What Is It?

So...do you think last week's photo was just too easy? Seven correct guesses - that might be a record! These aren't Granny Smith though...they're apples of "unknown" ID off the tree in my back yard. Yum!Here's the last mystery photo for the month - I wonder if this will be as easy? Maybe, if you poke around my other blogs at all...

What Is It?

Good Luck!

To enter: Simply post a comment with your best guess as to what the subject of the photo is. Each correct answer = 1 drawing entry. Drawings held at the end of each month. Prizes include a book and tea.

Construction Zone: Adding Complexity to the Story

If you look over to the right and scroll down past the “Free Reads” links, you’ll see that I’ve recently passed the half-way mark on my novel draft. Exciting! With excitement though came something not unfamiliar – the dread that I won’t have enough story to fill the second half of the book. I just finished a crucial scene that I’d originally thought would be the final climax where things go more wrong than they ever have before, and finally end up in the realm of “happily ever after”. This is a problem, since I’m only half-way through the book.

This is where having someone else read my work has really been a godsend. Erica suggested more obstacles for my hero and heroine (an ex-girlfriend), some jealousy issues, and delving a little deeper into the side relationship blossoming between two of the minor characters. She also confirmed my feeling that I need to build more tension between Jeff and Hannah (my two main characters) – to really amp up the emotions and attraction between them.

Adding all of this in will not only delay the climax by quite a few chapters, it will make the ending that much more complex (and thus satisfying, I think). I’ve learned how to write a good story – now I need to work on making that story great by adding in more complex emotions, making it harder to reach the actual goal, and fleshing out a minor sub-plot (without letting it take over).

What I’m learning from all of this is that while I need to confine my actual writing to something tight and concise, I can’t let that confine the story itself. I think I’ve been doing that to some extent with this draft. I also need to remember what a draft is for – getting the “bones” of the story written down, to be filled out on the next pass through. And I think I’m succeeding at creating a good, strong skeleton – more so than I ever have before. It’s quite exhilarating.

How about you – do you feel like you have enough complexity to your current WIP? Too much? Do you feel like you’re writing “good bones” in your first draft?

Goals & Reading List 9/28/09

Looking back to last week, I did “okay” with my goals. I did miss one night of writing (and haven’t made it up yet), but it was worth it. I was chatting with my new critique partner, Erica – who has already become invaluable as a resource on my current WIP. I get the whole crit partner thing now – very cool. So the time was well spent. I got 880 words every other night, and my draft is coming along nicely. I have a really good feeling about this one.

I’ve decided to drop Lana. Originally, I’d thought to edit up the blog serial drafts for self-publishing, and I may yet at some point, but my focus is swinging toward traditional publishing at the moment, and I want to put my time and energy in to that instead, at least for now. I’ll keep posting the serial drafts, of course, because they’re fun and I learn a lot doing them, but my editing energies will go towards potentially salable work for the time being. I have a plan for the long term, and am focusing on that. For my next blog serial, I’m going to work on posting a far more polished work if possible – more on that after Tempest is done. I did get one chapter ahead on Tempest last week, so progress there!

For anyone who’s wondering, I finished the clay toes. I’m still working on the invitations, decorating, and trying to keep the house moderately livable while Halloween is swirling around us. Only 4 weeks to our party – yikes, and hooray!

Goals for the Week

Writing

- 880 words per night on Her Private Chef (or more, if possible)
- 2 more chapters of Tempest
- 500 words on Hot Lunch
- Start hammering out a plot for NaNo (I know, was going to wait, but I can’t!)

Personal

- Design/finish Halloween party invitations & mail by Sat.
- Start the decorating in the basement
- Nightly journal entries (kind of fell off last week)
- Create some daily prompts for the NaNo blog to cue up for November.

Reading List

Okay - back on track with the reading list, for now anyways. Here's what I've been reading for the last couple of weeks from Harlequin:

Dangerous Curves by Karen Anders (Blaze): Killers, FBI agents, double crossing missions, and hot sexual tension thrown into the mix. Excellent story, though the whole "sex by the waterfall when being chased by bad guys" thing didn't really work for me. Through the whole scene all I could think was "They're catching up? What are you doing?"

Touch Me by Jacquie D'Allessandro (Blaze): A scorned mistress, a spy for the crown, a secret letter and steamy attraction...I enjoyed this very much. I think most of all, I enjoyed the angst, the show of guilt, fear of rejection and redemption for both characters that endeared them to me. Good story, excellent characters.

Millionaire in Command by Catharine Mann (Desire): A new twist on the ol' "let's get married for the kid" theme that was very engaging. I enjoyed it, but some parts were a tad bit unbelievable.

The Billionaire's Unexpected Heir by Katharine DeNosky (Desire): Notice how the men get richer? This is my current read, and I have to say, I'm just not completely sold on the whole "guy sees the baby he didn't know he fathered, falls madly in love with baby, then tries to win mom back" plot. Maybe I'm jaded, and I count on fiction to be an escape from reality, but...well, I don't read much fantasy, which is kind of what this feels like. It's well written, and I like the female main character, but the MMC is taking this all too well for my taste.

And just so you don't think these Harlequin's are all I consume...

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver is all nicely wrapped up now, and I loved it, even though it took me ages to read (busy!). I'd highly recommend it, not just from a "really good thriller" perspective, but from a writer's perspective as well. He mixes first and third person point of view very artistically and seamlessly in my opinion, and it made for an intense antagonist.

I have a stack of books sitting next to my bed (and on the table in the living room, and on my hall table), and I can't decide which to start next. Two suspense, two mainstream romances, a paranormal romance, The Novel Writer's Toolkit, and a few others I can't even remember right now. Hmmm.

