For Me, Really?

  Elizabeth at http://eseckman.blogspot.com offered me this award, and I'm happy to accept it. Thanks Elizabeth! 

Here are my answers to Elizabeth's Questions:

a.        What naive misconception did you have about writing books when you started? I thought once I finished my first draft, fireworks would rain from the sky and publishers would flood my yard, begging to sign my book! Well, maybe I wasn't that naive, but you get the idea, right?

b.      What is your favorite part of writing? I love it when the story pours out, and the characters fight to bust out of my head.

c.       What is the one thing you would change about publishing and why? At the moment, I can't think of anything.

d.      Do you have an inspiration list? 1.I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. 2. Commit to The Lord whatever you do and your plans will prosper. 3. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

e.       If you were a super villain, what would be your fatal flaw? I'd be cutting too many people too many breaks, so I'd never be able to pull off a dastardly deed.

f.       If you were a super hero, what would be your super power? Ooooh, I'd be invisible. Can you imagine the possibilities?

g.      If you could go on a trip to a tropical island but you didn’t get to pack anything before you left, would you go? Sure, I'd just make friends and borrow clothes. Friend's clothes are always cuter, anyway, right?

I believe I'll pass the award on to Livia Peterson at http://leaveittolivia.blogspot.com

Somebody Stop Me!

Yikes! I'm guessing you all remember this guy, right? And who could forget his famous line? "Somebody stop me!" That's exactly what I need you guys to do. STOP ME! PLEASE!

I'm rapidly approaching my first round of edits on my debut novel, and I've been obsessing over everything, to the point of Psychosis. Well, not really Psychosis, but close enough. So, I thought I'd get the scoop from my blogger peeps. How bout it? Any of you act like lunatics just before your editor takes hold of your manuscript?

If not, lie to me. Tell me you shaved your cat and ate baked ice cream for dinner, all because your brain cells were too scrambled for you to function as  normal humans in main stream society. Go on and on about the designs in your wood grain and the great advice they give for the opening line of your latest novel. Mine, (the man in the wood grain) he's a dwarf. His name is Al, and he gets angry when I spray perfume--says it flares up his allergies. Also, he thinks it's wrong to begin sentences with, As.

If you're afraid to post stuff like that on the web, scared of the guys in white, the ones carrying the straight jacket, then just tell me how brilliant I am. You don't have to talk about your pet Yeti or your collection of shrunken heads. Reassurance, pals, that's what I need. So, give it up. Be serious, (even though I rarely am) and tell me how you dealt with, or are dealing with this issue.

Thanks for reading this nutty-nutty-nut-ball post. Until next time, happy writing, or whatever makes you smile. :)

Just Say It

Hello!

Today, I've got something to say, which is no different from any other day, except this is super duper important. Yeah, yeah, get the eye rolling over with. I gotta a finger, and I'm not afraid to jab you with it.

Okay, in this snip-it from my WIP, my protagonist, Layton Craig is viewing art that her dad looted from the real world. This is what her thoughts are on the Mona Lisa....To me, she's nothing more than a plump, dowdy woman with eyes set too close together. I can't imagine why Dad brought the hideous image here. Seems to me, she'd fit better with the savages on the outside. Gasp! Yes, she trashed Mona. Why? Because that's how she sees her, but for some reason, even though they're all thinking the same thing, nobody else says so. And for the life of me, I'll never understand why. MONA LISA IS ONE UGLY CHICK! See, I can say that without my head splitting down the middle. My house didn't cave in, and so far, Leonardo da Vinci's ghost isn't standing at my front door, holding an assault rifle. It's okay to speak the truth, peeps, promise.

Unless writing is honest, it'll never be great. What's honest for me, may not be honest for you, but we have to be honest with ourselves. Otherwise, our writing and our characters fall short of the mark. We shouldn't be afraid to say what's what. At some point in the game, if we're doing a good job, we'll offend somebody. Heck, we may even get a bomb threat. That's when we know we've really arrived!

