Happy Thanksgiving

I hope your turkey day finds you surrounded by family and friends.

My daughter is in Florida, visiting my parents, without me. Of course she's having a great time. That means, I'm alone for Thanksgiving. Not to worry. I have friends who will take me in and feed me turkey. I'm a lucky girl.

Yesterday the Seekers had a great post on gratitude. As hard as this business is, I think it's important to count your blessings every day. As they point out, many (most) days that's hard. That's why I like to include a little reason why I'm grateful when I post. Some days it's hard to come up with something positive and original (I could say I'm grateful for my daughter and my family and friends every day), but I think it's good to vocalize what's going right in my world.

So, this Thanksgiving. What are you grateful for?

Today's goal: Eat until I burst
Yesterday's achievement: Used my brand new library card for the first time.
What I'm grateful for: The trials God has bestowed on me because they make me stronger.
Quote: "They who lack talent expect things to happen without effort. They ascribe failure to a lack of inspiration or ability, or to misfortune, rather than to insufficient application. At the core of every true talent there is an awareness of the difficulties inherent in any achievement, and the confidence that by persistence and patience something worthwhile will be realized. Thus talent is a species of vigor." -Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

Changed my look

And I'm not sure how long it will last. I'm feeling restless. But for the time being, lighthouses are out and plain yellow is in.

Here is a picture of Hugh Jackman with long hair. I know most people prefer him shirtless, but this one really caught my eye. YUM!


Today's Goal: See Australia

Yesterday's achievement: Researched for new project

What I'm grateful for: My great kid who did fabulous her first trimester of 4th grade. She totally rocks!

Quote: "Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working." -
Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

A movie marathon weekend

I saw in the theater:

The Quantum of Solace. Fast, fast, fast. One chase scene after another. Not the level of characterization of the first one. The special effects were great!

Secret Life of Bees. Loved the book. Loved the movie.

Twilight. Now, I know I'm going to raise the wrath of a lot of people with this one, but the hero just didn't do it for me and I didn't buy the chemistry between Bella and Edward. Left me with too many story questions. What would a 90 year old vampire (in a 17 year old body) want with a 17 year old girl that he can't have sex with? Joss Whedon took on the same question with Buffy and Angel. There it worked. Here it didn't.

I saw on DVD:

Freedom Writers. LOVED it. I'm always a sucker for the underdog movies. I love the teacher who believes in her students and they thrive because of it theme. Works for me every time.

Death at a Funeral. For those of you still struggling with how to write conflict, it's a must see. There's so much conflict flying around the screen, you are almost afraid to see what comes next. The situations are so horrifyingly funny. Enough said.

Today's goal: Attend my daughter's parent/teacher conference
Yesterday's achievement: Saw Twilight
What I'm grateful for: The opportunity to see "adult" movies
Quote: "Good taste is the enemy of comedy." -Mel Brooks (1926 - )

Taking a break from writing

Can be good if you take the time to refresh and revitalize, or it can cause you to completely lose focus on what you were working on.

My momentum is gone. As you can probably tell from my progress bars. I'm stuck on the first 3 chapters of Bound By Duty. However, I'm determined to attack it this weekend.

Tonight I'm going to a movie (nothing like a little Bond inspiration) and then go home and clean house. I always feel more like writing when my surroundings are in order.

I'm really impressed with some of the Nanowrimo progress I'm seeing. It's awesome that people can write 50,000 words in a month.

I put my daughter on a plane for Florida tonight. That gives me 8 days to write, write, write. No excuses.

That's about all I've got.

Today's goal: See 007
Yesterday's achievement: I got nothin'
What I'm grateful for: Time off to refresh
Quote: "Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to get leisure." -Benjamin Franklin

Busy week

I wish I had something profound and important to say, but my brain is mush. Some of our department is involved in a continuous improvement event and we have internal auditors in. Sheesh. It doesn't rain it pours.

So, I'm giving myself permission to be completely unproductive. Friday, my daughter leaves for an 8 day visit with her grandparents in Florida.

I'm going to see the 007 movie after I drop her at the airport.

I have a massage scheduled on Saturday.

Sunday, I'm going to put up the Christmas tree and get the lights on.

Don't have any other plans for the weekend. I may read. I may write. I may see another movie.

Who knows.

My Golden Heart Boycott

Golden Heart Deadline: November 17,2008

If you've read this blog at all you may have picked up that I'm not a huge fan of RWA's Golden Heart. I think it was once a "golden" ticket to publication. I do not believe that any more.

I'm happy to admit that some of my negative attitude is sour grapes because I haven't finaled, despite doing very well in various chapter contests. I also think the system is flawed because the judges are not trained, the scoring system is way too simplistic, and the fact that a significant number of finalists don't go on to sell tells me that the people who do final, while talented, are missing that something the publishers are looking for.

Add to that the fact that you get no feedback. It cost $50 to enter. Previously finaling manuscripts are eligible to be entered again as long as they didn't win. And it's a crap shoot that you will get 5 people who love your entry. No thanks!

So, this year, I'm saying NO to the Golden Heart. And I'm taking the $100 I would have spent on two entries and entering the Gotcha with 2 brand new manuscripts and the Happily Ever After with the two manuscripts Diana V requested.

If your goal is to gain prestige, go ahead and enter the Golden Heart. But if your goal is to end up on an agent or editor's desk, enter any of the numerous and less expensive chapter contests where you will receive (probably) feedback (and it might even be useful) and if you final, you might even get an offer to submit your work. Who knows, you might even sell!