That's it for me - anyone else want to share your goals, or any good books you've read/are reading?

Variety News 9/27/09 (late!)

Sunday was crazy around here this week, but very productive. I overslept, so everything got pushed back, and then we spent most of the afternoon putting our graveyard fence panels together. Then I had to get all my normal Sunday “chores” done after that, which meant no time to post. I was barely on the internet at all yesterday, actually – just long enough to get the nail art contest I had committed to up on that blog. Aside from that little break, I didn’t even sit down until 10:30pm to do my weekly manicure. Whew!

So here’s a quick news post this morning, and this afternoon I’ll post my weekly goals, and be all caught up. Ironically, I already have posts for Thurs. & Friday scheduled to post for this week, so I’m still ahead of schedule, in a way…

This Week on The Variety Pages

Monday: Goals & Reading List (yes, an actual reading list!)
Tuesday: Construction Zone: Adding complexity
Wednesday: Last mystery photo of the month
Thursday: Wildcard – New NaNoWriMo blog
Friday: Chapter 26 of Tempest

Elsewhere on The Variety Network

Word Blizzard opens this week, a blog to document the planning, drafting and possibly editing of this year’s National Novel Writing Month manuscript. Email me for an "invitation" (locked blog).

Nail Art Tuesday is hosting a “People’s Choice” nail art contest – head over there and vote for your favorite design. Also featuring an “almost plaid” design on Tuesday.

Scaryview Cemetery will showcase more of the fence building project, my completed clay toes, and some of the very cool props we bought last weekend (ghoulish babies, anyone?).

Tea on Tap is back to a journal format – I plan to update on Friday.

Anything I should be watching for in your neck of the blogosphere? Lost Wanderer has started a new journaling blog – pop over and check that out too when you get a minute!

Here's to another great week!

Wildcard Post: Musings on the Home Office

Do you have a room at home that serves as an “office” or library? Is it used for that purpose, or has it been commandeered for something else (like more storage)?

When I bought my first house, and moved out of my parent’s basement, I was delighted to finally be able to create a bonefide office space out of the spare bedroom. Walls lined with bookshelves that were filled with all my favorite stories, a desk for my computer and printer, even a shelf for small tanks to house my smallest critters. I spent a lot of time in that room on my computer or picking out books to read. I always lamented that it wasn’t quite big enough for a proper reading chair, not that it mattered, since I’ve always been one to read in bed or in the living room anyway.

There was never any question when my husband and I bought our current house – we picked the room we wanted to sleep in, and the other became the office. I inherited a lovely writing desk from my paternal Grandmother before she passed on, so we now have that in addition to the computer desk (which is now too small for my taste). The office served as headquarters for the Avon business I ran for several years, and now is more of a place to store books, current projects, and the materials needed for written correspondence (like cards, which I am exceedingly poor at sending out on time). The closet is my clothes closet of course – men and women really shouldn’t have to share such things. It also serves as storage for things like yarn and pre-purchased gifts.

I wish I could say it got daily use, but aside from me going in to get dressed, and the dogs sleeping in there at night, it really doesn’t. Occasionally hubby will go in there to play a computer game that doesn’t run on his spiffy new laptop, or I’ll work on a document I need to print (Party invitations, Christmas letters), or we’ll go get a book off the shelves.

I don’t write there though. Oddly, I prefer to write on my netbook in the living room even after the house is quiet. I could go write on the larger screen with the ergonomic keyboard, but I don’t. Why is that, I wonder? If I had a larger desk, a better chair – would that make a difference? Certainly when editing I’m always wishing I had more room for the hard copy of my manuscript by my computer. Yet I persist in using my lap desk and netbook, rather than spreading out more comfortably in the office.

I’ve always wanted a huge home library/office. One where the walls are literally lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves of dark wood and deep plush couches face a stone fireplace. Naturally there would be a massive, dark cherry desk with a smooth, shiny top that I would sit at in a posh leather chair to write novels, pen a letter or pay my bills.

If I were to have such a luxury though, would I use it? Or would I still squeeze into my favorite chair in the living room with my lap desk and netbook, writing happily into the wee hours of the night while the library sat devoid of my attention?

Do you have a home office/library? How often do you use it?

What Is It?

No correct guesses last week - though Johanna was closest, since they could be used as straws, if a giant needed one. Last week's photo was PVC pipes that we were cutting for the new Halloween fence.
This week's should be a little easier (I think) - something to get us in the Fall mood.

What Is It?

Good Luck!

To enter: Simply post a comment with your best guess as to what the subject of the photo is. Each correct answer = 1 drawing entry. Drawings held at the end of each month. Prizes include a book and tea.

Construction Zone: Settings & Description

I "see" stories in my head as I'm writing. They play like movies, in vivid color - I see the characters interacting, hear them speaking, see how they react to the world around them and everything in it. I "hear" their thoughts, feel their pain, and am privy to all the tactile sensations they encounter. I am all of my characters at once, the bad, the good, the sidekicks. It's scary and wonderful and exhilarating all at once.

It's a mystery to me, with all that going on in my head, why I have such a hard time describing settings and using the proper amount of description. I tend to write sparsely with regards to description, which I'm fairly sure is due to the first criticism I ever received as a teenager just jotting down what I "saw" in my head. It was too much detail, my critiquer said - too much description. Readers don't need to know everything about the scene, just enough that they can fill in the rest with their own imagination. That logic makes perfect sense to me, now, though it didn't then.