Of course, lots of you are probably writing about issues way more serious than Mona Lisa. There's plenty of stuff I'd like to address in the political arena, but I'd probably come off as a horse's butt, and I do enough of that already, so I'll leave that topic to the experts. But I don't leave the topic alone out of fear, I leave it alone out of ignorance. If I was just a little brainier, I'd probably have plenty of bomb threats because I'm not afraid to say what's on my mind. None of us should be. And by sprinkled cupcakes, when I get famous, I won't pretend to like caviar just because everybody at my swanky book-launch party does. No, I'll sit in my corner, eat my generic Twinkie, and make fun of  the pricey art displayed on the walls. 

Whether it be fact or fiction, we can't water down our characters out of fear. Okay, that's all I got..short,sweet, and about not conforming. I hope this benefited somebody. 

Until next time, happy writing, or whatever makes you smile. :)

February 2013 IWSG Post -Exacting Revenge Without Getting Blood On Your Hands

Happy Wednesday, peeps!

I love Wednesdays, especially since I joined The Insecure Writer's Support Group. So, it is with a happy heart that I write this post about REVENGE.

If you're scratching your head, wondering what the???? Scratch no more, because this topic, deranged as it is, is sure to rescue anyone suffering from rejection. This post may spare hours and $$$, many are about to spend at a therapist's office. Yes, I know, the couch is comfy, but dignity is at stake, so put away that tear towel, and tune into your screen.

Did anyone out there get a rejection this week--a form letter--from Mrs. Ooh-la-la? Or maybe it was a heart-felt note, telling you how perfectly your prose fits her current list, BUT she wasn't impressed with your sample chapters, so she had to PASS. Well, bless your heart. I know exactly how you feel. Has it happened to me? Of course. Too many times to count.

Rejections have a way of knocking the sparkle out of our dreams, and if we let that old monster, Doubt, have its way, a simple, "No thanks." can easily morph into, "Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me, so I'm gonna eat a ..."  Then the next thing we know, we're lying on the floor, in a fetal position, crying for our mommies. But, I've got a better idea.... NO! YOU CAN'T BLOW UP THE LITERARY AGENCY. Mrs. Ooh-la-la, doesn't deserve to die. Maybe it'd be funny if all her hair fell out, or if she broke out in shingles. Then, maybe her rejection wouldn't sting so bad. And while we're dishing out wrath, what about that lady at the supermarket? (the one who clearly saw you waiting for that parking spot, but zipped in front of your car and resigned you to the cardiac-arrest section) Because of her, you'll be late cooking supper, cleaning the dishes, and bathing the kids/cat/dog. Thanks to her, you may not even get to write tonight.... WHAT?!?!? OF COURSE YOU'LL WRITE!!! YOU'LL TAP OUT FIVE PARAGRAPHS... ABOUT THAT LADY. Yeah, only you'll call her... Suzy, and instead of blond hair, she'll have black. Poor, poor, Suzy, the lady with a pig's snout and blisters on her eyelids. She never saw that alien ship coming--the one that sucked her into space, leaving an empty parking spot for you to nab.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Yeah, I'm immature...but hey...at least I know how to get even without earning a life sentence in prison. And guess what? This cool method of REVENGE makes for interesting characters, not to mention it throws me into a furious fit of writing. And if I'm writing, my writing gets better. So, before you all stick a, SHE'S NUTS--JUST LIKE TAYLOR SWIFT!!!, label to my forehead, ask yourself one question...Is she CRAZY or a GENIUS? I vote GENIUS!

If you still don't get the point to this post, I'll be serious for a minute. We all have bad days. Sometimes we're down due to rejections, lack of time, or maybe someone was just plain rotten to us. On more than one occasion, I've taken people I loathe and thrown them into my stories. Writing is such a great outlet for our emotions, and it's safe. So, the next time you're down, go to your keyboard, and let it all go. You may be surprised what comes out. Oh, and don't forget the disclaimer...This is a work of fiction....blah, blah, blah.

For more inspiring posts, click on the links below.
Insecure Writer’s Support Group, hosted by Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh and co-hosted  Stephen Tremp and Julie Flanders.
 
Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)