Kathie Lee moment. If you're squeamish, look away...

My furry baby Boone and his big sister Katie are finally bonding. It started as barking, evolved to whining and playing, and stands at cuddling!

Hooray! Never thought my old lady German Shepherd would adapt to the little monster who gets fed two more times a day than she does and has stolen her place at Dad's feet.

I'm a proud mommy, can't you tell?

Now, back to work on my manuscript.

Inspiration by the Cup

I'm thinking today about our good friend who is opening a coffee stand in incredibly java-saturated Seattle. He's amazing, this friend of mine.

First, he did all the research he could, including working at a running coffee business and going to (didn't know they had these) coffee shows, where he learned the ins and out of good joe. He got a business plan, investors, bank loans and built the stand. In a few months, he was ready to open for business.

And then he got hit by a truck.

Actually, the stand got hit by a truck. A Salvation Army truck. It backed into his stand, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

But to his credit, my friend sucked it up, started to rebuild his coffee stand knowing the insurance money was months away in coming. He did the work himself, down to the drywall and painting. He refused to let a setback like a runaway charity truck get him down. And he opens in a few short weeks.

I'm touched by his dedication to his dream. In this world of "why me" he didn't waste time complaining, he went about his business and got the job done.

And so, not to get all rah-rah on you today -- but what excuse is there for us not to make things happen for ourselves? Not to attack our writing goals without reservations?

After all, there's no truck anywhere near my computer. :)

Things to Make You Feel Better

1) Donate to Hurricane Relief http://www.redcross.org

2) Read a funny book like Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.

3) Watch a puppy run in his sleep.

4) Pick wild blackberries. Eat some while you pick.

5) Watch a great old movie on AMC.

6) Play soccer in the rain. Use apple trees as defenders. Dogs play goalies.

7) Write. Dream up two settings you'd never considered for a scene.

8) Bake something yummy like chocolate chip banana bread.

9) Call or email a friend you haven't talked to in at least two months. Your high school best friend is a great choice.

10) Create a beautiful space to work, cook, or sleep in. Clean, redecorate, enjoy.

The Aftermath

The suffering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has touched everyone. You only have to turn on the television to experience (in tiny way) the utter devastation people in the South are living through.

My ex-military DH watched the news last night with tears in his eyes. I know were it not for obligations here at home, he'd be jumping the next truck to Louisiana. Gotta love an Alpha hero. We decided to visit the Red Cross site to donate. http://www.redcross.org

The devastation puts things into sharp perspective. As writers, how do we write today while people in our rich country need the absolute basics -- food, water, clothes, shelter, medicine?

An author at the Emerald City Conference shortly after 9/11 said, "Now, more than ever, the world needs our stories. Writers take people away from their problems and transport them for a short time to another world. That is important work."

Well said.