Now I feel like I don't give enough description, and that bugs me. Because I don't know "how much" is not enough, and "how much" is too much. What scares me even more is that there's not really any quantifiable way to know - I bet that every writer I ask will give me a different answer. Or rather, I'll get one answer many different ways, "The amount of description that's right for the story is the right amount." Annoying, to be sure, but understandable as well. Writing, like any other art is subjective.

With characters, I prefer less description - practically none at all, when possible. I form images of characters in my head based on their actions & dialogue as I'm reading, and it annoys me when the author describes them as something other than what I have in mind as the reader. Because of that, I'm sure I shaft my characters when it comes to descriptions, assuming readers will form their own images of them as they read. I have no idea if that's the "norm" or not.

With settings though, I love to read rich description. I like to know what the weather is like, whether the sky is clear or gray, if the wind is blowing and how the trees are rustling (or uncharacteristically silent). I like to know if a river is clear or muddy, if you can see the rocks and fish or if it's too deep, what the temperature is if you wiggle your fingers in the water. I want to know if the ground is hard or soft, covered or bare, and what kind of wildlife might be lurking about. This is where I have a hard time editing myself - I want to describe the setting fully, rather than leaving it to the reader's imagination. And this often results in too much exposition.

So I want to know - what's your preference for description in fiction? Do you like a clear picture of your characters? A painting of the setting? Or just a bare hint that you can fill in as you wish? How do you decide on the amount of description you use in your writing?

Goals & Reading List 9/21/09

Last week was…unproductive. But I did write my 650 words per night on my novel draft, topping 800 two nights last week. I did the math – in order to finish the draft by October 23rd (leaving a week to plan out my NaNo draft), I need to write 880 words per day, 5 days per week. I think I can handle that – it still leaves my weekends free for all the other stuff going on (Halloween prep, mostly). I’m really not sure what I’m going to do about editing – writing every weeknight and working Halloween stuff & household chores on the weekends leaves no time to work on my editing projects. I’m going to have to figure something out for that. I’d also like to submit a couple flash pieces to anthologies – I need to get working on those (quick to write, quick to edit), see if I can maybe start getting some small publication credits (it *sounds* so easy, doesn't it? If only it were...).

I also signed up to participate in “Free E-Day” (link to the right). For this, I’m supposed to have a novel or novella ready to release right here on December 1st. I’d hoped to get Lana edited and polished by then, but I’m faltering. We’ll see how that goes.

My personal goals didn’t really go so well either. Workouts? What are those? But I did get moving on the clay toes, so that’s good. I also got a template downloaded to base our party invitations on.

Weekly Goals

Writing

- 880 words per night on My Private Chef
- 2 extra chapters of Tempest
- 500 words on Hot Lunch
- 2-3 pages of Lana marked up
- Choose two scene plots & plan flash pieces for each.

Personal

- 3 workouts this week
- Finish the clay toes and get the invitations designed for the Halloween party
- Start the Halloween decorating in the basement.
- Keep journaling daily, and develop a format to keep track of books read, etc in my journal.

Reading List

I know – it’s horrible, but I can’t remember the titles/authors of the latest Harlequin’s I’ve been reading. See Personal Goals above…I *am* going to start keeping track of what I read daily in my journal. Next week, I should have a nice list to share. At the moment, all I can tell you is that:

1. I’m finally nearly finished with The Broken Window (Deaver), and

2. I’m reading a historical romance about an ex-mistress cast aside after 10 years due to arthritic hands falling in love with a spy who needs a letter she has to clear his name from a murder charge. It’s quite engaging, and I promise to let you know the details next week.

That’s it for this week – no really! What are you up to? How are your goals coming? Any you’d like to share?

Variety News 9/20/09

So you know that Saturday post I was going to do? The one that didn't happen? Yeah, about that. I'm going to have to scrap that until at least December, I think. We're at crunch time with Halloween party prep (our party is the 24th, so we only have 5 weeks left to get *everything* done), and after the party and Halloween the following week, NaNoWriMo will ensue, taking up the entire month of November. Fall is a busy time around here - and I'm not seeing Saturday posts in the near future.

I am, however, going to be posting my entire NaNo novel this year, as well as my preparations the week before it starts. I've created a separate blog for the occasion, accessible "by invitation only" (to protect my future publication rights should I ever decide to clean it up enough to publish). More details to come on that in a few weeks.

This week on The Variety Pages

Monday: Goals & Reading list
Tuesday: Construction Zone - Settings & Description
Wednesday: New Mystery Photo
Thursday: Wildcard post
Friday: New chapter of Tempest

Elsewhere on The Variety Network

Nail Art Tuesday features a Watermelon manicure with Migi Nail Art Pens.

Scaryview Cemetary showcases clay toes and more plans/progress on this year's theme.

Tea on Tap features more Chai reviews, and reverts to a less structured schedule.

Here's to another great week!

Wildcard: Recording Personal History

C R from Random Thoughts started off this week talking about her journal. Then Lost Wanderer mentioned how much she loved journaling, and C did a blog post about her methods and reasons for keeping a journal. These two friends inspired me to consider starting up a personal journal again, and last night, I took the journals I used to keep off the shelves and started reading. I have a habit of journaling only when something in my life is causing me emotional distress, and so they are filled with angst, confusion, depression, and longing – which I’m sure many people who know me would be completely shocked to read, since I’m not a very demonstrative person – I keep my strongest emotions well under control most of the time. Maybe that’s how I did it for all those years, pouring them out on the page rather than expressing them out loud.

In any case, I also have a tendency to start new journals rather than finishing the old, which means some entries are duplicated in several. The most interesting thing was my last entry in the two most important journals – both of which were dated September 13th and September 14, 2002. Last night as I was reading, I realized that it was, to the day, almost exactly seven years since I’d last written in them. As it turned out, it was one of the most monumental days of my life – the day my husband proposed to me. Fascinating that the night I decide to revisit my past would be seven years later almost to the exact day. Yes, I do believe things happen for a reason.