Okay, I'm off my soap box.

How about you? Did you enter the GH this year? Let me know because I'll be sure and have my fingers crossed for you!!

Today's Goal: Send off 2 entries to HEA
Yesterday's accomplishment: Almost done with Chapter 3. At least I figured out why it's not working.
What I'm grateful for: Bookclub tonight!
Quote: "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." -Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)

Seeing the forest through the trees

Do you ever get so caught up in how your sentences flow and eliminating passive voice?

Has your focus on the smallest details caused you to lose sight of your manuscript as a whole?

Are you characters so busy fighting and lusting after each other that you no longer recall the seeds of their conflict?

Has introspection taken over your narrative?

Or maybe it's just me.

I've started bolding my dialog. That way I can concentrate on what the characters are saying to each other and ignore all the action tags and introspection.

Does anyone have tricks they use in order to keep focused on the conflict and not let the character's run off with their stories?

I'm always looking for tips.

Today's Goal: Chapter 3 finished
Yesterday's achievement: Reworked the first half of the chapter
What I'm grateful for: Writing friends
Quote: "Use missteps as stepping stones to deeper understanding and greater achievement." -Susan Taylor






Do you see a woman's face or a pair of rearing horses?

















Do you see a woman's features or a flower?

Starting over

You may notice my progress bar for Bound By Duty has gone backward in a big way. Instead of pushing forward and finishing the first draft, I've decided to start from the beginning and continue making the changes that began in the first chapter.

I'm currently working on chapter 3. And I'm stuck for how to proceed. Hopefully, I can hit the drawing board and come up with an answer.

What do you do when you aren't sure how to move forward?

Today's Goal: Get past this block
Yesterday's achievement: Polished 2 entries for the Gotcha
What I'm grateful for: My new artwork
Quote: "There cannot be a crisis next week, my schedule is already full." -Henry A. Kissinger

Why I enter chapter contests

There was a thread on the Contest Divas loop about the benefits of entering contests. I think most of us agree that we enter for feedback and the opportunity to have our work looked at by the final judges who are usually editors or agents.

Then there is the extra bonus of going to the conference and being able to accept your prize in person. That's pretty cool. Often they give you a ribbon to wear and you get to feel like a star for a couple days.

You may also get first pick of editor/agent appointments. And get to thank in person the editor/agent that placed you.

People may e-mail you and say that they liked your story.

The contest win looks great on a query letter.

And unexpected happens. An agent attending the conference--one who doesn't accept unsolicited queries--offers you a chance to contact her.

In the long run, contests are still just a stepping stone. You have to wow everyone with your writing to sell. But all these perks are sure nice while you're waiting for The Call.

Today's goal: Get my Gotcha entry finished.
Yesterday's achievement: Took my daughter to Madagascar 2
What I'm grateful for: The above mentioned stuff.
Quote: "There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity." -General Douglas MacArthur (1880 - 1964)

Editing

I'm working on revising Boundy By Duty for the final round of Finally A Bride. Frankly, after reading all the comments I received, I'm shocked that it finaled in two contests.

I got great feedback from the PYHIAB Contest final round judges. It struck me as interesting that an editor, agent and a multi-published author had very different ideas where the entry needed work (although on further reflection, I think they said the same thing in a different way). They scored me 1st, 3rd, and 2nd in that order. All their comments struck a chord, so I had a lot of changes to make.

For the FAB final, I was going to tweek a couple things and send it off, but once I got going, I decided I might as well overhaul the entire first two chapters. Here's what I did:

I upgraded my characterizations, took out a major plot point, removed superfluous dialog and replaced it with something that actually shows conflict. I changed my hero's actions in one scene, and I made sure that the reader knows more of his background. I showed the external conflict, and I'm hoping I've demonstrated their internal conflict. I added a plot point and beefed up the tension.

And after doing all this, I somehow managed to shrink the entry by 2000 words. It's due Monday (nothing like a little procrastination) and I'm feeling pretty good about the changes. But having 2 editors read the new version will be interesting.

A know a lot of you are hip deep in revisions. How are they going?

Today's goal: Finish FAB revisions
Yesterday's accomplishment: Almost got them done.
What I'm grateful for: Editor feedback. Nothing like it.
Quote: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

Oh, how I love a new writing book

Early last summer I picked up The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: sixteen master archetypes by Tami D Cowden, Caro LaFever, and Sue Viders, intending to make good use of the book. I then went on vacation and buried the book in my TBR pile. Returning from New Jersey, determined to attack my characterizations in Bound By Duty, I happily stumbled across this book and cracked the cover. This is why I buy books that interest me even when I’m not sure when I’ll get to them. WOW! All of a sudden, the characters that I was struggling to figure out are jumping off the page at me.

Now, archetypes aren’t going to work for everyone, but for me, it makes perfect sense that my hero is a combination of The Professor and The Warrior. And that my heroine is The Free Spirit. As I read the descriptions, the pieces began to click into place and their strengths, flaws and motivations burst into full bloom. Awesome! The book even contains reasons why they clash, mesh and how they change because of each other. Heck, they wrote my conflicts and resolutions for me. How much easier does it get than that?

Today’s goal: Finish my FAB revisions
Yesterday’s achievement: polished up my characterizations
What I’m grateful for: Other people’s insights
Quote: “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” -Jack London (1876 - 1916)