After that, I stopped writing in journals and started blogging two years later, anonymously online. The thing about using a blog as a journal is that even when I was posting anonymously, I still felt the need to censor myself since it was open to the public. You never know who will stumble onto something you wrote about them in a less than stellar mood.

Aside from the angst in my written journals from before, I also found some entries from my two weeks in Paris – things I’d forgotten. There were also entries about my journey to buying my first house, graduating college, getting my first office job. Things that my own memory of is foggy, but are recorded there with dates and details that would otherwise have been lost. Interestingly, my desire to be a writer is threaded through all of this history. I’ve always wanted to be a writer (since high school), but I was struck by how pervasive the passion for writing is through my journal entries.

In any case, all this has really made an impression on me (as you might have guessed). I told my husband that I was thinking of journaling again (after telling him about my last entries), and his comment was, “Who has time, with all the blogging and working and writing?” – his gentle way of telling me that maybe it was just one more thing on an already too-full plate. He knows the benefits of journals, having kept one himself at times (and reading mine when we were dating), I think he was just concerned that it would be one more thing. And he’s right – it could be. But I think I owe it to myself to start again, whether it becomes a habit or not.

This time though, I think the balance of angst and joy will be far better. My life is far less wrought with frustration than it was back then, far more “settled” now. I kept journals then for personal therapy, and while I’m sure some days it will still serve that purpose, I dare say the good will outweigh the bad.

Do you keep a journal, dear readers? Digital or handwritten? Do you have a favorite time and method, or do you just write down whatever comes to you?

What Is It?

Three correct guesses last week - congrats to everyone who guessed "syringes"! They are indeed syringes hanging off our "save the date" magnets for the Halloween party.

You knew they weren't all going to be easy this month, right? This week's mystery photo might be a tad more obscure.

What Is It?

Good Luck!

To enter: Simply post a comment with your best guess as to what the subject of the photo is. Each correct answer = 1 drawing entry. Drawings held at the end of each month. Prizes include a book and tea.

Blogman!

Yes, there will be a mystery photo today. Patience, friends - I'm working on it. But until then, I got this cool badge from The Lost Wanderer that I want to pass along to other worthy blogging heroes. Thanks so much, LW!
This badge originates at Working My Muse with Eric, after a rousing discussion of what the word "Blog" might stand for. Pretty fun, I think! There are a few rules if you choose to participate, of course:

1. Tell us your favorite superhero and why
2. Copy the badge and post it to your blog
3. Present the badge to five other worthy bloggers
4. Post links to five people you nominate
5. Comment on their pages to let them know they have been nominated

And that's why I'm so late posting mine - I've been having a hard time choosing my favorite superhero. I think I've finally settled on Batman though. He's dark, angsty, and sometimes does good things for questionable reasons. He's also a night person...er, bat, and I completely identify with that.

The five blogs I'm nominating to receive the Blogman badge (trying to choose those who haven't been chosen yet) are:

1. Michelle McLean's Writer Ramblings
2. Cindy R. Wilson
3. Ieva Melgalve
4. Jason A. Myers
5. Editing Hat. (Adam)

If you haven't read these blogs, go check 'em out!

Construction Zone: What's in a Draft?

November can’t get here soon enough for me this year. It’s not just because I love National Novel Writing Month (which I do). The problem is, the more I write this year, the more I think about the actual craft of writing. The more I think and learn, the more I try to get it right the first time for less editing later. The more I try to get right the first time, the slower I write.

All of that is good for writing.

None of it is good for getting a draft finished.

My problem is, I’ve become so focused on everything I should do to write a good novel, that it’s becoming harder and harder to just sit and write the story. And it was good for me to do that this year, because I needed to focus on some of the issues I have and figure out how to fix and/or avoid them. I feel like I’ve become a much better writer just in the last six months than I ever was before.

Unfortunately, while studying the craft of writing it seems I’ve also “taught” myself to fear a messy first draft. Now it’s time for me to trust that I truly *know* what I’ve been learning, and just get the first draft done, not worrying so much about the end result. If the break-neck writing speed of NaNo can’t cure me, then nothing can.

So what’s in a first draft? I don’t know what’s in yours, but here’s a list of some things that show up in mine:

- Plot ninjas (ideas that try to kidnap the orig. plot and replace it with something vastly more interesting or just silly)
- Rogue scenes/characters
- Sentences so badly phrased they make me want to gag.
- Stupid misspellings.
- Tangents
- Sparse settings
- Flat characters
- POV issues
- Redundancy
- Personal notes [insert scene/character/description here] or [This sucks – fix it!]

It’s not a complete list, by any means…but you get the idea. The thing is, it’s okay. And I need to “re-learn” that if I want to become not just a writer, but a prolific writer (which is my ultimate goal).

Last night as I sat down to write, I reminded myself that it was a draft – just write, fix it later. And the words flew by. Tonight, I’ll do the same. NaNo is coming soon – and that will be the ultimate test.

So tell me, what’s in your draft? And just because I’m curious, what’s your normal writing pace? Are you okay with that?

Honest Scrap Award

Thank you to both C R Ward of Random Thoughts and The Lost Wanderer for bestowing this most honorable award on my humble blog! Right back atcha, gals...I'm so very honored and flattered!

The rules for receiving the award are simple:
- pass the award on to seven worthy blogs
- list ten honest things about yourself.

Passing it on: I've tried to pick bloggers that haven't won this award yet, more of my favorite people on the 'net. Do check them out, and maybe discover a new friend?

Tales of Extraordinary Ordinariness – Suzanne shares her innermost thoughts, emotions, struggles and joy in such a beautifully poetic voice. I can’t really describe her voice with any accuracy in words, but she’s a deserving recipient, to be sure. Read her blog. You’ll see what I mean.

Clair at Bo Fexler, PI – who so graciously shares her triumphs and fears with us, as well as her students and is a constant source of inspiration to “write what you love”.

Author B.J. Daniels – who openly shares her experiences as an author, as well as an all around down-to-earth Montana woman who likes the turn of the seasons and chocolate cake as much as the rest of us do. She is what I aspire to be someday.

Jessica Rosen at Girl Meets Word – Our heroine is not only a font of writing wisdom and research, but generous, kind, and helpful in ways that extend far past her blog. I love the voice she writes her posts in, very “cozy” and warm.

Jenna Cosgrove – An aussie blogger who just went home after a research trip to the states, Jenna is witty, inspirational, and completely “real”.

Jeannie The Character Therapist for Where Romance Meets Therapy – Not only does Jeannie share her ups and downs of writing, and her views on books and popular TV, she also does “therapy” for fictional characters at her “other” blog. Fun, fascinating, and a great resource to the writing community.

H.L. Dyer’s Blog: Trying to Do the Write Thing – Here we have a doctor who also somehow finds time to write and share her experiences through blogging. Witty, generous and inspirational, everyone should go check out her blog.

Ten honest things about me: Ironically, I can’t decide what sort of honest things to share. I’m pretty transparent, even in the worst of times, so I have no idea what you (general “you”) already know about me, and what you might want to know.

So here’s what I’ll do – anyone who cares to can ask a question in the comments, anything you want to know about me, and I’ll answer it honestly. Yes, anything. My life is an open book.

Any questions?

Goals & Reading List 9/14/09

I felt discombobulated all week last week, so it was a pleasant surprise today when I realized that I’d actually done okay with the important stuff on my goals list last week. And cutting the serial novel back to once per week this week will allow me to make more progress, as well as switching my manicure night from Sat. to Sun. (will allow me to spend all night Sat. editing). Flexibility is the catch word for any workable schedule.

I got 600 words done on my novel draft nearly every night last week…which was the most important goal to me. November’s NaNo efforts require 1,667 words per day, so I’m slowly working up to that. I didn’t get anything done on my short story or editing, but that will hopefully be solved as mentioned above. So all’s well on the writing front.

On the personal side, I got the bills paid and finalized the Halloween invitation format, which were the two most important goals there. The other stuff…well, laundry isn’t going anywhere.

Weekly Goals

Writing

- 650 words per night on my novel draft (daring, no?)
- 500 to 1000 words for the week on my short story draft
- 3-4 pages edited on Loving Lana
- 1 extra chapter of “Tempest”

Personal

- Nightly laundry & workouts 4x this week (workouts tied to drying the laundry)
- Tea reviews for the blog
- Make 24 – 50 clay toes for Halloween props.
- Keep the weeds in check.

Reading List

Not much reading again this week – I did get another couple of chapters done on the Deaver book…right up to the “whodunit”. I’d really like to know how that ends!

I’ve also been reading Caught in the Act by Samantha Hunter, which is a fabulous Harlequin Blaze read fraught with intrigue, emotional distress and some serious costume changes. I’d highly recommend it! Samantha’s on twitter too, if anyone’s interested in looking her up @SamanthaHunter. Very nice, and loves to hear from people reading her books (wouldn't we all?).

Oh – I have one more goal…I need to post my blog awards/badge that I got last week! Will do that this afternoon.

That’s it for me – anyone want to share goals or good books you’ve read? Good luck with your goals & reading this week…

Variety News 9/13/09

I received not one, but two blog awards last week - thanks to CR and Lost Wanderer! I'll be posting those tonight, so drop back in to celebrate with me!

I've been thinking a lot about Tempest, the serial novel. I love it, I love posting it, but I do think that I'm going to have to cut back to just one installment per week. The twice-weekly pace is getting too hard to keep up with, especially since I'm trying to work on other pieces to submit as well. It's only going to get worse as NaNoWriMo gets closer, and I need to have all the November installments for the serial done early if at all possible.

So as of this week, Tempest will go to once-a-week postings on Fridays. My apologies to C R, and anyone else who reads the serial regularly, but I think this will work out better for me actually getting stuff ready to submit.

Due to that switch, I'm moving the Construction Zone posts to Tuesdays. Saturdays will feature a new "Must Read Round-Up" that lists my top seven favorite posts on other blogs from the past week, so you can all go check them out. They won't just be writing blogs (though the majority probably will be), but anything I happen to find interesting, informative, or just entertaining.

So here's this week's lineup at The Variety Pages:

Monday: Goals & Reading List
Tuesday: Construction Zone - What's in a draft?
Wednesday: New mystery photo
Thursday: Wildcard - Home Office Musings
Friday: New chapter of "Tempest"
Saturday: Must Read Round-Up

Elsewhere on The Variety Network

Nail Art Tuesday features a tribute to the beach with a "seashell" manicure.

Tea On Tap features two reviews of Chai tea for fall.

Scaryview Cemetery explores how to make toes out of clay.

Thanks for reading, and here's to another wonderful week!

Construction Zone: Perspectives

I think I've talked about this before, but it just becomes more and more apparent - I really have a perspective problem. This week, it wasn't just in my novel draft, but in the serial draft as well...I kept wanting to know what the other person thought after some sequence of events or conversation, but it wasn't the right place for a scene shift yet, and I'm really trying hard not to change point of view (POV) characters in the middle of a scene.

I can't decide why I have this problem. Maybe it's just my natural curiosity, or the "observer" in me who wants to explore the reactions and thoughts of all my characters at once. I can recognize it, and catch myself before I actually do it, but I really agonize sometimes over which character should be holding the camera next, so to speak. I have no idea how anyone ever writes an entire book from one perspective - it's done all the time, but personally, I'm always wanting to know what the other character is thinking & feeling too.

With my serial blog novel this week, I found myself slipping in a very sneaky way - just certain observations attributed to Jake when he wasn't the POV character. Even now, I'm not sure I caught all of them, and will have to read over it very carefully when editing to make sure I keep POV where it belongs (only Jake and Charlie have POV's in that draft).

This sort of has me stumped. I need to figure out how to write "in the moment" as it were, and stick to one character's POV per scene, without arguing with myself mid-scene about maybe handing the camera off. I can't complain - at least I catch it in time to fix it, but I wish I could just write through without worrying about it, automatically leaving each scene in just one POV. I don't know why, but my brain just seems to be fighting it every step of the way on this one issue.

Anyone else have this problem? Anyone figured out the "magic cure"?

Wildcard Post: Thoughts On Social Networking

Networking has always been exhausting and a bit stressful for me. Whether you try to make it casual by adding the “social” tag to it or not (which I’ve always thought was redundant – networking can’t be anything but “social”), the crux of networking is making connections that will be of some benefit, either now or later, in your career or your personal life. Hopefully both.

As an introvert, I resist most kinds of actual, face-to-face networking like the plague. I quickly get bored with banal chatter, though I do love hearing what people had for lunch or dinner (because I love food, and cooking, and am interested in such things). Ironically, that’s what people seem to complain about the most on internet networking sites. Because I get bored with chatter – I tend not to be very good at it. But I’ve always been a very observant person (as most introverts are), and there’s no way to escape the absolute fact that networking, in all it’s many forms is crucial to one’s advancement in many, many areas of life. Yes, you can live a perfectly happy, fulfilled life without networking, and you can even advance in your job reasonably well. But without connections, there’s only so far one can go, personally or professionally. If you look closely, even the coldest businessman/woman still has a "network" - those people may not be friends, but they are connections that he (she, it) used to get where they are today. It really is all about who you know – you don't have to like it, the fact is, it just “is” (if you don’t believe that…well…you really just have to watch and learn for yourself. Or not.). The great thing is, you can have almost complete control over that, especially with the popularity of online networking.

This is why it’s so very important to know *how* to network. Networking isn’t about making friends, though that certainly is a nice perk when it happens. I've met quite a few people since beginning to build my personal networks that I now consider friends. But ultimately, networking is about making *connections* - meeting and staying in touch with like-minded people, helping them achieve their goals, and in turn, hopefully they’ll do the same for you. Sound cold? It doesn't have to be. Networking interactions can be warm and genuine, but it's a good idea to keep them within certain common sense boundaries.

I don't pretend to be an expert when it comes to networking. Truth be told, I'm still too much of an introvert to really enjoy socializing with myriads of people, and that isn't going to change. I'm okay with that. But here are the rules that I hold myself to when socializing with others for the purpose of networking, whether in person or online. Perhaps they might be helpful to some of you.

1. Maintain a professional image. No swearing, no temper tantrums, no lashing out and calling people who don't agree with me names. Professionalism is all about calm, cool & collected...I strive to maintain that attitude and appearance both online and off.

2. If I wouldn't say it to someone's face, I don't say it to them online. Being behind a screen is no excuse for being rude and confrontational.

3. If it's not something I'd share with someone I just met offline, I don't share it with someone I just met online either.

4. Fill out bios with real information. I used to hold my anonymity close online, in order to "allow" myself freedom to share more than I probably should have. Networking is all about connections you can *trust*, and that requires honest communication. I use my real name, my real occupation (generally speaking), my real location. And I always have an email address available for contacts. All of this is information I'd give to anyone I was networking with in person as well.

5. Be aware that posts on forums, Facebook and Twitter normally have date/time stamps on them, and that bosses, co-workers, friends and family can all check to see what time you were posting. I limit my online networking time during work hours to avoid any potential problems with current or future employers/co-workers. Because you just never know.

6. Punctuation and spelling matter. I make a point to proofread my posts, use proper capitalization, spelling, and punctuation marks. Inattention to those little things in written communication would certainly affect what kind of person others perceive me to be. I freely admit they affect my perspective of people I meet online.

7. No political rants, online or off. Some people choose to blog or network on the basis of a political platform, and that's their choice. Unfortunately, politics is a very passionate subject, and I don't wish to be labeled for my political views when I want to connect with writers, gardeners, polish fanatics, or tea drinkers. Many people are so passionate about politics that they won't network with others who don't share their views - I am not one of those people. So I avoid political discussions in public arenas, and save those for private debates with friends. If I must say something, I try to be very respectful of the other person's view, and keep it to private emails or direct messages rather than going public with it.

8. I choose the people in my network carefully. I don't auto-follow on Twitter, I don't auto-friend on Facebook. I don't socialize with people I meet in person solely because we have the same interests, even for networking purposes. It's human nature to assume that we are like those we surround ourselves with - and there are some temperments and attitudes I don't wish my name to be associated with. Those people could negatively affect my career or personal life later on when least expected - better to be somewhat cautious to mitigate problems later.

9. I don't network with constant self-promoters. I've severed connections with at least one person online and several offline who were never really interested in creating a real "connection", but only wanted my time and attention for the sole purpose of selling something. I don't expect the people I network with to become my "best friends" - but I do expect them to respect me as a person, rather than a cash machine. And the opposite is true as well. I try to limit my own self-promotion (links to blog posts, etc) to a minimum, and only to those I think might be genuinely interested.

10. Be supportive. This is what networking is all about, after all - people supporting others to reach goals. I always go into a social situation expecting to *give* more than I get. The more you give - support, time, encouragement, or just a listening ear - the more you'll get back. As an introvert, I sometimes have to force myself to engage with others, but it's always easier when I have something they need. A lot of the time, that's simply a kind word or time to listen.

So those are my "rules" for networking. Being social/networking wears me out - I freely admit, but the rewards are worth it. What are some of the "rules" you hold yourself to when networking with others, either online or off?

Oh, and last night, I made taco salad for dinner. What did you have? Yes, I really want to know.

What Is It?

Three correct guesses last week - told you it was easy! It was the tetsubin teapot my husband bought for me last year on a business trip.
Another easy one this week - and for anyone who may have trouble, you can find the larger photo on one of my other blogs (all linked at the top of this one).

What Is It?

Good Luck!

To enter: Simply post a comment with your best guess as to what the subject of the photo is. Each correct answer = 1 drawing entry. Drawings held at the end of each month. Prizes include a book and tea.

Goals & Reading List 9/7/09

I fell behind again last week - work was really busy, which is part of it. And when I get all cocky and feeling like I can do everything, I get less done. Nature's way of keeping me humble, I guess. It's all good though - I still got 500 words done on my novel draft nearly every night last week, and that's the important thing anyway. I also got our home office cleaned...which is a serious relief! That right there is worth letting some of the other goals slide. This week should be pretty easy as far as accomplishing goals, I think.

Weekly Goals

Writing

- 600 words per night on my novel draft (I know!)
- 500 words on my short story
- 2 extra chapters on Tempest
- 2 pages edited on Loving Lana

Personal

- Behave at my in-law's house for the holiday BBQ this afternoon
- Keep up with Laundry all week
- Finish the weeding in the backyard, and keep on it
- Finalize Halloween invitation format
- 3 Tea reviews
- Pay bills

Weekly Reading List

Not much to report for reading this week - I read two mediocre romance novels (more of Harlequin's free reads), and I'm reading a much better one now (one of my subscription reads), but can't remember the name off the top of my head. Yes, I'm too lazy to go get my PDA to check.

It's occurred to me that I still haven't finished The Broken Window! When I started raising my nightly word count, it cut into my before-bed reading time. Bummer! And now I'm raising my word count another 100 words...better start writing earlier, eh?

Off to Lowes now to buy more Halloween prop materials - can't think of a better way to spend a holiday.

Happy Labor Day!

Variety News 9/6/09

I've had a long, long day today...and my official holiday curmudgeon has come out in full force. It's after midnight, but I thought I'd at least throw the schedule for the week up before I get my "goals post" written up, just in case anyone is interested (and to "ground" myself with topics for the week). So without ado...

This week on The Variety Pages

Monday: Goals & Reading List
Tues/Fri: New chapters of "Tempest"
Wednesday: A new mystery photo
Thursday: Wildcard - Social Networking
Saturday: Construction Zone - Character POV's

Elsewhere on The Variety Network

Nail Art Tuesday features a leopard print manicure with rub-on decals

Tea On Tap features an review of Organic Orange Sencha.

Scaryview Cemetery will have a new post on fences, MRI machines and X-Rays. No really!

Here's hoping for a relatively uneventful week...

Construction Zone: Passages of Time/Transitions

As I was writing last week, I was thinking about time. Not in big chunks - months or years, but the smaller passages of time that happen in a story. I have a hard time with these sometimes, knowing which ones to leave in, and which to just skip over. For the ones that must be left in for the story to advance logically, they can't be filler - it has to advance the plot in some way. Sometimes that's not as easy as it seems like it should be.

For example - in my current novel WIP, there's a scene wherein Hannah, my heroine is virtually trapped in her house by reporters who are camped out on her front lawn. In the morning, she rearranges her kitchen, which is vital to the storyline (the hero screwed it up for her the night before). At noon, she watches the news on TV - also vital for an essential misunderstanding to develop.

After that, she finally sneaks out the back door, and is "rescued" by the hero...at first writing, I had him offering to make her dinner (he's a chef). Problem is, at that point it's way too early in the day for dinner! I was flummoxed at how to fill the space between his picking her up and dinner. "Filler" is often just boring for the reader - this reader, anyway....so I didn't want to use anything that would cause the reader to scan right by. At the same time, it wouldn't have made sense to just skip over that part, since the story was so focused on them at that time.

I had to go back through the story and really think about the events leading up to that point in time before I figured it out. It was the simplest thing ever - Hannah feel asleep on the couch after being offered a beverage, exhausted from the events of the prior twenty-four hours. At that point, I allowed my hero a little bit of introspection about his attraction to her (advancing the romance) and *then* I could skip right to waking her up with an incredible dinner. It would have been impossible to just skip over the afternoon hours considering where my characters were at the time, but at the same time, the events in that time period needed to be believable and advance the plot in some way.

So what do you do when faced with transitions that are necessary, but are in danger of becoming "filler"? How do you deal with small chucks of time that need "something", but are just leading to the next "big scene"?

Wildcard Topic: The Road to Marriage

I was going to do a post on Social Networking today. And I'm still going to, but I'll post it next week instead. I'm still collecting my thoughts on the subject, distilling them into something I hope might be useful. Instead, since Friday is our fifth anniversary (yes, I had to double check the date) I thought I'd share a bit about my husband, and how we ended up together. I'll warn you, this is long - which is fitting considering our journey.

When I was fifteen, I took a lifeguarding class at our local YMCA. For our final test, I had to save the swim team coach, pulling him twenty-five yards down the pool while he panicked in my grasp. I was totally nervous, because for some reason, my young hormones went nuts whenever he was around. I "saved" him, completely embarrassed at having been that close to him for so long. I became a lifeguard there, and continued teaching swim lessons, eventually working my way up to a supervisor. The whole time he was there, coaching swim team in the next pool over.

I was totally smitten with him, but practical even then. One day I was in the guard office watching him coach through the window, and I said right out loud, "God, when I grow up, let me marry someone just like him." I knew a guy ten years older would never even notice someone like me, but I held out hope that one day I'd find someone who was kind, gentle, intelligent and...well...as perfect as the swim coach (I may have romanticized him a bit back then). I never dated much in high school, not for lack of trying, it just sort of happened that way.

When I turned eighteen, I celebrated by getting my first tatoo (you didn't know I have tatoos, did you?). A cross on my right shoulder, with a bible verse (Galations 6:17) in Greek underneath. I worked the 5:30am guard shift shortly after, and he happened to be coaching. the first personal sentence he ever said to me was, "So, you sold out huh?" (or something similar - it's been awhile). We started talking about tatoos, and why he didn't like them, and why I'd gotten one. I was incredibly nervous the whole time. But that conversation broke the ice, and we were friends after that - not close friends, but comfortable enough to have some good, intelligent conversations.

I started college, still working at the Y to pay for school, and I dated here and there too. I was still too practical to think anything could happen with the swim coach, so I never pined for him or anything, just went about my life, enjoying his company when it came. Looking back now, I realize that I compared every guy I dated to him. They all came up short. We flirted a little - there was an office Christmas party I remember, and another lifeguard's birthday party one spring. I'd just broken up with a long-distance boyfriend at that party, and the swim coach was kind enough to listen to me talk about it, then I gave him a ride home. I went to his birthday party that year too, which was a very odd experience of mixed messages and not-so-innocent flirtations. It was about this time that I started wondering - was the ten year age gap really so insurmountable? And if not, how would that affect us in the future?

He invited me to a Halloween party that year at his brother's house. I wore one of those ridiculously small pirate costumes, and he wore a toga. I woke up in his arms on the hard floor in the morning, wondering how I'd explain to my mother that I hadn't gone home that night. I struggled with the age gap for a few weeks after, wondering if I should take the chance on this older guy who insisted that he never wanted to get married, or if I should walk away, and wait for someone else. I couldn't walk away. Even then, I knew I belonged with him, if he'd have me.

The next few years were full of insecurities, late-night calls, and alcohol-induced conversations about what love is, exactly. I could have walked away so many times, but through it all I had the inescapable feeling that I was supposed to be with him. Practically my whole life I'd felt like he was my other half, and no matter how insecure I felt with him, I never wanted anyone else. I graduated college, got my first "real job" and bought my first house, taking our relationship just one day at a time. I never took him for granted, never assumed he'd marry me someday. I lived my life, grateful for every day I shared with him, convinced that someday he would either move on without me, or that we'd date perpetually. I made my peace with that, even though the constant trips between my house and his got old over the years.

One night we went out with some friends of his from work, to our favorite bar. The guys drank, and I watched, like always - being the designated driver. It grew late, and he was pleasantly drunk when he asked me how long I would have to stay in my house before I could sell it without losing money. I'd been there for two years by then. "Two years. Why?" I answered, curious. Then he asked me if I wanted to get married in two years, when we could sell my house and get something big enough for both of us. My eloquent response was, "Okay." Then I told him to ask me again tomorrow, when he was sober, as any good cynical girlfriend would do.

A year and a half later we were married quietly in his parent's backyard, with our parents and siblings present and a judge to officiate. We'd spent the whole month before frantically packing up and selling my house, and moving all my stuff to the new one we'd just closed on the week before. We spent the afternoon after our wedding shopping for new furniture, and our wedding night at a local hotel, going back to our new house the next day. It was perfect.

While our fifth anniversary as husband and wife is tomorrow, we'll have been together for eleven years total as of this Halloween. Or maybe it's twelve. It doesn't really matter. He's part of me - my best friend, my confidant, my anchor and my lover. I can't even imagine what my life would be without him in it. I've never loved anyone like I love him, and it grows as time goes on.

Thanks for letting me share our story with you. There's a lot more to it, and maybe someday I'll write it all down for posterity. For now, I can only wish all of you a love like ours. Love that will last a lifetime.

What Is It?

Apparently you all know what the grill of a car looks like - and my husband was so sure no one would guess! Lots of correct entries last week, but this is no toy. It's our '61 Chrysler, waiting patiently in the garage for new electrical and brakes (don't mind all the foam packing...Halloween props in progress).In case any of you were wondering, it's difficult to deal with little slips of paper with 3D nail art. But I managed, and this month's lucky winner is...

C R Ward!!!

Congratulations! It pays to play every week! :-) You get your choice of either 1 horror novel, 1 suspense/thriller novel, or two category romances off my shelves (I'll pick the titles), and three blooming tea balls from Adagio (you'll love them). You can either comment or email me with your choices, and I promise to get them in the mail this weekend (no really!).

We're starting a new round this week - with something easy, I think.

What Is It?

Good Luck!

To enter: Simply post a comment with your best guess as to what the subject of the photo is. Each correct answer = 1 drawing entry. Drawings held at the end of each month. Prizes include a book and tea.